VFX Legion Creates Effects For The Food That Built America on History Channel

22 August, 2019 - 08:02

FX Legion recently completed a complex mix of visual effects for History Channels new docudrama mini-series, The Food that Made America. The Burbank-based company worked on every phase of the production, from start to finish. Its team was on-site during locations scouting and on-set during production in New York, all the way through the final delivery of a show open assigned during the eleventh hour of production.

Produced by Lucky 8 out of New York, The Food that Built America tells the stories of visionaries - such as Milton Hershey, John and Will Kellogg, Henry Heinz, C.W. Post, the McDonald brothers - who built the brands and invented the technology that revolutionized the food industry. The docudrama recounts these titans roles in the reshaping of the countrys culinary landscape at the turn of the century, using dramatic reenactments that replicate the look of the period with spot-on accuracy.

Among VFX Legions most challenging tasks was building out present-day structures with large-scale set extension to recreate warehouses and factories from a by-gone era. Legion stepped in to meet another challenge when the plates originally shot didnt show off the Hershey factory and surrounding landscape to their best advantage. Its team built a fully digital replica of the factory and the vast landscape surrounding it - from the ground up. The shot recreated the style of the period architecture, as well as the documentary-like feel of the series.

Luck 8s Creative Director Yoshi Stone worked closely with Legions LA In-house VFX Supervisor Matthew Lynn and Creative Director James Hattin. They developed the look of the sets based on the technical scout sessions that VFX Legions New York-based On-Set Supervisor Eric Pascarelli attended.

Pascarelli made sure that Luck 8 had the shots Legions artists needed back in Burbank. The detailed descriptions and measurements of each shoot that he provided ensured that they got it right the first time and were able to turn around the all of the visual effects quickly and cost-effectively. VFX Legion used Zoom video conferencing to collaborate during every phase of the production, and to go over the continually evolving plan of action and ensure that the teams on both coasts were always on the same page.

Late in the game, Legion to create the show open graphics package. The team pitched a number of designs and styles of both treatments and logos. The companys LA team designed and animated the open, and fine-tuned it based on the clients editorial decisions.

The Food That Built America was a fixed cost show because of the way it was structured, says Hattin, Legions founder. It required the kind of practical solutions that our pioneering pipeline and forward-thinking approach to visual effects production was created to handle.

Working on a docudrama with Lucky 8, a New York-based company thats produced a prestigious roster of documentaries, was a great experience, adds Hattin. History Channel is home to a continuing line-up of documentaries and docudramas that captivate and engross audiences with dynamic programming about the past and present. Legions team really enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to work in this genre.

VFX Legion used a mix of equipment to create the shots for the series, including The Foundrys Nuke for compositing, Adobe Photoshop for matte painting, Redshift for 3D rendering, Autodesks Shotgun for project management, Autodesks Maya for 3D lighting and animation, motion graphic design was created using Adobe After Effects/Illustrator and Signiant Media Shuttle was used to transfer files.

For additional information about VFX Legion LA/B.C. and its services, visit www.VFXLegion.com, call 818-736-5855, or email contact@VFXLegion.com.

CREDITS:

Title: The Food That Built America

Type: VFX for Mini-Series/Docudrama

Airdates: August 11-13/History

Client: History Channel / NYC

Executive Producer: Jim Pasquarella

Executive Producer: Mary E. Donahue

Executive VP and Head of Programming: Eli Lehrer

Produced by: Lucky 8 / NYC

Director: Nick White

Executive Producers: Yoshi Stone, Greg Henry, Kim Woodard, Isaac Holub

Visual Effects by: VFX Legion / LA, B.C

Creative Director: James David Hatting

VFX Supervisor/Show Open: Matthew T. Lynn

On-Set VFX Supervisor/NY: Eric Pascarelli

3D Supervisor: Rommel S. Calderon

CG Dynamics: Eric Ebling

Compositing: Nick Guth

Compositing: Brad Moylan

Compositing: Eugen Olsen

Camera Tracking: Guy Delgado

Pipeline Tools: Brandon Rachal

Matte Painting: Marc Adamson

Matte Painting: Christian Haley

Matte Painting: Jim Hawkins

Matte Painting: Eric Mattson

Matte Painting: Yvonne Muinde

VFX Coordinator: Lexi Sloan

VFX Coordinator: Amanda VanDeCar

Bookkeeping: Michaela OBrien

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SJ Golden, vfxlegionla@yahoo.com

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