Education
Born in Cardston, Alberta, Canada, Low attended the Banff School of Fine Arts and the Calgary Institute of Technology, now known as the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
animator director film editor film producer executive producer
Born in Cardston, Alberta, Canada, Low attended the Banff School of Fine Arts and the Calgary Institute of Technology, now known as the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
His career at the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal spanned over six decades, on more than 200 productions, most often as director, producer or executive producer. His 1954 documentary Corral received was named best documentary at the Venice Film Festival. City of Gold made use of slow pans and zooms across archival photos and has been cited by Ken Burns as a key inspiration for the so-called Ken Burns effect.
In 1960, Low and Roman Kroitor co-directed Universe, capturing the attention of Stanley Kubrick, who was preparing to make 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Low was invited to work on 2001: A Space Odyssey but had to decline due to his work on In the Labyrinth, a multi-screen production for Expo 67—though some of Low"s ideas were incorporated into Kubrick"s film. Low worked with the people of Fogo Island, Newfoundland to shoot 27 films for the program, using media as a tool to bring about social change and combat poverty.
Low was involved in a series of firsts in the wide-screen genre. The experimental multi-screen production In the Labyrinth helped lead to the creation of the format.
Low co-directed the first 3D production Transitions for Expo 86 in Vancouver, as well as co-directing Momentum, the first film in 48 frames per second HD for Expo 92 in Seville, Spain.
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.