BY BILL DESOWITZ | VFXWORLD | MAY 30, 2012 | Original Article

Image Engine created the Thugs aboard the Naval Destroyer ship. ILM supplied the work-in-progress animated turntables and rig for Image Engine to take the Thug the rest of the way. "Initially the Thug was designed for a 'search and destroy' mission, which meant that it would smash apart the engine room to sabotage the ship," explains Image Engine's VFX supervisor Chris Harvey. "This mission changed part way through to reconnaissance, requiring a different approach to handling both the design and animation.

"The Thug was originally designed to look like an NFL Running Back, but Berg subsequently asked us to make him look like a big offensive Lineman," added animation lead Jeremy Stewart. "The new design brief was intended to make the Thug look bigger and heavily armored. The armor looks great, but unfortunately more armor usually means limited movement because in the real world, armor or even heavy clothing limits a person's mobility.

"We added a lot of controls to the armor which was rigged to the alien's skin, some to give us more movement, others to lock it place. During animation, we put a lot of consideration into how the body movements would affect the armor. Although we had motion capture for most of the shots, we had to thoroughly edit it and often completely replace it to keep the armor looking intact. The mocap was also revised to give a better sense of weight and timing."

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All images Copyright © 2012 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

DARAH HANSEN | VANCOUVER SUN | APRIL 3, 2012 | Original Article

Vancouver-based visual effects studio Image Engine announced Monday it has expanded its operations to the Centre for Digital Media on the Great Northern Way Campus, creating 30 entry-level industry jobs in response to the demand for creative talent in the region.

Vancouver is a growing destination for visual effects work out of Hollywood, said Jason Dowdeswell, Image Engine's head of studio.

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02 April, 2012 – Vancouver, BC ------ Vancouver-based visual effects studio, Image Engine announced today that it is launching a new facility at the Centre for Digital Media on the Great Northern Way Campus, creating entry-level industry jobs for visual effects in Vancouver, to improve the long-term growth of creative talent in the region.

The initiative has been developed to strengthen the region’s capabilities to compete at a higher level with other global production centres, such as the UK, US and New Zealand for the next generation of visual effects driven feature films. The company will open a new unit at the Centre for Digital Media on April 5th, 2012, to house a new team of artists, who will handle the labour-intensive workload of rotoscoping, which involves manually preparing film plates for compositing, and camera-tracking for the company’s feature film projects in 2012.

“There is a very real pressure for all of the studios in Vancouver to expand significantly in order to meet increasing demand for work in the region,” said Greg Holmes, Image Engine’s CEO. “Our most important asset is our talented people, so at Image Engine we believe it is important to invest proactively in the training and cultivation of the city’s next generation of artists.”
Head of Studio Jason Dowdeswell has overseen the development of the new resource. “There has been an industry-wide trend to outsource rotoscope and camera-track work to overseas suppliers for various logistical reasons, including costs,” Dowdeswell said. “Our insourcing strategy will help build an infrastructure that will support the region’s native industry, by creating new entry-level jobs for local graduates. This also provides better value for our clients who will benefit from production incentives for work completed by BC residents.”

“Investing in local creative talent is essential to the continued success of our business,” added BC Film + Media President and CEO, Richard Brownsey. “This is a positive initiative by Image Engine that will have significant long term benefits for the industry in British Columbia.”

Graduating students from local Vancouver education programs have filled around 70% of the positions at Image Engine’s new studio. Experienced staff will lead the teams, providing in-house support and training on the job, to prepare new recruits for the next step up. Some of these students took part in an educational initiative that Image Engine launched in 2011 with local schools including Vancouver Film School and Vancouver Institute of Media Arts. The company provides curriculum support and individual mentorship for students in participating local visual effects and 3D animation programs. “We’re excited about the opportunities that Image Engine has created for so many of our students” said Marianne O’Reilly, Head of Animation & Visual Effects at Vancouver Film School. “Their dedication to hiring local graduates is demonstrated in the large number of VFS grads that are now Image Engine employees. We’re at 29 and counting! This is also another great example of the industry growth in Vancouver, and collaborating with Image Engine helps us fuel this growth in a mutually beneficial way.”

Other recent infrastructure initiatives at the Centre for Digital Media have included the company’s collaboration with other local studios and technology firm Scalar Decisions to set up a rendering facility named ‘RenderCloud’ which provides dynamically scalable render power with reduced budgets and increased performance, to handle future growth. The new facility benefits from close proximity to the render farm, which is connected via dark fiber to the company’s other offices in Vancouver. “We’re excited by the contribution that Image Engine will make to Vancouver’s growing digital district at The Centre for Digital Media,” said Matthew Carter, President at Great Northern Way. “Image Engine’s visual effects work and their commitment to developing local digital media talent are an ideal fit at the Centre for Digital Media, which offers collaborative initiatives like RenderCloud, office spaces designed for digital media firms, continuing education programs in digital media, and other programs to promote networking and collaboration within digital media.”

“For Image Engine, infrastructure has always been of paramount importance, and has allowed us to be first out of the gate when new opportunities arise,” added Dowdeswell.  “Right now, we are concentrating on building collective resources which will contribute to the longevity of our local industry as a whole to compete at a global scale - and the local talent pool is absolutely key to achieving that goal.”

About Image Engine:
Image Engine provides world-class visual effects for feature films.
With over 15 years in the industry and several award wins, the company has accrued feature film credits including the Academy Award®-nominated District 9, 2012, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse & Breaking Dawn, The Thing and Immortals. Currently in production at the studio is: R.I.P.D. and Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming feature, Elysium.
Image Engine is a privately owned and run company, based in Vancouver, BC.
http://www.image-engine.com

About Great Northern Way Campus
Great Northern Way Campus is a joint venture between the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Emily Carr University of Art + Design and the British Columbia Institute of Technology transforming an 18-acre industrial site in the heart of the city into Vancouver’s hub for the digital economy.  Currently home to the Centre for Digital Media and future home of Emily Carr University, the neighbourhood will also offer office space for digital and creative sector firms, artist studios, housing and restaurants.  It is emerging as Vancouver’s creative sector neighbourhood.
http://www.gnwc.ca/

Media Contact:
Hannah Hughes hannahh@image-engine.com
T: 1-778-838-7310