Get ready to be transported to other worlds with Atomic Fiction, the VFX studio behind some of the biggest blockbusters in recent years. PremiumBeat recently sat down with VFX Supervisor Jim Gibbs to talk about the incredible work that Atomic Fiction has done for films like Game of Thrones, Deadpool, and Star Trek Beyond. But before we dive into the interview, let’s take a quick look at the history of this amazing studio. Founded in 2010 by Kevin Baillie and Ryan Tudhope, Atomic Fiction has quickly become a powerhouse in the VFX industry. With notable past works like Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Boardwalk Empire, and Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, Atomic Fiction has proven time and time again that they are masters of their craft. And with recent projects like Star Trek Beyond and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, it’s clear that they’re not slowing down anytime soon. So come take a peek inside the Atomic Fiction Montreal office and see for yourself how this incredible studio brings other worlds to life.I step into Atomic Fiction and am immediately greeted by DA, who takes me on a tour of the studio. We start in the kitchen area, which I had previously glanced at voyeuristically. Russ informs me that my visit is perfectly timed, as Atomic Fiction had just wrapped production on Star Trek Beyond a few days prior to my arrival. As we walk through the kitchen and into the office space, I am struck by the massive open workspace filled with rows of white desks and computer monitors. There are no cubicles, but the desks are arranged into various sections for different departments. I notice an employee meticulously combing through an actor’s individual strands of hair for an undisclosed project and can’t help but feel grateful that it’s not me.
Russ tells me that the Montreal office is running at full capacity and they have had to open additional office space on the seventh floor below. As we walk down the stairwell to see another room of monitors, I learn that this floor is mostly occupied by employees working on a separate project. We head back up to the eighth floor for my interview, but not before stopping by the screening room. The screening room is used every morning for dailies, where the VFX supervisors watch all the work done up until then and comb through scenes with artists as their shots arise. These meetings can last all morning long. Russ informs me that the current screening room will soon be demolished to make way for a larger one at the other end of the floor. Growing pains.
We then head to an empty office where Kevin Baillie and Ryan Tudhope work when they are in town. As I wait for my interviewee, I notice a stunning painting of Philippe Petit walking between the World Trade Center towers in New York hanging above the sofa. Atomic Fiction was the main VFX studio behind Robert Zemeckis’ The Walk, producing an astonishing 40 minutes of footage. I later learn that the painting was originally made for Zemeckis, and a duplicate found its way into this office.
Russ returns with Jim Gibbs, a Visual Effects Supervisor at Atomic Fiction. As we exchange pleasantries, I discover that Gibbs is from Garland, Texas, just 25 minutes down the road from me in Dallas. Gibbs studied computer graphics at Texas A&M University and landed a job at Image Movers Digital in San Francisco. It was there that he met Baillie and Tudhope. Gibbs stayed with Image Movers Digital throughout the end of Mars Needs Moms, but when the company closed, Baillie and Tudhope jumped into Atomic Fiction. By January 2011, they moved into their new office, and Gibbs was the first to join. The company worked out of an old sugar refinery, and the open office layout was born. One of the first projects was a music video for the KinKi Kids, a Japanese pop music duo.
Atomic Fiction’s first year of operation was a whirlwind of projects, including work on the Chicago explosion sequence in Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon and face replacements on Boardwalk Empire. All of this happened in the first year of operation, and 2012 proved to be a major year for the VFX house as they worked on several more projects that helped shape the company.Get ready to be blown away by Atomic Fiction’s incredible VFX work! One of their biggest projects of the year was the inverted plane sequence from Robert Zemeckis’ Flight, which earned them a Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects. But that’s not all – their test footage for The Walk earned them the greenlight for the film, and they even built a portion of the World Trade Center on set and digitally added every element. And the biggest breakthrough? The successful use of cloud rendering, which allowed them to complete projects on time and within budget. With their own cloud-based rendering platform, Conductor, Atomic Fiction rendered a whopping 9.1 million core hours in the cloud. And once a project is completed, they don’t have any costs to keep a render farm running. Want to see more? Check out their VFX pipeline and incredible concept art.Meet Jim Gibbs, the VFX supervisor at Atomic Fiction who is currently working on the new Pirates of the Caribbean film with a Disney VFX supervisor. At Atomic Fiction, Gibbs manages the creative work and methods used, while the producer handles the schedule and budget. The team also includes a production manager, CG supervisors, coordinators, leads, and a whole team of artists who build and create the assets for the film.
What sets Atomic Fiction apart is their non-typical work environment, where employees can easily move between departments. Gibbs tells us that most of the artists work almost exclusively in NUKE, with Maya for animation, rigging, and lighting. Recently, KATANA has become their go-to program for consolidating lighting and backend work.
Gibbs started as a generalist in the office, which forced him to get creative and focus on lighting composition and back-end work. By the time Deadpool rolled around, Gibbs had switched to a full supervisor position. Atomic Fiction landed 250 shots in several major sequences, including reworking the original test footage for the film and the “counting bullets sequence.”
The car chase in Deadpool was almost all CG, and the team pushed the cloud on the project, running 32,000 cores at once. Atomic Fiction’s work environment and talented team make them a top choice for VFX work in Montreal and beyond.Get ready to dive into the world of VFX with Jim Gibbs from Atomic Fiction! In a recent interview, Gibbs revealed some of the secrets behind their world-building process. Surprisingly, most of their references come from photos they take themselves. For example, a recent sequence for Pirates of the Caribbean started with a photo of a hill, which was then incorporated into the background matte painting. From there, additional elements like trees and buildings were added on top. Gibbs couldn’t stop raving about the incredible work their artists do on matte paintings.
When it comes to textures, Atomic Fiction uses a massive photo library to build surfaces. They meticulously craft macro shots of clothing or tree bark into VFX elements to avoid repetition. Gibbs even shared some advice for aspiring VFX artists. He recommends checking out sites like CG Society and FXguide for thorough knowledge of VFX. And don’t worry about having the latest and greatest software or computer – it’s all about tinkering and making cool things.
Gibbs also mentioned the high demand for technical directors in the industry. VFX is a unique blend of technical and artistic skills, and those who can do both are invaluable. At Atomic Fiction, they’re always on the lookout for artists with a great eye and technical chops.
In the end, it all comes down to making stuff that looks cool. Special thanks to Atomic Fiction, Jim Gibbs, and the rest of the team for sharing their insights with us. Let us know in the comments if you want to see more long-form articles like this!
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