Visual effects facility CafeFX received a Creative Arts Emmy® Award for outstanding special visual effects for their work on the HBO Films miniseries “John Adams.” The seven-part historical epic received a total of eight Creative Arts Emmy Awards and 23 Emmy nominations, the most of any program this year. HBO topped the list of winners at the 60th Creative Arts Emmy Awards with 16 golden statuettes.
CafeFX created virtual set extensions, matte paintings and 3D visual effects to augment HBO’s sumptuous art direction and production design. The visual effects work is a vivid and authentic evocation of time and place, seamlessly underlying the drama that unfolds over John Adams’ lifetime.
Working from old maps and paintings, as well as reference materials from their own historical research, CafeFX recreated Boston of the 1770s and the blockade of British ships across Boston Harbor. The visual effects work also includes a wintry scene at Grosvenor Square in London, Philadelphia in 1776, a painterly depiction of the canals in Amsterdam, the royal court at St. James’s Palace, and the historic launch of the Montgolfier hot air balloon in Paris.
HBO’s visual effects supervisor Erik Henry and HBO’s visual effects producer Steve Kullback collaborated with CafeFX visual effects supervisor Jeff Goldman, visual effects producer David Van Dyke and compositing supervisor Edwardo Mendez, all of whom were nominated, on the production of CafeFX‘s 320 film-resolution shots.
The Emmy nomination is shared with Digital Backlot visual effects supervisor Paul Graff, visual effects producer Christina Graff and visual effects designer Robert Stromberg, and special effects coordinator Ken Gorrell, who all contributed to the show’s visual effects.
Jeff Barnes, CEO of CafeFX said “We are thrilled to have won an Emmy Award for ‘John Adams.’ We’re very proud of our CafeFX team and especially want to thank Erik Henry and Robert Stromberg for their extraordinary talents and vision in bringing ‘John Adams’ to life. We have all collaborated on many exceptional projects over the years and it is nice to be recognized together on such an outstanding achievement. The HBO brand is synonymous with outstanding programming and we are very proud to be associated with them and this superb miniseries.”
CafeFX is currently in production on visual effects for ASHECLIFFE, SEVEN POUNDS and WHITE OUT and recently completed THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR, THE BATTLE OF RED CLIFF, LOVE RANCH, SPEED RACER, NIM’S ISLAND, THE KITE RUNNER and SPIDER-MAN™ 3.
The Creative Arts Emmy Awards will air on September 20 and the Primetime Emmy Awards gala will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theater on ABC on September 21.
About CafeFX
CafeFX is an award-winning feature film visual effects facility offering visual effects production and supervision, CG character creation, and 3D animation. Founded in 1993 by Jeff Barnes and David Ebner, CafeFX is located in the heart of Santa Barbara County. The company’s credits include SPEED RACER, THE KITE RUNNER, SPIDER-MAN™ 3, PAN’S LABYRINTH, THE DEPARTED, SIN CITY, KING KONG, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA and THE AVIATOR.
Its commercial and music video division, Santa Monica-based The Syndicate, is a creative design, branding services and digital production studio, specializing in live action direction, visual effects, animation, motion graphics, and telecine.
CafeFX and The Syndicate are held by umbrella corporation the ComputerCafe Group, which has also established Sententia Entertainment, a long form production company. With a focus on both live action and animated projects, Sententia is poised to capitalize on years of experience in the feature film market while developing a catalog of properties utilizing the proven strengths of sister companies CafeFX and The Syndicate. Among Sententia’s credits are the Academy Award®-winning PAN’S LABYRINTH and DANIKA.
