Effects pioneer Widmer dies at 92

Mr Widmer was best known for developing the "blue screen" technique, allowing a scene to be shot in the studio with an entirely different background.

Mr Widmer received a special award at the technical Oscars earlier this year in recognition of his work.

It had had a "profound effect" on the film industry, said the Academy when his honour was presented in February.

Richard Edlund of the Academy's Scientific and Technical Awards Committee said: "Many of the films we hold dear would not have been possible without his contributions to image compositing technology."

Commonly used

In the 1950s Mr Widmer worked for Warner Bros and developed an early form of the blue screen process.

He said that instead of sending a crew to film a Paris cafe, you would assemble a table and chairs in the studio and shoot the actors with a backdrop of the French capital.

In 1964, Mr Widner joined Universal Studios where he continued his work on the blue screen technique and other visual effects until his retirement in 1979.

The technique is commonly used in broadcasting today, such as in weather forecast presentations.

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How Stuff Works - blue screen
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