CG Today - VFX News

CIS studios renamed as Method Studios Deluxe Entertainment Services Group today announced the rebranding of its award-winning visual effects companies, Method, which Deluxe acquired from Ascent Media in December 2010, and CIS Visual Effects. The expanded company has been renamed to Method Studios, a world class entity specializing in the creation of visual effects for the feature film and commercial markets.

“By combining CIS with Method, we are able to provide our clients a broader range of visual effects services with an integrated workflow across Deluxe’s multiple locations,” said Stefan Sonnenfeld, President of Creative Services for Deluxe.

The appointment of Dan Glass as Executive Vice President emphasizes the continuing commitment to nurture an artist-driven company.

Lightcraft Technology PhotogrammetryLightcraft Technology, a developer of real-time visual effects technology for the film and television industries, announced that it is making its photogrammetry tools available free-of-charge to its clients and to members of the film making community.

Lightcraft has developed a specific set of photogrammetry tools for developing photorealistic sets and digital assets for use in its Previzion system. The same tools can be used with other 3D graphics applications as well.

Lightcraft's Previzion is a real-time visual effects system that provides a combination of high precision camera tracking, sophisticated rendering, and VFX quality keying that makes it ideal for on-set compositing of virtual backgrounds and CGI characters. The Previzion system provides filmmakers with the ability to use dynamic, moving camera shots with a minimal increase in production costs.

Charlex VFX for aronofskys revlonCharlex, led by CD Will Kim and Senior Producer Corey Budro, just completed VFX on a Darren Aronofsky-directed Revlon spot starring Jessica Biel and Pharrell Williams. Debuting the beauty powerhouse's Grow Luscious Plumping Mascara product, Hypnotized is a black-and-white, cinematic piece with a seductive, old Hollywood edge, set in an elegant and capacious mansion. The Charlex team worked with DDCD & Partners on the project. The spot is a follow-up to the two entities recent collaboration on an Almay spot starring Kate Hudson.

"When Erin (Sullivan), the producer at DDCD, called us about the job, we were blown away that it featured Jessica Biel and Pharrell and that Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky would be at the helm," noted Budro. "We knew this was a unique challenge and wanted to bring Charlex's beauty expertise into the mix," said Alex Weil.

shotgun logoMulti-Site License Purchased Across Deluxe's Global Network of Visual Effects Companies Method Studios, Postmodern and Rushes

Shotgun Software, developers of the Shotgun web-based production tracking and collaboration system, announced today that the visual effects units of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group have purchased a multi-site Shotgun license to seamlessly connect its global facilities, which include Method Studios in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York and London; Postmodern in Sydney, and Rushes in London.

"We are unifying our pipelines into a single global network that provides our clients with a huge pool of talent and resources," said Dan Glass, Executive Vice President, Method Studios. "After an extensive review process, we chose Shotgun as the framework for this pipeline because of its proven track record and the quality of the team behind it."

Andrex's CG Puppy CommercialFramestore has created the second installment of Andrex’s new CG puppy campaign, a party themed commercial called Collections. Not only did Framestore create all visual effects in this CG-based spot; the company continued to provide a full end-to-end production partnership by also directing and producing the campaign.

Framestore’s director and VFX supervisor, Mike McGee, was responsible for bringing the script to life. Moving on from the CG puppy’s debut, which was also directed by McGee, Collections sees the puppies attend two polar opposite parties; one representing Andrex’s ‘bright and bold’ toilet paper, the other standing in for the ‘subtle and stylish’ line. The difference between the two products is played out when a puppy disco is contrasted by a sophisticated piano soiree.

“Thanks to having directed Andrex’s first CG puppy commercial,” said director and VFX supervisor Mike McGee, “this second script gave us an opportunity to evolve the puppies’ animation and characterisation. Being commissioned to direct and post-produce the first four CG commercials means we can improve production values with each new delivery: we can take every doggy detail to a whole new level of perfectionism. This approach boosts overall creativity and is a perfect example of the benefits of longterm production partnerships.”