Foundation Imaging was a CGI visual effects studio,

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images ( moving images), while computer animation re ...

studio, and

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. Th ...

editing facility.

History

The company was founded by Paul Beigle-Bryant and Ron Thornton. It pioneered digital imaging for television programming using

Newtek NewTek, Inc. is a San Antonio, Texas-based hardware and software company that produces live and post-production video tools and visual imaging software for personal computers. The company was founded in 1985 in Topeka, Kansas, United States, by T ...

LightWave 3D LightWave 3D is a 3D computer graphics program developed by NewTek. It has been used in films, television, motion graphics, digital matte painting, visual effects, video game development, product design, architectural visualizations, virt ...

, originally on

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Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...

based

Video Toaster The NewTek Video Toaster is a combination of hardware and software for the editing and production of NTSC standard-definition video. The plug-in expansion card initially worked with the Amiga 2000 computer and provides a number of BNC conne ...

workstations.

Dissolution

The company was dissolved after work on season one of ''

Star Trek: Enterprise ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...

'' had been completed and the company assets were sold off in a

public auction In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

on December 17, 2002 by Brian Testo Associates, LLC.

Legacy

The company's pioneering work on Babylon 5 popularized using the software package

Lightwave 3D LightWave 3D is a 3D computer graphics program developed by NewTek. It has been used in films, television, motion graphics, digital matte painting, visual effects, video game development, product design, architectural visualizations, virt ...

on US TV shows for CGI visual effects, which led to it becoming an industry standard throughout the 1990s. Key animators from the company and Emmy Award-winners Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz and John Teska remain major figures in the visual effects field for their work on shows such as the rebooted

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series (''Galactica 1980''), a line of ...

and

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Notable works

Babylon 5

Foundation Imaging is best known for their work on the science fiction series ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tele ...

'', winning an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for the pilot episode.

Star Trek franchise

After completing the third season of Babylon 5, they worked on Paramount's Star Trek: Voyager and

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...

(ultimately winning two more Emmy Awards for their work on Voyager). Foundation Imaging made the exterior views rendered by computer graphics for the ''Delta Flyer'' shuttlecraft, from drawings by

Rick Sternbach Richard Michael Sternbach (born 1951 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is an illustrator who is best known for his space illustrations and his work on the ''Star Trek'' television series. Early years Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1969 Sternbac ...

, debuting on Voyager in the "

Extreme Risk Extreme risks are risks of very bad outcomes or "high consequence", but of low probability. They include the risks of terrorist attack, biosecurity risks such as the invasion of pests, and extreme natural disasters such as major earthquakes. Int ...

". They also did the CGI views of the Varro generation ship in the episode "

The Disease "The Disease" is the 111th episode of the science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager'', the 17th episode of the fifth season. The episode focuses on a plot with Harry Kim (played by Garrett Wang) as '' USS Voyager'' encounters a un ...

" for example. The company also worked on

Robert Wise Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American film director, producer, and editor. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of ...

's director's cut of '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture.'' This was one of Foundation Imaging's last projects before they shut down. Lebowitz also worked with

Paramount Plus Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

on the film's 2022 restoration.

Batman CG visuals

While working on Star Trek, the company provided CG visuals for the Warner Brothers direct-to-video animated movies based on the Batman: The Animated Series TV series.

Project history

Movies

*'' The Jackal'' (1997) *'' Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero'' (1998) *''Today's Life'' (2000) *'' The Legend of Zu'' (2001) (Blood Sea sequence) *''They Crawl'' (2001) *''

Project Viper ''Project Viper'' is a 2002 science-fiction thriller starring Patrick Muldoon, Theresa Russell, Curtis Armstrong and Tamara Davies that debuted as a Sci Fi Pictures TV-movie on the Sci Fi Channel. It was directed by Jim Wynorski under the pseud ...

'' (2002) *''The Extreme Team'' (2003) *''Chrome'' (2005)

Live action series

*''

'' (1993 - 1996) (seasons 1-3) *''

Hypernauts ''Hypernauts'' is a proof of concept show produced by Foundation Imaging and Netter Digital Entertainment. To further prove that the computer-generated imagery and visual effects created in ''Babylon 5'' were easily applied to other venues, the ...

'' (1995 - 1996) (season 1) *'' Star Trek: Voyager'' (1996 - 2001) (seasons 3-7) *''

'' (1997 - 1999) (the season 5 finale, seasons 6-7) *'' Young Hercules'' (1998 - 1999) *''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

'' (2000) (single episode water effects) *''

'' (2001 - 2002) (season 1)

Animated series

*'' Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles'' (1999) *''

Max Steel Max Steel is a line of action figures produced and owned by the toy company Mattel since 1999. The original figures based on the first TV series were similar to the original 12-inch G.I. Joe toys, consisting almost entirely of different versi ...

'' (2001) *''

Dan Dare Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic story ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in repr ...

'' (2002)

Video games

*'' Twisted Metal: Black'' (2001) (CG movie and visual effects)

DVD

*'' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' (DVD director's edition)

Awards

*1993 Emmy Award – Babylon 5 – Outstanding Individual Achievement In Special Visual Effects: **Paul Beigle-Bryant, Computer Imaging Supervisor - Foundation Imaging **Shannon Casey, Visual Effects Coordinator **Ron Thornton, Visual Effects Designer - Foundation Imaging *1999 Emmy Award – Star Trek: Voyager – Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series: **Rob Bonchune, CGI Supervisor - Foundation Imaging **Elizabeth Castro, Visual Effects Coordinator **Arthur J. Codron, Visual Effects Coordinator **Dan Curry, Visual Effects Producer/Supervisor **Don Greenberg, Visual Effects Compositor **Paul Hill, Visual Effects Compositor **Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz, CGI Supervisor - Foundation Imaging **Ronald B. Moore, Visual Effects Supervisor **Greg Rainoff, Visual Effects Artist **Mitch Suskin, Visual Effects Supervisor **John Teska, CGI Animator - Foundation Imaging *2001 Emmy Award – Star Trek: Voyager – Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series: **Robert Bonchune, CGI Supervisor - Foundation Imaging **Eric Chauvin, Matte Artist **Art Codron, Visual Effects Coordinator **Dan Curry, Visual Effects Producer **Steve Fong, Visual Effects Compositor **Ronald Moore, Visual Effects Supervisor **Greg Rainoff, Visual Effects Animator **Mitch Suskin, Visual Effects Supervisor **John Teska, CGI Artist - Foundation Imaging

References

External links

Babylon 5 - Online!: Interview with Ron ThorntonTrek Today: Interview with Paul BryantNewtek.com: Interview with Kyle ToucherNewtek.com: Interview with Kevin "Q" Quattro
{{Animation industry in the United States Visual effects companies American animation studios Defunct film and television production companies of the United States