Carpentry . Carpenters traditionally worked with natural wood and did the rougher work such as framing , but today many other materials are also used and sometimes the finer trades of cabinetmaking and furniture building are considered carpentry . Daniel Thomas `` Dan '' O'Bannon ( September 30 , 1946 -- December 17 , 2009 ) was an American film screenwriter , director , visual effects supervisor , and occasional actor , usually in the science fiction and horror genres . He also contributed computer animation to Star Wars , worked on cult classics such as Dark Star , Heavy Metal and Total Recall , and both wrote and directed the horror comedy The Return of the Living Dead .
Dan O'Bannon work was primarily in forestry and carpentry.