LOS ANGELES - Proof, Inc., one of the film industrys leading visualization houses, provided extensive previs and postvis services to Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, which was released by 21 st Century Fox Studios on December 19.
According to Erik Nash, VFX supervisor on Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Proof started working on this film while the effects team was still prepping. While they weren't the only previs company on this project, they did create many sequences, and they stayed on through the end of postproduction as the sole postvis team, he says. Proof brought a great deal of creativity to the table. So much of the movie depicts creatures that come to life - creatures that could only be presented digitally. All these creature sequences that Proof worked on, they provided the first pass, which amounted to blocking the animation for the characters. In many cases, the animation for the characters didn't change all that much when those sequences were later handed off to the VFX vendors.
Nash adds, Proof's creativity often resulted in ideas that ended up in the final version of the movie. Some of Proof's best sequences included the Pompeii sequence, in which their work was invaluable. That sequence basically took two live-action actors against greenscreen and put them in an entirely new world. Also, the Xiangliu sequence, which involves Ben Stiller ( Larry Daley ) and Dan Stevens ( Sir Lancelot, ) battling a nine-headed serpent that has just come to life, was really a terrific sequence, done in postvis. Proof delivered the broad strokes of that sequence and brought it to life. While I have worked on past projects that Proof has been involved with, this was first time I had the opportunity to work directly with them. Their previs supervisor, Eric Benedict, was terrific to collaborate with. The thing that impressed me perhaps the most about Proof was the speed at which they accomplished the work, both in pre- and postvis. They delivered rremarkable turnaround times throughout this entire project. I look forward to working with them again in the future.
Eric Benedict served as Proof's previs supervisor on the new film, working on the project for 10 months. Proof was initially retained to produce the previs on one sequence in which actors Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan appear as three-inch-tall characters who get sucked thru a ventilation shaft at the museum. After that, Proof was next commissioned to develop several more sequences featuring these small characters, including the explosion of Pompeii, and the end credits/party sequence.
Benedict and Proof also supplied techvis to the project, creating 3D models of the greenscreen stages so that the filmmakers could merge the real-life actors against the CG-generated scenery. Proof helped determine where the cameras should be positioned to film Wilson and Coogan from far away to help make them appear only three inches tall. Proof also worked out a number of shots featuring the small characters in postvis.
Benedict and Proof further showed the filmmakers where 3D characters and creatures, such as zebras, elephants, hippos, a wooly mammoth, and a nine-headed demon snake, should be placed relative to where Ben Stiller and the other live-action cast members would be walking through various environments.
In addition, the visualization studio worked with the filmmakers on stuntvis, which involved the real-life stunt team, taking video footage of their stunts and placing it within a CG environment. This allowed the stunt team and the director to see how the practical action would play out in the cinematic world the filmmakers were trying to create. Stuntvis is an effective way by which to test action sequences before committing to filming them.
Benedict has been working with Proof for five years, has previously worked on previs for such films as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Captain America 2, RIPD, and The Last Stand. He says, This was a fun project with a large team that allowed me to work closely with VFX Supervisor Erik Nash and a number of the VFX vendor houses. We got to interact and talk with a wide breath of people, which allowed for the sharing of a variety of creative ideas and approaches. The new film also allowed me my first opportunity to animate a great number of creatures from all walks of anthropomorphic walks of life, helping to give each of them a fun and unique personality.
North America Stories
19/04/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 18: (L-R) John Early and Theda Hammel attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Stress Positions premiere at Library Center Theatre on ...
19/04/2024
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
19/04/2024
Pictured: Midnight Family
By Stephanie Ornelas
A great way to get to know a city as culturally unique and rich as Mexico City is to listen to the stories tol...
19/04/2024
St. Louis, MO - April 18, 2024 - Studio Network Solutions (SNS) announced today that MOD won three prestigious industry awards at NAB Show 2024 held this week i...
19/04/2024
MELBOURNE, Fla., April 19, 2024 - The Board of Directors of L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.16 per common share, payab...
19/04/2024
PARIS Intel has announced that its plans for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 will include using artificial intelligence technology powered by Intel ...
19/04/2024
LAS VEGAS Technologists working on all aspects of the 8K media production chain offered an optimistic update at the 2024 NAB Show on the state of 8K in video pr...
19/04/2024
OpenDrives New Software-Defined Platform Atlas Wins 2024 NAB Show Product of the...
19/04/2024
Grass Valley Showcases Next-Generation T3 Series 4K/HD Digital Recording and Pla...
19/04/2024
NiTRo's M-CUBE Studio Levels Up Esports Productions with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton April 19, 2024
0 Comments
Esports' rapid rise to popularity can...
19/04/2024
Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 19
Brie Clayton April 19, 2024
0 Comments
Major update adds new DaVinci Neural Engine AI tools, new color ...
19/04/2024
Sony Pictures Entertainment is reportedly in talks with Apollo Global Management to make a bid to acquire Paramount which itself is currently discussing a merge...
19/04/2024
CBS Stations has launched CBS News California Investigates , with Julie Watts named regional CBS California correspondent. She will uncover and raise awarenes...
19/04/2024
MediaCo Holding, which owns radio stations WQHT (Hot 97) and WBLS in New York, said it acquired Estrella Media's Spanish-language video, audio and digital c...
19/04/2024
Netflix has ordered season five of fantasy drama The Witcher, which will be the final season. Production has recently begun on season four, and the two remainin...
19/04/2024
DirecTV Stream said it added eight more The CW affiliates to its lineup on Thursday....
19/04/2024
CBS has renewed Elsbeth for the 2024-2025 season. The drama, with Carrie Preston in the lead role, debuted February 29....
19/04/2024
With the Bears picking first, NBCUniversal Local's properties in Chicago plan extensive coverage of the NFL draft next week....
19/04/2024
PHILADELPHIA As government subsidies for broadband services come to an end, Comcast has launched NOW, a new product portfolio of lower-cost Internet, mobile and...
19/04/2024
DirecTV Stream has added more local CW stations for its streaming customers in Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Hartford-New Haven Conn., Phoenix, San ...
19/04/2024
NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES MediaCo Holding Inc. has announced that it has acquired all of Estrella Media's network, content, digital, and commercial operations....
19/04/2024
SAN JOSE, Calif. Adobe has announced that the all-new Adobe Express mobile app is available to all users, bringing features powered by Adobe Firefly generative ...
19/04/2024
LOS GATOS, Calif. Netflix reported another blockbuster quarter by adding 9.33 million new subscribers in Q1, 2024 as global paid memberships hit 269.6 million, ...
19/04/2024
The Current State of the Industry and the Future Impact of AI
Hillary Lewis April 18, 2024
0 Comments
The Entertainment Industry: How did we get here ...
19/04/2024
After Effects Tutorial Text Blur Reveal
Andy Ford April 18, 2024
0 Comments
Here's a way to do a quick blur reveal for your text layer. Start by...
19/04/2024
Hollyland Mars M1 Enhanced Wireless Transmitter / Receiver
Colin Smith April 18, 2024
0 Comments
This tutorial shows the new wireless transmitter rece...
19/04/2024
Resolve Fusion: Writing Expressions with Lua
Simon Ubsdell April 18, 2024
0 Comments
The answer to the very frequently-asked question: what is the pro...
19/04/2024
B+C and Next TV have announced the winners of Best of Show Awards for the 2024 NAB Show. The awards were judged by a panel of industry experts at the convention...
19/04/2024
Cate Blanchett narrates the Netflix series Our Living World, which premieres April 17. The four-part series looks at the extraordinary creatures around the glob...
19/04/2024
Apple TV Plus has a spinoff of For All Mankind in the works. It is called Star City and details the cosmonauts, engineers and intelligence officers working behi...
19/04/2024
Jacquie Walker, longtime anchor at WIVB Buffalo, will step down from the anchor desk. She has spent over 40 years at WIVB and her last day as an anchor is May 2...
19/04/2024
Bob Hearts Abishola will premiere in broadcast syndication this fall on such station groups as Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair, Hearst Television, Tegna, E.W. Scr...
19/04/2024
Live With Kelly and Mark remains TV's top entertainment talk show as Kelly Ripa and her co-host and husband Mark Consuelo celebrate their one-year anniversa...
19/04/2024
Sean McLaughlin has been named VP of news for Graham Media Group. He had been senior VP of local news at E.W. Scripps. He will will be responsible for developi...
19/04/2024
Netflix has shared the first trailer from One Hundred Years of Solitude, a series based on the esteemed novel by Gabriel Garc a M rquez. The streamer is on boar...
19/04/2024
NAB 2024 in Review: West Hall - SportsTech Buzz From AWS, Appear, Ateme, The Swi...
19/04/2024
NAB 2024 Draws 61,000+ Attendees With More Than Half Attending the Show for the ...
19/04/2024
Back to All News
Fryshuset and Netflix Collaborate to Support Tomorrows Talent ...
19/04/2024
By Craig Anderton
Impact XT can launch clips, which is great for songwriting (see the blog post Songwriting with Impact XT). But few people realize that Impact...
18/04/2024
ORANGE COUNTY, Va., April 18, 2024 - L3Harris Technologies [NYSE:LHX] has entered into an agreement with Orange County, Virginia, to fund the expansion and mode...
18/04/2024
L3Harris Sky Warden multi-mission aircraft, equipped with the WESCAM MX-15 and WESCAM MX-20 EO/IR sensor systems, was selected for USSOCOMs Armed Overwatch prog...
18/04/2024
MELBOURNE, Fla., April 18, 2024 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) has received ...
18/04/2024
LAS VEGAS The National Association of Broadcasters is reporting that more than 61,000 people attended the 2024 NAB Show, where artificial intelligence and the c...
18/04/2024
Krisha Marcano Announced as Dean of Theater for Boston Conservatory at Berklee The theater educator, choreographer, and performer will join Boston Conservator...
18/04/2024
In August 2023, Dyn Media launched as a new broadcaster in European sports, aimed at giving sports beyond football the exposure and viewership they deserve. The...
18/04/2024
Hitomi Broadcast, market leader in audio/video alignment and latency tools based in the UK, has signed a partnership deal with global broadcast rental specialis...
18/04/2024
Vislink's DragonFly V - The Company's Smallest-Ever Transmitter Debuted ...
18/04/2024
MediaSilo to Offer Camera to Cloud with Atomos
Brie Clayton April 17, 2024
0 Comments
Integration between MediaSilo and Atomos Cloud Studio unlocking ...
LOS ANGELES - Proof, Inc., one of the film industrys leading visualization houses, provided extensive previs and postvis services to Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, which was released by 21 st Century Fox Studios on December 19. 
