visiting district 9
Finally getting back into the swing of things and starting with this great article over at VFXWorld on “District 9″!
LINK: Neill Blomkamp Talks District 9
Well, originally, I thought Weta would do everything, but Avatar had taken over and absolutely crushed Weta. So Weta said no, we can’t do the film. What I wanted to do then was take advantage of Vancouver: I live there for one and in the future I’m going to do more films there, and, two, the British Columbia tax credit thing for post-production. We would be able to get more shots for it. So I know a lot of the effects houses in Vancouver, and I had a bunch of meetings with Image Engine and they actually flew down to New Zealand. They hadn’t done anything that was on this scale before, but based on the guys who were in charge of running the company and making District 9 happen, Shawn Walsh [visual effects exec producer] and Pete Muyzers [on-set visual effects supervisor & digital production Manager], I felt like they were going to do whatever it took to make this work, so I had faith in them, as opposed to the reel of the company, and they totally stepped up to the plate and just hired all the right people, and I’m exceptionally happy with the way it turned out.
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My weekend was pretty jam packed, so I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet. But besides the Visual Effects done for this film, the journey from short to feature is really what I’m finding the most fascinating about this film.
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It’s certainly a milestone for the Vancouver VFX community too. They’ve made it loud and clear to those outside of the know that they’re one of the big players in the modern visual effects landscape. Which is either good or bad depending on which side of the border you sit I suppose. For me I really wish California would finally adopt the long proposed tax cuts that has made Vancouver such a haven for exciting film-making. Why? Well call me crazy but in the future I’d like to have the opportunities that allowed me to live in my own country and make a living doing what I love. Rather than having to immigrate just to find work. That’s just a little too much of a vagabond lifestyle for my taste.
Ok, off my soap box.
It’s also really cool to see just how many Vancouver Film School alumni ended up working on this film as well. Everyone from the more well known writer and director of “District 9″, all the way to the executive of the VFX studio Image Engine! Talk about a litmus test for just how amazing VFS really is!
LINK: District 9 – VFS Alumni Unite on Hit Film
Vancouver Film School’s connections to District 9 are many. Beginning with director Blomkamp and his co-writer, Terri Tatchell (a Writing for Film & Television graduate), the film’s VFS roots run deeper than on any other major motion picture.
Nowhere is this more apparent than the film’s visual effects, which feature the work of 31 VFS graduates. Local studio Image Engine worked on the majority of the 600 or so shots, while Vancouver’s The Embassy and Zoic, along with Weta Digital, did the rest. Many see District 9 as a milestone for visual effects in Vancouver – an announcement of sorts: we’re here, and we can play with the big boys.
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But for those who saw the film over the weekend, tell me what you thought in the comments below! Just try to keep things spoiler free of course!
