With COVID-19 cases on the rise, and Hollywood productions getting back to work, Halon Entertainment has established itself as the leader in Visualization, Virtual Production, Virtual Art Department (VAD), and Game Cinematics utilizing Real-Time game engine technology. Today, the studio announces its continued commitment to innovation and the use of proprietary tools to keep crew members safe while enabling filmmakers (and game designers) to push the creative envelope through the use of a fully remote workflow.
"Over the past three years, we've invested significant talent and resources to become the industry expert on virtual production before it was a blip on anyone's radar. Early on, we developed proprietary tools that we've since used on projects like The Mandalorian, live-event, and major attractions. These tools have allowed Halon to not only continue to produce the highest caliber of work during the global pandemic, but to increase our production load while others play catch-up," said Halon CEO, Chris Ferriter.
Halon began integrating Epic Games' Unreal Engine into their studio-wide pipeline in 2015 during the visualization process on the War for the Planet of the Apes franchise, and has continued to develop proprietary Game Engine workflows across all of the studio's titles including The Batman, Ford v Ferrari, and Ad Astra as well as working directly, in a creative partnership, with Epic Games on an array of upcoming cinematic trailers for their multi-platform smash hit, Fortnite. Halon's forward-thinking was put to the test on The Mandalorian – arguably the most ambitious technical episodic project to date – in the development of a Virtual Art Department creating virtual props and sets to work seamlessly between the physical set pieces and the LED walls in an effort to realize ambitious creative goals with an eye towards reducing overall costs.
Most recently, Halon's virtual production capabilities have been key to Ripple Effect, a short film developed by the Entertainment Technology Center at USC, and backed by partners including Universal, Amazon Studios, Warner Brothers, Microsoft, Lux Machina, and Technicolor, to test the limits of virtual production, technology, and COVID-19 safety.
Halon's commitment to continually innovate is often copied, but can never truly be replicated.
About Halon Entertainment
Halon was founded in 2003 by Daniel Gregoire as a full-service visualization company that brings together industry leading Directors, Supervisors and Artists who are committed to advancing the art of storytelling. Headquartered in Santa Monica with operations in Vancouver and London, Halon employs a core team of artists specializing in Storyboarding, Pitchvis, Previs, Postvis, Techvis, VFX, and Game Cinematics who combine industry leading animation, design and real time game engine software with robust project management systems, and superior creativity. With a proven track record of collaboration with creatives to realize their visions on screen, we are passionate storytellers and masters of our craft. www.halon.com
