Proxima, an Italian digital effects partner of famed Cinecittà Studios in Rome, has been handed a large portion of the VFX work on EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING, the prequel to the legendary horror film that Warner Bros. will release February 6, 2004. The Paul Schrader film was shot at Cinecittà and Proxima is part of Cinecittà Digital Village, which is quickly becoming one of the most important digital arenas in Europe.
In fact, the move marks a pivotal point in Cinecittàs expansion into the digital arena. Morgan Creek is the first American production company to take full advantage of Cinecittà Studios' post-production facilities. Among the new technological advances utilized on EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING is the Univisium 1:2 format, invented by the cinematographer of the prequel, the legendary Vittorio Storaro, and found exclusively at Proxima. The format allows for the processing of film at a quality level twice as high as the digital quality applied at most other places (4K, or 4,000 pixels-per-frame, as opposed to 2K, or 2,000 pixels-per-frame).
Cinecittà Studios offers 25 operational suites, entirely cabled in a full range of digital formats, including state of the art digital front-end and post-production services. Also on hand are highly skilled internationally-renowned colorists, digital artists, editors and a full post-production staff. Cinecittà recently processed GANGS OF NEW YORK, which was shot at the studio. Mel Gibson's THE PASSION is being shot at Cinecittà.
Proxima (www. proximasfx.com) consists of three companies: parent company Proxima, founded in 1991, which handles the realization of digital VFX and digital post-production for movies and TV; Ox Art, founded in 2002 by Fabrizio Storaro, son of Vittorio, and is responsible for the creation of digital cinema sets (Translite) in Univisium 1:2, seen most recently in the film GOYA and the miniseries DUNE; and Cydonia, named for the infamous face on the surface of Mars, and a relatively young spin-off dedicated to special projects more experimental in nature.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
