The FuseFX Los Angeles crew recently provided visual effects services for two projects by Oscar-winning writer/producer/director John Ridley – the anthology series American Crime and the feature-length documentary Let It Fall, which aired April 28.
FuseFX has hired 18-year visual effects industry veteran Jon Cowley as head of production and senior VFX supervisor at its production facility in Vancouver. Cowley will oversee production activity at the facility lead its team of VFX supervisors on projects including the television series Zoo and Mist. He brings deep experience as a manager, supervisor and artist with credits including the blockbusters Furious 7, TRON: Legacy, The Great Gatsby, and District 9. Most recently, he served as a client-side VFX supervisor on the Netflix television series Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.
FuseFX, which produces visual effects for such shows as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., American Horror Story, Luke Cage and Criminal Minds, has launched a spinoff venture to tackle projects in the rapidly expanding field of virtual reality. FuseVR will create visual effects assets for virtual reality projects, including 3D sets, digital environments and CG characters. The effort will be led by Bud Myrick as VR supervisor and John Heller as VR creative director.
Jerome Dewhurst has joined Roundabout Entertainment’s technical staff as chief color scientist. Dewhurst will oversee and manage the color pipeline for the facility’s growing digital intermediate and color correction operations, and set best practices for color company-wide. He will also lead research efforts to develop new software, technologies and services related to color management.
Sony Pictures Imageworks has deployed Avere Systems’ FXT Edge filer 5600 clusters to support the studio’s ongoing render farm expansion and to ensure non-disruptive scalability. Imageworks uses Avere technology to help it deliver award-winning visual effects and animation while staying on budget and meeting demanding production timelines
The Indian post-production house FutureWorks is currently celebrating a decade in business. Senior colorist Rahul Purav spoke with Digital Cinema Report about the process of color grading and about some of the many films projects the company has worked on over the years.
The Motion Picture Academy’s Academy Color Encoding System is now widely used across the movie industry but perhaps surprisingly, it’s also gaining traction in the gaming world. To learn more, Digital Cinema Report recently spoke with Brian Karis at Cary, North Carolina-based Epic Games. The company is known for its industry-leading Unreal Engine, a ground breaking game engine that can be used by other game developers who do not want to develop their own engine.
Hidden Figures recounts the story of three female African-American mathematicians who played an integral role in John Glenn’s successful launch into space and return. Captured on 35mm film, the movie is largely live action, but features nuanced CG throughout. Crafty Apes delivered 328 VFX shots for the film, working out of its Atlanta facility, with founder Chris LeDoux at the helm, Mark LeDoux overseeing local artists and Tim LeDoux guiding the final look out of the studio’s LA facility.
New York City-based art and technology company The-Artery is expanding its operations into Los Angeles. Concurrently, the creative studio has named industry veteran Karin Levinson as its head of features and television content. Levinson will helm the new LA office, and will spearhead new business initiatives across the mediums of film, television, advertising, virtual reality and augmented reality.
FuseFX Vancouver has hired visual effects veteran Chris Ryan as CG supervisor as part of a general expansion of its presence in British Columbia. Ryan will lead the facility’s enlarged 3D team on television projects including Zoo and Timeless. He brings more than 20 years of senior level experience in CG and credits on more than 75 motion picture and television productions.
