
Modus FX Turns Five
Montreal Facility Raising the Bar for Visual Effects and Animation
Modus FX is cruising with successes on major film and TV productions, representation by the prestigious International Creative Management (ICM) agency, the recent opening of its previs division and two award nominations. Not bad for a company that turns five years old this month.
Projects completed by Modus FX this past year include work on upcoming major productions, as well as 132 shots for Ken Kwapis' Big Miracle, 46 challenging shots on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I, a surreal combat sequence for Immortals and 194 shots for Tarsem Singh's Mirror Mirror, completed in a scant eight weeks. And in January, the Visual Effects Society nominated VFX supervisor Louis Morin and VFX producer Annie Godin for Source Code. Modus was the main vendor on the project and one of four Montreal-based facilities that collaborated on the VFX.
Expanding Hollywood presence
In October, 2011, Modus opened an office in LA, as well as signing on with ICM, one of the world's largest talent and literary agencies. Hollywood studios now have easier access to the previs, VFX supervision and post capabilities offered by Modus FX.
Previs division opened
Modus FX continues to enhance its visual effects services, with the recent opening of a previs division at their Montreal-area facility. Offering on-set concept artistry, stunt choreography, reverse-engineered camera work and motion capture, these preproduction services save studios valuable production time and resources, allowing them to maximize the return on their visual effects investment.
Offering previs helps bridge preproduction to post, said Yanick Wilisky, VP production at Modus FX. With the new previs division, we are a big step closer to integrating all these services with production. This integration was one of our stated goals when we founded Modus FX five years ago.
New Motion Capture Studio
Modus has also added a MoCap studio to their facility. Using a simple setup of software and six high-resolution cameras situated around the room to track motion, the studio is used for image-based capture for shots requiring extensive animation. These include idle structures, basic animation cycles such as two people walking toward each and animated creature work. The wide range of possible actions works well for the crowd scenes that Modus is currently creating for two upcoming major releases.
MoCap integrates perfectly with our new previs division, said Mostafa Badran, CG supervisor at Modus FX. Animators get a starting point that is much further along in the process than it used to be. The result is that they have more time to perfect shots the way they want to.
For their work on Immortals, Modus created five and a half minutes of usable MoCap recorded during one 8-hour session. Clean-up of the images took just two weeks; hand animation would have taken over a year.
Much of our post-vis comes directly from capture without needing to clean up the keyframes, said Wayne Brinton, VFX supervisor at Modus FX. We get a rough calculation of what the performances are going to be, which is what directors want. For the film we're working on now, the director filmed scenes, shot-by-shot, exactly as we'd created them in post-vis. It saved him so much time on set.
Animated Feature Films
While continuing its VFX animation work, Modus is building up its animation division to create high-end animated movies. Currently the facility is hard at work on Sarila, which will be the first stereoscopic animated feature produced entirely in Canada. These are long-term projects that can provide up to 18 months of stable work, explained Wilisky. Projects such as this are ideal for a facility like ours.
Modus is also expanding its capabilities in creating hard surface assets such as helicopters, robots and trains, as well as their creature work, which so far has included photo-real animations of crows, butterflies and fish.
Expanding the Scope of Work
Though high-end VFX in film continues to be their main business, the economic downturn, coupled with the emergence of outsourcing to India and China, encouraged Modus to develop new offerings. The expansion into documentaries, TV and full CGI features required an expansion of human resources at Modus. They decided to supplement the existing hardware, leverage it with a different team, while keeping the VFX division intact. This requires more supervision and coordination.
When we expanded, we thought of adding a night shift and having them use the equipment we already had, said Marc Bourbonnais, president and co-founder of Modus FX. But that turned out to be more costly than simply adding workstations. It's more cost-effective to make sure everyone's working together during the same shift, and on the same page.
Entrepreneur of the Year
Careful planning and thoughtful management have enabled Modus to succeed for five years in an industry that has proven challenging for many mid-size facilities. Modus FX continues to be in a stable financial position and this month Bourbonnais was named a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 Awards in the Emerging Entrepreneur category. The winner will be announced in October.
When we first thought about starting Modus FX, we were just two artists who wanted to keep doing what we loved, said Bourbonnais. Since then we've established solid business practices and built a thriving facility. We're really excited about what's in store for the VFX industry, and for Modus, in the next five years.
Most recent headlines
10/02/2025
With more than 1.6 million Valentine's Day playlists created globally on Spo...
10/02/2025
New series Memory Bites with Matt Moran stirs up nostalgia with a taste of the p...
10/02/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Feb. 10, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) has introduced AMORPHOUS , its new software that features a single user interface to operate ...
10/02/2025
NEW YORK and MEXICO CITY Spanish-language media conglomerate TV Azteca has inked a two-year deal with WSC Sports for the AI-powered sports content technology pr...
10/02/2025
TORONTO Jordan Bartow, a 15-plus-year industry veteran with a history of driving artificial intelligence, media and enterprise cloud transformations, has joined...
10/02/2025
LA Wildfire Victims Fundraiser - Entertainment Industry
Erik Smalls February 10, 2025
0 Comments
Join us for an exclusive networking event designed fo...
10/02/2025
OWC and ARCHIWARE Partner to Deliver Seamless Shared Storage, Cloning, Backup, a...
10/02/2025
Berklee's Signature Series Celebrates the Music of Fleetwood Mac The concert will feature a global cast of over 90 students performing a career-spanning s...
10/02/2025
Adam Downey, director of post production at Sky, tells TVBEurope how seeing a harmonious team working to deliver a project is like watching a ballet
By Matthew...
10/02/2025
The association aims to support the media technology industry by identifying vulnerabilities in media systems and solutions
By Jenny Priestley
Published: Feb...
10/02/2025
A Dusseldorf court ruling on a patent dispute warned the company could face heavy fines
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 10, 2025
A Dusseldorf cour...
10/02/2025
The teams at Mikros Animation extend its heartfelt congratulations to DreamWorks...
10/02/2025
Super Bowl LIX: Tubi Leads All Streaming Platforms in Least Lag Time, According ...
10/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Camera Operator Don C...
10/02/2025
Official trailer released for upcoming Sky Documentaries series David Frost VsComing to Sky and NOW on 23rd FebruaryMonday 10 February 2025
To view this conten...
10/02/2025
SPEAG combines CMX500 OBT with the DASY8-3D system for automated SAR testing of ...
10/02/2025
Back to All News
Netflix ISP Speed Index for January 2025
Mulitcolor streaks on a black background curved right to foreground with the Netflix logo N at the t...
10/02/2025
Back to All News
Dive into the 1960s and 80s Korean Music Scene with Upcoming S...
10/02/2025
John Nallen Named President and Chief Operating Officer of Fox Corporation in Ne...
10/02/2025
Fox Corporation Acquires Red Seat Ventures Los Angeles, CA - February 10, 2025 - Fox Corporation ( FOX or the Company ) (Nasdaq: FOXA, FOX) today announced ...
10/02/2025
Article courtesy of Digital Media World
Read the article
Ross Baker, senior colourist and head of grading at Molinare in London, talks about building his care...
10/02/2025
Article courtesy of Digital Cinema Report
Read the article
Light Iron has selected Nara for its New York and Los Angeles facilities - streamlining its workflo...
10/02/2025
Article courtesy of postPerspective
Read the article
If you've seen the show, you've likely noticed its distinctive look, part of which could be attri...
10/02/2025
Article courtesy of Televisual
Read the article
The series was shot by cinematographers Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC ( Chivo') and Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC...
10/02/2025
Article courtesy of Post
Read the article
The feature brought together a familiar team that included Guadagnino, DP Sayombhu Mukdeeprom and colorist Claudio D...
10/02/2025
Article courtesy of Digital Media World
Read the article
Colourist Daniel Pardy talks about building a working LUT for this film with a distinctive 16mm film ...
10/02/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Thales has delivered the first drone system for ...
10/02/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Thales At a time when much is expected of AI and its contribution to the security and sovereignty of nations, Thales offers a ...
10/02/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Cannes, February 10th, 2025 - Space Norway, Northern Europe's leading satellite operator, and Thales Alenia Space, a joint v...
09/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: FOX Sports Highlights Celebrity Fashion With Productio...
09/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: NEP Specialty Capture Adds Key Cameras for Game Broadc...
09/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Augmented-Reality Graphics Play Starring Role in FOX S...
09/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Telemundo Deportes Goes All Out in Miami for Spanish-L...
09/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: FOX Sports Highlights Celebrity Fashion With Productio...
09/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Augmented Reality Graphics Play Starring Role in FOX S...
09/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: NFL Tech Ops Rides Years of Experience for Biggest, Mo...
08/02/2025
The American Forces Network (AFN), the U.S. government's television and radio broadcast service for military personnel and their families stationed overseas...
08/02/2025
In his Joshua Tree studio, cinematographer Timur Civan recently lensed a new music video Resurrection for gothic country artist Blood Nebraska. Working in col...
08/02/2025
DoPchoice debuts Spill Killer designed to prevent light leakage and ensure a clean, professional look for set or location lighting.
The elegantly designed butt...
08/02/2025
ESPN and Major League Rugby (MLR) have announced a multiyear media rights agreement that will bring MLR games to ESPN platforms. Under the new deal, live covera...
08/02/2025
Grammy-Nominated Alum Shares Berklee Wisdom with His Student Sister I thought graduating with a double major would be the key to success, Carlos Perez de An...
08/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the SkyCam and Sony Efforts To Make 4K 240-fps ...
08/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the 10,000-Sq.-Ft. Tech Center With FOX Sports ...
08/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: CMSI Uses the Big Game To Push Workflows Forward The company is providing edit support for pregame, Tubi Red Carpet Show By Ken Kersc...
08/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside SkyCam and Sony's Efforts to Make 4K 240 fp...
08/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: FOX Sports Digital Leans on Vizrt's TriCaster Vizi...
08/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: ESPN Studio Ops Spreads Across Big Easy From Fulton St...
08/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Verizon's Joe Russo on How 5G Can Get to the Next ...
08/02/2025
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the 10,000 sq. ft. Tech Center with Fox Sports ...