Technicolor (Euronext Paris: TCH, OTCQX: TCLRY) has named Steffen Wild to head its Virtual Production department.
In this role, and reporting to Kerry Shea, head of the Technicolor Pre-Production Studio, Wild will be instrumental in the studio’s ongoing success as he partners with storytellers to bridge the gap between filmmakers and VFX throughout the production pipeline. His group will work both in facility and on-location to deliver a fully integrated pipeline and shooting services with the flexibility of a small, manageable team–allowing critical players in the filmmaking process to collaborate, view, and manipulate media assets and scenes across multiple locations as the production process unfolds.
“As head of Virtual Production, Wild will help drive the studio’s forward-looking approach to efficient filmmaking by bringing previously separate departments together into a single pipeline,” said Shea. “We currently see what used to be separate departments merge together. For example, pre-vis, tech-vis and post-vis, which were all separate ways to find answers to production questions, are now in the process of collaborating together in virtual production.”
An industry veteran, Wild has over 20 years’ experience, including 10 years spearheading Jim Henson’s Creature Shop’s expending efforts in innovative animation technologies, virtual studio productions and new ways of visual storytelling. As SVP of digital puppetry and visual effects at the Creature Shop, Wild crafted new production techniques using proprietary game engine technologies. As such, Wild brings to Technicolor in-depth knowledge of global and local VFX and animation production, rapid prototyping, and cloud-based entertainment projects. In addition to his role in the development of next-generation cinematic technologies, he has set up VFX/animation studios in the U.S., China, and South-East Europe.
“I’m absolutely excited that Technicolor is committed to virtual production as we are embedded into the mindset of filmmaking,” said Wild. “The history of filmmaking that is in our company’s DNA and the fact that we can now extend our playing field from the very early stages of pre-production across all aspects of the filmmaking process to final color correction is an extremely exciting idea. MPC’s creative collaboration with Jon Favreau on The Lion King laid the groundwork for the new fabric of how we’re going to create and experience content in the future.”
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More