Glen Gustafson
- Visual Effects
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
Glen Gustafson Bio
Born and raised in San Diego, Glen's childhood was an unusual mixture of adventures, from going to the symphony with his mother to shooting at sharks that were attacking the tuna his father was catching (something he would never do today as an avid scuba diver). By the age of 13 the family had flown from San Diego to Minnesota twice in a small Cessna while his father took aerial photos, and most vacations were spent in a remote community on the beach in Baja California, landing on a dirt airstrip.
Like his father, Glen did a hitch in the US Coast Guard before going to college to study Drawing and Painting. His interest in cinema has its roots in the hundreds of films he watched while working as a projectionist at UC Berkeley's Pacific Film Archive. There he handled original Nitrate and technicolor prints, falling in love with films from around the world. He was fascinated by the quality of cinematography and the incredible skill of directors from the silent era.
Glen's first experience working on a feature film was as on The Sacrifice by Andrei Tarkovsky. His mentor, Sven Nykvist arranged for him to study cinematography in Sweden, and Tarkovsky invited him on set as "Auskultant" (similar to an intern). He was even permitted to shoot some 16mme "behind the scenes" footage for his documentary Image Makers in Swedish Cinema.
Glen moved to Los Angeles with his wife Jann in the mid-90s, where he became involved in digital imaging for visual effects. He scanned much of the first feature to use a full digital intermediate (Pleasantville) and helped restore several classic films including Walt Disney's Fantasia.
He has worked on more than thirty features and many more television shows as a visual effects artist in Los Angeles, New Zealand and Australia.