Led by industry veteran Ken Locsmandi, the boutique visual effects company has been revolutionizing filmmaking through its virtual production pipeline that uses iClone and Unreal Engine to produce high quality, cost-effective animation.
Filmworks/FX - A Boutique Visual Effects Company
Founded in 2001 by Ken Locsmandi, Filmworks/FX, Inc. emerged as a boutique visual effects company with a DIY spirit, delivering high-quality work on iconic films like The Matrix and Geostorm. From its digital transformation in 2007 to expanding into television production, the company has consistently demonstrated a world-class work ethic and adaptability in the evolving entertainment industry.
At the core of Filmworks/FX’s virtual production pipeline are Character Creator and iClone, which integrate seamlessly with Unreal Engine. These tools enable the team to produce high-quality, real-time animations and digital characters with remarkable speed and cost-effectiveness. Character Creator and iClone streamline production. They also elevate creative possibilities. This positions Filmworks/FX at the forefront of innovation in the visual effects industry.
Introduction: Ken Locsmandi – Owner/Founder of Filmworks/FX, Inc.
In the late 1980s, I embarked on a computer graphics journey, using software like 3D Studio and Wavefront while simultaneously practicing traditional darkroom film processing. By 1991, I completed my first CG animated commercial, sparking a deep passion for the emerging technology and its potential to revolutionize storytelling.
As the VFX industry evolved, I transitioned from a home-based operation to founding Filmworks/FX, Inc. in 2001, leveraging home-built PCs to create visual effects for groundbreaking films like The Matrix and Fight Club. Eventually, the company expanded to acquire Filmworks Laboratory, becoming one of the rare facilities capable of handling both photochemical and digital film processes.
Filmworks/FX, Inc. eventually became producing partners on several feature films. They continued to generate VFX work on projects like Apocalypto, Terminal, Knight and Day, Star Trek: Picard, and Blue Bloods. They also contributed to hundreds of additional television episodes and films.
Recently the company has moved into virtual production workflows. We developed a virtual production system that is portable and versatile. We can move the system to any stage and are able to use it outdoors. We employed the system on the film, Flight Risk, directed by Mel Gibson.
Virtual production tools to redefine traditional filmmaking
Characters play an essential role in our work. This includes our in-house projects and service-based client work. iClone, Character Creator, and Unreal have become the core of our virtual production pipeline. The term virtual production will fade away soon and will just be synonymous with production.
With these tools, Character Creator, iClone, and Unreal Engine, we create stunning visuals. These visuals would have taken us months. We are now able to create them in hours sometimes. What once cost $100,000 is now $10,000 or less. You also get to be more creative because you’re not spending all your time on laborious technical tasks.
The Shatner Collection using Character Creator and iClone
The Egard Watch Company asked me to write, produce, and direct a commercial with William Shatner. The commercial featured a watch co-designed by Mr. Shatner.
The commercial would have cost over $120,000 dollars if done traditionally. It would have involved a 10 to 12-hour shooting day. Additionally, a month of post-production and 2 weeks of preparation would be needed. In this case, we did 3 days of “prep.” We shot a two-and-a-half-minute interview and the 30-second spot in 2 hours. Before wrapping, we had a rough edit of the commercial to view. This was remarkable.
The spot involved a full CG warehouse with Shatner’s fictitious space collection. This included such items as The Space Shuttle, lunar rover, satellites, astronaut suits, and of course Gus, the grey alien.
Using a base human model in Character Creator
Most VFX artists know how time-consuming it is to build, rig, texture, and animate a character. Gus, the grey alien, was constructed in about 15 minutes using Character Creator in conjunction with ZBrush.
I simply used the procedural sliders to get Gus’s overall shape. Tasks such as completely smoothing the ears to the skull were done in ZBrush. The GoZ bridge function inside Character Creator enables quick modifications. You can modify the ears in ZBrush and send them back to Character Creator. This process completes in about a minute. The Base model in Character Creator is already rigged. You can modify the model in ZBrush without needing manual re-rigging or binding. The software just does it all behind the scenes. It is phenomenal!
To make Gus’s human skin tone grey, the hue saturation sliders inside Character Creator were used. The other amazing thing about the Character Creator model is that all the facial targets are already made. You can immediately bind mocap or use the iClone AccuLIPS text-to-speech function to the character.
We didn’t have the exact animation placement or dialogue for Gus while shooting. Once we had the final dialogue and staging, it took about an hour to adjust it using iClone.
Bronson Beak – reducing costs with the right tools
Bronson Beak is a film project that I wrote many years ago. The project was optioned by three of the major studios in Hollywood. For those who don’t know, an option lets the studio hold onto your project for a minimal fee. They do this until they figure out if and how they want to make it.
This process can take years to iron itself out. In the case of Bronson Beak, it took years for the options to expire till the project rights reverted back to me. The film is an action-adventure comedy. Initially, the plan was to photograph real animals. Then, VFX would place them into the environment and make them speak. We did several tests this way, fairly successfully.
Doing the film this way though would cost about $60 million. My desire was to do the film independently, and a $60 million budget was gonna be a tall order. Any independent filmmaker will contest how hard it is to raise funds.
Here comes the magic of Reallusion and Unreal. We did tests and it blew my mind. We were able to take CG animals and bound them through ActorCore AccuRIG. Then, we immediately applied motion capture to their bodies and face. Again, my head just exploded when I watched these tests.
Real-time body and facial capture was being applied to the characters with near real-time rendering. Using our virtual production system, I could operate a camera just like filming in the physical world. This allowed us to have instant editorial versions. We just produced a month of work in 45 minutes to an hour. KAPOW! Did I happen to mention my head exploded?
Because of the Reallusion toolsets and Unreal, we decided to go into production on the project. The company will self-fund initially and then bring on partners. This $60 million film could now be done for less than 1/10th of that original budget, because of these tools. VFX studios not employing these tool sets will not be able to compete in the future. In the right circumstances, iClone and Character Creator will increase your productivity by 10 to 20-fold. Time always boils down to dollars.
Final Thoughts
To all those filmmakers like me, with no connections or money to make a project, these tools may be just the thing to allow your vision to become a reality. Are there technical skills needed to work these applications? Yes, but they are exponentially easier to use than the industry standard software applications.
My career in filmmaking and VFX has been long. There were eras that were not enjoyable. It became a “grind” to make good stuff. Innovative applications like iClone and Unreal have made this now, the most exciting and fun time.
See Ken and Filmworks/FX’s full experience of utilizing iClone and Unreal Engine to revolutionize virtual production, highlighting the behind-the-scenes of their latest works, The Shatner Collection and Bronson Beak.
Ken Locsmandi founded Filmworks/FX in 2001, a boutique visual effects company with a DIY spirit, delivering high-quality work on iconic films like 'The Matrix' and 'Geostorm.'
