Publisher’s Note:
The Journal continues the monthly “From the Studio” series with Kathaleen Roberts, in which she takes a close look at an artist.
“Sandia Fantasia” by Bill Tondreau. (Courtesy Sumner & Dene)
Bill Tondreaus Oscar sits in Target towels in a gym bag in his Northeast Heights closet.
“I don’t rest on my triumphs,” said the photographer / special effects software designer.
The gold-plated 8½ pound figure was launched in 2004 as a Lifetime Achievement Oscar. Weeks before the glamorous event, a friend had warned him to watch the mail.
“I called my wife,” said Tondreau. “I think we went to Taco Cabana. The phone rang four or five times a day for weeks.
All in all, Tondreau has three Oscars won in his career in Los Angeles and Albuquerque. His over 50 credits include work on the “Star Wars” sequels, “Titanic”, “The Lord of the Rings”, “Avatar”, “Back to the Future” and many more.
He’s still doing some of his technical magic, but his focus has shifted to panoramic prints of the Albuquerque countryside instead.
These landscapes hang in the Sumner & Dene Gallery with titles such as “Afternoon on the Rio Grande”, “Corrales in Pink” and “River’s Edge”.
Tondreau grew up in Southern California, the youngest of three boys who were all to become lawyers. The kind of kid who made things out of used toilet paper rolls had different ideas and studied English at California State University. The science fiction classic “Forbidden Planet” from 1956 was his favorite film.
The photographer Bill Tondreau holds the Oscar, which he won in 2004. He is known in the region for panoramic photos now on display at the Sumner & Dene Gallery. (Roberto E. Rosales / )
“I wanted to do interesting things,” he said. “I thought, ‘This is so cool.’ ”
He worked as an in-house photographer for influential American designer, architect and filmmaker Charles Eames.
“Corrales in Pink” by Bill Tondreau. (Courtesy Sumner & Dene)
“People who have done this often compare it to working in Leonardo da Vinci’s Renaissance shop,” said Tondreau. “I was completely free.”
He worked there for 10 years. Then he discovered a study in American Cinematographer magazine about the use of motion control in special effects.
“I just read technical stuff and found the chips and the technology. I built little circuit boards on my little table, ”he said.
The result was the “very user-friendly” Tondreau Motion Control System. While the older systems required five operators, its used one.
“I didn’t make it up, but I tweaked it and shaped it so a visual effects operator could use it,” he said.
Tondreau advertised his invention in American Cinematographer magazine and customers kept coming back.
Although he rarely interacted with the main cast on movie sets, he remembers a few.
Bill Tondreau hires a camera at the Sumner & Dene Gallery. (Roberto E. Roslales / )
“My best experience was Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin,” he said. The 1988 film was “Big Business”.
“They were twins and were separated at birth,” said Tondreau. “They used my motion controls to create the twin. Bette came up to the camera and said, ‘This is my best side’ “Finger on her cheek.
“They had a set that must have cost $ 20 million. It was a luxury hotel, ”he added.
Eddie Murphy was another favorite. In 1986 Tondreau worked on “The Golden Child”.
“He was just a good sport and he would take instructions from anyone,” he said. “He was traveling with about eight of his friends and they got into fights and were kicked out of hotels.”
Regarding “Star Wars” he said: “We were used to making lightsabers, explosions and rays.
“(George) Lucas is a very reserved guy,” Tondreau continued. “He said, ‘We like the look you give us.’ ”
Actress Jennifer Garner (center) poses with Bill Tondreau (right) and Dave Lebolt, who accepts for Digidesign and her Science and Technology Oscar, at the 76th Annual Academy Awards on February 29, 2004 in Los Angeles. (Laura Rauch / Associated Press)
In 1993 Tim Burton produced “The Nightmare Before Christmas” with his software.
Tondreau landed in Albuquerque in 1988 after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. His California doctor knew of experimental treatments that had not been done anywhere else.
“At first I thought, ‘Oh my god, I have to be in Albuquerque for three months.’ It was out in the backcountry, ”he said.
Tondreau’s doctor knew a group of Albuquerque specialists who used a Los Alamos proton accelerator for treatment.
“They put me in the proton beams a couple of times and voila,” Tondreau said with a snap of his fingers. “It was dangerous because it had never been done before.”
Today the treatment is sometimes used for brain tumors in children.
When he recovered, Tondreau realized that Albuquerque was “a good place to live”.
In Los Angeles, he’d driven 100 miles a day in heavy traffic to make appointments. He had paid a monthly rent of $ 5,000.
He realized that he could work here for free from his guest room.
Tondreau’s regular hikes through Embudito Canyon revealed an unexpected beauty.
“Railyard” by Bill Tondreau. (Courtesy Sumner & Dene)
“Albuquerque has beautiful landscapes,” said Tondreau. “I was amazed that there were beautiful places outside the city limits.”
He bought a digital camera and started playing with it.
To create his incredibly detailed landscapes, he tweaked existing software to seamlessly stitch multiple images together while capturing his images in sections.
“Dusk on the Rio Grande” by Bill Tondreau. (Courtesy Sumner & Dene)
“You can see extremely wide panoramic angles without distortion,” he said.
He received his first and second Academy Awards as a certificate; one for an early version of his system in 1989 and 2001 for motion capture technology.
But the award for her life’s work came with all its glory: red carpets, flashing lights and stars galore.
“Afternoon on the Rio Grande”, by Bill Tondreau. (Courtesy Sumner & Dene)
The tech guys all vied to find the cheapest tuxedo.
Jennifer Garner presented the shining statue to Tondreau.
“I think she thought I was a pile of wet hay,” he said dryly. “I don’t think we exchanged five words.”
Outside his hotel, a woman asked if she could weigh his Oscar.
“Every few years I take it out and put it on my desk.”
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