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
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Season 1
Season 2
Se...
11/07/2025
AI and Multimedia Authenticity Standards Collaboration launches two papers to guide the future of AI integration, today at the AI for Good Global Summit
The...
11/07/2025
Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...
10/07/2025
The current holder of the prestigious Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award has been forced to stop reporting over fears for her safety in Afgha...
10/07/2025
Spotify is turning up the volume on Australian music with a multipronged initiative designed to highlight the dominance of Australian artists on the global stag...
10/07/2025
This is not a drill: Oasis is back on the road-marking its first live performanc...
10/07/2025
The music industry depends on fresh ideas, bold voices, and emerging talent. Yet across the U.K., too many young musicians lack the space to develop their craft...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
10/07/2025
Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...
10/07/2025
Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...
10/07/2025
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...
10/07/2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....
10/07/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...
10/07/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...
10/07/2025
The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...
10/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video
Play Video
Entertainment
10 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard...
10/07/2025
In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...
10/07/2025
As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...
10/07/2025
10 Jul 2025
VEON and Cohen Circle Secure Investor Commitments for Kyivstar Listing Kyiv, New York, Dubai, and Philadelphia - July 10, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq:...
10/07/2025
5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...
10/07/2025
Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...
10/07/2025
Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...
10/07/2025
Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...
10/07/2025
FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...
10/07/2025
SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...
10/07/2025
Thursday 10 July 2025
The Very Small Creatures
Jaime's Treetop Tales
Emerald
BooSnoo! Christmas Mashup
Pip & Posy's Spooktacular Party
The Very Sm...
10/07/2025
Thursday 10 July 2025
Brand new rewards are coming to Sky customers, with free ...
Trick Digital Relies on Fusion Studio for VFX on Feature Film 57 Seconds 
