According to Ian Hunter, NDS Co-Founder/Visual Effects Supervisor, this sequence required exact precision of the burning flames to match principal photography. “Our flame effects needed to be controlled and choreographed to the production’s pre-vizualization,” he explains. “A rooftop and a partial wall with windows was built and plumbed with propane lines for the fire effects. One shot required that the camera move around the entire miniature building and pass over the roof through the fire, so the flames had to be very controllable. The balance of the building below the rooftop was extended digitally.”

The planning of the photography for this sequence was crucial because of the pyrotechnics. The NDS art department sent CAD accurate models of the backlot and miniature to the digital department where Supervisor Robert Chapin and CG Artist Jeff Benoit positioned them along with models of effects equipment, huge screens, articulated camera crane and track. Using camera moves from the production provided previz, the NDS team created a real-viz version of the shot.

Camera moves as well as model, crane and screen placement were exported and used by production for the set-up of photography. “We had an extremely difficult camera move which had to cover 180 degrees over the width of the entire set which was going to be engulfed in flames. Not only did we want to match our previz on set, but we needed to make sure our camera rig didn’t go up in flames,” said Chapin. Having real information of all the elements involved with photography matched with the previz allowed the effects and photography team to plan out the difficult photography, saving time and money.

The digital models created of the miniature in the design phase were then used to generate blueprints which gave the fabrication crew the exact measurements needed to construct the 1/3 scale tenement roof and wall. Leading the design and miniature fabrication was crew chief, Forest Fischer. Fischer’s team built the 16 ft. x 40 ft. long rooftop and 4 ft. diameter by 8 ft. tall water tank within a nine week period. The model had substructures built of lumber double-sheathed with a drywall fire barrier. Model makers laminated walls with sheets of brickwork cast in hydrocal, then lined the roof with sheet metal and cut fire pits into the roof for the propane jets that would provide the fire effects.

Lead pyrotechnician Kelly Kerby led a team of four to lace the miniature with propane lines and over 30 gas jets that would be timed to camera for the flame elements. There were additional fireboxes used to simulate the flames from unseen windows that were later created digitally. Each propane jet was equipped with a valve so that the height and intensity of the flame could be controlled. This allowed the fire effects team to bring the flames up to the desired performance level when the camera rolled and then to a safe “idle” position between takes.

The big finale of the sequence was the water tower collapse. NDS’ Mechanical Effects Supervisor, Scott Beverly, designed and engineered the effect in the software program Solidworks, which allowed him to run simulations of the action and find any weaknesses in the design before moving forward with fabrication. The water tank had a steel frame lined with bender board and waterproofed with sprayable urethane with one side of the tank made of breakaway material so that it would crush when it hit the rooftop. The tank was mounted on a hydraulically controlled weak knee which allowed the mechanical effects team to choreograph the movement and control the fall rate of the tower to provide a performance as designed in the previz by the Director and VFX Supervisor.

The camera rolled at 54 frames per second and Director of Photography, Tim Angulo, covered the tank collapse with a Technocrane move that swung the camera toward the tank. Two additional cameras were used to capture a close-up and a higher angle. NDS Supervisor Ian Hunter triggered the button that collapsed the tank and sent thousands of gallons of water across the set in a split second. And that’s how a few unseen visual effects heroes used a bit of movie magic to save the day.

About New Deal Studios:
New Deal Studios was founded in 1995 by Matthew Gratzner, Ian Hunter and Shannon Blake Gans. This artist owned and operated, independent company is housed in two buildings in Marina del Rey, California. NDS has developed over the years into a full-service production and visual effects studio unlike any in the world. NDS contributes to each project by using a diverse palette of artistic tools that range from the art department, workshop, production, to the digital department and DI suite. Creativity and solid management practices are the foundation upon which NDS has grown over the years and why all major studios continue to entrust NDS with high-profile projects such as Iron Man, Hancock, Batman: The Dark Knight and upcoming films Night At The Museum 2, Whiteout, 2012, Alice in Wonderland, Terminator: Salvation and Shutter Island.

www.newdealstudios.com

New Deal received an award for “Outstanding Models/Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture” for “The Dark Knight”; and a second award for “Outstanding Models/Miniatures in a Broadcast Program or Commercial” for a fast-paced commercial for New Balance athletic shoes entitled “Anthem”:

Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture
“The Dark Knight” – Garbage Truck Crash Models and Miniatures
Ian Hunter:Visual Effects Supervisor
Forest Fischer: Model Crew Chief
Scott Beverly: Mechanical Effects Supervisor
Adam Gelbart: Lead Model Maker

Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Broadcast Program or Commercial
New Balance – “Anthem”
Ian Hunter: Visual Effects Supervisor
Jon Warren: Miniature Crew Chief
Matt Burlingame: Lead Model Maker
Raymond Moore: Lead Carpenter

About New Deal Studios:
New Deal Studios was founded in 1995 by Matthew Gratzner, Ian Hunter and Shannon Blake Gans. This artist-owned and operated, independent company is housed in two buildings in Marina del Rey, California. NDS has developed over the years into a full-service production and visual effects studio unlike any in the world. NDS contributes to each project by using a diverse palette of artistic tools that range from the art department, workshop, production, to the digital department and DI suite. Creativity and solid management practices are the foundation upon which NDS has grown over the years and why all major studios continue to entrust NDS with high-profile projects such as “Terminator Salvation,” “Shutter Island,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Night At The Museum 2,” “Iron Man,” “Watchmen,” “Whiteout” and “Batman: The Dark Knight.”
www.newdealstudios.com

VISUAL EFFECTS SOCIETY (VES) ANNOUNCES NOMINEES

FOR 7th ANNUAL VES AWARDS

Iron Man Leads with 5 Noms

Awards Ceremony Scheduled for February 21, 2009

Los Angeles, January 19, 2009 – The Visual Effects Society (VES) today announced the nominees for the 7th Annual VES Awards ceremony recognizing outstanding visual effects in over a dozen categories of film, animation, television, commercials and video games. Nominees were chosen Saturday, January 17, 2009, by numerous panels of VES members who viewed submissions at the FotoKem screening facilities in Burbank.

In making the announcement, Jeffrey A. Okun, Chair of the Visual Effects Awards Committee said, “Because visual effects continue to grow in complexity and intensity, touching every aspect of the entertainment industry, we are proud to announce the nominees and their work, which have been deemed by the judges as the best of the best. I congratulate all the artists on their achievements.”

The nominees for the 7th Annual VES Awards are the following:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA – PRINCE CASPIAN
Wendy Rogers, Dean Wright, Andrew Fowler, Greg Butler

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Eric Barba, Edson Williams, Nathan McGuinness, Lisa Beroud

HELLBOY II THE GOLDEN ARMY
Michael J. Wassel, Lucy Killick, Adrian de Wet, Eamonn Butler

CLOVERFIELD
Kevin Blank, Chantal Feghali, Michael Ellis, Eric Leven

IRON MAN
Ben Snow, Hal Hickel, Victoria Alonso, John Nelson

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture

CHANGELING
Michael Owens, Geoffrey Hancock, Jinnie Pak, Dennis Hoffman

EAGLE EYE
Jim Rygiel, Jim Berney, Crys Forsyth-Smith, David Smith

VALKYRIE
Richard R. Hoover, Maricel Pagulayan, Peter Nofz, Daniel Eaton

NIM’S ISLAND
Camille Cellucci, Scott Gordon, Fred Pienkos, James Straus

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
Mark Russell, Richard Friedlander, Eric Robertson, Brett Miller

Outstanding Animation in an Animated Motion Picture

BOLT – The Chase
Chris Williams, Byron Howard, John Murrah, Doug Bennett

KUNG FU PANDA – Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting – The Animation of Kung Fu Panda
Markus Manninen, Dan Wagner, Alex Parkinson, Raymond Zibach

WALTZ WITH BASHIR
Yoni Goodman, Yael Nahlieli

ROADSIDE ROMEO
Pankaj Khandpur, Sherry Bharda, Shrirang Sathaye, Suhael Merchant

WALL-E
Andrew Stanton, Jim Morris, Lindsey Collins, Nigel Hardwidge

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special

DOCTOR WHO – THE NEXT DOCTOR – Cyber King
Dave Houghton, Marie Jones, Matt McKinney, Murray Barber

GENERATION KILL – Episode 2
Adam McInnes, Anthony Bluff, Stephane Paris, David Sewell

JOHN ADAMS – Join or Die
Steve Kullback, Erik Henry, Robert Stromberg, Jeff Goldman

KNIGHT RIDER – Prometheus
Sam Nicholson, Scott Ramsey, Chris Martin, Mike Enriquez

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SEASON FOUR – BSG Space Battle
Gary Hutzel, Michael Gibson, Doug Drexler, Kyle Toucher

SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES – Episode 108
James Lima, Raoul Bolognini, Andrew Orloff, Steve Meyer

GHOST WHISPERER – Ghost in the Machine
Armen Kevorkian, Arthur J. Codron, Matt Scharf, Stefan Brederock

HEROES – The Second Coming
Eric Grenaudier, Mark Spatny, Diego Galtieri, Michael Cook

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program

FRINGE – Episode 101 – Pilot
Kevin Blank, Jay Worth, Andrew Orloff, Barbara Genicoff

JERICHO – Episode 7 – Patriots and Tyrants
Andrew Orloff, Blyth Dalton, Chris Jones, MIchael Cliett

LIFE – Frozen Solid
Max Ivins, Jenny Foster, Danny Kim, Shawn Lipowski

PUSHING DAISIES – The Legend of Merle McQuoddy
William Powloski, Elizabeth Castro, Melanie Tucker, Eric Chauvin

Best Single Visual Effect of the Year

CLOVERFIELD – Statue of Liberty Crash and Woolworth Tower Collapse
Michael Ellis, Chantal Feghali, David Vickery, Ben Taylor

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Benjamin’s Secret
Eric Barba, Lisa Beroud, Steve Preeg, Jonathan Litt

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL – Newborn Klaatu
Jeffrey A. Okun, R. Christopher White, Thomas M. Boland, Ben Thompson

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL – Valley Destruction
Stephanie Hornish, Pablo Helman, Jeff White, Craig Hammack

IRON MAN
Ben Snow, Wayne Billheimer, Victoria Alonso, John Nelson

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

BACARDI – Sundance
Alex Thiesen, Nikos Kalaitzidis, Jay Barton, Zsolt Kalaitzidis

COKE – It’s Mine
Angus Kneale, Asher Edwards, Ben Smith, Dan Williams

FEDEX ‘PIGEON’
Satoko Iinuma, Murray Butler, David Hulin, Spencer Lueders

MONSTER ‘STORK’ – Stork
William Bartlett, Helen Stanley, Dan Seddon, David Mellor

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

GRAND CANYON ADVENTURE – RIVER AT RISK – Main Title Sequence
Mark Freund, Alan Markowitz, Lee Nelson, Josh Mossotti

U2 3D – Selected Shots
Peter Anderson, Jon Shapiro, David Franks, Jeremy Nicolaides

Outstanding Real Time Visuals in a Video Game

CRYSIS WARHEAD
Zoltan Pocza, Gabor Mogyorosi, Tamas Schlagl

DEAD SPACE
Ian Milham, Ben Wanat, Christopher Stone

NEED FOR SPEED UNDERCOVER – Xbox 360
Henry LaBounta, Steve Barcia, Dave Taylor, Carl Jarrett

Outstanding Pre-Rendered Visuals in a Video Game

COMMAND AND CONQUER – RED ALERT 3 – Chrono-Lab, Empire and Allied Scenes
Richard Taylor, Benjamin Hopkins, KaTai Tang, Mical Pedriana

NEED FOR SPEED UNDERCOVER – Cinematics
Henry LaBounta, Steve Barcia, Dave Taylor, Mark Raham

WORLD OF WARCRAFT- WRATH OF THE LICH KING – Intro Cinematic
Jeff Chamberlain, Phillip Hillenbrand

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Benjamin Button
Steve Preeg, Matthias Wittmann, Tom St. Amand, David McLean

HELLBOY II THE GOLDEN ARMY – Elemental Sequence
Colin McEvoy, Christoph Ammann

IRON MAN
Hal Hickel, Bruce Holcomb, James Tooley, John Walker

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES – Hogsqueal
Todd Labonte, Michael Brunet, Nathan Fredenburg, Aharon Bourland

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture

BOLT – Various Sequences – Bolt
Becky Bresee, Bob Davies, Renato Dos Anjos, Wayne Unten Jr.

BOLT – Various Sequences – Rhino
Adam Dykstra, Dave Gottlieb, Clay Kaytis, Hyrum Osmond

KUNG FU PANDA – This Kung Fu Stuff is Hard Work – The Animation of Po
Jack Black, Dan Wagner, Nico Marlet, Peter Farson

WALL-E – WALL-E and Eve Truck Sequence
Ben Burtt, Victor Navone, Austin Lee, Jay Shuster

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program or Commercial

BACARDI – Sundance
James Atkinson, John Cooper, Phillip Prahl, Charles Felix Chabert

BRAINS DANCE
James Sindle, Jesus Parra, Josh Fourtwells

COKE – Stewie
Ben Smith, Andrew Proctor, Jong Jim Choi, Keith Kim

WHO’S GONNA SAVE MY SOUL
Thomas Tannenberger, Olcun Tan

Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

BOLT – Various Sequences
John Murrah, Michael Kaschalk, Dale Mayeda, Adolph Lusinsky

KUNG FU PANDA – The Secret Ingredient – Visual Effects of Kung Fu Panda
Markus Manninen, Alex Parkinson, Amaury Aubel, Lawrence Lee

MADAGASCAR ESCAPE 2 AFRICA – Effects in Africa
Scott Peterson, Laurent Kermel, Andrew Wheeler, Greg Gladstone

WALL-E – Effects in WALL-E
Jason Johnston, Keith Daniel Klohn, Enrique Vila, Bill Watral

Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Feature Motion Picture

CHANGELING – 1928 Downtown L.A.
Romain Bayle, Abel Milanes, Allan Lee, Debor Dunphy

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
Richard Bluff, Barry Williams, Yanick Dusseault, Yusei Uesugi

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK – Matte Paintings
Brett Miller, Garrett Eaton, Matthew Conner

SPEED RACER – Overall Matte Painting Presentation
Lubo Hristov, Dennis Martin, Ron Crabb

Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

DOCTOR WHO – SERIES 4 – Silence in the Library
Simon Wickers, Charlie Bennett, Tim Barter, Arianna Lago

GENERATION KILL – Episode 2
Christian Irles, Yannick Bourgie

MERLIN THE MARK OF NIMUEH SERIES 1 – The Mark of Nimueh
Dave Early, Simon Wickers, Bryan Bartlett, Sara Bennet

Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture

THE DARK KNIGHT – Garbage Truck Crash Models and Miniatures
Ian Hunter, Forest Fischer, Scott Beverly, Adam Gelbart

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
David Fogler, Craig Hammack, Brian Gernand, Geoff Heron

IRON MAN – Suit Up Machine
Aaron McBride, Russell Paul, Gerald Gutschmidt, Keiji Yamaguchi

MY DARLING OF THE MOUNTAINS – Hot Springs
Taro Kiba, Kenji Nagatani, Yuki Minagawa, Hideo Udo

Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

NEW BALANCE – Anthem
Ian Hunter, Jon Warren, Matt Burlingame, Raymond Moore

GHOST WHISPERER – Episode 404 – ‘Claridon Ship Shots’
Eric Hance

Outstanding Created Environment in a Feature Motion Picture

CLOVERFIELD – Brooklyn Bridge Sequence
David Vickery, Phil Johnson, Victor Wade, Sean Stranks

THE DARK KNIGHT – IMAX Gotham City Scapes
Peter Bebb, David Vickery, Philippe Leprince, Andrew Lockley

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL – Temple Heart
Michael Halsted, David Fogler, Steve Walton, David Weitzberg

THE MUMMY – TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR – Avalanche Sequence
Mike Meaker, Rich Mahon, Jason Iverson, Sho Hasegawa

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK – Created Environment
Brett Miller, Garrett Eaton, Matthew Conner

Outstanding Created Environment in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

AUDI – LIVING ROOM – Living Room
Jack Zaloga, Jake Montgomery, Andy Boyd, Sean Durnan

HEROES – Tokyo
Meliza Fermin, Michael Cook, Daniel Kumiega, Anthony Ocampo

JOHN ADAMS – Join or Die – Episode 1 – The Boston Harbor
Paul Graff, Robert Stromberg, Adam Watkins

WRIGLEY’S 5 – Fruit Shredder
Ludo Fealy, Dean Robinson, Adam Leary, Michael Gregory

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, PRINCE CASPIAN
Stuart Lashley, Arundi Asregadoo, Mark Curtis, Richard Baker

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Benjamin Comes Together
Janelle Croshaw, Paul Lambert, Sonja Burchard, Sarahjane Javelo

IRON MAN – Head Under Display – HUD Compositing
Jonathan Rothbart, Dav Rauch, Kyle McCulloch, Kent Seki

QUANTUM OF SOLACE – Sienna Chase and Fight Sequence
Anthony Smith, Christian Kaestner, Adrian Metzelaar, Jon Thum

Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

COKE – It’s Mine – ‘Balloons’
Angus Kneale, Dan Williams, Andrew Proctor

FEDEX ‘PIGEON’ – Pigeon
Andy Walker, Spencer Lueders, Maryanne Butler, Murray Butler

JOHN ADAMS – Join or Die – Episode 1 – The Boston Harbor
Paul Graff, Joshua LaCross, Matt Collorafice

TIME SCULPTURE
Richard de Carteret, Paul Downes, Oliver Dadswell, John Price

Outstanding Special Effects in a Motion Picture

DEFIANCE – Special Effects
Neil Corbould, Steve Warner, Anne Maria Walters, Alan Young

THE DARK KNIGHT – Overall
Chris Corbould, Peter Notley, Ian Lowe

Outstanding Effects in a Student Project

HANGAR NUMBER FIVE – Robot Attack
Nathan Matsuda

LA MAIN DES MAITRES – Revolution
Adrien CaYuS Toupet, Clement Delatre, Vivien Looky Chauvet

OUR WONDERFUL NATURE
Tomer Eshed, Dennis Rettkowski, Tomer Eshed, Dennis Rettkowski

PLASTIC – Transformation Sequence
Sandy Widyanata, Courtney Wise

The 7th Annual VES Awards will take place on Feb. 21, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.

This year the VES will present producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall with the VES Lifetime Achievement Award and Phil Tippett with the Georges Méliès Award.

For more information on the VES Awards, sponsorship and tickets, please visit www.visualeffectssociety.com.

About the VES

The 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.

Each year the VES Awards recognizes outstanding visual effects within film, animation, television, commercials and video games. The nominees for the 7th annual VES Awards were chosen earlier this month by panels of VES members who viewed submissions at the FotoKem screening facilities in Burbank.

Moo2u will feature each film nominated within the Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture category. Full list of films nominated in this category:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Chronicles of Narnia – Prince Caspian
Hellboy II – The Golden Army
Cloverfield
Iron Man