Interview: Union Visual Effects’ Adam Gascoyne & Tim Caplan on 127 HOURS
2010 was a strong year for British film-making, as the strength of UK contenders at this week's Bafta Awards confirmed. Any cursory glance through this year's Oscar nominations will also confirm the depth of the talent pool that these fair isles can draw from these days- two Best Films, a director, a lead actor, and a best supporting nod for each sex- right now, it's good to be British. And to walk a horribly over-trodden road, it is clear that Britain really has got talent.
Now back to those two Best Film nominations. Both The King's Speech and 127 Hours are thoroughly British films: one may have been filmed in London and the other in Utah, but cut them and both would bleed the red, white and blue of the Union Jack. In celebration of the fact, and to draw attention to some of the unheralded British talents behind the scenes of Danny Boyle's Best Film contender, below is our interview with Adam Gascoyne and Tim Caplan who head up Union Visual Effects - a small VFX outfit in the heart of London who worked on over 350 VFX shots for 127 hours.
Adam is a leading VFX supervisor with over 15 years of experience in the film industry, covering all technical aspects of the visual effects and post-production process for Film and Television. Prior to setting up Union VFX, Adam worked as a visual effects supervisor at Cinesite, MPC and Rainmaker in London.Tim has been in the visual effects industry for 17 years. Prior to setting up Union he has played a key role in the start up of two large facilities Cinesite (where he first met Adam) and Mill Film as well as working for Universal.
OWF: Tell me a little bit about Union Visual Effects?
We're a VFX company based in the heart of Soho.
When myself and Adam set up Union it was in the depths of the recession, Adam just finished on Slumdog and Tim just finished working for Universal on Mama Mia.
Despite the economic climate we felt that it was the ideal time to set something up from scratch. We both held very similar views on what makes a creative vfx house work most effectively which made the process of deciding on kit and key talent much easier.
What's the set-up like? I'm picturing an Avatar style hub room...
It's a very cool space on Wardour street, we've always been keen to have somewhere that the artists love working and the clients love to hang out in. We've even got our Xbox kinnect hooked up to an 8 foot screen in our projection room, it also doubles up as a motion capture studio and a grading suite.
And what part does Nuke play?
Our pipeline is built around Nuke and Maya. Nuke has now become the software of choice for most vfx artists and integrates well into the 3D world.
What other projects have you worked on already?
Since setting up in 2009 Union has worked on
127 Hours, Angels & Demons and Red Riding: 1974, NEDS, Glorious 39, Will, and La Mula.
Why did you choose to get into VFX? Any films that inspired the career decision?
Adam - Close Encounters of The Third Kind.
Tim - 2001
How did UVE become involved on 127 hours?
Adam through Slumdog already had a working relationship with Danny Boyle and Christian Colson (Producer). We were sent the first draft of the script in November 2009 and creatively broke it down with Danny.
We supervised from pre-production all the way through to delivery including a nine week shoot in Utah.
What's Danny Boyle like to work with?
He's very inspiring. He motivates everyone around him to give their all and is always receptive to ideas.
How hands-on was he in the VFX process?
Very hands on, he would come into Union regularly to review the work in our screening room and gave each of the artists direct feedback which helps the creative process enormously. We were also given the freedom to experiment with certain sequences to see how they played out in the cut.
Union also employed three recent CG school Escape Studios graduates (Mervyn New, Victor Perez and Aymeric Perceval) to work on the movie. What was the thinking behind choosing Escape Studios' graduates to work on 127 Hours?
Initially we intended to take one graduate to help support the team. We were impressed with the quality of graduates we were interviewing and decided to bring 3 of them on board. They all worked out really well within the team and produced quality work.
Are there any plans to continue using the same approach for future projects?
Yes definitely. Sometimes what you lack in experience you gain in enthusiasm. It's a fine balance and each job requires a specific level of both.
Are there any scenes in particular that your most proud of?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba1IhHAqLgwOur pull out of the canyon after the accident has become the shot most associated with the film. It appears in all trailers and twice in the film itself. I'm not sure people know this is a full CG environment, which is a good thing.
The arm amputation is also one of the most talked about scenes of the year. On the whole we're proud of all of the shots.
What do you think of the completed film?
It was always perceived as being a difficult story to tell as a film, however the end result is fantastic and recommend anyone to see it.
Which film in the last year blows you away in terms of VFX?
Any film where VFX are used to help enhance the story rather than relying on them to be the story.
And what's next for Union Visual Effects?
We are currently contracted by LOCOG as part of the creative team working on the 2012 Olympic ceremonies. We have just finished all the VFX for a film directed by documentary-maker Ellen Perry, starring Damian Lewis and Bob Hoskins.
Whether 127 Hours or another far more showy VFX-heavy film will walk away with the accolades showered by the Oscars on the 27th of February, that pull out shot of the canyon deserves to be considered one of the most accomplished of this year's crop of Best Films, and that is testament to the success of Union Visual Effects' association with the film. Like I said, Britain's got talent.
