Fusion CI Studios

Mars CG, a beautiful Chinese CG Art Publication, created an incredible profile piece on Fusion. What a remarkable visual experience, so different from North American/European publications! You can download the magazine “experience” at this link. A very cool layout, set to music! Enjoy! (download/play) or (PDF).

With troubled times in the VFX industry, a small, highly-specialized team of artists may just have carved a niche to not only survive, but to excel! (more…)

And number 4 on the list of 21 Stunning Architecture Visualizations is! Fusion’s realistic water flowing in a crystal fountain. Hello gorgeous! (more…)

Fusion CI Studios congratulates Next Limit Technologies on its release of the eagerly anticipated fluids and body dynamics software package, RealFlow 5, and is honored that an image created by Fusion was chosen to represent the RF5 brand!   (more…)

On the surface, this shape-shifting of water from a believable-looking fluid into unbelievable objects may seem out of sync with what Fusion CI is usually tasked to do. However, when examined at a deeper level, the connection becomes clear. Again, the group had to develop unique fluid-morphing technology that would enable them to manipulate water to achieve very specific action….  (more)

In a new SeaWorld commercial… The viewer is suddenly brought into a magical oceanic world where dolphins dance, elaborately costumed performers fly and birds sweep across the screen. Each of their motions are met with a flurry of colorful inky swirls, created by Los Angeles’ Fusion CI Studios using Prime Focus Software’s high-volume particle renderer, Krakatoa.

Fusion CI Studios, specializing exclusively in dynamics-driven VFX and fluid simulations, typically collaborates with other digital effects studios offering the services of a remote, advanced visual effects group doing R&D, look-development and/or visual effects… (more)

FLOOD CONTROL

Flooded cities are a staple of modern Hollywood blockbusters. Discovery how to create one of your very own, and keep simulation time to a minimum, with Fusion CIS’s production-proven methodology… (more)

Mark Stasiuk, co-founder and fluid fx guru at Fusion CI Studios, has been facing tsunami-sized demands for fluid fx work these days — from commercial work, to network idents, to feature film. Fusion focuses exclusively on fluid and particle fx and as a result has become an invaluable resource for production companies and vfx houses around the world. Fluid fx in particular remain one of the most difficult and complex effects to achieve realistic behaviors and photo-real characteristics within a cost-efficient time scale, so studios are turning to Fusion’s expertise to deliver the fluid assets they need for their television, commercial or feature film deadlines… by Jeff Heusser (more)

Joining forces in the highly competitive world of CG visual effects is the “wave” of the future. Visual FX studios Engine Room in Hollywood and Fusion CI Studios in Santa Monica pooled talents recently to create ground-breaking CG ocean fx for the season launch of Discovery Channel’s Emmy nominated series, Deadliest Catch….

“Mark and Lauren were our first and right choice to provide our in-house artists with the high level simulations that were necessary… Mark’s high level technical background proved to be the magic bullet needed to get this project done while in the process delivering the feature quality we needed.” (more…)

Keeping actors like Kevin Costner safe while filming dangerous scenes in movies often comes down to visual effects specialists and creative problem solvers like Mark Stasiuk from Fusion CI Studios….

“In a storm, you get a lot of whitecaps from the tops of waves. There’s no tool available for doing this in any off-the-shelf package that will produce a decent result.  It’s a very dynamic situation, with waves getting steep and going through little breaks, and the crests then avalanche down the wave face in a very dyanmic way.  Everybody’s seen these and can tell if they look real.  In RealFlow, I created a method that analyzed the geometry of the digital ocean surfaces, found waves that fit the right criteria for cresting, and then generated fluid particles from the wave tops….  (more)

… water simulation remains one of the most complex and difficult areas of visual effects. While off-the-shelf solutions have generally been considered adequate for broadcast-level effects, studios such as ILM have instead devoted thousands of man hours and sought help from university physicists to develop their own proprietary solutions. The Guardian is the movie that bucks the trend. For the creation of around 200 water-based effects shots (out of a total of approximately 500), main visual effects vendor Flash Film Works relied on nothing more than the talents of its own artists and the RealFlow expertise of simulation gurus Fusion CI Studios… (more)

With a PhD in fluid mechanics, Mark Stasiuk, co-founder of Fusion CI Studios, along with producer/director partner, Lauren Millar, has worked with software developer Next Limit Technologies in its R&D efforts for the past three years while using the company’s commercial RealFlow software in features and commercials. Most recently, Stasiuk assisted Flash Film Works in creating millions of particles that augmented the digital surfacing technique devised by Flash Film Works for generating turbulent water in The Guardian. In a Q&A with CGW chief editor Karen Moltenbrey, Stasiuk discusses the work he did for the film…. (more)

A strategic alliance among Next Limit Technologies, Hollywood vfx studio Flash Film Works and Fusion CI Studios (an R&D and fluid vfx studio) has leveled the playing field dominated, until now, by much larger studios… (more…)

There’s something about digitally simulated water that always quickens the pulse. Perhaps it’s the way in which it moves: the sinuous underlying flow breaking up into a ballet of drips and splashes. Perhaps it’s the complexity of the mathematics that generate it: the Navier-Stokes equations that describe the motion of fluids, and the computational methods used to bring them to the Combining digital water with live- action footage film in a giant tank, Titanic set the scene for a wave of innovation over the next decade screen – techniques with excitingly chunky names like smoothed particle hydrodynamics and PIC/FLIP simulation. Or perhaps it’s the sheer visceral thrill of seeing millions of tonnes of water crashing down around you… by Jim Thacker (more…)

Fusion created cg rain falling, hitting and realistically draining off astronaut’s helmets for a set of shots in Destiny: Mars for Prologue (Los Angeles). Fusion developed a custom rain emitter for the project, creating sets of droplets with specific size ranges, then shot them from above on controllable trajectories and speeds. The very high-resolution of the astronaut models and the sheer numbers of droplets meant it made the most sense for Fusion to simulate each astronaut separately, so we could maximize the detail of the rain as it hit, splattered, and dribbled over the astronauts. Fusion’s R&D … Final Cinematic

Some stories have it all: adventure, romance, and success, inventiveness and intelligence. While this is often the formula for a blockbuster tent pole, how often does it describe the FX studio behind the film? Well, meet Lauren Millar and Mark Stasiuk of Fusion CI Studios.  They met on a Caribbean island during a volcanic eruption, in 1996…then sparks flew… by Renee Dunlop  (more)

When Trizz (Barcelona) approached Fusion with concept art for a Renuage Brandy tvc, we could see the need for our ‘‘smorganic’© tool written all over it! The spot was beautifully conceived by creative director Oriol Puig, very dramatic and moody, demanding gorgeous, thin, delicate splashes and highly art-directed, complex performances from cg fluids. The cg splashes needed forces applied so the fluid would behave very specifically while still looking sensuous and natural. Even the tendrils and droplets off the delicate splash work had to comply with specific art-direction. Fusion’s fx team was very excited by the challenge as we have developed a number of in-house tools here, like our ‘‘smorganic’©, that are ideal for this kind of detailed, complex work…. (Renuage Case Study)

“We knew this was going to be one of the most challenging projects we’d ever undertaken,” recalls Linds Redding, CD at Department of Motion Graphics in Auckland. “From the outset, we realized we were going to need some specialist help.” Enter Fusion CI Studios in Santa Monica, the secret weapon of many A-list commercial and feature film studios who need complex fluid and particle effects… (more) (Whole Water Case Study)

Last September we published a piece on fluid sims. The aim was to examine the topic via one primary approach. Here is a second companion piece to that original story that examines the topic via the work of Fusion CI Studios. by Mike Seymour

“We have quite a unique business model that focuses exclusively on a very niche area of visual effects,” says Millar. “CG fluids, fire, smoke, explosions, clouds, sand and all kinds of particle work. We’re filling that niche for a lot of VFX studios and acting as their instant ‘plug ‘n play’ effects team. Studios like Method, Zoic, Psyop, Imaginary Forces, Blur, Digital Domain are just a few who’ve found our working model really helpful and even ILM has us on their vendor list. Studios who want to expand their effects capacity when awarded a large number of shots hire us to help with the work, whether they need one extra artist for something small or half a dozen artists for something bigger…”  (more…)

The tech behind Once Upon A Time’s Frozen Adventures: This new season begins as Anna and Elsa’s parents’ ship battles the harsh ocean. For the digital water simulations, Zoic partnered with Fusion CI Studios, a company with extensive fluid sim experience. Their task was to somewhat replicate the same sequence that took place in Frozen as a live action sequence. Fusion capitalized on its suite of water and ocean tools for the work. “We had just recently finished some other ocean work where we had done a top to bottom re-design of our ocean tool,” notes Fusion visual effects supervisor Mark Stasiuk. “So we were so happy to be able to deploy those!”  by Ian Failes (more) (Once Upon A Time Case Study)

Fusion CI Studios, specializing in complex fluid simulations, recently unveiled its revolutionary new tool, Smorganic. Completely changing the behavior and look of cg fluids, Smorganic creates exquisite smooth, delicate splashes and pours with none of the typical webbing or swiss-cheese holes so commonly found in cg. The possibilities are endless… (more)

Movie effects and natural phenomena have always been awkward bedfellows. The real-world behavior of fluids is almost impossibly complex, with a huge number of variables all affecting how liquids and gases move, transform, intermingle and disperse….

Fusion CI Studios’ Mark Stasiuk explains why several simulations can be more effective than one… (more)

Fusion CI Studios is a Los Angeles-based effects house specialising in fluids and particles, whose credits include Poseidon(2005), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)… Fusion CI Studios wasn’t even a twinkle in the eyes of founders Mark Stasiuk and Lauren Millar when they met. Rather, it was an explosion… by Renee Dunlop  (more…)  (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Case Study)

When Carbon 3D launched its groundbreaking 3D printing process, CLIP, at a recent TED talk, Fusion CIS partnered with Cinco Design to create an artistic depiction of how the printer works. As if by magic, the printer forms 3D objects 25x faster than typical 3D printers via an interaction of lasers and resin. The visuals artfully represent this phenomenon of light and liquid reactions. With only 3 weeks to create the sequence, it was a steep climb but the Cinco and Fusion teams worked closely together and managed to hit the creative target and concoct some amazing imagery…. (Carbon3D Case Study…)

Fusion’s vfx sup, Mark Stasiuk, viewing the 106′ CG waterfall we created for Obscura Digital for the Salesforce lobby, downtown San Francisco!    (See Case Study)