Whodoo EFX has designed, created and produced over 80 digital visual effects for the independent feature film “Anamorph,” starring Willem DaFoe and Scott Speedman, set for release April 18 by IFC Films. Whodoo Visual Effects Supervisor Helena Packer Burnson made the announcement.
Whodoo worked in association with acclaimed Senior Visual Effects Supervisor Richard Edlund for the “Anamorph” project. The new film is a smart thriller, directed by Henry S. Miller, with Marissa McMahon as producer. In “Anamorph,” Willem Dafoe is Stan, an aesthete/detective called back into police service to crack an emerging case—an artist whose medium is murder. This brings Stan painful flashbacks of the serial murder case that originally caused him to leave the force.
Mr. Edlund said, “I’ve known and collaborated with Helena for about 17 years—she’s a friend, she’s bright and able, she’s tasteful, ambitious, and has the kind of stick-to-it-iveness that has enabled us to succeed on all of the projects in which we’ve worked together. After we all completed Frank Oz’s ‘Stepford Wives,’ production designer Jackson De Govia recommended us for ‘Anamorph,’ so it seemed only natural for us to work together again. And we love New York!”
Director Henry Miller said, “There is no limit to the superlatives I could give describing what Helena and Whodoo Efx did for ‘Anamorph.’ In particular, Helena, working with Richard, really did a great job of depicting anamorphosis—the creating of a duality of imagery—that is featured within the opening title sequence. The visual effects throughout the film were also technically and aesthetically amazing. It’s one thing to talk about an effects shop doing anamorphic titles, but it was another thing to actually pull that off. Helena and Whodoo were able to take an extremely abstract idea and make it a reality. The other hard thing for them to accomplish was the mapping of an anamorphic image onto actress Clea DuVall’s back. A lot of companies can do good CG work in this day and age, but not too many can craft these anamorphic images. Helena and Whodoo are the best!”
Added Packer, “With ‘Anamorph,’ we had a great chance to work with extremely talented people like Richard and Henry–a wonderful experience. They provided us with great creative artistic inspiration, they were both very supportive and nurturing, and each played a strong role in the process. Everyone on our team contributed to making these effects really exciting. The shots were seamlessly produced by Sarah Paul, who made the process easy for us, and the success of these FX also owe a lot to the artistic talents of Janice Lee, Eric Bruno and Harry Paakkonen—not just technicians, but real artists.”
“We were able to design and produce a highly unusual opening title sequence for ‘Anamorph,’ and our effects seen throughout the film reveal crime clues through Renaissance art techniques. These effects had to propel the story forward, while keeping the artistic vision of Henry, the director. The effects were imbibed with the styles of a number of famed Renaissance period artists, including Francis Bacon, Velasquez and Egon Schiele, to name a few.”
Earlier this year, Whodoo EFX supplied over 200 visual effects to the hit Universal Pictures film “Charlie Wilson’s War.”
WHODOO EFX TEAM FOR “ANAMORPH”
Helena Packer Burnson….. Visual Effects Supervisor
Sarah M. Paul….. Visual Effects Producer
Robert Skotak….. Matte Art/Special Animation
Janice Lee….. Compositor
Marla Carter Barrett….. Compositor
Eric Gregory Bruno….. Compositor
Joe Morrison….. Compositor
Harry Paakkonen….. 3D Artist
Fabio Zapata….. 3D Artist
David Brzozowski….. Graphic Design/Animation
John H. Burnson….. Graphic Design
ABOUT WHODOO’S WORK ON “CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR:”
Whodoo EFX also produced and delivered over 200 digital visual effects for the Mike Nichols’ directed feature film “Charlie Wilson’s War,” starring Tom Hanks, which will be released by Universal Home Entertainment on DVD April 22. Whodoo again worked in association with Visual Effects Supervisor Richard Edlund, ASC, for this project, and created visual effects which included the depiction of a vast refugee camp. Helena Packer Burnson explains, “In the movie, the camera pulls out wide from a CU of Tom Hanks as ‘Charlie Wilson,’ to an extremely wide vista of a massive refugee camp. We created that camp from the ground up, including the matte painting, concept and animation.”
Whodoo’s other effects contributions to “Charlie Wilson’s War” included a 3D digital Russian helicopter, war scenes including explosions and destruction of Afghani villages, and the creation of an animated Las Vegas Strip circa l982, among others.
“Charlie Wilson’s War” is a Universal Pictures film, directed by Mike Nichols, written by Aaron Sorkin and starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The drama is based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson’s (Hanks) covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.
ABOUT WHODOO EFX:
Founded in l999, Whodoo EFX provides a creative environment in which clients and artists alike can work together to develop new and exciting visual effects for a wide range of projects. The company is comprised of a pool of highly successful and award winning professionals. Helena Packer Burnson is the president and founder of Whodoo EFX, and serves as the company’s Visual Effects Supervisor. Packer and her team have garnered numerous major industry awards, contributing unique and acclaimed visual effects to dozens of feature films, episodic TV series, commercials, and music videos.
Whodoo EFX is located at 2712 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA, 90403. The phone is 310/828-6060 and the web is www.whodooefx.com
