ANIMATION WORLD NETWORK · FEBRUARY 28, 2006 · BY RICK DEMOTT
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network · Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
Toronto-based visual effects firm Mr. X Inc., has completed the visual effects work on 16 BLOCKS, the new Warner Bros. Pictures release (March 3) from director Richard Donner. The action thriller, which stars Bruce Willis and Mos Def, required the sorts of invisible enhancements that have become increasingly common in the past few years.
“Dick (Donner) was not looking to add splashy ‘in your face’ visual effects,” recalled visual effects supervisor Evan Jacobs. “In fact, I think the audience will be hard-pressed to pick out our work on this film.”
Few effects were planned for while the film was shooting on location in Toronto. “I read the script and met with Donner, and I said, ‘We have to be a part of this film’,” added Jacobs. “The producers kept saying there weren’t any effects needed, but we kept after them, offering to help any way we could. Sure enough, when they got into the editing room, they started seeing the possibilities.”
Much of the work Mr. X contributed to the film 16 BLOCKS centered around addressing continuity oversights or altering the original photography. For example, in order to earn a PG-13 rating from the MPAA, the filmmakers asked the visual effects team to remove blood from several shots. “Often we’re asked to add gore, so it was interesting to have to reduce it,” recalled Jacobs.
One of the key sequences involved adding CG sparks and smoke to a bus chase. “The production footage had some physical elements, but they wanted to add more. The results are subtle, but they really add to the excitement of the sequence.”
Although their work may go unnoticed by most moviegoers, Jacobs is still satisfied. “I’m not a big fan of visual effects for its own sake,” he concluded. “Our goal is to collaborate and support the filmmaker’s vision, wherever that takes us. Sometimes, as on this film, it’s what you don’t see that makes the difference.”
Bringing together a unique mix of artists, filmmakers, vfx supervisors and programmers, Mr. X (www.Mrxfx.com) specializes in partnering with filmmakers to provide story-driven visual enhancements. The artists and creative minds at Mr. X are known for their superb, photorealistic achievements in CGI, their skills in digital matte painting, compositing and post/vfx supervision, as well as for their realistic digital creations of epic-scale and otherwise impossible stunts. Recent credits include A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, FOUR BROTHERS and THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED.
Archived copy. Original article: awn.com/news/mr-x-provides-invisible-vfx-16-blocks (Animation World Network, February 28, 2006).