Armando Valcauda
- Visual Effects
- Special Effects
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Armando Valcauda started his career in February 1961, hired by Armando Testa's advertisement studio in Turin: he was drawing tempera and modeled play-dough. Then collaborated for the realization of puppets and models in the TV ads for Caffè Paulista, and in the following years, to other advertising shorts.
He always loved fantasy movies and especially those with stop-motion, like the ones made by Ray Harryhausen.
Experimenting with that technique, he animated paper objects and made also short animated videos.
Valcauda collaborated with Luigi Cozzi in Turin, were he opened his studio, by hand-painting with chromatic filters the 1954's "Godzilla" movie, a Cozzi's project that did not succeed. Shortly thereafter, Cozzi was able to propose to a Belgian producer the film "Starcrash", filmed entirely in Cinecittà in the summer of 1977, involving Valcauda to the whole process of SPFX realization and supervision.
In 1979 he worked for the special effects of George B. Lewis's "L'umanoide", then in 1983 also for Lewis Coates' "Hercules", and the sequel, in 1985. After that, Valcauda made several other works as special effects creator for TV serials (Fantaghirò) and ads.
True passionate of Cinema, he also collected a huge amount of soundtracks and movie memorabilia.