Barron co-founded Matte World with Michael Pangrazio and executive producer Krystyna Demkowicz in 1988 . The company , based in Novato , California , produced seamless matte-painting effects for film and television productions . Soon after formation , Barron and Pangrazio 's work won an Emmy for Outstanding Visual Effects for HBO 's '' By Dawn 's Early Light '' ( 1990 ) . Barron and his crew initially worked on traditional effects shots with matte paintings on glass and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects for '' Batman Returns '' in 1992 . Matte World Digital was renamed in 1992 to reflect the new technological tools available to matte painters . The company produced digital-matte environments for feature films , TV commercials , cable productions , computer games and IMAX projects , serving the artistic visions of directors Martin Scorsese , Francis Ford Coppola , James Cameron , Alfonso Cuaron , Gore Verbinski , Ron Howard , Tim Burton and David Fincher , among others . Barron contributed to the visual effects of more than 100 films during MWD 's near-25-year run , creating innovative techniques for the digital effects of Zodiac '' , Captain American : The First Avenger , and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button '' , which won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 2009 . MWD closed in 2012 after 24 years of service . The company 's last project was for Martin Scorsese 's '' Hugo ''
Academy Award nomination
65th Academy Awards
Craig Barron