Camera Effects
Camera Effects was a film opticals ( post-production and visual effects) studio based in Soho, London from 1964 till its closure in 1987. It had a world wide reputation for producing film special effects and titles for television commercial and feature film projects. The company produced title sequences for major features such as The Three Musketeers, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Tommy, the Superman films and Supergirl. The company was started by Roy Pace using an animation rostrum camera in a basement at 2 Bourchier Street in 1964. It moved premises to 6 Dean Street, then to 147 Wardour Street before finally settling at 8–11 Bateman Street as the biggest optical house in Soho with six camera rooms, an optical printer and two film studios. Film opticals were created using Oxberry aerial image cameras, with "many animation techniques used in the process." The combination of an animation stand with a 35mm projector enabled the fast turnaround of film opticals and was a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Post Production
Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. The first part of the post-production process is the traditional non-linear (analog) film editing at the outset of post-production has mostly been replaced by digital or video editing software that operates as a non-linear editing (NLE) system. The advantage of being able to have this non-linear capacity is in the flexibility for editing scenes out of order, making creative changes at will, carefully shaping the film in a thoughtful, meaningful way for emotional effect. Once the production team is satisfied with the picture editing, the picture editing is said to be "locked." At this point begins the turnover process, where the picture is prepared for lab and color finishing and the sound is "spotted" and turnover to the composer and sound de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Supergirl (1984 Film)
''Supergirl'' is a 1984 British superhero film directed by Jeannot Szwarc from a screenplay by David Odell based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It is the fourth film in the ''Superman'' film series, set after the events of ''Superman III'' (1983) and serving as a spin-off of the series. The film stars Helen Slater as Supergirl, along with Faye Dunaway, Hart Bochner, Peter Cook, Mia Farrow, Brenda Vaccaro, and Peter O'Toole, with Marc McClure reprising his role as Jimmy Olsen from the ''Superman'' films. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1984 and in the United States on 21 November 1984, but failed to impress critics and audiences alike, while also underperforming at the box-office. Dunaway and O'Toole earned Golden Raspberry Award nominations for Worst Actress and Worst Actor, respectively. However, Slater was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress. The film's failure ultimately led producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind to sell the S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell in February 1970. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by the Companies House, who class it as a holding company; however Virgin's business and trading activities date back to the 1970s. The net worth of Virgin Group was estimated at £5–5.5 billion as of November 2014. History The name "Virgin" arose in 1970 when Richard Branson and Nik Powell formed a record shop, first as mail order and in 1971 with a physical store. They considered themselves virgins in business. Branson has described the "V" in the logo as an expressive tick, representing the Virgin seal of approval. The original logo from 1973 was a completely different design intended to be used for the record company that was founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell. The logo was designed by British science-fiction artist and designer Roger Dean. According to Richard Brans ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Rushes Postproduction
Rushes Postproduction was a post-production and visual effects company based in London. Rushes closed down in December 2017. by the Virgin Group in 2000. The company famously posted Dire Straits' " Money for Nothing"; the first video ever to be played on MTV Europe and the launch advert for the Ford Puma featuring a composited late Steve McQueen. The company was the first in the UK to acquire a Rank-Cintel URSA (replaced with a Thomson Spirit) and a C-Reality Telecine as well as being the first to adopt a Discreet (now an Autodesk subsidiary) Flame SGI based compositing suite. In 2006, Rushes became a fully HD capable facility from Telecine through visual effects and 3D. One of the first HD projects was the rebranding of ITV 3 in January 2006. Rushes posted pop-promos for many well known bands including Arctic Monkeys, Dido, Faithless, Gorillaz, Ian Brown, Manic Street Preachers, New Order, Scissor Sisters, The Streets, Oasis, Placebo, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Snow Patr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities. It also diversified into the manufacture of radios, TVs and photocopiers (as one of the owners of Rank Xerox). The company name lasted until February 1996, when the name and some of the remaining assets were absorbed into the newly structured Rank Group plc. The company itself became a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox and was renamed XRO Limited in 1997. The company logo, the Gongman, first used in 1935 by the group's distribution company General Film DistributorsThe Independent July 16, 19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Brent Walker
Brent Walker was a British company involved in property, gambling, distilled beverages and pubs. It was founded by George Walker, the brother of the boxer Billy Walker. In 1991, following the accumulation of debts which had been used to finance acquisitions, George Walker was ousted from the company and its board sold its remaining investments under the supervision of its bankers. George Walker Born in London, George Walker career began as a porter at Billingsgate Fish Market. Like his brother, Walker became a boxer of the 1950s. Following his retirement from the ring he undertook a number of business ventures including Dolly's nightclub in London. Foundations of the company In 1974, Walker arranged a reverse takeover of Hackney and Hendon Greyhound Company, a stock market listed company, sold his own business interests to it and changed its name to Brent Walker. Using land from the Hendon Greyhound Stadium, Brent Walker entered into a joint venture with Hammerson Estates to dev ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Computer Graphics
Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great deal of specialized hardware and software has been developed, with the displays of most devices being driven by computer graphics hardware. It is a vast and recently developed area of computer science. The phrase was coined in 1960 by computer graphics researchers Verne Hudson and William Fetter of Boeing. It is often abbreviated as CG, or typically in the context of film as computer generated imagery (CGI). The non-artistic aspects of computer graphics are the subject of computer science research. Some topics in computer graphics include user interface design, sprite graphics, rendering, ray tracing, geometry processing, computer animation, vector graphics, 3D modeling, shaders, GPU design, implicit surfaces, visualization, scientific c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Animation Stand
An animation stand is a device assembled for the filming of any kind of animation that is placed on a flat surface, including cel animation, graphic animation, clay animation, and silhouette animation. Traditionally, the flat surface that the animation rests on is some kind of table that the animator sits at. Pegs made specifically for animation are embedded into the table, in at least two slots allowing the pegs to slide from side to side, permitting horizontal movement of images, but can also be easily fixed into position for the accurate positioning ("registration") of the artwork. Opposite the animator is a series of supporting arms and supports, on top of which is mounted a film or video camera, pointing down toward the artwork, which films the artwork, frame-by-frame, as it is slowly moved and changed by the operator. The vertical positioning of the animation camera, always shooting down, is the main component that defines an animation stand, as opposed to a stop motion ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Rotoscoping
Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, animators projected photographed live-action movie images onto a glass panel and traced over the image. This projection equipment is referred to as a rotoscope, developed by Polish-American animator Max Fleischer, and the result is a rotograph. This device was eventually replaced by computers, but the process is still called rotoscoping. In the visual effects industry, ''rotoscoping'' is the technique of manually creating a matte for an element on a live-action plate so it may be composited over another background. Chroma key is more often used for this, as it is faster and requires less work, but rotoscopy provides a higher level of accuracy and is often used in conjunction with chroma-keying. It may also be used if the subject is not in front of a green (or blue) screen, or for practical or economic reasons. Technique Ro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Superman (1978 Film)
''Superman'' (stylized as ''Superman: The Movie'') is a 1978 superhero film based on the character by DC Comics. An international co-production between the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Panama and the United States, it was supervised by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, produced by their partner Pierre Spengler and written by Mario Puzo from a story by Puzo, and is the first installment in the Superman film series. Directed by Richard Donner, the film features an ensemble cast including Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Jeff East, Margot Kidder, Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter, Jackie Cooper, Trevor Howard, Marc McClure, Terence Stamp, Valerie Perrine, Ned Beatty, Jack O'Halloran, Maria Schell, and Sarah Douglas. It depicts the origin of Superman (Reeve), including his infancy as Kal-El of Krypton, son of Jor-El (Brando) and his youthful years in the rural town of Smallville. Disguised as reporter Clark Kent, he adopts a mild-mannered disposition in Metropolis and d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Visual Effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action footage or CGI elements to create realistic imagery is called VFX. VFX involves the integration of live-action footage (which may include in-camera special effects) and generated-imagery (digital or optics, animals or creatures) which look realistic, but would be dangerous, expensive, impractical, time-consuming or impossible to capture on film. Visual effects using computer-generated imagery (CGI) have more recently become accessible to the independent filmmaker with the introduction of affordable and relatively easy-to-use animation and compositing software. History Early developments In 1857, Oscar Rejlander created the world's first "special effects" image by combining different sections of 32 negatives into a single image, making a mon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Tommy (1975 Film)
''Tommy'' is a 1975 British satirical operetta fantasy drama film written and directed by Ken Russell and based upon The Who's 1969 rock opera album ''Tommy'' about a " psychosomatically deaf, mute, and blind" boy who becomes a pinball champion and religious leader. The film featured a star-studded ensemble cast, including the band members themselves (most notably, lead singer Roger Daltrey, who plays the title role), Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Elton John, and Jack Nicholson. An independent production by Russell and Robert Stigwood, ''Tommy'' was released by Columbia Pictures in the US on 19 March 1975 while in the UK it was released on 26 March 1975. Ann-Margret received a Golden Globe Award for her performance and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Pete Townshend was also nominated for an Oscar for his work in scoring and adapting the music for the film. The film was shown at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival, but was not entere ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |