PETALING JAYA: After weaving their magic in Life of Pi, the team from Rhythm and Hues of Malaysia continued to etch their name in Hollywood as they were part of the visual graphics team for the fantasy film Seventh Son.
The post-production team was behind the background preparation, composition and VFX graphics for the film starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore and one of its background preparation members Azim Hulaimi said it took them five to six months to work on the film.
The project started in the March 19, 2012 but was only released this year after the partnership between Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros ended in Oct 18, 2013 and Legendary sold the distribution rights to Universal Studios who decided to release it this year.
“I just joined Rhythm and Hues at the time and it was my second movie after Life of Pi. The responsibility was bigger for this movie and it involved many Rhythm and Hues studios around the world.
“Working with my seniors was the best part and this was a very collaborative effort. It took us five to six months to complete it before we passed it to the compositors,” said Azim on Wednesday who also worked for films like Django Unchained and Alvin and the Chipmunks 3.
Background preparation requires the graphic artist to remove wires or cables on actors and isolate the green screen background from the actors. Rotoscoping, which is also part of the background preparation, isolates subjects from the unwanted background.
“There were some scenes that used green screen. It was minor because most of the production shooting are outdoors with gigantic sets built around to give the movie more epic scale.
“Rotoscoping allows us to draw a line around the actors, frame by frame. It is a very important process. Once all this is done, then the compositors will compile all the graphic works and put them into the film,”
Directed by Sergei Bodrov, the movie is now running in all theatres nationwide. The movie was first released in France on Dec 17, 2014 and was subsequently released in other countries including Malaysia last weekend.
The film is an adaptation of the novel The Spook’s Apprentice and centres on the main character Thomas Ward, a seventh son of the seventh son and his adventures as the apprentice of the Spook.
Rhythm and Hues is no more under operations as they filed for bankruptcy on Feb 11, 2013 and the Rhythm and Hues studio in Malaysia was closed in August 2013.
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