Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Gary Hutzel originally began studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Hutzel decided to change his career to the motion picture industry and moved to Santa Barbara, California to study photography. His Hollywood career began with a job as a driver and video camera operator for a commercial production house. It was there, at Filmfair that he became interested in visual effects. Hutzel went on to freelance for CBS on the new Twilight Zone series before he was approached in 1987 to work on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He stayed on TNG for five years, then transferred over to a position on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Also a member of the Director's Guild, Hutzel currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.