Feature film, television and commercial visual effects company Entity FX announced today recent work on the critically acclaimed television series Breaking Bad, airing Sunday nights at 10:00 PM on AMC.
Press Release from Entity FX
Santa Monica, CA (May 20, 2010) - Feature film, television and commercial visual effects company Entity FX announced today recent work on the critically acclaimed television series Breaking Bad, airing Sunday nights at 10:00 PM on AMC. Entity FX's work can be seen in a number of recent episodes, including "I See You," which aired May 9, "Kafkaesque," which aired May 16 and "Fly," airing May 23.
Breaking Bad spectacularly breaks the mold of suburban tranquility as it follows straight-laced high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston, who has won two Emmy Awards® for the role) into the moral and legal twilight of the drug sub-culture. Driven to desperation by a diagnosis of Stage III cancer and by his worries about the financial security of his family, Walt applies his scientific training and discipline toward producing the best crystal meth that anyone in Albuquerque has ever seen -- thereby unleashing a tsunami of consequences on himself and those around him. The show's third season, which began in March, explores Walt's further struggles as he desperately maneuvers to avoid loss of his loved ones, his freedom or his life.
The Entity FX visual effects team helped put many of the show's characters in precarious physical situations.
In "I See You," artists digitally removed the legs of a professional assassin whose hit had gone wrong -- and helped him hop out of a hospital bed full of wires and monitors and drag himself across the floor.
In the "Fly" episode, Entity FX was responsible for creating and animating a principal character of the piece: a common housefly that has gotten into the lab, and threatens to contaminate Walt's batch of product. Entity FX created a CG insect that was capable of playing any role -- from a barely visible dot to a frame-filling monster.
Complex rig removal and digital stunt treatment by Entity FX artists increased the jeopardy experienced by Walt and his protege Jesse (Aaron Paul) in other sequences.
"The fly was great fun because it was a performance piece that had to play against the actors," said Mat Beck, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Entity FX. It was driven, through description, by [director] Rian Thompson and [show creator] Vince Gilligan and when cameras were rolling, by Bryan and Aaron, who were terrific at creating something in space that wasn't there. Vince was adamant that the fly be 'just a fly,' not extraordinary in any way, except in avoiding the characters' frantic efforts to catch it. The challenge was to give it impact and make it and believable at the same time."
Entity FX credits for Breaking Bad include: Mat Beck, Senior VFX Supervisor; David Stump, Additional On-Set VFX Supervisor (some sequences); Dan Rucinski, VFX Executive Producer; Trent Smith, VFX Producer / Co-Superviser; VFX Coordinator, Bob Hamel; Brian Harding, Lead VFX Supervisor; David Alexander, Lead 3D Artist/Compositor; Mike "Pharoah" Barrett, 3D Artist/2D Compositor; Kaz Yoshida, Junji Hirano, 3D Artists; Leslie Conover, 3D Artist/Modeler/Tracker; Rik Panero, 3D Artist/Tracker, Eli Jarra, Paul Santagada, Jeremy Renteria, Compositors; Jacob Debbs, Rob Reinhart, Seth Helpap, John Cornejo, Christy Angell, Compositors/Roto/Rig Removal Artists; and Nate Smalley and Michael Armstrong, I/O.
About Entity FXEntity FX specializes in visual effects for feature film, television and commercials. With facilities in Santa Monica, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Entity FX delivers creativity on demand for today's productions with a range of services in previsualization, on-set supervision, virtual backgrounds, matte painting, environmental effects, compositing, CG animation, specialty photography and more.
Entity FX has contributed visual effects to a range of motion pictures, including upcoming films Earthbound and Betty Anne Waters, Michael Jackson's This Is It, Law Abiding Citizen, The Final Destination, The Spirit, The X Files: I Want To Believe, Into the Wild, Rush Hour 3, Miami Vice, Spider-Man 2, The Aviator, Scary Movie 4, Herbie: Fully Loaded and many others. Credits in television include The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, Eastwick, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Harper's Island, Pushing Daisies, Fight Science, Crime 360, 48 Hours Mystery and many other television pilots, specials and shows.
Entity FX has received numerous awards and nominations from the Visual Effects Society and two Emmy Awards. For more information, visit www.entityfx.com or call (310) 899-9779 (Santa Monica) or (604) 646-2400 (Vancouver).
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
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