Early life
Terry Windell was born on September 18, 1956 in California. Details of his formal education are not publicly documented, but he entered the film industry as a background artist, with his early work on the animated anthology film Heavy Metal (1981) leading to employment at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM).1
Career
Industrial Light and Magic
At ILM, Windell trained as an effects animator under the influence of visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund. He contributed to several landmark films of the early 1980s: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Poltergeist (1982), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).1 This body of work established him as a skilled practitioner of the frame-by-frame optical and animated effects techniques that defined big-budget genre filmmaking of the era.
Boss Film Studios and Ghostbusters (1984)
When Richard Edlund left ILM to found Boss Film Studios, he asked Windell to join him. Boss Film was created specifically to handle the visual effects for Ghostbusters, with Columbia Pictures and MGM advancing Edlund $5 million to establish the company.
At Boss Film, Windell served as one of two Animation Supervisors (alongside Garry Waller) within the Entertainment Effects Group (EEG) on Ghostbusters.2 His responsibilities included overseeing the film's animated effects elements and working closely with Edlund, cinematographer Bill Neil, and other department heads to decide which effects were needed to bring each scene to life. Windell also acted as a Creature Design Consultant on the production.
One of his most significant contributions was helping craft the visual language of the proton stream. As Windell described to Starlog magazine in October 1984, "What we had to create was basically a 'rubberized' laser with a secondary source of energy,"3 aiming for a beam that would be dynamic and comedic rather than a flat straight line. The team also decided there would be a certain warmth in the beam and ended up working with contrasting colors to achieve it. Windell also cleaned up storyboards from visual effects art director John Bruno as part of the pre-production pipeline.3
He continued as Animation Supervisor on further Boss Film productions: 2010 (1984), Fright Night (1985), and Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986).1
Commercial directing
In the late 1980s, Windell pivoted from visual effects into directing. He debuted as a commercial director in 1989 with a DHL campaign1 and went on to direct more than 120 commercials for clients including Geo Prism, Dodge, and United Airlines. This period of his career earned him multiple awards, including Silver Clio awards, recognition at the New York Film Festival, and additional Clio, Addy, and Mobius awards.1
During this time Windell also moved to A Band Apart, the production company founded by Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender, where he continued commercial work.1
Television directing
Windell transitioned into long-form television in the late 1990s. His first TV directing credit was the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Gravity" (Season 5, 1999). He directed a total of six Voyager episodes across Seasons 5 through 7:1
- "Gravity" (Season 5, Episode 13, February 3, 1999)
- "Ashes to Ashes" (Season 6, Episode 18, March 1, 2000)
- "Life Line" (Season 6, Episode 24, May 10, 2000)
- "Critical Care" (Season 7, Episode 5, November 1, 2000)
- "Prophecy" (Season 7, 2001)
- "Shattered" (Season 7, Episode 10, January 17, 2001)
He also directed "Breaking the Ice" (Season 1, Episode 8) of Star Trek: Enterprise (2001),1 making him one of a small group of directors to helm episodes of both series during the same era of the franchise.
Later visual effects work
In his final years, Windell returned to visual effects supervision work on television productions including Wayward Pines, Turn: Washington's Spies, and The Tick. He also served as visual effects supervisor on both parts of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (2011 and 2012).1
His career was recognized by Cambridge Who's Who, which honored him for excellence in film direction and visual effects.
Death
Terry Windell died on July 21, 2018, at the age of 61. No cause of death was publicly reported.4 His passing was noted by the Visual Effects Society, which listed him in its in memoriam records.5
