
Wayne Brinton, VFX Supervisor at Modus FX
The Importance of the Human Connection in the Digital Workflow
For visual effects supervisor Wayne Brinton, the secret to doing great work is great relationships. That means that the first task in every job is to put a face to the name. Not only does work move more smoothly that way, but for Brinton, even a short period of time together on set can save days of work back at the studio.
Everything starts and ends with people, said Brinton. Sure, you can talk about a project over the phone, but clients only really get to know you, and the skills you bring to their film, when they meet you and see you in action. The dynamic changes from a business relationship into a working partnership. That's why it's important for me to interact directly with our clients in Hollywood.
The most recent example of this came with Brinton's work on the set of Parker, starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez. Until Brinton was able to visit the director, producers and editor in Los Angeles, he was just a voice on the other end of the line and Modus FX was a facility in a faraway place.
Click here for the making of Parker
I went down to LA and met with the director, Taylor Hackford, the postproduction supervisor, Lisa Dennis and their team. I introduced myself, told them about Modus, and explained how we'd approach the work. Once you've met, and are comfortable with each other, you can do anything.
Wayne's style of dealing with people captures the way Modus approaches work with our clients, said Yanick Wilisky, co-founder and VP production at Modus FX. They have to have faith, not only in the quality of work coming out of the studio, but in the people who work here. With Wayne, they quickly gain confidence that he will support them to do their job on set and that Modus will deliver the work the way they want it.
Being On Set Means Saving Time
On set, Brinton can see live what's being shot and what the CG artists will be working with. Since he knows the visual effects tasks exactly, he can anticipate challenges before they happen. Sometimes it might take five extra minutes to reshoot something, but it can save days of CG work. This happened with their work on Parker, where Modus worked with the second unit.
A few of the shots were bigger than they had anticipated, Brinton explained. I went to LA to set up shots with the director. We helped Taylor with camera set ups, angles and framing for the shots. I was only there for one day, but it made all the difference when we got to post.
One gruesome scene in Parker shows a hand being stabbed. The original plan called for doing the whole shot with a prosthetic hand, but Brinton could see it wasn't going to end up looking realistic enough without a real hand.
I explained that they could shoot the actor's hand instead and then use the prosthesis only to show the knife being pulled out, Brinton said. Then we could take the blade, the wound and blood spurting out, and comp it onto the real hand. I could only do this by being on set. I'm guessing we saved three days of compositing on this shot alone.
The Path to VFX Supervisor
Brinton started out as a junior compositor in Toronto in 1997, before beginning an eight year stint at Hybride in 1999. There he worked on such high-profile projects as Art of War, the Spy Kids franchise and 300. His supervising career began when he moved to the Montreal office of Mr. X where he provided on-set supervision for Beastly and was VFX supervisor for the facility's work on Source Code, which was nominated for a VES award. Then, in 2011, he joined Modus FX, where his first job was as VFX supervisor on Mirror Mirror.
Modus was called in to help out on Mirror Mirror and we had only eight weeks to do almost 200 shots, Brinton said. The most rewarding part of that job was turning out such a large number of shots in such a short time. We accomplished it all without any stress on the company. Everyone worked extra hours, but we came out of it smiling.
In addition to Parker and Mirror Mirror, Brinton served as VFX supervisor for Modus FX on The Avengers and several other Hollywood projects. When on set, Brinton is directly available to the director, watching the video feeds and ensuring that the visual effects shots are optimized for postproduction.
Generally, we let directors go where they need to go with the story. They're more comfortable and the process is more organic that way. It's my responsibility to make sure we get shots that we can work with and I use my judgment about when to step in. This is where the trust and the personal relationship come in. We're there to support the creative process.
If we present a new idea to a client, it's my job as VFX supervisor to show them how we can do it and why it will work, Brinton said.
We brought Wayne on board, not only for his technical gifts as a compositor, but for the way he deals with people, said Marc Bourbonnais, co-founder and president of Modus FX. He's able to bring his team with him to produce high-quality work and is supportive of our clients throughout the project.
As a facility Modus is moving quickly toward being in control of the visual effects for entire projects, which is the way I like to work, Brinton said. As we take on more and more of the visual effects supervision on projects, the studios and production companies are seeing how well it works, and how much more efficiently we can deliver their shots. We enjoy this level of interaction with the client, and the projects benefit greatly from having a better pipeline. Ultimately everyone wins that way.
Directed by Taylor Hackford, Parker stars Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez and Nick Nolte. The film saw theatrical release on Jan. 25, 2013.
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 ...