MECHNOLOGY VFX GIVES TV VIEWERS A HALLOWEEN TREAT

(October 23, 2006) - Mechnology Visual Effects Studio, working from its new location in Burbank, CA, recently completed work for the ABC Family original movie, “The Initiation of Sarah.” The sole visual effects vendor for the hi-def production, “Mechnology provided on-set supervision and produced 168 shots for what became the studio’s largest project to date,” says Co-Owner and Executive Producer, Chip Potter.

Part of ABC Family’s “13 Nights of Halloween” holiday programming event, “The Initiation of Sarah” stars Mika Boorem, Jennifer Tilly, Morgan Fairchild, and Summer Glau in a re-imagining of the 1978 cult classic. The joint production between MGM, Disney, and ABC Family tells a modern-day story following a young sorority girl with mysterious powers who unwittingly becomes the focus of a centuries-old battle between good and evil.

Mechnology’s Co-Owner and VFX Supervisor, Stephen Lebed, was approached by the film’s director Stuart Gillard with the project. Having worked together numerous times on Paramount’s “Charmed,” the pair met early during the script development stage to establish the look of the magical effects against a realistic setting. Lebed continued his involvement as the Visual Effects Supervisor on set for the production’s shoot in Shreveport, Louisiana, and later visited sessions with Gillard and Editor Robin Russell.

Mechnology’s artists provided Russell previsualization animations for the more complicated VFX sequences, including the destruction of an altar room at the film’s climax. Once the cut was locked, the final VFX count had risen from an estimated 70 shots, to 168. With the increased workload, Mechnology more than doubled its staff, maximizing the office space it had moved into just days earlier.

While the show’s VFX requirements included numerous wire removals, split screens, matte paintings, editorial transitions, and 3d animation, the majority of the shot load involved the realization of the magic powers possessed by the show’s characters, split between the good and bad sororities. “Wherever a spell is cast, we added a visual cue emanating from the performer’s eyes or hands,” says Lebed. “The ‘good’ powers of the lead character and the Pi Epsilon Delta sisters were designed to be an airy blue color scheme, while the powers of the ‘bad’ Alpha Nu Gamma girls incorporated fiery orange and red elements. These ‘magic sends’ grow in their intensity as the story escalates and Sarah’s situation becomes more dangerous.” Project Manager Ben Campanaro and Compositor Robert Scopinich developed numerous looks using Adobe After Effects. “The tricky part of these ‘send’ shots,” recalls Campanaro, “was that while they were essentially 2d effects, the techniques had to yield consistent results with the varying camera angles of a full scene.”

However not all the magic was achieved using a 2d solution. For Sarah’s escape from the climactic altar room destruction, Mechnology’s Lead 3d Artist Mike Walls used Autodesk 3DS Max to generate elements of roiling flames, falling debris, and tendrils of smoke with a camera move matched to the source plate. Compositor Charles Collyer merged the elements together with interactive light passes, dust, and smoke elements, creating the final shot from more than 75 individual layers. All final shots were presented to producers in Mechnology’s screening room via an Assimilate Scratch system, providing real-time playback of the full resolution HD frames.

Mechnology is a full service visual effects boutique located in Burbank, CA. For more information, visit http://www.mechnology.com.