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vfx for tv Until the series ended, The Molecule put Rescue Me characters in harm's way. the scene to life." For Damages, which stars Glenn Close as a ruthless lawyer, the studio recently had to create a number of video monitor effects. "The protagonist is a Jullain Assange/ sion shows. DiTommaso cites the FX series Rescue Me as The Molecule's first big break in VFX for TV. The studio created numerous explo- sions and fire effects for the recently con- cluded series, which starred Dennis Leary as a NYC fireman. Their work on Rescue Me led to work on another FX series — Dam- ages — and at press time the studio was also working on NYC22 and Royal Pains. Royal Pains starts shooting early, before the leaves turn, and the trees are still bare. It's supposed to be a summer show. We do a lot of background matte paintings, adding trees." The Molecule also handles monitor burn-ins and medical enhancements, as well as fixes cosmetic work and effects that help maintain continuity. One obvious effects shot required the look of a live x-ray. The Molecule secured some x-ray footage and composited a hand, shot against a blackscreen, to make it look like a surgeon was performing a procedure on a patient. "They also shoot on a stage, so they'll shoot in front of a massive curtain, which looks pretty good for the most part," DiTommaso notes, "but you can see that the water isn't moving, so we will add water reflections and birds passing, and it brings Wikileaks-type of person," he notes, "so there is a lot of iChat type of stuff. We are creating a lot of graphics and user interfaces. In one scene, they were doing a Skype thing, but they wanted to show that the people's faces were being blurred out. We created an interface that they used on-set for live play- back of this After Effects-style interface." For the musical drama Smash, about the Broadway theater business, The Molecule regularly works on 80-90 shots per episode that run the gamut of VFX needs. When it comes to shooting elements, The Molecule will most often use the same cam- era as the show's production — Arri's Alexa much of the time. For simpler, one-off shots, the team might use a Canon 7D. The Molecule uses Nuke for compositing The Only SIP in Town ™ 3ality Technica's SIP 2100™ "The SIP 2100 TM perfecting images in 3D post-production provides real-time 2D and 3D analysis that allows us to match color and alignment far more accurately than our eyes can perceive. It isn't just another tool in my post production tool-belt — it is the foundation. George Bellias, Owner/Editor, JADE PrODuCTIOnS " JADE PrODuCTIOnS has used the SIP 2100: We Are the World 25 for Haiti (2010) • Britney Spears Live: The Femme Fatale Tour (2011) • The Black Eyed Peas (The Beginning) - Paris (2011) Alter Bridge's "Live at Wembley" (2011) • Montreux Jazz Festival 2010 : Grand Geneva Finales (2010) COME SEE HOW THE SIP 2100™ SIMPLIFIES POST-PrODuCTIOn WITH LIvE DEMOS AT 3ALITy TECHnICA'S nAB BOOTH, OE 1371, Or EMAIL SALES@3ALITyTECHnICA.COM TODAy TO SET uP A PrIvATE DEMOnSTrATIOn 36 Post • April 2012 ©2012, 3ality Technica, LLC. All rights reserved. All trademarks property of 3ality Technica, LLC www.postmagazine.com sales@3alitytechnica.com www.3alitytechnica.com