Kevin Pike
Encyclopedia
Kevin Pike is an American
Film
Special Effects Supervisor
. Pike is best known for supervising the Special Effects on Back to the Future
(1985) and the creation of the iconic DeLorean Time Machine.
to John Thomas Pike and Barbara Ann Clapp. He showed interest in the arts at an early age by making his own 8mm films. While attending Granby Memorial High School he served as President of the Drama Club for all four years during which he won best actor in 1967 for his role in The Apollo of Bellac. Pike graduated high school in 1969 and later studied Business Management at the University of Hartford
.
Pike’s film career began in April 1974, while working as a busboy at the Harborside Restaurant in Martha's Vineyard
, after a chance encounter with the first film crew of Jaws
(1974) to arrive on the island. Pike was hired onto the film as a local doing set construction, painting of the shark, and ended up working with the Special Effects crew. After Jaws, Pike came out to Hollywood and continued his work in Special Effects with the major studios for film, television, and commercials. His work has served directors such as Robert Zemeckis
, John Schlesinger
, Taylor Hackford
, David Fincher
, Tim Burton
, Wes Craven
, George Lucas
, and numerous projects for Steven Spielberg
.
Pike has earned nominations and awards including a Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects for the Amblin Television Production Earth 2
in 1995, a Clio Award
for Best Special Effects on a Levi’s commercial directed by Michael Bay
in 2000. He also received a BAFTA nomination, and was considered for Oscar nomination on Back to the Future. He is also a Director with the DGA
and a member of SAG
. Pike has lectured at USC
, UCLA, and Columbia College
as well as teaching Special Effects classes at the Academy of Art University
. Additionally, Pike continues to serve as a Governor for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and on the Executive Committee for the Visual Effects Branch for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Kevin Pike currently lives in Sherman Oaks, California
where he manages his company, The Filmtrix Agency, representing below the line talent, composers, writers, and directors.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Special Effects Supervisor
Special effects supervisor
A special effects supervisor is an individual who works on a commercial, theater, television or film set creating special effects. The supervisor generally is the department head who defers to the film's director and/or producers, and who is in charge of the entire special effects team...
. Pike is best known for supervising the Special Effects on Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
(1985) and the creation of the iconic DeLorean Time Machine.
Life and career
Pike was born in Hartford ConnecticutHartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
to John Thomas Pike and Barbara Ann Clapp. He showed interest in the arts at an early age by making his own 8mm films. While attending Granby Memorial High School he served as President of the Drama Club for all four years during which he won best actor in 1967 for his role in The Apollo of Bellac. Pike graduated high school in 1969 and later studied Business Management at the University of Hartford
University of Hartford
The University of Hartford is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The degree programs at the University of Hartford hold the highest levels of accreditation available in the US, including the Engineering Accreditation Commission of...
.
Pike’s film career began in April 1974, while working as a busboy at the Harborside Restaurant in Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
, after a chance encounter with the first film crew of Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
(1974) to arrive on the island. Pike was hired onto the film as a local doing set construction, painting of the shark, and ended up working with the Special Effects crew. After Jaws, Pike came out to Hollywood and continued his work in Special Effects with the major studios for film, television, and commercials. His work has served directors such as Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future film series, as well as the Academy Award-winning live-action/animation epic Who Framed Roger Rabbit ,...
, John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
, Taylor Hackford
Taylor Hackford
Taylor Edwin Hackford is an American film director, and the current president of the Directors Guild of America.-Early life:Hackford was born in Santa Barbara, California, the son of Mary , a waitress, and Joseph Hackford...
, David Fincher
David Fincher
David Andrew Leo Fincher is an American film and music video director. Known for his dark and stylish thrillers, such as Seven , The Game , Fight Club , Panic Room , and Zodiac , Fincher received Academy Award nominations for Best Director for his 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and...
, Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
, Wes Craven
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...
, George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
, and numerous projects for Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
.
Pike has earned nominations and awards including a Primetime Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects for the Amblin Television Production Earth 2
Earth 2 (TV series)
Earth 2 is an American science fiction television series which aired on NBC from November 6, 1994 to June 4, 1995. The show was canceled after one season of 22 episodes...
in 1995, a Clio Award
Clio Awards
The Clio Awards are annual awards bestowed to reward innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design and communication. The categories include work in nearly all types of media, and the judges are advertising professionals from around the world....
for Best Special Effects on a Levi’s commercial directed by Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
in 2000. He also received a BAFTA nomination, and was considered for Oscar nomination on Back to the Future. He is also a Director with the DGA
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
and a member of SAG
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
. Pike has lectured at USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, UCLA, and Columbia College
Columbia College Hollywood
Columbia College Hollywood is a film school located in Tarzana, California, USA. It is approved by the State of California to offer degrees, and is an associate institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design...
as well as teaching Special Effects classes at the Academy of Art University
Academy of Art University
The Academy of Art University , a for-profit university owned by the Stephens Institute, was founded in San Francisco, California in 1929 by Richard S. Stephens...
. Additionally, Pike continues to serve as a Governor for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and on the Executive Committee for the Visual Effects Branch for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Kevin Pike currently lives in Sherman Oaks, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
where he manages his company, The Filmtrix Agency, representing below the line talent, composers, writers, and directors.