“Finally – Eric Barba is the reason Digital Domain is on my list of the top three visual effects companies in the world,” director David Fincher said.
Barba was recognized with an Academy Award in 2009 for his work developing a believable digital human character for director Fincher’s Curious Case of Benjamin Button, on which he was the VFX supervisor. He was the VFX supervisor on director Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion and on Kosinski’s first feature, TRON: Legacy, as well as Fincher’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He also contributed his talents to Fincher’s Zodiac.
“Quality is what Digital Domain was built on and what drives us in this new phase of our company,” Barba said. “The core creative leadership here has been in place for more than a decade and has set that bar. I’m looking forward to working with this team of supervisors to mentor the next wave of talent to continue delivering on that promise and that expectation.”
Like many of the directors he collaborates with, Barba is equally at home working in film and advertising. A graduate of the Art Center College of Design, he started his career at Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Imaging as a digital artist on sci-fi television shows. In 1996 he joined Digital Domain where he supervised visual effects on dozens of commercials for companies including Nike, Heineken, Adidas, Microsoft Xbox/Epic Games. He has worked on many commercial projects with Fincher, including a multiple-award-winning spot for Adidas, the Nine Inch Nails music video “Only,” and spots for Nike, Motorola and HP. Barba’s own commercial directing credits include Nike’s “Birth of Speed,” Jaguar’s “Pool,” and campaigns for American Express, Cingular and Honda. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
“Digital Domain’s creative leadership is one of the company’s most valuable assets and Eric has been a strong advocate for this talent becoming even more active in shaping the company’s direction,” Digital Domain CEO Daniel Seah said. “With his experience and ability to develop creative relationships across feature films and commercials and a successful track record of introducing fresh approaches to the work, Eric brings a unique and important skill set to the leadership of Digital Domain 3.0 in this changing industry.”
