Linwood G . Dunn Linwood " Lynn " Gale " G . " Dunn , in his youth occasionally credited as Lynn , or Lin Dunn , was a , at the time still called , effects ( VFX ) photographer on the first two seasons of . Dunn ' s effects company , Film Effects of Hollywood , was one of the VFx companies that were called in 1966 to help ease the workload in producing the VFX for " Star Trek " , in particular the filming of the 11 - foot studio model of the . He was the co - recipient in of an Emmy Award nomination for his work on the series . Career outside " Star Trek " . Starting his career in 1927 as second cameraman on " Hawk of the Hills " ( 1927 ) , and having worked on one of the very last silent serials , " Queen of the Northwoods " ( 1929 ) , Linwood Dunn has , outside of " Star Trek " , shot VFX for a number of acclaimed , classic feature films , including the original 1933 version of " King Kong " , Orson Welles ' 1941 drama " Citizen Kane " on which Robert Wise worked as editor and on which Dunn also served as an instructor to Wells on the use of the optical printer , the Wise co - directed musical " West Side Story " ( 1961 , starring Richard Beymer ) , and Stanley Kubrick ' s " 2001 : A Space Odyssey " ( 1968 , which starred Gary Lockwood and featured Ed Bishop ) . Dunn has received an Academy Award nomination for his work on the 1966 film " Hawaii " ( featuring Lou Antonio and Torin Thatcher , and Gil Perkins as stunt coordinator ) . Apart from being a cinematographer , Dunn was also throughout his career , an active inventor and developer of cinematographic technologies for practical use in the motion picture industry , such as one of the first zoom lenses . Especially noteworthy in that respect was the work he has done on the development of the . While not invented by him , his work made it a practical piece of equipment for use in the production of motion pictures , especially crucial where the production of VFX was concerned . In that role , he was the recipient of two special Academy Awards for the development of the Acme - Dunn Optical Printer : the 1945 Technical Achievement Award and the 1981 Academy Award of Merit . The also awarded Dunn with a Medal of Commendation in 1979 and the Gordon E . Sawyer Award in 1985 . A pioneering innovator in the field of visual effects , Dunn ' s talents became a much sought after commodity by other production companies , so much so in fact , that he decided to go into business for himself by forming his own effects house , Film Effects of Hollywood , in 1946 ( though , at the time , he initially kept his job at RKO Pictures as well ) . In addition to " Citizen Kane " , Dunn has worked on hundreds of other films for RKO Pictures , including the 1942 horror picture " Cat People " , the 1947 film noir " Out of the Past " ( which featured Richard Webb ) , the original " Mighty Joe Young " ( featuring William Schallert ) , the cult 1951 science fiction thriller " The Thing from Another World " ( which starred Kenneth Tobey ) , and the infamous 1956 John Wayne adventure " The Conquerer " ( which featured John Hoyt and cinematography by William E . Snyder ) . He was also the one who photographed the rotating radio tower used in RKO ' s famous logo . Other films on which he has provided photographic effects include the 1963 comedy " It ' s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World " and the 1970 thriller " Airport " ( featuring Michael Bell and Vic Perrin ) . He did VFX on a 1975 horror film " The Devil ' s Rain " , in which " Star Trek " star William Shatner has a supporting role . The film also features George Sawaya . He was subsequently elected president of the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers ( ASC ) , into which he was already inducted in 1950 , twice . He was also elected Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in two different branches and was instrumental in the formation of the Academy ' s Visual Effects branch . Later in his VFX career , he specialized in doing opticals in large film formats such as 70mm , Imax and World ' s Fair multi - image exhibits . Linwood Dunn sold his VFX company in 1985 to and retired from active effects work , but remained active as a consultant and inventor . His last invention was a prototype for the Hi - Def 3 - D video projection systems now widely used in many movie theaters , on which he was still working when he died in Los Angeles , California , in 1998 at the age of 93 . Emmy Award . Dunn received the following Emmy Award nomination for his work on " Star Trek " in the category " Individual Achievements in Cinematography " :