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View Full Version : Press Forum: Colin Epstein & Jim McVay; Hellboy CG Creature Tippett Lead Compositors



Paul Moran
April 2nd, 2004, 06:31 PM
http://www.vfxtalk.com/newsimages/hellboy_header.bmp

Welcome VFXTalkers to the Press Forum. We are very excited to be given the opportunity to interview Colin Epstein & Jim McVay; Hellboy CG Creature Tippett Lead Compositors!!!

The way this 'Press Forum' works:

You 'reply' to this thread with your questions that you would like to ask, I will keep this area open for about 7 days or so, I will compile a complete interview that we will then have as the final from which I will proceed with Colin & Jim. All too easy, and a great way to get the VFXTalk gang involved :)

OK, A little bit about each of these gentlemen:

Colin Epstein
After learning on the job at a small digital animation and post house in LA, I landed my first film job as a compositor on "Starship Troopers" here at Tippett Studio. I've been at Tippett ever since, working on films like "Komodo," "Mission to Mars," and "The Haunting." My first real Sequence Lead position was on a challenging part of "Hollow Man" depicting an invisible Kevin Bacon in a hall full of sprinklers. My first Compositing Lead position was for Tippett's work on "Cats and Dogs," the Russian Cat sequence. Since then I've shared Lead Compositor duties on "Blade 2" and "Hellboy", with other work on a few smaller projects, most enjoyably on Phil Tippett's directorial debut "Starship Troopers II."

Jim McVay
I started in the film business doing lighting and camerawork on commercials and feature films. Being excited about where CG effects were going in the early 90's, I worked at a small boutique in LA for 3 years as a digital jack of all trades. Wanting to get back into features, I applied to Tippett Studio and got a compositing position on Starship Troopers. I'm still at Tippett 8 years, 13 feature films and 11 commercials later.

You can see Jims impressive Filmography here: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0574664/

Cheers all, especially to Colin & Jim!! (and big props go out to Aruna for lining this up :thumbsup: )

Aruna
April 2nd, 2004, 07:55 PM
I guess I'll start it off, since I have some questions of my own. ;)

-What sequences was Tippett responsible for?
-How were the show's sequences broken up between the two of you?
-Who decided which sequences you would oversee?

russ_c
April 3rd, 2004, 06:06 PM
By my observation the CG character animation in Hellboy was very ambitious, such as Hellboy interacting with the Samuels and final monster in multipule fight sequences.

Since there isn't direct reference for this :D, What steps were taken to problem solve the dynamics of animating, lighting and compositing these intense character interactions on the filmed plate shots?

I will probably think of more, Thanks!

Russell

russ_c
April 3rd, 2004, 06:13 PM
What were the major challenges unique to Hellboy's production? Why? How were these challenges overcome?

Thanks,

Russell

FX Saint
April 4th, 2004, 11:22 PM
How much time was spent on pre-production ( pre-viz in particular) and post production?

what was the postproduction pipeline like? ( i meant the softwares used & other technical stuffs).

Thanks

Cogliostros
April 6th, 2004, 01:06 AM
Matteline Patrol,

Can the both of you explain what it was like to be a lead compositors on Hellboy, and what the job entails? What you deal with day to day, from the mundane, to digging in and cranking out your own shots, to working with the supervisors developing and creating content, duties, delegation, etc.

The day in the life of...

:hammer:

kiley007
April 8th, 2004, 09:25 AM
As a student we are not able to work with film, so what do you find is the biggest challenge between film and video. When working on Hellboy, how many compositors were there and how is the layout structured?

Paul Moran
April 10th, 2004, 08:33 PM
ok all...not as many responses as I was hoping for ...but some good ones nonetheless ....Ill close this out now and post the complete interview soon.

Cheers

paul