Gregory S. Butler (born August 18, 1971, Suffield, Connecticut) is an Academy Award-winning American visual effects supervisor. He graduated from Suffield High School in 1989 and afterwards entered Hampshire College. Despite his initial plans to study history, a work-study job with the audiovisual equipment in the library made him interested in film production.[1] Butler graduated in 1993 with a major in film, television and theater design.[2] Afterwards he moved to California to work for Industrial Light and Magic for 9 months, where after intern work he managed to become an assistant in the effects department, starting with assistant credits in The Mask and Forrest Gump. Following a job at Rocket Science Games until the company's bankruptcy in 1996, Butler went to Tippett Studio and did effects work in Starship Troopers and My Favorite Martian, rising up to a technical director job, and Cinesite for Practical Magic. While reluctant at the requirement of moving to New Zealand, Butler was convinced by his writer-actor brother to jump at the opportunity of working for Weta Digital in The Lord of the Rings.[3] Among his achievements was working on the creation of Gollum.[4] for which he was awarded a Visual Effects Society Award.[5]
Butler also worked as a computer graphics supervisor on I, Robot before an invitation to work as an effects supervisor for the Moving Picture Company, in London.[6] He later moved to MPC's, Vancouver office.[7] On January 24, 2012, he won a BAFTA and was nominated for an Oscar for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
He became a member of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2012.[8]
In 2020, he received his second BAFTA win and Academy Award nomination, and first win, for Best Visual Effects, for the 2019 film, 1917, at the 92nd Academy Awards.[9]
After leaving MPC, he spent time working for Method Studios, where he worked as a VFX supervisor on feature, episodic, and advertising projects, including for Amazon.[10] [11]
In June 2022 he began working for VFX and animation studio DNEG.