Oscar-winning visual effects pioneer Phil Tippett closed his historic 6,200-square-foot Berkeley, California studio after nearly 40 years of operation, holding a three-day public liquidation sale that ended August 30, 2026. The closure follows a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and an acquisition by Indian visual effects company PhantomFX.
The End of an Era at the Berkeley Workshop
For nearly four decades, the warehouse served as a crucible for practical creature design and stop-motion wizardry. That era came to a close as crowds of collectors, movie enthusiasts, and former employees lined up to purchase decades of physical models, production notes, cameras, and machinery.
The liquidation sale emptied the facility of hundreds of items. Among the lots under the hammer were stop-motion rigs, 3D printers, welding gear, mold-making tools, and creature miniatures spanning the studio’s extensive filmography. Buyers scrambled for pieces of cinematic history, including an artist-proof AT-AT walker, miniatures from Starship Troopers, and props from his long-gestating stop-motion passion project Mad God.
Yet, certain treasures remained firmly off-limits.
“They’re the big-ticket items, and they were the most significant moments in my journey.”
Phil Tippett, animator and studio founder
Bankruptcy, PhantomFX Acquisition, and Industry Shifts
The physical shutdown of the Berkeley studio marks the final chapter in a difficult financial period for the company. Tippett Studio filed for Chapter 11 protection in May 2024. A reorganization plan was confirmed in April 2025.
The financial distress arrived in the wake of an ownership change. In 2024, Indian visual effects company PhantomFX entered an agreement to sell a majority stake in Tippett Studio, and PhantomFX announced that it had completed its acquisition of Tippett Studio in July of that year.
Reflecting on the forces behind the closure, Tippett pointed to structural changes in filmmaking. Speaking to Berkeleyside, he shared that he has made a lot of painful decisions
with his business over the years, as practical effects work has become increasingly outmoded in film production.
From Industrial Light & Magic to Digital Evolution
Tippett’s career traces the evolution of modern visual effects across four decades. He first rose to prominence at Industrial Light & Magic, where he animated the Dejarik holographic chess creatures for the original Star Wars and later served as animation department head during The Empire Strikes Back.
During that time, he helped develop go-motion
, a stop-motion evolution integrating motion blur to bring mechanical vehicles like AT-AT walkers to life. After earning his first Oscar for Return of the Jedi, Tippett and his wife, producer Jules Roman, founded Tippett Studio in 1984.
Perhaps his defining career pivot came during the production of Jurassic Park. Initially hired to develop stop-motion dinosaur puppets, Tippett adapted as production embraced computer-generated imagery. His physical instincts and stop-motion expertise translated directly into the emerging art form of CG character animation, earning him a second Academy Award.
Operations Continue in Toronto as Tippett Eyes the Future
Despite the shuttering of the Berkeley facility, the Tippett Studio name is not disappearing from the industry entirely. Following PhantomFX completing its acquisition last year, the company clarified on social media that its Canadian operations remain fully active.
“We have recently decided to evolve our physical footprint and production approach, and to exit our longtime Berkeley facility. As we make this transition, Tippett Studio continues its visual effects and animation work across film, television and entertainment.”
Tippett Studio, via social media statement
The studio’s Toronto branch is currently in active production on a large feature film—potentially titled Sentinel. While maintaining a permanent physical warehouse is no longer necessary for their workflow, the company plans to utilize external facilities whenever projects require dedicated stages or specialized motion-control photography.
For his part, the 74-year-old animator has no intention of walking away from the craft he helped build.
“I will die with my sword in my hand… We had almost a 40-year run. It was a good run.”
Phil Tippett, filmmaker, via CBS News
