Nickman's career in film and television began as a studio camera person and editor with the
ABC in
Sydney,
Australia. Upon returning to the United States. and graduating with a degree in communications from
Washington State University, Nickman then produced and created stage and lighting designs for leading-edge, live multi-media concerts combining rock bands with symphony orchestras along with his filmed images projected onto large screens above the performers. Most notably, "Leviticus" and "Trinity" performed by the
Seattle Symphony orchestra. After directing and producing live productions, Nickman returned to television as a news photographer with
NBC affiliate
KING-TV in Seattle, Washington The program was responsible for debuting many musical groups including
Queensrÿche and is commonly credited for catalyzing the Seattle music scene in the 1990s. featuring the music of
David Lanz and
Paul Speer. The film was one of the largest selling, non-theatrical releases of its time and recognized as one of the top 10 videos by
People magazine.
Natural States went
double platinum and launched the success of Miramar Images. Miramar then released two more of Nickman's films,
Desert Vision, and
Canyon Dreams and earned
Tangerine Dream a
Grammy nomination for their music score. In 1990, Nickman directed and co-produced ''The Mind's Eye: A Computer Animation Odyssey
, the first of the Mind's Eye series, a collection of animated computer-generated imagery (CGI). His body of work, which also includes Planetary Traveler
and Infinity's Child'' has firmly established him as a computer-generated imagery (CGI) pioneer and a master of long-form films that use music as the primary narrative. Nickman's film, ''The Mind's Eye
, was a double platinum-selling film considered to be a milestone in the field of computer animation and reached number 12 on Billboard
′s video hits chart. It was the first full length film ever created entirely with CGI (computer animation). Combining the artistry of numerous computer animators from around the world with a score by James Reynolds, The Mind's Eye
is credited with giving rise to such films as Toy Story. Animation Magazine'' reviewer Karl Rathcke wrote the film was "... the type of audio-visual 'head trip' for the 90's that Stanley Kubrick's
2001: A Space Odyssey was for the 60's." In 1995 Nickman's feature film "Third Stone from the Sun" was released. The film received the Gold Special Jury Award (top honors) at the Houston International Film Festival and also screened at the first International Environmental Film Festival in Boulder, Colorado, and the Seattle International Film Festival among others. Donald Liebenson of the
Chicago Tribune described Nickman's next release,
Planetary Traveler, as "boldly [going] where no computer animation video has gone before." At a time when computer animation was created solely on dedicated computer graphics work stations,
Planetary Traveler became the first original, full-length program ever created entirely on standard desk-top computers. Both films are true to his signature fusing of motion picture to music and were specifically designed as a way for viewers to connect emotionally with the beauty of our planet, rather than intellectualize it through a discussion about it. Using music as the narrative,
Echoes of Creation is a 40-minute journey through
Alaska, the
Pacific Northwest and as far south as
California, featuring a soundtrack by Grammy nominated composer
David Arkenstone and spoken word by Karen Hutton. Its prequel
Sacred Earth also follows Nickman's unique fusion of picture to music throughout the American Southwest, featuring music by Grammy-nominated composer David Lanz and spoken word by
Academy Award-winning actor
Linda Hunt and in the finale features a dance performance by Caroline Richardson, former First Soloist with the National Ballet of Canada. ==Awards==