Today marks the release of the feature film Perfect Stranger, directed by James Foley and starring Halle Berry and Bruce Willis, and the opening title sequence is the work of New York-based Rhinofx. In the movie, a journalist (Berry) goes undercover to ferret out ad agency exec Harrison Hill (Willis) as her best friend’s killer.
The idea for the opening sequence was to create something ambiguous. Through gradual progression you go from one color space into another with a lot of intricate details of nebulous matter. Then you realize that you are looking inside an eye that is being scanned. It’s actually Halle Berry’s eye and she is trying to get authorization into a building. Arman Matin, visual effects supervisor, said the sequence is based upon a fractal generation program.
“This time I wanted to design something that really pushed that fractal boundary and create something that looked a lot more filmic,” Matin said.
As if Rhinofx didn’t already have a lot on its plate with Perfect Stranger and spot work, the company was also tapped to do visual effects for 57 shots on The Nanny Diaries, starring Scarlett Johansson and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, set to be released this fall. While this was not Rhinofx’s first foray into feature films this job was by far its most extensive, involving story boarding, pre-viz, shooting, CG and compositing.
While working on two feature films and spots simultaneously was not without challenges, Camille Geier, senior vp of production, said, “It’s completely elevated us to a whole new level. A lot of what we learned will now be implemented in commercials–from workflow and a technical point of view to resources and how to be more efficient with the R&D process. It is actually more efficient and more cost effective to allow yourself a little bit more planning time.”
One of the things researched extensively for The Nanny Diaries was repeatable cameras. Harry Dorrington, visual effects supervisor, pointed out they needed a system that was affordable and efficient. Factors to consider were setup time, constraint of location and portability.
In The Nanny Diaries–which tells the story of Annie Braddock (Johansson) who is hired to care for the young son of a wealthy Upper East Side couple–there is a sequence of shots where Annie observes people in environments. These live-action moments freeze and transition into museum dioramas where audiences then find Annie looking on, this time in a museum environment. “These seamless shots required extensive previsualization, multiple motion control passes repeated in multiple environments and CGI elements,” explained Matin. “We had to be able to set up a motion control camera in Central Park, on Fifth Avenue during rush hour, on a west village rooftop and an alley in Soho. These recorded moves and camera positioning had to be replicated in a stage environment several weeks later.”
So they relied on the Mo-Sys Control System by Kontrol Freax. Matin said most mocon systems are very bulky and take a lot of prep time. But the Mo System does not have to be pre-programmed. The camera operator performs his functions, which are recorded by the system.Then it repeats the same moves.
Rhinofx also worked on a dream sequence involving the nanny flying over New York City. The day of the shoot was gray so they modeled a majority of the city to create artificial lighting. To create a romantic look, they used digital matte painting, creating new skies and new directions of light, which involved tracking the shot and building replacement CG elements in some cases to further augment the lighting.
Geier pointed out it is unusual for a visual effects house to take on a lead role in a live-action romantic comedy like The Nanny Diaries. “We were lucky with The Nanny Diaries that the directors were very interested in hearing our ideas, not only the technical execution but creatively how the script and those scenes can be enhanced. That was a different dynamic than what you get with commercials. Agencies are often looking for collaboration, but this was going into a little more depth, making the narrative work as well,” Dorrington said.
Beyoncé’s Halftime Show Highlighted Netflix’s NFL Debut On Xmas Day
Beyoncé provided more excitement than either game during Netflix's NFL debut on Christmas Day.
Riding into her halftime appearance on a white horse, the 32-time Grammy winner rocked her hometown Houston crowd with a nearly 13-minute performance on Wednesday.
She surprised fans by bringing along Shaboozey to perform "Sweet Honey Buckiin" and Post Malone joined her for "Levii's Jeans."
The action on the field didn't live up to expectations as the NFL showcased four of the AFC's top five teams.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce exposed a glitch in Pittsburgh's defense during Kansas City's 29-10 rout in the first game.
The broadcast itself went off just fine, quickly becoming the second-most popular live title on Netflix to date, according to NFL Media.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens led C.J. Stroud and the Texans to 17-2 at halftime before Beyoncé stole the show.
Mariah Carey opened Wednesday's doubleheader with a taped performance of "All I Want for Christmas is You" and then the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs trounced the Steelers to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
There were no signs of any major streaming issues during the game after Netflix experienced minor blunders at the start of the pregame show. The broadcast opened with roughly 10 seconds of silence because it appeared studio host Kay Adams' microphone wasn't turned on.
Beyoncé's live performance at NRG Stadium was supposed to be the biggest test for the streaming giant and it seemed to go off without a hitch.
Mahomes threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns and Kelce had eight catches for 84 yards and one score as the Chiefs (15-1) earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The... Read More