Roger Kupelian | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967 (age 57–58) |
| Citizenship | United States, Armenia, Sierra Leone |
| Occupations | Filmmaker, Visual artist, Film director |
Roger Kupelian (born 1967) is an American digital visual artist, filmmaker, director, producer, writer, and educator of Armenian descent.
He is known for his contributions to visual effects in films such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, [1] The Chronicles of Riddick , and Space Jam , as well as his award-winning documentary Dark Forest in the Mountains (2002), graphic novels, fine art exhibitions, and independent creative projects, including the web series Warrior Saints.
Roger Kupelian is an Armenian-American born in 1967 in Beirut, Lebanon and raised in Sierra Leone, West Africa, from early childhood until age 12. [2] In 1979, he immigrated to the United States, settling in Glendale, California, a hub for the Armenian-American community. [2]
He attended Woodrow Wilson Junior High School and graduated from Glendale High School. [1]
In the early 1990s, Kupelian ventured into documentary filmmaking, embedding himself in the conflicts of the Caucasus region, particularly in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. [3] His documentary Dark Forest in the Mountains (2002), shot in 1994 at Artsakh on the front lines of the Nagorno-Karabakh war, won the Arpa Film Festival Jury Prize in 2002. [4] Combining documentary footage with animation, the film chronicles the history of the region and people’s experiences leading up to the war. [5]
Kupelian produced the documentary film East of Byzantium: War Gods and Warrior Saints, reflecting his interest in Armenian heritage and epic storytelling. [6]
Before fully transitioning to film, Kupelian taught art at Holy Martyrs Ferrahian Armenian High School in Encino, California, an accredited Armenian-American private school. [7] [8]
Kupelian launched his Hollywood career as a digital film artist at Cinesite Hollywood, contributing to the visual effects for Space Jam , a live-action/animated hybrid film featuring Michael Jordan and Looney Tunes characters. [3] He later worked as a concept artist and digital matte painter on major films, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), [9] The Two Towers (2002), [10] and The Return of the King (2003). [11] His artwork for the films was featured in the films’ official art collections, along with a New Zealand stamp collection. [9] [10] [11] [12] His work on The Two Towers earned him a nomination for Best Matte Painting in a Motion Picture at the 2003 Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards. [13] Kupelian also contributed to Cloverfield , a found-footage sci-fi thriller, and The Chronicles of Riddick , [3] a science-fiction action film. [14]
In 2012, Kupelian released the graphic novel East of Byzantium: War Gods. [2] [15]
In 2011, he did the illustrations for the Serj Tankian book Glaring Through Oblivion. [16] [17] [18] [19] In 2015, Kupelian released the Warrior Saints, a graphic novel exploring Armenian warrior traditions and Christian martyrdom narratives. [20] [21] In 2019, he made it into a web series that combines graphic storytelling with digital media. [22]
Kupelian has directed and produced music videos for Serj Tankian of System of a Down, [23] [24] [25] [26] including songs “Reconstructive Demonstrations,” which was released in 2010, “Honking Antelope,”which was released in 2017, and “How Many Times,” which was released in 2021. [27] [28] [29]
Kupelian maintains strong ties to the Armenian-American community in Glendale, California. [15] [19] [30] He has two daughters with designer Alina Khanjian. [19] [3] [7]
| Year | Name | Credit | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Space Jam | Computer Character Animation | Feature |
| 1996 | Jerry Mcguire | Digital artist | Feature |
| 1997 | Batman and Robin | matte painter (uncredited) | Feature |
| 1997 | Air Force One | digital artist | Feature |
| 1997 | Spawn | digital artist | Feature |
| 1997 | The Devil's Advocate | digital artist (uncredited) | Feature |
| 1997 | The Postman | matte painter (uncredited) | Feature |
| 1998 | Hard Rain | digital matte painter : Cinesite | Feature |
| 1998 | Sphere | matte painter (uncredited) | Feature |
| 1998 | The Truman Show | concept matte artist: Cinesite | Feature |
| 1998 | Halloween H20: 20 years later | 2d animator: Digital Firepower | Feature |
| 1998 | T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous | digital artist | Feature |
| 1998 | I Still Know What You Did Last Summer | matte painter/compositor (uncredited) | Feature |
| 1998 | I'll Be Home For Christmas | matte painter/lead compositor (uncredited) | Feature |
| 1999 | Virus | digital matte painter | Feature |
| 1999 | Pushing Tin | texture painter | Feature |
| 1999 | Inspector Gadget | roto & digital painter DQI | Feature |
| 1999 | One Man's Hero | digital matte artist | Feature |
| 2000 | Mission To Mars | matte painter: Dream Quest Images | Feature |
| 2000 | For the Cause | digital matte painter | Feature |
| 2000 | Dark Forest in the Mountains | Director | Documentary |
| 2001 | Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within | digital matte painter | Feature |
| 2001 | Impostor | digital matte artist (uncredited) | Feature |
| 2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | senior matte painter: Weta Digital | Feature |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | senior matte painter: Weta Digital | Feature |
| 2002 | Dark Forest in the Mountains | Arpa International Film Festival | Winner: Jury Award |
| 2003 | The Animatrix | conceptual artist (uncredited) | Feature |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | senior matte painter: Weta Digital | Feature |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | VES AWARD: Best Matte Painting in a Motion Picture | Nominee |
| 2004 | The Chronicles of Riddick | digital matte artist | Feature |
| 2004 | Constantine | digital matte artist: CIS Hollywood (uncredited) | Feature |
| 2005 | The Sandbox | digital matte artist | Feature |
| 2005 | Aeon Flux | digital matte painting lead: Digital Domain | Feature |
| 2006 | Ultraviolet | digital matte artist: CIS Hollywood | Feature |
| 2006 | Flags of Our Fathers | lead matte painter | Feature |
| 2006 | The Nativity Story | matte painter: Digital Domain | Feature |
| 2007 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | digital matte artist | Feature |
| 2007 | Charlie Wilson's War | digital matte artist :Whodoo EFX | Feature |
| 2008 | Cloverfield | matte painting supervisor: Fugitive Studios | Feature |
| 2008 | The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | concept artist (uncredited) | Feature |
| 2008 | W | digital matte painter | Feature |
| 2008 | The Spirit | lead matte painter | Feature |
| 2008 | Labou | creative director | Feature |
| 2008 | Serj Tankian: Honking Antelope | Director | Music Video |
| 2009 | Terminator Salvation | digital matte artist | Feature |
| 2009 | 2012 | digital matte artist | Feature |
| 2009 | Beyond Words | visual effects editor | Short |
| 2009 | Angels, Devils, and Men | associate producer | Feature |
| 2009 | 3V Man | producer | Short |
| 2010 | Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief | digital matte artist | Feature |
| 2010 | Shutter Island | matte painter:The Syndicate | Feature |
| 2010 | Knight and Day | matte painter : Rhythm and Hues | Feature |
| 2010 | Yogi Bear | matte painter | Feature |
| 2010 | FlashForward (pilot episode) | VES AWARD: Outstanding Created Environment | Nominee |
| 2011 | Hop | concept artist | Feature |
| 2011 | X-Men: First Class | matte painting /Concept | Feature |
| 2011 | Terra Nova | matte painter : Pixomondo | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Hugo | matte painting and environment artist: Pixomondo | Feature |
| 2011 | Serj Tankian: Reconstructive Demonstrations | Director | Music Video |
| 2011 | Serj Tankian: Reconstructive Demonstrations | producer | Music Video |
| 2012 | 21 Jump Street | matte painter: Dumonde Visual Effects | Feature |
| 2012 | Men in Black | digital matte artist | Feature |
| 2012 | Cloud Atlas | digital matte painting: Method Studios LA | Feature |
| 2013 | Oblivion | matte painter: Digital Domain | Feature |
| 2013 | Da Vinci's Demons | matte painter: Pixomondo | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Grudge Match | senior matte painter | Feature |
| 2015 | Barely Lethal | matte painting supervisor: duMonde VFX | Feature |
| 2016 | East of Byzantium: War Gods and Warrior Saints | visual effects supervisor | Documentary |
| 2016 | East of Byzantium: War Gods and Warrior Saints | Director | Documentary |
| 2016 | East of Byzantium: War Gods and Warrior Saints | executive producer | Documentary |
| 2017 | Beauty and the Beast | digital matte painter: digital domain | feature |
| 2017 | The Fate of the Furious | digital matte painter | feature |
| 2018 | Benji | texture/matte painter | feature |
| 2019 | IO | Digital Matte Painter ; Baked Studios | feature |
| 2020 | Signs of Life | digital matte painter | Documentary |
| 2020 | Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga | digital matte painter | feature |
| 2021 | The Tragedy of Macbeth | matte painter | feature |
| 2021 | Serj Tankian: How Many Times | Director | Music Video |
| 2021 | Serj Tankian: How Many Times | producer | Music Video |
| 2021 | How Many Times | Arpa International Film Festival | Winner: Best Music Video |
| 2022 | Moon Knight | matte painter | 3 episodes |
| 2024 | Warrior Saints | producer | TV Series |
| 2025 | Warrior Saints | Director | TV series |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Best Matte Painting | Nominated [13] |
| 2010 | FlashForward | Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program | Nominated [33] |