January 29, 2009
Visual effects production studio Digiscope completed more than 300 effects shots for the Summit Entertainment/Icon Productions feature film Push. Digiscope worked concurrently with UK-based Peerless Camera Company, which produced an additional 100 effects.
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Digiscope in-house supervisor Dion Hatch worked with Paul McGuigan and the film's VFX supervisor, Kent Houston, to create the effects shots for Push. Says Hatch, "We had a very collaborative relationship on Push with both Paul and Kent. One of their first concerns was locking down the design of the mover effect. Both Nick [Chris Evans] and Victor [Neil Jackson] are 'Movers'— they are adversaries with psychokinetic powers. Initially Paul wanted these move effects to be subtle. Brent Prevatt, the digital supervisor, designed dozens of different looks using a combination of 3D and 2D constructs. Paul then combined a number of these designs, ultimately favoring a very chromatic energy burst combined with a subtle ripple effect. He liked Brent's final design so much that he decided to amp up the effect as the fighting intensifies, making the fights between Nick and Victor more visually powerful."
Hatch adds, "Our greatest challenge on Push was to design and build a 60-story skyscraper and drop it in the middle of downtown Hong Kong. The top of the building was designed to match the set where the final big fight scene happens between Chris Evans and the bad guys, members of the Division. The rest of the building was to be under construction, with bamboo scaffolding and covered in green netting. Kent supplied us with hundreds of textural and environmental references to complete the look.
"The interior of the building was also a challenge. The final moments of the film take place with the actors fighting on an unfinished glass floor. Below them, Paul wanted a large central shaft that dropped away 60 floors, creating a frightening sense of vertigo. Originally we planned to do the void as a 2.5D projection, but in order to meet the creative changes that Paul and Kent asked for, we ended up building the void completely in 3D," Hatch concludes.
About the Film:
The storyline of Push concerns people in the world born with psychic powers. In 1945, government agencies set up for psychic warfare began trying to turn those people with abilities into soldiers. After the war, governments began to set up divisions with agents trained to hunt them down like animals, test and categorize them.
There are various types of psychic abilities featured in Push: A Watcher can see the future, a Mover is telekinetic, Sniffers can see the history of an object, Shifts can temporarily change the shape of things, Wipers can wipe away memory, and Pushers can put thoughts into other people's heads. Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning), a Watcher, teams with a young man named Nick Grant (Chris Evans), to take on a clandestine agency called the Division in a race against time that will determine the future of civilization.
Directed by Paul McGuigan, Push is a sci-fi thriller slated for release on Feb. 6. The film stars Dakota Fanning, Chris Evans and Djimon Hounsou. Producers are Glenn Williamson, Bruce Davey and Willaim Vince. Executive Producers are David Bourla, Amy Gilliam, Michael Ohoven, Gretchen Somerfeld, David Valleau and Stan Wlodkowski. Bourla also wrote the script.
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