New York-based independent design and VFX house, Phosphene, partnered with HBO for the third consecutive season of David Simon’s New Orleans-based “Treme.”
Phosphene Partner and VFX Executive Producer, Vivian Connolly, explained: “In this kind of grounded, realistic, character driven drama, the visual effects challenge is always making sure the audience has no idea there are any VFX in the show.”
One example of “invisible” effects in season three involves the bulldozing of a practical New Orleans location established in previous episodes. Production built and tore down a façade of the house on an empty lot. “The trick was to then seamlessly composite the destruction of the house into the practical location,” explained Visual Effects Producer, Lea Prainsack.
Phosphene Lead Digital Artist/Visual Effects Supervisor Aaron Raff said: “We had to create and fill in what you would see behind the house, had it actually been torn down. The matte painting had to be integrated into an environment the audience was already very familiar with.” Phosphene Partner and Visual Effects Supervisor, John Bair, added: “There was no margin for error or the audience would have been taken out of this important moment.”
When asked about her experience working with Phosphene, “Treme” Co-Producer, Jessica Levin said: "Phosphene has been “Treme’s” dedicated VFX partner for 3 complete seasons now. Vivian Connolly, John Bair and their outstanding team are perfectionists who have never let us down. Their creative savvy, dedication and flexibility within budget constraints make them a dearly valued visual effects house for us.”
Phosphene utilized Nuke, 3ds Max with V-ray, Adobe Creative Suite, and PCs running Windows 7 64-bit in the execution of this project.
About PHOSPHENE
Phosphene is an independent design and visual effects house led by founders/co-owners John Bair and Vivian Connolly who have collaborated on projects since 2005. In 2010, the duo launched Phosphene and immediately hit the ground running with visual effects and title design for Barry Levinson’s “You Don’t Know Jack” (HBO), Phillip Noyce’s “Salt,” George Nolfi’s “The Adjustment Bureau,” Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver,” Brad Anderson’s “Vanishing on 7th Street,” Brett Ratner’s “Tower Heist,” Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” Jason Reitman’s “Young Adult,” David Frankel’s “Hope Springs” and Tony Gilroy’s “The Bourne Legacy.”
Phosphene is currently wrapping up production on “The Europa Report” a contemporary space adventure developed by Wayfare Entertainment and Misher Films, with acclaimed Ecuadorian director Sebastian Cordero at the helm.
For the company’s television clients, in addition to their Emmy-nominated work for Todd Haynes’ HBO miniseries “Mildred Pierce,” Phosphene is busy on “Boardwalk Empire” and Stephen Frears’ “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” for HBO, season three of CBS’s “Blue Bloods,” and currently at work on season seven of NBC’s “30 Rock.”
Phosphene is located at 180 Varick Street, Suite 1621, New York, NY 10014. For further information contact Vivian via email; Phone (646) 350-3370; Fax (212) 671-1734; or visit www.phosphenefx.com.
Phosphene creative team credits
Partner and Visual Effects Supervisor John Bair
Partner and VFX Executive Producer Vivian Connolly
Visual Effects Producer Lea Prainsack
Lead Digital Artist/Visual Effects Supervisor Aaron Raff
