Computer Graphics World

F or those who like quirks and irony with their superheroes, e Mid- dleman television series was a brac- ing tonic. Based on the graphic novels by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine, the episodes incorporated some unusual digital imagery into the story lines, which followed Wendy Watson (played by Nata- lie Morales), a struggling artist working at a temp agency. Recruited by the Middleman (played by Matt Keeslar), she began training so she could eventually assume the hero role. e two crime-fi ghters get their orders from Ida, an android disguised as a librarian, who represented a secret organization. In the course of their adventures, which were told in 12 episodes for ABC Family Channel, Wendy and the Middleman battled a strange group of villains, including a terra- cotta warrior and a winged Peruvian pike fi sh. Of course, they always saved the day. "It was a cool show aimed at the Comic- Con crowd and was tailored towards those who like action fi lms and comic books," says Stephen Lebed, visual eff ects supervisor at Mechnology, which handled the VFX. Leb- ed, along with Chip Potter, co-founded the Burbank, California, studio a few years ago. Grillo-Marxuach, who was e Middle- man's "show- runner" and executive produc- er/writer, created the concept while he was working as a writer on the television series Charmed. "He turned it into a graphic novel (in July 2005) that acquired a cult status among fans," explains Lebed. " rough ABC Family Channel, he was able to realize it into a TV series," albeit one that was short lived. Charmed producer John Pare acted as a middleman of sorts between Mechnol- ogy and Grillo-Marxuach. "Our fi rst show was Charmed, and because of that [work], we incorporated the company about four years ago," says Lebed, who has worked as a model builder and digital VFX creator for Image G, Digital Magic, and Encore. "When e Middleman came up, [Pare] called me and asked if I was available, and he got us involved." Mech Tools Comic books and graphic novels are full of visual eff ects—as is evident from the spate of comic-book properties that have been transformed into popular feature-fi lm fod- der. And despite its debut on the small screen versus the silver screen, e Middle- man was no exception. Although several of the 12 episodes had 30 to 40 visual ef- fects—a standard number for a show like this one—there were a couple of episodes that reached 80 visual eff ects. "With this show, we were limited by budget and time constraints in terms of Aside from unique characters, which were created in CG, The Middleman contained a number of scenes that called for actors to be fi lmed on greenscreen. June 2009 42 ■ ■ ■ ■ Broadcast A new breed of superheroes fights evil with a digital twist By Debra Kaufman Channel, he was able to realize it into a TV series," albeit one that was short lived. a middleman of sorts between Mechnol-

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