David Ridlen(I)

David Ridlen grew up in Irving, Texas. His father, Donald, whose hobbies were scuba diving and photography, owned a successful silk screening company. His mother, Nancy, sells oriental rugs at the Dallas World Trade Center. His older brother, Mark, is a prolific artist, musician and DJ. After seeing Star Wars for the first time at age 13, David became primarily interested in pursuing a career in visual FX and filmmaking. He is entirely self-taught with no formal schooling. In 1979 his father bought an early home video camera that inspired David to turn the house and neighborhood into sets for numerous experimental amateur movies. In the meantime he worked at a movie theater, drew portraits, and also managed a chain of video stores. In Dallas 1993 he co-owned the animation and specialty prop company, Halo Productions where he produced 3D animations for such clients as HBO, MTV, and Texas Instruments. In 1997 he moved to Los Angeles and has worked steadily ever since on digital FX for feature films and television.