Krystyna Demkowicz

Who is Krystyna Demkowicz?

Krystyna Demkowicz, visual effects producer, entrepreneur, visual effects studio owner/manager and inspirational speaker began her film career as founder of the Visual Effect Company, Matte World and as it's executive in charge of production and visual effects producer.In 1988, Demkowicz founded Matte World with a young talented visual effects matte painting cameraman Craig Barron, who started his career at Industrial Light and Magic. Against great odds and with much tenacity, Demkowicz and Barron launched the company into being. Matte World was the 'David' competing with the 'Goliaths' of the industry for visual effects work from the major motion picture studios. Matte World began it's history by creating predominantly 'reality based' matte painting effects and in camera miniature shots serving clients throughout the motion picture, television and commercial industries. Later re-named Matte World Digital after making its transformation into use of digital technologies, the company added IMAX large-format productions, electronic games and a production for the National Park System to its roster of accomplishments. Demkowicz was the life force of the company with Barron providing the camera work and creative overview. Matte World Digital, with Demkowicz at the helm for nearly 20 years and in her capacity as visual effects producer had completed work on 85 feature films, with co-founder Barron receiving visual effects award Oscar nominations for excellence from the Academy of Motion Pictures and BAFTA and winning an Emmy for Outstanding Visual Effects for the HBO production "By Dawn's Early Light" in 1990, with Demkowicz receiving Emmy Honors for her work as Effects Production Manager. The company has taken the cinematic visions of their clientele and such renowned filmmakers as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron, and David Fincher, and put them on the big screen. It's feature film work, under the management of Demkowicz,ranged from Oscar-nominated effects for Batman Returns to the production "Zodiac". Demkowicz, after nearly 20 years with Barron, as both husband and wife and co-owners of Matte World Digital, stepped down from the helm of the company in late 2007, with a deep love of the company and for the many men and woman who passed through it's doors and contributed to her life, her company and the effects work created.In addition to her management and production work at Matte World Digital, in 1994 Demkowicz produced the science-fiction short, "The Utilizer," written and directed by Craig Barron, which was broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel in 1996. "The Utilizer" won a number of film festival awards, including best visual effects at the Chicago International Film Festival.Demkowicz also participated and worked with Craig Barron on numerous historical interviews and licensing aspects of a book Barron co-authored with Mark Vaz. The book, "The Invisible Art: The Legends of Movie Matte Painting," was published by Chronicle Books in 2002 and was the first comprehensive work on the history of matte painting, which paid homage to the artists and the secrets of the art. The book has won the Theatre Library Association of New York award for outstanding book on film, and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology's Golden Pen book award.