Filipino effects “Jedi Master” worked on Transformers sequel

GEM CADIZ with Yoda statue in the garden of Lucasfilms Singapore. His true-life “Yodas,” he says, are his parents Gemelo and Melvyn, and wife Amylene.© 2014 LUCASFILM LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

When you watch Mark Wahlberg face off with the Decepticons in the upcoming Transformers in June, keep in mind that one of the talents involved is a young Filipino animator at Lucasfilm Singapore. Gem Ronn Cadiz, a native of Mandaue City, Cebu, works for Oscar-winning effects studio Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). ILM, founded in 1975 by George Lucas, has produced visual effects for about 300 films, including the “Star Wars” series, “Jurassic Park,” “Star Trek,” “Harry Potter,” and “Avatar.”

Cadiz has worked on several high-profile ILM projects such as “Rango,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” and “Pacific Rim.” He is working as a “flesh and rigid simulation” artist, together with another Filipino animator, Ryan Rubi, on “Transformers 4″ Age of Extinction,” due for release in June.

The animator enrolled in ILM’s Jedi Masters Program in 2009. He has a special fondness for the Transformers series. “As a boy I used to play with Transformers (the toy line was launched in the 1980s). The prospect of helping create a ‘Transformers’ movie was overwhelming.”

With a report by Emmie G. Velarde.

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