| James Ojala | |
| Birth Date: | 6 May 1977 |
| Birth Place: | Duluth, Minnesota |
| Occupation: | Makeup & special effects artist, director, screenwriter |
| Website: | www.ojalafilms.com |
James Ojala (born May 6, 1977) is an American special effects and makeup artist, screenwriter and film director.
After the events of September 11, Ojala found it difficult to obtain any type of work in New York, eventually forcing him to seek out career options in California. Only a few days into a week-long visit to Los Angeles, Ojala was hired on the spot as a lab and on-set technician for the visual effects studio Almost Human, Inc., providing various functions including moldmaking, makeup application and puppeteering for film, commercials and television series including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly. Since leaving Almost Human in 2005, Ojala has worked with several special effects companies including Autonomous FX, Animal Makers, Spectral Motion and Legacy Effects, and has worked on mainstream productions including , 2012, Where the Wild Things Are, Thor, and Pacific Rim.[5]
With Monty Broussard, Ojala wrote and directed the 2011 science fiction thriller short Harvest, a proposed pilot for a television or web series.[8] The following year, Ojala was featured in Craig Chenery's book Blood Spatter: A Guide to Cinematic Zombie Violence, Gore and Special Effects and in 2013, he directed the music video for comedy punk band The Radioactive Chicken Heads "Deviled Egg", which was highlighted on horror channel Fearnet as their "Music Video of the Week".[9] In 2016, Ojala provided make-up effects for popular indie pop band Lucius music video "Gone Insane"; the video received notable mainstream recognition, with Rolling Stone describing the effects "strange [and] striking" and the Village Voice calling them "exceptional".[10] [11]
Beginning in 2017, Ojala has served as co-producer for the Shudder original talk show The Core, in which he also appears as a regular on-screen guest detailing the secrets and artistry behind practical special effects.[12] [13]
In October 2018, after four years in production, Ojala released his first feature film as a writer-director, Strange Nature.
| Year | Film | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Incredible Torture Trio | Short film | |
| 2006 | Truthus: A Family Holiday | Short film co-writer/director with Monty Broussard | |
| 2008 | Marvel Zombies: The Movie | Short film co-writer/director with Scott Fields | |
| 2011 | Harvest | Short film co-writer with Monty Broussard | |
| 2013 | "Deviled Egg" | Music video by The Radioactive Chicken Heads | |
| 2018 | Strange Nature | Feature film |
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | ||
| 2001 | Wendigo | Creature effects crew |
| 2003 | Monster Makers | |
| 2004 | Dead Birds | Mold maker |
| The Fallen | ||
| Frankenfish | ||
| Lightning Bug | ||
| Pagans | ||
| Tales from the Crapper | ||
| 2005 | Alien Apocalypse | Creature effects crew |
| All Souls Day: Dia de los Muertos | On-set dresser | |
| Dirty | Uncredited | |
| House of the Dead 2 | ||
| Lackawanna Blues | ||
| Man with the Screaming Brain | ||
| 2006 | Big Bad Wolf | On-set makeup artist |
| The Darkroom | ||
| Lady in the Water | ||
| ' | Creature effects (baby zombie chick puppet) | |
| The Thirst | ||
| Voodoo Moon | ||
| 2007 | The Devil's Muse | Special effects director |
| Fade | ||
| Quench | Special effects coordinator | |
| 2008 | Dark Reel | |
| Deadgirl | Special makeup effects artist & designer | |
| Marvel Zombies: The Movie | ||
| 2009 | 2012 | Puppeteer |
| Blood: The Last Vampire | Mold department | |
| Where the Wild Things Are | Mold department | |
| 2010 | ||
| 2011 | Thor | |
| 2012 | Children of Sorrow | |
| Jack & Diane | ||
| John Dies at the End | ||
| 2013 | Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan | |
| Pacific Rim | Uncredited | |
| Proxy | Special effects coordinator | |
| Saint Bernard | Prosthetic makeup effects artist | |
| 2014 | Brutal | Makeup designer |
| In the Mind's Eye | ||
| Redlands | ||
| Silent Retreat | ||
| Volcano Zombies | ||
| Whispers | ||
| 2016 | Crabs! |
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001-2002 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Seasons 6-7 |
| 2001-2004 | Angel | Seasons 3-5 |
| 2002 | Firefly | |
| 2003 | Miracles | |
| 2005 | Point Pleasant | |
| The Inside | ||
| 2007 | House | Episode: "Insensitive" |
| 2010 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Episodes: "Crows" and "Chrimbus Special" |
| 2011 | Jon Benjamin Has a Van | Episode: "Breakdown Van" |
| True Blood | Episodes: "I'm Alive and on Fire" and "If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin'?" | |
| 2014 - 2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! |
| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Broken |
| 2008 | Marvel Zombies: The Movie |
| 2009 | Stealth |
| 2010 | Kill Devil Hill |
| Malice n Wonderland | |
| 2011 | Randy the Vegetarian Zombie |
| 2013 | Heartless |
| 2014 | A Boy's Life |
| Gahiji | |
| Unbelief |