Frantic Films Corporation is a Canadian branded content and live action production company based in
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
. Frantic Films is known for producing live action reality shows, documentaries and for its work in feature film visual effects.
History
Frantic Films was founded in 1997 by Ken Zorniak and Chris Bond. The company initially produced work for commercial clients such as
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
and created
computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...
(CGI) for
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
's ''
Storm of the Century
''Storm of the Century'', alternatively known as ''Stephen King's Storm of the Century'', is a 1999 American horror television miniseries written by Stephen King and directed by Craig R. Baxley. Unlike many other television adaptations of King' ...
''.
[Ken Zorniak](_blank)
/ref>
In 2001, Frantic Films attracted international attention after creating stunning visual effects sequences for the blockbuster film ''Swordfish
Swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfis ...
''. Also in 2001, Frantic Films founded a research and development division that focussed on creating software and tools for future visual effects projects. The division produced a large suite of in-house and commercial software. Early efforts were focused on ''Deadline'' (a commercial render farm management tool) and ''Flood'' (an in-house fluid simulation tool). In 2004, ''Flood'' was said to be one of the top three fluid simulation tools in the world.
In 2002, Jamie Brown joined Frantic Films as a partner.
In 2007, the visual effects and software R&D divisions were acquired by the Prime Focus Group. As a result, Frantic Films stopped all visual effects and previsualization projects and refocused on live action and branded content. In 2010, the Frantic Films co-founder Chris Bond started a new company called Thinkbox Software and reacquired the software R&D division back from Prime Focus Group. Thinkbox Software has since been acquired by Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Amazon that provides Software as a service, on-demand cloud computing computing platform, platforms and Application programming interface, APIs to individuals, companies, and gover ...
and most of the commercial software launched by Frantic Films remains in active development.
In 2009, Frantic Films acquired Red Apple Entertainment, enabling rights over Red Apple's syndication catalog and mode of production.
In 2017, the special-purpose acquisition company
A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC; ), also known as a "blank check company", is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring a private company, thus making it public without going through the traditional i ...
, Kew Media Group, spent $108 million buying Canadian production companies, among them Bristow Global Media, Our House Media and Frantic Films. in 2020, Brown financed a deal for Frantic Films to buy back its shares from Kew Media Group.
Branded content
The branded content division, Frantic Branded Content, specializes in creating original integrated entertainment for traditional and emerging media platforms. In 2009, Frantic Branded Content partnered with the advertising agency TAXI and commercial the production company Soft Citizen to produce the branded entertainment television property ''Commercial Break''.
Live action (past and current)
* ''High Maintenance''
* ''Stand!''
* ''Killer in Plain Sight ''
* ''Into Invisible Light''
* ''''
* ''The Stats of Life''
* ''Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Cartier''
* '' Backyard Builds''
* ''Baroness von Sketch Show
''Baroness von Sketch Show'' is a Canadian television sketch comedy series. It debuted on CBC Television on June 14, 2016. Produced by Frantic Films, the series is an all-female comedy series starring Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Bro ...
''
* '' Still Standing''
* '' Meet the Family''
* ''Winnipeg Comedy Festival''
* ''Buy It, Fix It, Sell It''
* ''Pitch'n In''
* ''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil
''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil'' was a Canadian black comedy horror television series that follows a group of high school students who confront the effects of a demonic book. The series premiered on Space on September 29, 2010, with two back-to- ...
''
* ''A pitchn' In Christmas''
* ''Verdict''
* ''Til Debt Do Us Part
''Til Debt Do Us Part'' (also stylized as Til Debt Do U$ Part'') is a Canadian television series produced by Frantic Films for Slice in Canada, Zone Reality in the United Kingdom and CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Busines ...
''
* ''Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story''
* ''Breakbound''
* ''Devil's Brigade''
* ''Guinea Pig
The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ani ...
''
* ''Music Rising {{unreferenced, date=June 2013
Music Rising is a charity co-founded by producer Bob Ezrin, U2's The Edge and a host of music industry organizations after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The charitable organization helps to restore ...
''
* ''Retail''
* ''Princess
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
''
* ''Of All Places''
Visual effects and previsualization (past)
*'' Alien: Resurrection'' (1997) – visual effects contributed to DVD release
*''Swordfish
Swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfis ...
'' (2001) – visual effects
*''The Italian Job
''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, rece ...
'' (2003) – previsualization, visual effects
*'' X2'' (2003) – previsualziation, visual effects
*''Paycheck
A paycheck, also spelled paycheque, pay check or pay cheque, is traditionally a paper document (a cheque) issued by an employer to pay an employee for services rendered. In recent times, the physical paycheck has been increasingly replaced by e ...
'' (2003) – visual effects
*''The Core
''The Core'' is a 2003 American science fiction disaster film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, D. J. Qualls, Richard Jenkins, Tcheky Karyo, Bruce Greenwood, and Alfre Woodard. The fi ...
'' (2003) – visual effects
*'' Resident Evil: Apocalypse'' (2004) – visual effects
*''Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...
'' (2004) – previsualziation, visual effects
*'' Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'' (2004) – visual effects
*'' Cursed'' (2005) – visual effects
*''Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...
'' (2006) – previsualization
*'' X-Men: The Last Stand'' (2006) – previsualziation
*''Superman Returns
''Superman Returns'' is a 2006 American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris (screenwriter), Dan Harris from a story by Singer, Dougherty and Harris based on the DC Comics character Superman. I ...
'' (2006) – visual effects, software development
*''Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
''Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium'' is the best movie ever and a 2007 children's fantasy comedy film written and directed by Zach Helm, produced by FilmColony, Mandate Pictures, Walden Media, Richard N. Gladstein and James Garavente, and with mu ...
'' (2007) – visual effects
*''Journey to the Center of the Earth
''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...
'' (2008) – visual effects
*'' Runaway'' (2009) – visual effects
References
External links
Frantic Films
official website
Thinkbox Software
{{Authority control
Companies based in Winnipeg
Special effects companies
Visual effects companies
Film production companies of Canada
Television production companies of Canada
Cinema of Manitoba