TNG Visual Effects
Main Office - Los Angeles
877.879.2040 _______________________________
|
|
TNG Visual Effects Canada, Inc
North American Services
TNG Visual Effects 3D scanning systems allow us to serve your production locally in Canada and the U.S. See map below for locations.
________________________________________
|
|
TNG Visual Effects is a 3D scanning company in the entertainment industry that specializes in the creation of photo-realistic digital assets. Many characters, vehicles, cars, sets, props, animals, sculptures and other items have been added to TNG's scope of work since the company's inception in 2009.
The TNG team knows how to work with producers, directors, coordinators, A-list talent and other agencies, making the most of their precious time and ensuring a successful project. TNG's work is always guaranteed.
The TNG scan team is also highly noted for their ability to travel at a moments notice for a project. Exclusive use of highly mobile scanning systems allow for TNG to perform scans in practically any location. Express Scanning.
__________________________
|
|
Product Scanning
   Rides 
 ___________________________________
|
|
A Note From Our Founder
Nick Tesi
This year seems to be running from one month to the next. I hope you enjoyed our Viking character as much as we liked scanning and putting him together. The weapons and the outfit make us feel like we are there in the action. We are constantly looking for better ways to deliver the kind of model that says, "Is this real or is this a 3D model?"
Continuing in this 2nd quarter, we are doing more in all areas to make our presence known, and to service the local markets in entertainment. It is a challenge but a well worth effort to move forward in our business, and to share the skills and technology we have to offer.
We are always researching new technology and software to keep the quality of our service at the highest level, and to accelerate our pipeline. We do our best to provide a great product to our customers.
We continue our search for partners who are synergistic to our service. Together we can help our customers save more while using better products. Contact us for more information.
I hope you are all enjoying 2014 and now with May here, even the northeast and east coast must be seeing better weather.
Wishing you all a successful year.
|
|
Testimonials
|
"I've worked with Nick Tesi for many years contracting 3D scans from him for several of the shows we work on and have always been secure in the knowledge that he would deliver quality work on time. We recently called on Nick Tesi's new company TNG Visual Effects (The Nicholas Group) and he has once again proven himself with excellent service, speed and is providing even higher quality models than expected for our projects. Nick is dependable and will go the extra mile to make sure that we get what we need. I would recommend him and his company to any project needing 3D scanning."
___________________________
We value feedback from our customers!
Click here to fill out a short survey.
______________________________
|
|
|
|
5 Ways to Prep for a 3D Scanning Session
Preparing for a 3d scan is a breeze. Production life however is more chaotic because of the many scheduled activities. The right people must be available and things must be synchronized.
Here is a list we put together to help the process run smoothly:
1. Have a Visual Effects person on site with the talent with a detailed list of what needs to be scanned, as well as someone from Wardrobe to ensure they have the correct outfit that will match the scene. Determine if the talent needs their face, head, and/or full body scanned and how each part needs to be scanned: do jackets need to be open, do zippers need to be zipped up or down, does the clothing need to be layered, will their caps/masks need to be scanned separately, should jewelry be on or off, will there be any other props that need scanning? This will make sure the final product looks correct and will eliminate any back and forth during final quality control.
2. Determine if facial expressions will be needed. Will the final product need the use of blend shapes or should just a neutral pose be used for the scan?
3. Consider briefing the talent on what will be scanned. Most are OK whether they know or not, but on occasion a talent has just come out of hair and makeup and the last thing they want to do is put a wig cap over what took hours to create.
4. Coordinate the timing. What are the expectations? Always add additional time as a buffer for unexpected events and situations.
5. Prep for the scanning crew. Their needs are typically small, however it is helpful to have a table for computers and cameras, electricity, some chairs, and a certain amount of room to do the scanning.
As you can see there is not a lot of overhead, but when there are a lot of things going on at the same time, this can be more difficult than it needs to be. If done with minimal man power and some planning, it will be an easy operation. Good luck with all of your projects.
|
The Future of Visual Effects
Visual Effects are used more than ever in the entertainment industry. Each year more sets, machinery, props, and characters are becoming digital.
With the use of green screens and stand-in props, an actor can be anywhere in the world, fighting off monsters or flying an alien spacecraft. The character or prop can be scanned or modeled and then sculpted, or if you have the proper permissions, taken from another show and used again.
Before you know it, there will be a world of digital images accessible to the entire industry through a virtual library. Shows and projects will be completely computer generated from the characters to the weapons to even the locations. The human element will exist only through motion capture and voiceovers. Story generators exist today, but maybe in a dozen years such programs will develop blockbuster scripts. Perhaps there will still be a need for a director to make sense of it all.
What are we getting at? We believe that in the near future movies, commercials, and television programs will be 90-100% digital. Today, 3D scanning is used as a starting point to create a digital asset, but if our predictions become reality, are you ready?
The cameras on set may be able to capture 3D scan data as well as visual color, allowing for the viewer to pan around environments in movies - to be able to basically be your own 3D camera flying around in a free roam - or to be able to have a viewpoint from each character in a 360 degree bubble.
|
|
VFX Today
There are many articles circling the internet that talk about visual effects and how much they are actually used. Automatically one thinks of big budget films like Spider-Man, Captain America and Godzilla, and yes they are used in those types of films, however, they can also be found in projects like video games, commercials, and even lower budget independent films. Here is a list of some projects that have used VFX.
1. The Polar Express: Released in 2004, this was the first feature film to be shot entirely on a motion capture stage. In The Polar Express, starring Tom Hanks as the dad, train operator and mysterious roof passenger, it was incredible to see an animated actor that really looked like a cartoon version of himself. To capture the specific details of Hanks face and characteristics, facial recognition technology was used through a series of 3D scanning and motion capture sessions.
2. Avatar: Released in 2009, James Cameron described this film as a hybrid with full live-action shot in combination with computer generated characters and live environments. With half the film being set on the planet Pandora, actors such as Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver spent months on a motion capture stage while acting out each scene that involved their Na'vi alien characters.
3. Tron: Legacy: In 2010 Jeff Bridges reprised his role as Kevin Flynn in the Tron sequel, Tron: Legacy, and plays a new character CLU which is a program that resembles a younger version of Flynn. To create CLU, Bridges performed the scenes in motion capture gear and later his head was replaced by the younger digital version. To mimic his facial movements, micro cameras with infrared sensors were used.
4. David Guetta's Music Video Featuring Nicki Minaj: The music video Turn Me On that came out in 2012 featured a mechanical version of Nicki Minaj, along with other doll-like creatures. To create Minaj's character, she first went through a 3D scanning session to create a digital version that could be used in the video.
5. Beyond: Two Souls was released in September of 2013 and featured actors Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe. David Cage, CEO of Quantic Dream, stated having an emotional narrative was an important point to the development of the game. To capture the actors specific facial expressions and body movements, they were first 3D scanned and then went through several sessions of motion capture to make the virtual versions of themselves as close to life-like as possible. The entire process took over one year to collect enough data to create the game.
6. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will be released on November 4, 2014 and features actor Kevin Spacey. To recreate someone as iconic as Spacey, he went through a series of 3D scanning and motion capture sessions. It takes highly skilled artists to make true replicas of people, objects, and locations that are well-know.
Click here to view more films that used VFX.
|
|
