LOOK's artists first froze then shattered "Life's"
Publicity Release Posted: January 21, 2009 08:00:03 EST
Frozen Victim Visual Effects on NBC's "Life" Gain VES AttentionHOLLYWOOD & NEW YORK, January 21, 2009 | SHOOT Publicity Wire | ---
LOOK Effects' team of visual effects supervisors, producers, artists and animators have been nominated for a
Visual Effects Society Award for their achievements in creating and then shattering a frozen murder victim for the NBC series, "Life".
Nominated in the category of Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program, LOOK's team of artists convincingly altered the look of a practical model/prop to become a completely frozen victim and then animated the "iced" body to shatter into a cascade of frozen shards. The effects sequence was included in the episode titled, "The Business of Miracles".
In an ironic twist of credit limitations and category definitions, LOOK will be competing with itself in a sense as one of the other nominees in this category from "Pushing Daisies" includes a healthy portion of visual effects which LOOK created and contributed in their ongoing work on that series.
The "Ice Man" effects for "Life" had to strike a balance between realistic and stylized to match the comedic tone and timing of the scene, not to mention working within network standards and not going too graphic or too gory. Technically, both 2D and 3D solutions were needed to create a believable frozen look and a satisfying destruction of the "frozen" victim.
"We were able to generate a color correction treatment that gave the desired frozen look. Once that treatment was established, a blending of 2D and 3D techniques proved the winning mix for the dynamics of the frozen man's shattering effect." says Jenny Foster, LOOK's visual effects producer on the series.
Max Ivins, visual effects supervisor for the series and LOOK partner explains, "Shawn Lipowski wrote some code for the animation to choreograph the shattering pieces and more code to allow needed texture surface control. We tested several looks for the "interior" surfaces of the body shards and worked with several dynamic variations on their motion. Ultimately, to support the comedic timing of the dialogue, the clients elected to have the body shatter in a cascading vertical path, instead of a more physically realistic ergonomic destruction. The results speak for themselves."
The 7th Annual VES Awards ceremony recognizing outstanding visual effects in over a dozen categories of film, animation, television, commercials and video games is scheduled for February 21, 2009.
LOOK Effects Credits:Visual Effects Supervisor: Max Ivins
Producer: Jenny Foster
3D Supervisor: Michael Capton
3D Artist: Shawn Lipowski
3D Modeler: Antonello Stornelli
Lead Composite Artist: Danny Kim
Composite Artist: Adam Avitabile
About LOOK Effects Inc.For over a decade,
LOOK Effects has been a leading provider of digital effects solutions for feature film, episodic television and special venue projects. With studios in Hollywood and Brooklyn, LOOK offers a knowledgeable and resourceful approach in partnering with their clients to supervise and produce visual effects. On both coasts LOOK offers ideas and options for digital effects design, on set supervision, set extension creation, 3D animation and complex compositing that dovetail smoothly into production schedules. It's this combined experience and expertise that has earned Look a level of trust and an impressive list of clients and credits. LOOK's recently completed feature film credits include "Yes Man", "The Spirit" and "The Wrestler".
See more of Look Effects' work at
www.lookfx.com.About the VES The
Visual Effects Society (VES) is a professional, honorary society, dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences, and applications of visual effects and to upholding the highest uniform standards and procedures for the visual effects profession. The VES is the entertainment industry's only official trade organization representing the extended community of visual effects practitioners including supervisors, artists, producers, technology developers, educators and studio executives.
Its 1,800 global members contribute to all areas of entertainment from film, animation, television and commercials to music videos, games and new media. VES strives to enrich and educate its members and the entertainment community at large through many domestic and international events, screenings and programs. Visual effects professionals constitute a vital creative force in content creation and are literally shaping the future of entertainment.
Contact Info Leslie Mais
Lmais@LMPR.com(949)675-1592
