George Merkert
- Visual Effects
- Additional Crew
- Producer
George Merkert has produced animation and visual effects for numerous
motion pictures in addition to more than 100 music videos, TV
commercials and other short films. After graduating from The Colorado
College with a BA in English Literature he spent several years working
as a cowboy, a ski instructor, an oil field roughneck, a movie theater
projectionist and a taxi driver. He attended film school at The Film
School of Half Moon Bay and then began his media career with Colossal
Pictures in San Francisco where he served as Executive Producer and
General Manager. After leaving Colossal he continued his career as a
freelance producer. During a stint with MetroLight Studios he produced
the Academy Award winning Skeleton Sequence for the motion picture
Total Recall. While with Boss Studios he produced the Clio nominated
"Flying Van" commercials for DHL Airways. He also produced commercials
for Apogee Films and Industrial Light and Magic. He joined Sony
Pictures Imageworks in 1993 and while there produced animation and
visual effects for many motion pictures including My Life, In The Line
Of Fire, Johnny Mnemonic, Wolf, The Ghost And The Darkness and the
Academy Award nominated Starship Troopers. He also served as Executive
Producer for the company. In 1998 he became Executive Producer for
Pacific Data Images where he supervised production of animation and
visual effects for Forces Of Nature, Supernova and The Legend Of Bagger
Vance. Mr. Merkert is an avid ski racer and a back country skier. He
also competes in the new sport of inline downhill in which inline
skaters race down courses set on paved mountain roads. He was the US
National Inline Downhill Champion in 2001, 2002 and 2004. Mr. Merkert
currently produces animation and visual effects for motion pictures and
writes and develops screenplays.