Centro Digital Pictures Limited was a visual special effects and

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

company based in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

that provided

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 foota ...

for

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

interactive media Interactive media normally refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the user's actions by presenting content such as text, moving image, animation, video and audio. Since its early conception, various fo ...

, and

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

History

Centro Digital Pictures was founded by John Chu in 1985. Centro (先濤) began as a post-production house for Hong Kong commercials in the mid-1980s. In 1998, Centro decided to co-produce ''

The Storm Riders ''The Storm Riders'' is a 1998 Hong Kong ''wuxia'' fantasy film based on the manhua series ''Fung Wan'' by artist Ma Wing-shing. Directed by Andrew Lau, it starred Ekin Cheng as Wind and Aaron Kwok as Cloud. The plot involves two children, Whispe ...

,'' a film directed by

Andrew Lau Andrew Lau Wai-keung ( zh, t=劉偉強, born 4 April 1960) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, and cinematographer. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and Wong ...

. Centro then co-produced, "A Man Called Hero" based on the

manhua () are Chinese-language comics produced in China and Taiwan. Whilst Chinese comics and narrated illustrations have existed in China in some shape or form throughout its imperial history, the term first appeared in 1904 in a comic titled ''Cu ...

Chinese Hero ''Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword'' is a ''wuxia'' manhua series created by Hong Kong artist Ma Wing-shing. It is also referred to as ''Blood Sword'', ''Blood Sword Dynasty'', ''A Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword'' and ''A Man Calle ...

. They also provided visual effects for ''

Kill Bill ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) an ...

,'' for which they received a BAFTA nomination. Centro also produced visual effects for ''

Kung Fu Hustle ''Kung Fu Hustle'' ( zh, c=功夫, l=Kung Fu) is a 2004 Cantonese-language action comedy film directed, produced, co-written by, and starring Stephen Chow. The film tells the story of a murderous neighbourhood gang, a poor village with unli ...

''.Centro Digital Pictures Ltd
The company also performed contract work for

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

company

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...

on the titles

187 Ride or Die ''187 Ride or Die'' is a video game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, developed and published by Ubisoft. It is a vehicular combat racing game and was released for the PS2 and Xbox before being ported to the PlayStation Portable under the title '' S ...

and

Splinter Cell ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell'' is a series of stealth action-adventure video games, the first of which was released in 2002, and their tie-in novels that were endorsed by Tom Clancy. The series follows Sam Fisher, a highly trained agent of a ...

. In 2012, Centro became a wholly owned subsidiary of the

Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Deluxe Media Inc., also known simply as Deluxe and formerly Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, Inc., is an American multinational multimedia and entertainment service provisions company owned by Platinum Equity, founded in 1915 by Hungarian-b ...

. In 2015, the company went offline, and it closed in 2018.

Special effects filmography

* Metallic Attraction: Kung Fu Cyborg (ji qi xia, directed by Jeffrey Lau, 2009) *

City of Life and Death ''City of Life and Death'' is a 2009 Chinese drama film written and directed by Lu Chuan, marking his third feature film. The film deals with the Battle of Nanjing and the following massacre committed by the Japanese army during the Second World W ...

(Nánjīng! Nánjīng!, directed by Lu Chuan, 2009) * Gegege no Kitarô 2 (directed by Katsuhide Motoki, 2008) *

Run Papa Run ''Run Papa Run'' is a 2008 Hong Kong comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Sylvia Chang, and based on a novel by Benny Li. The film stars Louis Koo as Tiger Lee, a Triad boss who struggles to hide his criminal lifestyle when he is faced ...

(Yat kor ho ba ba, directed by Sylvia Chang, 2008) * The Secret of the Magic Gourd (Baohulu de mimi, directed by Frankie Chung and John Chu, 2007) *

Curse of the Golden Flower ''Curse of the Golden Flower'' () is a 2006 Chinese epic wuxia drama film written and directed by Zhang Yimou. The Mandarin Chinese title of the movie is taken from the last line of the Qi dynasty poem written by the rebel leader Huang Chao who ...

(Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia, directed by

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

, 2006) * The Promise (Wu Ji, directed by

Chen Kaige Chen Kaige (; born 12 August 1952) is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema.Berry, Michael (2002). "Chen Kaige: Historical Revolution and Cinematic Rebellion" in Speaking in Images: Interviews wit ...

, 2005) *

(Gong fu, directed by

Stephen Chow Stephen Chow Sing-chi (, born 22 June 1962), known professionally as Stephen Chow, is a Hong Kong filmmaker, former actor and comedian, known for ''Shaolin Soccer'' and ''Kung Fu Hustle''. Early life and education Stephen Chow was born in British ...

, 2004) *

volume 2 (directed by

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

, 2004) *

volume 1 (directed by Quentin Tarantino, 2003) * The Eye (Gin gwai, directed by

The Pang Brothers Danny Pang Phat and Oxide Pang Chun, collectively known as the Pang Brothers, are a filmmaking duo of screenwriters and film directors. The pair are twins, born in Hong Kong in 1965. Among their films is the hit Asian horror film, '' The Eye'' ...

, 2002) *

Chinese Odyssey 2002 ''Chinese Odyssey'' is a 2002 Hong Kong mo lei tau musical film written and directed by Jeffrey Lau and produced by Wong Kar-wai. It stars Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Faye Wong, Zhao Wei and Chang Chen. It is a parody of the 1959 Huangmei opera film '' ...

(Tian xia wu shuang, directed by Jeffrey Lau, 2002) *

Shaolin Soccer ''Shaolin Soccer'' (Chinese: ) is a 2001 Hong Kong sports comedy film directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the lead role. The film revolves around a former Shaolin monk who reunites his five brothers,"Brothers" here does not mean biologi ...

(Siu lam juk kau, directed by

, 2001) * Bangkok Dangerous (directed by the Pang Brothers, 1999) * A Man Called Hero (Zhong hua ying xiong, directed by

, 1999), based on the

(directed by Andrew Lau, 1999) * Waan ying dak gung (directed by Ma Chu Cheng, 1998) * Boli zhi cheng (directed by

Mabel Cheung Mabel Cheung (, born 17 November 1950) is a film director from Hong Kong. She is one of the leading directors in Hong Kong cinema and is considered one of the three women (along with Ann Hui and Clara Law) to achieve acclaim in the New Wave/Se ...

, 1998) *

The Emperor and the Assassin ''The Emperor and the Assassin'', also known as ''The First Emperor'', is a 1998 - 1999 Chinese historical romance film based primarily on Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin, as described in Sima Qian's ''Records of the Grand Histo ...

(Jing ke ci qin wang, directed by Chen Kaige, 1998) *

(Fung wan: Hung ba tin ha, directed by

1998) *

The Soong Sisters The Soong sisters () were Soong Ai-ling, Soong Ching-ling, and Soong Mei-ling, three Shanghainese (of Hakka descent) Christian Chinese women who were, along with their husbands, amongst China's most significant political figures of the early 20 ...

(Song jia huang chao, directed by Mabel Cheung, 1997) * Legend of Mad Phoenix (Naam hoi sap saam long, directed by

Clifton Ko Clifton Ko (; born 6 August, 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, actor, producer and scriptwriter. Background Clifton Ko graduated from Kwun Tong Maryknoll College, and entered TV and film industry in late 1970s, firstly worked with director C ...

, 1997) * Ta fa likit (directed by the Pang Brothers, 1997) *

The Emperor's Shadow ''The Emperor's Shadow'' is a 1996 Chinese historical film directed by Zhou Xiaowen and starring Jiang Wen, Ge You, Xu Qing and Ge Zhijun. It was the most expensive Chinese film produced at the time of its release. Plot Set in third century BC C ...

(Qin song, directed by Xiaowen Zhou, 1996) * Lost and Found (Tian ya hai jiao, directed by Chi-Ngai Lee, 1996) * Thanks for Your Love (½ Chi tung chong, directed by Norman Law, 1996) * Police Story 4: First Strike (Jing cha gu shi 4: Zhi jian dan ren wu, directed by

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

, 1996) * The Umbrella Story (Ren jian you qing, directed by Clifton Ko, 1995)

Awards

Wins

Centro has been recognized with awards from many top industry organizations. So far ''Gong fu'' (Kung Fu Hustle) has been their most successful film, and has won a

Hong Kong Film Award The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, act ...

Golden Horse Film Festival The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is us ...

award and a

Satellite Award The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

. In 2002 they won a Golden Horse Award in Best Visual Effects for ''Gin gwai'' ( The Eye).

Nominations

They have also been nominated for Hong Kong Film Awards in the area of

Sound Design Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...

for ''Zhong hua ying xiong'' (A Man Called Hero), a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

for Visual Effects due to their work on

volumes 1 & 2, and a Hong Kong Film Award in Visual Effects for ''Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia'' (Curse of the Golden Flower).

References

{{reflist

External links

Centro Digital Pictures Ltd. Official site
Film production companies of China Hong Kong animation studios Computer animation Special effects companies Visual effects companies Entertainment companies established in 1985 Privately held companies of China Film and video technology Digital media