Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/65909
Compositing providing visual effects services for television programming. It has since evolved, and now focuses on VFX, native stereo optimization and ste- reo 3D conversion, having worked on numerous feature films, including Green Lantern, Conan the Barbarian and The Chronicles of Narnia — The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. In addition to the 30 seats it has Humble's John J. Budion uses Flame to create believability in spots like this one for E-Trade. "I basically built a 3D environment within the Flame," he explains. "Once I built the environment I reset my camera for the close-ups and medium shots, and keyed out my greenscreen and layered back in a little more smoke and hit render; it rendered in a couple of minutes. I was able to fly through and really manage the project because of the power of the software. It's so interactive and blends 2D and 3D worlds. I am hesitant to use other software. I know there are others out there that do the same thing, I just haven't seen anything that makes things look that good that fast with a deadline like that." The demands of commercial projects and their ability to tell a story in such a short timeframe also serve as an inspiration to Budion. "In the :30 and :60 format, so much needs to happen," he notes. "If something stays with me, and I remember it, and am thinking about it, in that short timeframe… I think that resonates with me a lot more. It leaves me wondering who directed it, or who did the compositing on that? It stays with me and inspires me." Studying real life also inspires Budion, who says he tries to be meticulous when recreat- ing environments in order to pass them off as believable. A recent E-Trade commercial is a good Absolute's Dave Smith ... and friend. example. In the Lotto spot, the familiar E-Trade baby watches his caregiver Frank unsuccessfully scratch off contest tickets, then taunts his idea of a retirement plan. The baby and the adult were shot separately, though stand-ins were used to help set the lighting and feel. Budion composited the mouth from a seven-year old actor onto the baby's face, and even added some imagery into the store's convex mirror to add further realism. "Little details help sell the effect and make people enjoy and it and not question [whether it's real]." IDENTITY FX Identity FX in North Hollywood (www. identityfx.com) was founded in 2004, initially 26 Post • May 2012 in its Los Angeles location, Identity FX also has 80 more in Jinan, China, and a co-operative of more than 250 seats in Budapest, Hungary. Late last year, the LA location added an SGO Mistika system to support its 3D native stereo optimization work, as well as for finishing. The system is the center of a workflow that also relies heavily on The Foundry's Nuke for compositing — there are eight seats in LA. At press time, Identity FX was working on two major sum- mer releases for Fox and Sony. Lead compositor Kevin Yuille and digital artist Alicia Suggs represent some of the newer talent that has joined the facility. Suggs started her career using Eyeon Fusion, and while at Prime Focus worked on both Narnia and Star Wars — titles that she sees as "two different beasts." "I feel Nuke is a great system to work on," she says of her transition. "It really services the artist rather than us servicing it. It's very complementary to anything we need to be done." Suggs began her career trying to work as a matte painter, but ended up working for a visual effects company, performing dust busting and roto. As she learned the founda- tions of compositing she also saw an increased demand for stereo 3D services. The skills she picked up then help the work she does today. "At Identity, we do a lot of that work," she notes. Learning Nuke and broadening her skills is something she feels most composi- tors need to do to stay competitive. Kevin Yuille's career took a more round- about approach. He began studying to be an architect, and later fell into Web develop- ment. He later returned to school, hoping to become an editor or director, but it was a student project that opened his eyes to visual effects and compositing. "I saw a project that students were doing with visual effects and checked it out," he recalls. "I immediately made the switch. It was amazing how much control they had over their final footage." He took a class on Nuke compositing, which was instructed by lead artists from The Orphanage in San Francisco. "I got to see the work they did on Iron Man and it blew my www.postmagazine.com mind," he notes. "I knew immediately that I wanted to use Nuke, and I have since then. I graduated in 2010, and this is literally my first gig in the industry. I can't describe how much I love compositing!" Both Suggs and Yuille find inspiration in film work. "Every time new movie comes out, you want to see it and how they've improved the pipeline that they use on some of their shots," Suggs explains. "Some- times it's the young up-and-coming artists," that inspire her. "I think that helps people in the business not lose sight of what is really out there. Not only movies and television, but also fellow artists, and looking at what they are doing as well." "I would take the position as more of a filmmaker," says Yuille. "If I see something that I've never seen before for, I remember, it leaves an impression. In movies, if it's some- thing fantastical or something that's other worldly," he continues. "I like science fiction and that lends to my interest in visual effect, but I think it's anything that's creative." Yuille also finds inspiration in motion graphic and design. "There are artists out there who are really pushing motion graphics and motion design. It blows my mind." Identity FX created this interactive Web video for Nike featuring NBA star Chris Paul. Identity FX recently completed an effects heavy interactive Web project for Nike. The CP3 Jump Man (www.nike.com/jumpman23/ cp3v/) Website features basketball player Chris Paul in a three-on-three game. Viewers can zoom in and change angles as the game plays out. The outdoor court includes unex- pected interruptions, such as fans, a DJ, a mounted police unit and even a guy on fire. The studio built the lights, trees and city scene from scratch. Video footage was shot at 5K using a 17-camera array in a 170 degree arc. Each shot contains up to a dozen layers, which were composited in Nuke. SGO's Mistika was used for color correction, finishing and output. SCOTT METZGER Scott Metzger (http://vimeo.com/logan- mannstrane) is an LA-based compositor and visual effects supervisor who got his start as