Icecandy Ent. recently provided more than 20 vfx shots for Sci Fi Channel's upcoming feature, SLIPSTREAM, from Promark Ent. Working with director David van Eyssen, Icecandy developed on-screen graphics, composited effects and created the main title sequence for the time-travel based action drama using Profound Effects' Useful Things 1.6.
Sean Astin (LORD OF THE RINGS) steals a secret government PDA-sized time travel device that links to a mother computer. The signature effect of the time travel process is a SPIROGRAPH-like flowing geometric pattern that Icecandy reports was inspired by their research into string theory, black holes and relativity.
The patterns, rendered in Adobe After Effects at HD resolution, were created by Icecandy leveraging Useful Things' unique extensibility. Icecandy originally attempted to code an After Effects plug-in themselves, but found that looming deadlines made creating a custom effect in Useful Things to be far more expedient. Simon Buckingham, Icecandy's vfx supervisor, said, "Useful Things provided an incredibly quick and easy way to create custom effects within After Effects. Within a few days our programmer, Ivan Snow, had something up and running. Profound Effects then provided exemplary support which was an invaluable aid, especially when delivering animated graphics to the live-shoot of a feature film."
Useful Things 1.6 has a suggested retail price of $395 and is available from the Profound Effects store, located on the Web at www.profoundeffects.com/store. Profound Effects Inc., based in Verona, Wisconsin, was founded in 2001 by Perry Kivolowitz, Paul Miller and Dan Sterling.
London-based Icecandy (www.icecandy.com) is an animation and multimedia company working in television, film and interactive.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
