Brian Johnson, a renowned and award-winning special and visual effects designer and director, has spent over four decades providing his expertise to a wide range of film and television productions.
Johnson's career began in 1957 when he joined Anglo Scottish Pictures, where he met veteran effects artist and skilled matte painter Les Bowie, and eventually became a clapper loader and filming effects plates for the 1958 film Dunkirk.
After serving in the RAF, Johnson joined Hammer films as an effects assistant in 1958, and later worked on the 1961 apocalyptic classic The Day the Earth Caught Fire, during which he was an effects assistant at Bowie Films.
In 1961, Johnson joined AP Films (later Century 21) under the guidance of talented director Derek Meddings, initially as a model builder and flyer on Gerry Anderson's classic series Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, and later as a second unit director on the groundbreaking television series Thunderbirds.
By 1966, Johnson left Century 21, taking with him a wealth of knowledge and experience, and went on to work on a Stanley Kubrick picture, 2001: A Space Odyssey, on special effects shots that took over two years to complete.
Johnson's work on 2001: A Space Odyssey, a huge success and one of the most influential and highly regarded science fiction films of all time, led to him working on various film and television productions, including Moon Zero Two, On the Buses, Z Cars, and the Hammer production When Dinosaurs Ruled the World, with renowned stop motion animator Jim Danforth, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
In 1974, Johnson returned to work with Gerry Anderson on his latest television series Space: 1999, producing high-quality effects that are still highly regarded today, and was also responsible for designing the iconic Eagle Transporter and various other craft of the series.
Johnson's next big production was Ridley Scott's Alien, where he worked with friend and Space: 1999 collaborator Nick Allder on the various model miniature effects sequences out of Bray Studios as special effects supervisor.
Meanwhile, the American space picture that Johnson had been approached to work on became Star Wars, the highest-grossing film of all time, an Academy Award winner, and a cult worldwide phenomenon, with the two aforementioned filmmakers being George Lucas and Gary Kurtz.
Fortunately for Johnson, he was invited to work on the sequel The Empire Strikes Back, where he supervised special and visual effects at the world-renowned Industrial Light and Magic.
Johnson's work on Alien was recognized when he was bestowed the 1979 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, along with H.R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Nick Allder, and Dennis Ayling.
Just after this, The Empire Strikes Back was released to worldwide acclaim, and Johnson was presented with the 1980 Special Achievement Academy Award, along with Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Bruce Nicholson, in recognition of their achievements in the field of visual effects.
Johnson went on to work on Dragonslayer, at the request of Lucas and Spielberg, and was nominated for another Academy Award, but lost out to Raiders of the Lost Ark, which proved to be his final Lucasfilm production.
After which, he worked on The NeverEnding Story and James Cameron's Aliens, for which he was awarded a BAFTA for his contribution to visual effects.
