Visual effects supervisors on Hollywood blockbuster transform Boston, elevate action sequences throughout the film.
Boston, MA -- ZERO VFX delivered over 600 visual effects shots on the production of Hollywood’s latest blockbuster film, The Equalizer, starring Denzel Washington. As the visual effects supervisor throughout the production of the film, ZERO VFX co-founder Sean Devereaux played a significant role influencing the design and scope of the visual effects for the film.
By working closely with the director and producers from early stage pre-production and planning, to on-set VFX supervision, ZERO VFX and its creative team were able to successfully anticipate challenges and influence the work while on set, and also help drive the story forward. Enhancing lead actor’s Denzel Washington’s presence throughout the film, the team at ZERO also created mind-blowing sequences that created an elevated sense of tension and excitement.
During 2014, ZERO VFX also acted as VFX supervisor on such major film releases as Sex Tape, starring Cameron Diaz, and American Hustle starring Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence.
“Working so closely with director Antoine Fuqua was an amazing experience because we had first-hand insights into his vision for the film -- and that insight helped us identify some significant VFX challenges and how to solve them,” said Devereaux.
"The Equalizer was not what you’d call a typical VFX film,” Devereaux continued. “The challenge for us as artists was to realize Antoine’s vision and drive the story forward without getting in the way of that vision. We found ways to enhance the action sequences using visual effects, allowing Denzel Washington to perform his own stunts and be present in each action shot, making each scene look very real, very visceral and very intimate. There were over 250 sequences of 3D modeled environments shot on blue screen that you’d never expect. We completed over 600 VFX shots with a team of 50 people, who acted much like the VFX Department on the film. We’re lucky to have such an amazing team!”
Also as part of the post production workflow on The Equalizer, ZERO VFX relied on ZYNC Render, a cloud-based rendering application it had developed and recently sold to Google. The team at ZERO continues to develop innovative technologies, initially developed for use in their own studios, but ultimately, ZERO VFX's goal is to create software and systems usable not only for the professional artist, but translatable to the prosumer and consumer market. The VFX component of the business serves as an incubation sandbox for software development projects. ZYNC Render was the first technology produced from this model.
Source: ZERO VFX
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
