June 21st, 2011
Crafting Cinematics for Third Instalment of Popular Gaming Franchise
The Cinematics Division at Modus FX teamed up with Digital Dimension recently to create 20 minutes of spine-tingling cinematics for F.3.A.R. - the third instalment of the popular game from Warner Bros. Interactive, which was released today. Developed by Day 1 Studios, the game was directed by Rocky Newton with the participation of acclaimed horror filmmaker John Carpenter. Working closely together with Digital Dimension, the primary vendor on the project, Modus created the looks and delivered evocative filmic imagery for 20 story segments, comprising a total of 189 shots.
F.3.A.R. is a first-person shooter set in a very creepy environment. It's like playing a game within a horror movie, explained Martin Pelletier, VFX supervisor at Modus. We were given a lot of freedom on this project to create the mood for the cinematics, as well as adding gory detail!
Work on F.3.A.R. involved a pipeline spanning two facilities and paired Modus' Pelletier with Jean-Franois Ferland, Artistic Director at Digital Dimension. Along with look development, Modus provided lighting, simulations, and compositing. Digital Dimension created the layout, matte painting, camera work and character animation. The project lasted 6 months and involved 49 Modus FX artists and technicians.
The Look of F.3.A.R
Cinematics for the game began as basic storyboards, which Digital Dimension used to plan out each scene. Modus was then given low-resolution graphics derived from the game for each segment. Look development artists at Modus selected representative shots. They were then asked to explore ideas with those images to see how they might be evolved for the more detailed, narrative-driven graphics needed for cinematic sequences.
Cinematics give the games their narrative drive and enrich the overall experience, explained Pelletier. If you can make that imagery really compelling, you add a lot of depth to the game, especially for a more story-driven one like F.3.A.R. We asked ourselves how we could bring these scenes to life visually, what effects we could add that enhance the spooky and gory atmosphere. It became a very creative and collaborative process with Digital Dimension.
Once the look development team had ideas they liked, Modus assembled master shots and presented them to the client for approval. They loved what we brought them and those shots became our references for the rest of the project, said Pelletier.
For much of the work, Modus applied shading and lighting to existing models, but the primary characters in the game, Fettel and Pointman, needed to be enhanced in order to provide the necessary detail for close-up shots. Along with the game's characters, Modus enriched the environments and added effects, including explosions, fire, smoke, fog and, of course, lots of blood.
One of our favourite segments is the scene at Port Authority one of the levels in the game, laughed Pelletier. In this scene, a character becomes possessed. We can't give the story away, but let's just say there is a lot of splatter! We had fun designing those shots.
From the Cinema to Game Cinematics
There is a big difference between first-person shooter video game imagery and the composition of cinematics. In the game, the environment is like a playground the imagery is focused on the interactive experience of the gamers as they pursue their objectives. Cinematics introduce narrative and dramatic elements here the creepy environment has a different function: storytelling.
In support of this, Modus made extensive use of filmmaking techniques, such as rack focusing and de-focusing. Playing with the depth of field in this way enhances the eeriness of the shots and draws the viewer's attention to different story elements. The facility used a range of effects, such as rolling fog, both to accentuate the three-dimensional feel of the space and to highlight or obscure different parts of the canvas.
Our core expertise in film was a big help on this project, said Yanick Wilisky, VP of production and co-founder of Modus FX. Much of our feature film work is on invisible' VFX, so we have a lot of experience applying digital enhancements to live-action photography. Our cinematics team put that to full use on F.3.A.R.
You make discoveries when you move across genres like this, added Pelletier. Video games have a more immediate, in-your-face' visual style. I think we can learn from that in film. At the same time, we have developed very refined approaches to CG environments and effects elements, which can serve the gaming world very well.
We learned a few technical things, too reflected Pelletier. You don't need to push the geometry as far as we thought. You can get excellent results from lower resolution models, even for the big screen. We're constantly enhancing our efficiency at Modus and what we learned on F.3.A.R. will directly benefit our other clients and our ability to deliver high quality results quickly.
F.3.A.R. is the second project for which Modus and Digital Dimension have teamed up. Recently the two facilities collaborated on the cinematics for Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest. Cinematics for F.3.A.R. were scripted by Steve Niles and directed by Rocky Newton, with John Carpenter as consultant. F.3.A.R. was released by Warner Bros. Interactive on June 21. For more information on this project or other work completed by Modus FX, visit www.modusfx.com.
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
16/10/2025
Parks Associates has released new data showing that nearly half (45%) of U.S. internet homes watch free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services and 89% of U.S...
16/10/2025
TROY, Mich. -New data from J.D. Power's 2025 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Study shows that residential wireless internet providers are growing...
15/10/2025
Across the world, early-career reporters are interrogating systems that shape daily life, from mortuaries and classrooms to the corridors of legal education and...
15/10/2025
St. Louis Blues Pay Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in New Pregame Open VideoThe NHL franchise worked with production firms 2WEI and 4th Floor CreativeBy Mark J Burns,...
15/10/2025
Cobalt Digital, G3DVu, Proxima Vision, and Telos Alliance Renew Premier Sponsors...
15/10/2025
By Paige Bethmann
Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she'd been for a few weeks. When I arrived, the nurs...
15/10/2025
Two years ago, Spotify set out to grow the entire publishing industry by making ...
15/10/2025
People turn to DJ for a listening experience that feels personal, dynamic, and j...
15/10/2025
Las personas recurren a DJ para vivir una experiencia de escucha personal, din m...
15/10/2025
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen and luminary actor Jeremy Allen White came togethe...
15/10/2025
At Spotify, we're all about supporting rising talent and helping them connec...
15/10/2025
New SBS Documentary Series THE CANCER KILLERS Premieres 4 November on SBS & SBS ...
15/10/2025
SBS celebrates the Festivals of Lights with bold, illuminating stories across th...
15/10/2025
One of humanity's most profound questions continues: Is there any place in our galaxy suitable for life beyond Earth? NASA intends to find out, with the hel...
15/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
15/10/2025
Scality, a global leader in cyber-resilient storage software for the AI era, today announced the advancement of its comprehensive AI ecosystem certification pro...
15/10/2025
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today unveiled key highlights of the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat, scheduled for Feb. 15 19 at the Westin Rancho Mirage Go...
15/10/2025
At NAB Show New York 2025 (Stand 244), Interra Systems will showcase the future of media QC, monitoring, and captioning, highlighting its award-winning, AI- and...
15/10/2025
Grass Valley today announced that RMC BFM, part of the CMA-CGM Group and France's third-largest private media group, has chosen Grass Valley's productio...
15/10/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future of hybrid, s...
15/10/2025
Rakim to Join Berklee's Hip-Hop Hall of Fame at Signature Series Concert The rap icon becomes the latest inductee, following luminaries such as Roxanne Sh...
15/10/2025
Berklee Brings Live Music to the Head of the Charles Student artists will perform on multiple riverfront stages during the 60th anniversary of the world's...
15/10/2025
CobbTV, the government access television channel for Cobb County, Ga. recently acquired an automated playout system from Pebble, a global provider of automation...
15/10/2025
OSLO, Norway Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future...
15/10/2025
NEW YORK The NBA is making major changes to the NBA App and NBA TV as it takes control of them from TNT Sports, which has long managed the league's digital ...
15/10/2025
SAN MATEO, Calif. In what promises to be a major expansion of interactive features and personalized content on the DirecTV platform, the operator and Glance hav...
15/10/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has launched changes to its user interface (UI) that the streaming platform says will better showcase original programming on the platform...
15/10/2025
LOS ANGELES Software-defined data storage and data services provider OpenDrives has elevated Alex Dunfey to chief technology officer, responsible for driving th...
15/10/2025
Abu Dhabi, UAE October 15, 2025: Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-powe...
15/10/2025
Sheldon Nichols and Will Trickett to find and prepare more classic cars for budget conscious would-be owners from Wiser Films
UKTV have recommissioned the clas...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
Nick Cave
JPEG (275 KB)
Explore the creative univer...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
From breaking up with your partner to quitting your job - new polling shows some messages are just too scary to send
Over a fifth (...
15/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz unveils compact MXO 3 oscilloscopes with 4 and 8 channels: Advan...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Revenge Series The Resurrected' Captivates Audiences Across Asia
Entertainment
15 October 2025
GlobalTaiwan
Link copied to clipboard
...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Bringing the Best in VFX and Virtual Production Together as Eyeline
Jeffrey Shapiro
CEO, Eyeline
Business
15 October 2025
GlobalCanadaInd...
15/10/2025
Deployed by Astound Business Solutions, Harmonic's Primary Distribution Solution Ensures Outstanding Video Quality and Seamless Ad Insertion at the Edge
SA...
15/10/2025
Collaboration extends a trusted relationship as RMC BFM invests in scalable, fut...
15/10/2025
Series coming in 2026 stars Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'Mara released today
RT today released first look images of new comedy-drama ...
14/10/2025
SVG Europe Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAYNetworking event that preceded IBC2025 shone a light on elite live sports innovation acro...
14/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Author Rich Podolsky on Writing Madden & Summerall: How They Revo...
14/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Michael Reiners, Coordinating Producer, FloRacingThe Illinois State grad steers a vast schedule of motorsports events at tracks across the countr...
14/10/2025
Content protection: Getting the right management for your DRM By Neal Romanek
Friday, October 10, 2025 - 10:11
Print This Story
Eluvio power the EPCR'...
14/10/2025
As League Takes Over Ops, NBA TV and NBA App Add 60 Games, Weekday Studio Show, ...
14/10/2025
Time and effort: World's largest student-led broadcast prepares to go On Air...
14/10/2025
(L-R) Guest, Kimberly Robinson Jones, Geeta Gandbhir, Pamela Dias, and Takema Ro...
14/10/2025
Lossless ist jetzt mit Spotify Premium verf gbar.
Verlustfreies Audio war eine...
14/10/2025
La qualit Lossless est disponible sur Spotify Premium.
Le format sans perte de...
14/10/2025
For the seventh edition of Spotify and FC Barcelona's artist jersey series, ...
June 21st, 2011
