Ken Ralston profile photo

Ken Ralston

Visual Effects

Biography

Kenneth Ralston (born 1954) is an American visual effects artist, visual effects supervisor and Creative Head at Sony Pictures Imageworks. Ralston began his career at the commercial animation and visual effects company Cascade Pictures in Hollywood, where he worked on over 150 advertising campaigns in the early 1970s. In 1976, Dennis Muren hired him at Industrial Light & Magic to help George Lucas create the effects for Star Wars. He remained at ILM for 20 years before joining Sony Pictures Imageworks as president. Ralston is best known for his work in the films of Robert Zemeckis. Ralston has won five Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, including a Special Achievement Academy Award for the visual effects in Return of the Jedi (1983), and regular awards for his work on Cocoon (1985), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Death Becomes Her (1992) and Forrest Gump (1994). He was nominated three more times for Dragonslayer (1981), Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Alice in Wonderland (2010). Description above from the Wikipedia article Ken Ralston, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Personal Details

Gender
Male
Known For
Visual Effects

Movies (31)

Alice Through the Looking Glass
6.6

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

2016

Star Wars: Greatest Moments
7.0

Star Wars: Greatest Moments

as Self

2015

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan
7.4

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan

as Self

2012

Men in Black 3
6.5

Men in Black 3

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

2012

Alice in Wonderland: Effecting Wonderland
6.6

Alice in Wonderland: Effecting Wonderland

as Himself

2010

Alice in Wonderland
6.6

Alice in Wonderland

Senior Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

2010

Beowulf
5.9

Beowulf

Visual Effects Design Consultant (Crew)

2007

The Polar Express
6.7

The Polar Express

VFX Supervisor (Visual Effects)

2004

When Star Wars Ruled the World
8.8

When Star Wars Ruled the World

as Self

2004

Men in Black II
6.4

Men in Black II

Senior Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

2002

America's Sweethearts
5.7

America's Sweethearts

Visual Effects Coordinator (Visual Effects)

2001

Cast Away
7.7

Cast Away

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

2000

From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic
7.9

From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic

as Self

1999

Contact
7.4

Contact

Senior Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1997

Phenomenon
6.5

Phenomenon

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1996

Jumanji
7.2

Jumanji

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1995

The American President
6.5

The American President

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1995

Through the Eyes of Forrest Gump
7.5

Through the Eyes of Forrest Gump

as Self

1994

Forrest Gump
8.5

Forrest Gump

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1994

Death Becomes Her
6.8

Death Becomes Her

Second Unit Director (Directing)

1992

The Rocketeer
6.5

The Rocketeer

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1991

Rocketeer: Excitement in the Air
5.0

Rocketeer: Excitement in the Air

as Self

1991

The Secrets of the 'Back to the Future' Trilogy
4.8

The Secrets of the 'Back to the Future' Trilogy

as Self

1990

Back to the Future Part III
7.5

Back to the Future Part III

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1990

Back to the Future Part II
7.8

Back to the Future Part II

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1989

Who Framed Roger Rabbit
7.5

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1988

The Golden Child
5.9

The Golden Child

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1986

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
7.2

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1986

Cocoon
6.6

Cocoon

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1985

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
6.6

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1984

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
7.4

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Visual Effects Supervisor (Visual Effects)

1982

TV Shows (2)