VFX artists behind Alien: Romulus, Dune: Part 1 & 2, The Killer, Last Of Us, Extraction 2. Tweets by CEO
@jacobmaymudes
Offices in Montreal & Culver City.
The Killer digi-double visual effects sequence & breakdown. This is our first of many breakdown reels we're going to post on X for our VFX work on The Killer.
Our small but mighty team created a truly astonishing amount of visuals for
#DunePart2
we are very proud of the work and so excited for the world to see it. If you can see it on the big screen, do it, 70mm
@IMAX
as Denis intended.
Advancements in software, hardware and artist skill enabled us to create The Killer digi-double with a team of 7 artists using Lenovo workstations, AMD processors, NVidia GPUs, Nuke, Maya, Houdini & Redshift software. And months of time :-)
@jtimsuggs
This was animated by a French animator named Virginie who worked at ILM in San Rafael. She was incredibly talented and the lead animator for Yoda. Virginie animated this for fun in her free time and was worried about showing around the office. Eventually she showed her friends
@intothecrevasse
I composited this opening shot. David wanted more time for his cut, so he paid out of pocket for a custom WB logo and made it as short as possible to get another 30 seconds or so added to the movie. The comp was straightforward, full CG render, I tweaked color and spec of
Step 1 - Denoise plate, removing all grain.
Steps 2 through 4 - Rotoscope of sclera, iris and pupil individually.
Step 5 and 6 - Key out reflections of sclera and iris/pupil separately.
Step 7 - Using roto and key, minus out reflections from plate.
Step 8 - Apply base overall
@intothecrevasse
A little more context. I remember hearing that the studio wasn’t letting David make the film a second longer. He had already pushed the limits and it had become a real issue. They had drawn a line in the sand. This CG logo was a literal loophole. I can’t remember exactly, but
As simple as A over B. (not exactly) Getting a blue screen comp pixel perfect takes dedication, relentless perfection. The devil is in the edges (or details)
#terminator
#bluescreen
#vfx
All of our work in David Fincher's The Killer involved digi-doubles. Here are 3 breakdowns of digi-double gore that we provided for the film. Full CG shots, cut between live action shots. They include particle fx, fluid dynamics, various hair, cloth and bone simulations and good
This is Li Li, one of our incredible She-Hulk animators. She's one of the best in the business, a true Rockstar! She animated 100s of postvis She-Hulk shots to help nail down performance and timing cues.
#shehulk
#animator
#visualeffects
#hulk
Because the eyes are a key story point of the film, they received more scrutiny. Our blue eyes compositing supervisor James Lee's sole job was overseeing and reviewing each and every blue eye that we created. That's how serious of a task this was for Denis & Paul Lambert, the
For this particular sequence in The Killer, Eric Barba, Peter Mavromates and David Fincher approached us with an extremely difficult task, to create close up, photoreal digi-double shots of Michael Fassbender riding a scooter.
We then used photogrammetry to assist with cascading streetlight timing and travel speed. The final result was high res meticulously crafted nearly full CG shots cut into the live action sequence with the ultimate goal of nobody noticing.
The Marvels has some incredible visual effects. Tara Demarco did an excellent job as overall VFX supe. We were lucky to provide 100s of postvis/previs shots and got to provide a few vfx finals. Here's a before/after of one of our shots.
We provided 100s & 100s of postvis shots for
#Dune
. We provided twice as many
#VFX
finals. Here's another
#postvis
before and after. The final shot in the film looked nearly the same, with better edges :-)
#filmmaking
#film
#postproduction
Here's a screenshot of the software, NukeX by the
@TheFoundryTeam
used in this process. *This screenshot is from a shot with a single pair of eyes in it. *Note, there is an ML/AI aspect to a portion of this work that we'll discuss later.
Because of this there were no HDRI's or usable array footage and sparse reference photos. The lighting and lookdev had to be dialed in by eye. We began with the Killer asset, adding fine facial detail and cloth simulations.
The quality of the work had to seamlessly cut back to back between live action shots of The Killer on set. Extra complexity was added because the original plan to shoot these shots on a virtual stage didn't live up to what Fincher had envisioned.
Congratulations to Godzilla for their best VFX Oscar! They really did something extraordinary, 35 artists put all that work on the big screen, all of them working together in a single room with a tiny budget. Showing up to the office everyday trying to innovate, solve problems
In the case of these shared shots, we would receive the plate photography, create the blue eyes, then send a comp to the next vendor for additional visual effects. We'll breakdown the process below.
The John Wick 4 VFX breakdown is absolutely wild, an incredible amount of work went into it. Listen to overall VFX supervisor Janelle Croshaw Ralla break it all down in this detailed behind the scenes.
#vfx
#visualeffects
#JohnWick4
@jtimsuggs
THX1138, George’s first feature film was being remastered around the time this animation/dvd was released a lot of ILM artists on overhead were tasked with dust busting. The entire film was dust busted by hand, frame by frame. If we bid that work today we would charge $1,000,000
In addition to our digi-double work we also provided 100s of blue screen extraction shots for SheHulk. When it comes to blue/green screens, it's all about the edges. We're relentless in our pursuit of the perfect edge.
#visualeffects
This process requires the help of a producer, coordinator, supervisor, artists and a pipeline TD. Plus the work of a DI artist and the oversight of Paul & Denis. A whole team in itself to handle nearly 1400 eye shots across both films.
(This gif is not by us, just funny to add
Flight attendant: Is there a doctor on this flight?
Dad: *nudging me* that should've been you.
Me: Not now Dad
Dad: Not asking for a VFX artist to help, are they?
Me: Dad, there's a medical emergency happening right now.
Dad: Go and see if, "fixing more edges" will help.
Wylie Co. Exec creative director & overall Dune 2 visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert with Wylie Co. VFX supervisor Mag Sarnowska at the Dune 2 Premiere! We can’t wait to show the world our work in this ground breaking film!
#DunePartTwo
Our postvis team is best-in-class. Phenomenal artists with years and years of feature vfx experience. Our postvis locks in the layout and timing for finished vfx.
#vfx
#animation
#dune
Heard this in dailies today, “Shake it till looks good.” Leaning how to master the perfect camera shake is crucial for a pro VFX artist. It’s a subtle thing that can add tremendous feeling to a shot.
THIS IS POSTVIS. We try and get our postvis to 80% final quality within a few hours or days depending on complexity. That can be a mighty task.
#dune
#postvis
#vfx
#previs
#animation
Here's a breakdown of an Ornithopter shot we created for
#Dune
. This showcases the huge benefit of the sand screen, no despill required and we kept most of the in camera reflections
#vfx
#sandscreen
#breakdown
#bluescreen
Some of the best work that we put on the big screen this year is in: THE KILLER | Official Teaser Trailer | Netflix via
@YouTube
we’ll release breakdowns when the time is right :-)
#visualeffects
We sometimes need to shoot our own elements for
#VFX
, and fortunately Wylie Co. has full filming capabilities and the knowledge to light and capture it correctly. Here is an example of a makeshift
#greenscreen
on our patio for blood splatter elements.
#visualeffects
#moviemagic
Our resident mad scientist Paul Lambert came up with the sand screen idea. If you invert the colors of a sand screen, it's a blue screen. We call them the screens of Ibad :-) These images are from our
#postvis
work on
#Dune
#previs
#3d
#animation
And the Lego Oscar goes to… our head of 3D Tj Burke!! We can’t wait to share his impressive animation team’s work on Dune: Part Two. We’re not allowed to talk about it at the moment, but when we are we’ll do a deep dive here on X.
Our new office in Montreal is up and running. Still lots to do, lots of workstations to setup... It’s a great space, good vibe, amazing coffee and an epic theater 🚀 let’s goooo
The Killer is out on
@netflix
!!! David Fincher is a master of his craft. It’s always a pleasure to work for him, Peter Mavromates and Eric Barba. We contributed some intense visual effects to the film. We’ll post our VFX breakdowns when the time is right :-)
#thekiller
@tkmaxin
@tangokilo08
@OvoOnoETH
@historyinmemes
2.5 second transmission delay, moon to earth round trip radio signal. Maybe they just started tilting up on blastoff rather than waiting to see it blastoff and reacting to the visual?
Wylie Co. provided 450 post-
#visualization
shots for
@dunemovie
: Part 1. Director
#DenisVilleneuve
meticulously crafted every single large scale visual effects shot with our post-vis team which he used as a benchmark for composition and timing for final
#VFX
in the film.
#oscars
A huge benefit of doing
#postvis
for a film like '
#Terminator
: Dark Fate’ is being able to review your edit without distractions of raw
#VFX
plates containing bluescreens and mocap suits. It really helps directors focus on the story, which is what we are all about here!
#tbt
Knock, knock! Who's there? Visual effects. Visual effects who? Visual effects are a powerful tool in the world of film and entertainment, but they can't really knock on your door! -Grok 🤦♂️(Grok can't tell a good joke to save it's life)