A vacation with a cousin living in Studio City brought Gill the oppor-
tunity to visit a film set, where he met a man who owned an effects
company. Suddenly, Gill realized how his engineering skills and talents
could be utilized in filmmaking. Having always wanted to be an inven-
tor, he saw the opportunity to fulfill that dream through inventing
machines that would create special effects.
A couple of months later when his seat at the Exchange expired, Gill
put everything he owned in a trailer, moved to Los Angeles, and said,
"Hire me." He had no experience, but his earlier contact, the owner of
Reel EFX, allowed him to hang around and learn. When an extra set of
hands was needed for a job a week and a half later, Gill was hired. A year
later, he was running the shop.
Today, Gill is a co-owner of Reel EFX and has been with the company
for more than 15 years. The company has worked on numerous commer-
cials for Honda Motorcycles, Lexus and Mazda, music videos for 98
Degrees, Bon Jovi, and Puff Daddy, and features such as Clock Stoppers,
Minority Report, The Outing, Skinned Deep, and Swordfish. Gill invented the
original frozen moment camera rig system that was later used in filming
The Matrix, and designed the industry standard DF-50 haze machine and
Diffusion Spray fogger.
Job Overview
Pyrotechnicians devise and orchestrate effects involving fire and
explosives, and build the electronic devices used to create those effects.
Examples of pyrotechnic effects include blowing up a building or vehicle,
burning down a building, setting a person on fire, creating smoke effects,
or staging fireworks.
Special Skills
In addition to his skills in pyrotechnics, special effects supervisor/
pyrotechnician Robert Hutchins's background in theater proved an asset
to understanding the theatrics of creating effects. An understanding of
the filmmaking process is also important.
Advice for Someone Seeking This Job
The best way to get into this field is to apprentice under a skilled
pyrotechnician. California law requires that pyrotechnicians be licensed
JOB TITLE: PYROTECHNICIAN
OR SPECIAL EFFECTS
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