Trick Digital Relies on Fusion Studio for VFX on Feature Film 57 Seconds
Brie Clayton December 5, 2023
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design today announced that visual effects (VFX) house Trick Digital used Fusion Studio VFX and motion graphics software for the new action film 57 Seconds. In addition to handling the film's VFX, Fusion Studio was used to create an exciting opening sequence for the time traveling thriller.
Starring Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson, 57 Seconds follows a tech blogger who thwarts an attack on a tech guru he's interviewing, only to discover a mysterious ring that allows him to travel 57 seconds into the past.
Trick Digital completed more than 200 VFX shots for the film and was also tasked with creating its opening credits, using Fusion Studio's 3D system to create stylized news and blog screens related to the main characters. VFX Supervisor Adam Clark explained, We were asked at the last minute if we could do something really cool and special with the main title and opening sequence. We needed it to support some backstory and also add something flashy to the intro of the film. We got our start in film by designing animated main title sequences, so we loved this additional request.
It was a very creative and playful process. Fusion's 3D system and node based architecture allowed us to rapidly conceptualize, creatively iterate, and execute the idea 100 percent in context of the final rendered image instead of going into a dedicated 3D app, which is how we prefer to work if we can.
One of the film's particularly challenging VFX sequences featured Morgan Freeman's character, Anton Burrell, speaking in a stadium. The stadium's seating presented a unique challenge, with limited crowd shots and occasional instances of group shots without greenscreen setups, Clark explained. Fusion's node based workflow and paint, image warping and roto tools really made this possible with relative ease. We created a crowd kit out of the people filmed with tons of roto and repainting, and rearranged people, tweaked them and ultimately created sections of the crowd using perspective and warping to set them properly in the environment.
For us, working with Fusion now for over 20 years and being fluent in it gives us creative freedom where we can work very quickly, he added. The node based workflow, aside from being ideal in production for a great number of reasons, lets us try things out without having to jump through a laborious array of timeline based flaming hoops to accomplish a novel task.
Having come from a software development background, Clark noted that Fusion Studio's scripting capabilities are a big asset. It feels very natural. I can easily write expressions to add parallax to simple point trackers to create artificial depth or use expressions to just make lights flicker. It's great to be able to create with that level of creative and technical control. Ultimately, it's just about creating great images as quickly as possible, and the more flexibility you have in the toolset, the better, he said.
Whether doing building modifications or digital prop creation and enhancements for 57 Seconds, Trick Digital relied on Fusion Studio's 3D system as the backbone for its VFX work. We're big fans of the new planar tracker and 3D camera tracking tools, explained Clark. We use them all day long, every single day for all the things you might expect, as well as others such as tracking mattes in 3D space to avoid or minimize roto, while still being able to change the points of the original shape, which is very powerful.
December 4, 2023Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures' Saw X Graded with DaVinci Resolve StudioPocket Cinema Camera 6K also used to capture the horror film's gruesome
December 1, 2023Da Vinci's Legacy Unveiled with DaVinci Resolve Studio in Stop Motion feature film The InventorBlackmagic Design today announced that The Inventor, a stop motion feature film that
I will create vast networks to generate mattes to minimize roto work, but it is unavoidable. I'm at peace with that only because Fusion's fantastic roto and paint tools make a process that's normally the bane of my existence one that I can zen out to.
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, video, and audio.
Enter your email address, and your first and last name below!
-- Sign up: * indicates required
Email Address *
Name
--
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
David Dvir, 2D founder (left), Sundeep Reddy (center), and Jean-Marc Bouchut (right), both of Zeiss...
23/07/2026
Screen Australia announces new national documentary accelerator program 23 July 2026
Screen Australia has today announced the Above the Line Documentary Accel...
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...
22/07/2026
Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...
22/07/2026
Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...
22/07/2026
The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...
22/07/2026
Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...
22/07/2026
Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...
22/07/2026
FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...
22/07/2026
The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...
22/07/2026
Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...
22/07/2026
Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...
22/07/2026
FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...
22/07/2026
Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...
22/07/2026
SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...
22/07/2026
The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...
22/07/2026
At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room
NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang today visited the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, to commission an NVIDIA DGX GB300 system - bringing one...
22/07/2026
A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. Available on Sky Documentaries from 4 AugustWednesday 22 July 2...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
Trick Digital Relies on Fusion Studio for VFX on Feature Film 57 Seconds 
