Diana Walczak is an American sculptor, computer graphics pioneer and filmmaker. She is most famous for creating the original Michael Jackson's HIStory Statue which she sculpted in 1994. She also created the digital representation of the statue for Michael Jackson's album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I . [1]
Diana Walczak began her visual arts education in the shops of her father and master printer, Jim Walczak. Diana studied engineering and sculpture at Boston University. She also assisted a medical illustrator and worked as a graphic artist for the Harvard Medical School while in college.
In 1986, Diana was hired by Omnibus Computer Graphics to help create a superhero figure for Marvel Comics.
In 1987, she partnered up with Jeff Kleiser to form Kleiser-Walczak Construction Company. [2] This company is now called Synthespian Studios. [3] [4] They developed some of the first computer-generated humans. They created the first digital stunt doubles for the feature film, Judge Dredd starring Sylvester Stallone. They also created the first face replacements in a feature film in The One starring Jet Li. Some additional feature films in which her work can be seen include Stargate , X-Men , Fantastic Four , Surrogates and she worked on the Computer animated Columbia Pictures film logo. [5]
Diana has directed an advertising campaign for Sun Maid Raisins and has directed commercials starring Kobe Bryant and Hakeem Olajuwon. Diana and Jeff contributed to the digital magic behind many well-known projects including The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman , Monsters of Grace with Philip Glass, Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! , and Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular. In 1994, she created a sculpture of Michael Jackson which became the basis for the cover of his 1995 album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I and the international marketing campaign for the album and the HIStory World Tour. [6]
For the U.S. Department of Commerce, Diana authored a paper called Encompassing Education. This is about her vision of the future of education and the technology that goes into it. She has served on the board of directors of the Norman Rockwell Museum and currently serves on the board of directors of Images Cinema and Greylock ABC. Diana has directed numerous live-action short films under the name Harmless Little Bunny Productions including a short shot in Kenya, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and most recently, Morocco, for World Connect. [7]
Diana Walczak loves improvising in visual arts, music, yoga and fitness, and food preparation.
Stargate is a 1994 science fiction adventure film directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich. The film is the first entry in the Stargate media franchise and stars Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson, Alexis Cruz, Mili Avital, and Viveca Lindfors. The plot centers on the premise of a "Stargate", an ancient ring-shaped device that creates a wormhole, enabling travel to a similar device elsewhere in the universe. The film's central plot explores the theory of extraterrestrial beings having an influence upon human civilization.
Diana Ross is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group The Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. They remain the best-charting female group in history, with a total of twelve number-one hit singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, including "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love", "Come See About Me", "Stop! In the Name of Love", and "Love Child".
Wētā FX, formerly known as Weta Digital, is a New Zealand-based digital visual effects company based in Miramar, Wellington. It was founded by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in 1993 to produce the digital special effects for Heavenly Creatures. The company went on to produce some of the highest-grossing films ever made, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Avatar, and Avatar: The Way of Water. Considered one of the most influential film companies of the 21st century, Wētā FX has won several Academy Awards and BAFTAs. The company is named after the New Zealand wētā, one of the world's largest insects, which was historically featured in the company logo.
Diana Nicole DeGarmo is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She rose to fame in 2004 as the runner-up of the third season of American Idol, releasing her debut studio album, Blue Skies, later that year. The following year, DeGarmo ventured into a career in musical theatre. She has starred in two Broadway, one off-Broadway and three national tours. She made her television acting debut in a six-month arc as Angelina Veneziano on The Young and the Restless. DeGarmo has since released two extended plays, Unplugged in Nashville (2009) and Live to Love (2012). She is married to fifth season American Idol finalist Ace Young.
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I is the ninth studio album by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on June 20, 1995. It was Jackson's fifth album released through Epic Records, and the first on his label MJJ Productions. It comprises two discs: HIStory Begins, a greatest hits compilation, and HIStory Continues, comprising new material written and produced by Jackson and collaborators. The album includes appearances by Janet Jackson, Shaquille O'Neal, Slash, and the Notorious B.I.G. The genres span R&B, pop, and hip hop, with elements of hard rock and funk rock. The themes include environmental awareness, isolation, greed, suicide, injustice, and Jackson's conflicts with the media.
Flight of the Navigator is a 1986 American science-fiction adventure film directed by Randal Kleiser and written by Mark H. Baker, Michael Burton, and Matt MacManus. It stars Joey Cramer as David Freeman, a 12-year-old boy, who is abducted by an alien spaceship and transported from 1978 to 1986. It features an early film appearance by Sarah Jessica Parker as Carolyn McAdams, a key character who befriends David in a time of need.
Dennis Muren, A.S.C is an American film visual effects artist and supervisor. He has worked on the films of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron, among others, and has won nine Oscars in total: eight for Best Visual Effects and a Technical Achievement Academy Award. The Visual Effects Society has called him "a perpetual student, teacher, innovator, and mentor."
Monsters of Grace is a multimedia chamber opera in 13 short acts directed by Robert Wilson, with music by Philip Glass and libretto from the works of 13th-century Sufi mystic Jalaluddin Rumi. The title is said to be a reference to Wilson's corruption of a line from Hamlet: "Angels and ministers of grace defend us!" (1.4.39).
"Dirty Diana" is a song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It is the ninth track on Jackson's seventh studio album, Bad (1987). The song was released by Epic Records on April 18, 1988, as the fifth single from the album. It presents a harder rock sound similar to "Beat It" from Thriller (1982) and a guitar solo played by Steve Stevens. "Dirty Diana" was written and co-produced by Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones. The song's lyrics pertain to groupies. "Dirty Diana" has a moderate tempo and is played in the key of G minor.
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is a 3D motion simulator and dark ride located at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, United States. Based on the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man, it was originally built for Islands of Adventure's grand opening in 1999. A second installation called The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man: The Ride opened at Universal Studios Japan in 2004. The attractions have a hybrid configuration that combines motion vehicles with 3D projection and elaborate physical sets.
The HIStory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spanning the globe with stops in 57 cities, 35 countries on 5 continents. The tour promoted Jackson's 1995 album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The second leg also promoted the remix album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. The tour was attended by over 4.5 million fans.
Digital Effects Inc. was an early and innovative computer animation studio at 321 West 44th street in New York City. It was the first computer graphics house in New York City when it opened in 1978, and operated until 1986. It was founded by Judson Rosebush, Jeff Kleiser, Don Leich, David Cox, Bob Hoffman, Jan Prins, and others. Many of the original group came from Syracuse University, where Rosebush taught computer graphics. Rosebush developed the animation software APL Visions and FORTRAN Visions. Kleiser later went on to found Kleiser-Walczak Construction Company, which experimented with creating synthespians and made the animation for Monsters of Grace.
Michael Arias is an American-born filmmaker active primarily in Japan.
A virtual human, virtual persona, or digital clone is the creation or re-creation of a human being in image and voice using computer-generated imagery and sound, that is often indistinguishable from the real actor.
Diana Vickers is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She was semi-finalist on The X Factor in 2008. Vickers signed a record deal with RCA Records and, after touring with her fellow finalists from The X Factor, played the title role in a West End revival of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.
The history of computer animation began as early as the 1940s and 1950s, when people began to experiment with computer graphics – most notably by John Whitney. It was only by the early 1960s when digital computers had become widely established, that new avenues for innovative computer graphics blossomed. Initially, uses were mainly for scientific, engineering and other research purposes, but artistic experimentation began to make its appearance by the mid-1960s – most notably by Dr Thomas Calvert. By the mid-1970s, many such efforts were beginning to enter into public media. Much computer graphics at this time involved 2-dimensional imagery, though increasingly as computer power improved, efforts to achieve 3-dimensional realism became the emphasis. By the late 1980s, photo-realistic 3D was beginning to appear in film movies, and by mid-1990s had developed to the point where 3D animation could be used for entire feature film production.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a 2014 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. Produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment, Arad Productions, Inc., Matt Tolmach Productions, K/O Paper Products, and Ingenious Film Partners, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, the film was directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Jeff Pinkner, based on a story conceived by the three alongside James Vanderbilt. It is the fifth theatrical Spider-Man film, the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), and the final film in The Amazing Spider-Man series. The film stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, alongside Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, and Sally Field. In the film, Peter Parker tries to protect his girlfriend Gwen Stacy as he investigates his parents' death while also dealing with the supervillain Electro and the return of his best friend, Harry Osborn, who is dying from a deadly genetic disease.
Stephen Rosenbaum is an American visual effects artist and supervisor, and has worked on numerous movie, tv and music productions, including six that have won Academy Awards. He has been nominated three times for an Academy Award and two times for a BAFTA Award. He has won both awards twice for his contributions on Forrest Gump and Avatar, and has played artist and supervisor roles on such pioneering films as Jurassic Park, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Abyss, X2: X-Men United, Death Becomes Her, Contact and The Perfect Storm.
American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson (1958–2009) is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century and one of the most successful and influential entertainers of all time. Often referred as the "King of Pop", his achievements helped to complete the desegregation of popular music in the United States and introduced an era of multiculturalism and integration that future generations of artists followed. His influence extended to inspiring fashion trends and raising awareness for social causes around the world.
The MJCast is an audio podcast that discusses topics and news as it relates to American singer and entertainer, Michael Jackson, and the Jackson family. The podcast was founded in 2015 with the goal of keeping Jackson’s legacy alive by interviewing guests who were closest to the singer. The MJCast continues to release new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.