American visual effects pioneer, born in 1947, whose company Apogee produced a large share of the effects for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, earning him an Academy Award nomination.
John Dykstra is an American special effects artist, born in 1947. He led the effects team on Star Wars, for which he won an Academy Award, and developed the computer-controlled Dykstraflex camera system.
In 1979, after the original effects contractor for Star Trek: The Motion Picture was dismissed with little usable footage, Douglas Trumbull was brought in to rescue the film and shared the workload with Dykstra's company, Apogee. Dykstra's team handled sequences including the Klingon attack that opens the film, the Epsilon IX station and exterior views of V'Ger.
The work was finished only days before the premiere. Dykstra, Trumbull and their colleagues were nominated for the Academy Award for visual effects.