TOPIX/Mad Dog Brings Home The HDTV Prodigal Son Tale For Expo 2000

files/pictures/picture-35.jpgTOPIX/Mad Dog was tapped to create the visual effects for the HDTV animated retelling of the Prodigal Son tale entitled, CHOICE. The 25-minute film was produced for Expo 2000’s "Pavilion of Hope" in Hanover, Germany. Presented in six languages, the film started airing in June and will run until October. The project was animated by Canuck Creations in Toronto and digitally scanned, inked and painted in Viet Nam at One Shot Pro and Planet Wave. "Originally, our job was to handle the post – to finish off the process and put the footage into continuous form. However, what was shot in Viet Nam was totally unlinear," explained TOPIX/Mad Dog executive producer Sylvain Taillon. "The schedule had gotten quite tight so, rather than go the traditional route, we ended up completing the scenes digitally, cleaning up a lot, working with the timing, and doing much more than we’d originally expected to. Essentially, we took all the [footage] and created a continuous HDTV master with seamless transitions and continuous color correction. In addition, we did some morphing, volumetric lighting effects and composited scenes." The film was produced by Cook Communications Ministries International.