Luma Pictures Visual Effects For "In Time" Are Out Of Sight

Set Extensions, Matte Paintings, & City Creation/Destruction Blend Seamlessly With Reality In New Film

October 28th, 2011 — SANTA MONICA, CA — Dynamic VFX house, Luma Pictures, lent their digital artistry to New Regency Pictures' futuristic thriller, "In Time," with the house's work running the gamut of, what are commonly referred to as, "invisible effects." Luma's contributions include multiple matte paintings, set extensions, collision/debris effects, and digital augmentation of structural and environmental features.

"In Time" marks the 5th project that the film's Cinematographer, Roger Deakins, has worked with Luma Pictures, following highly successful collaborations on the Coen Brothers' True Grit, A Serious Man, Burn After Reading and No Country For Old Men. As with those films, the main thrust of Luma's creativity was channeled into invisible effects work, designed to blend in, unnoticed into the reality surrounding them.

This is the first time that Luma has worked with Writer/Director Andrew Niccol. Luma's VFX Supervisor, Justin Johnson spent twenty-two days on set with Niccol to assure that Luma's imagery was in sync with the director's concept.

"Andrew had a very specific vision for how the future would look and feel on "In Time," and we spent a lot of time working with him to ensure that our work would fit into the world that the main characters inhabit and rebel against," said Justin Johnson.

Luma Pictures provided sixty-five shots for the film in total, including set extensions of several prominent building interiors and exteriors, removal and replacement of structural features and robust matte painting work, including several cityscapes. The ending sequence of "In Time" showcases a wasteland of decrepit buildings, broken roads and plant growth; a series of shots that took the majority of Luma's attention on the project.

"'In Time' was all filmed in Los Angeles, but special consideration was made to take out the distinctive look of the city," said Justin Johnson. "The final wasteland sequence required a vast amount of digital augmentation, taking out L.A.'s signature palm trees, billboards and road signs and masking the L.A. feel that is so prevalent in films shot here. We also extended the landscape through infinity, replacing an entire ocean in the background with the shattered, burnt-out reality of this desolate scene."

Another scene required Luma to create a tollbooth gateway, used to segregate social classes in the film. Initially the effect was to be an extension added on to physically constructed bases before the call was made to have Luma do a complete digital build of the gateway, which included the concrete structure plus animated signs and cement barricades. The creation doesn't last long, however, as Luma also was tapped to add digital demolition, animating the destruction of the booth as a limo crashes through it, and creating larger chunks of debris, smoke and dust in Maya.

"'Invisible effects' bring a special kind of satisfaction to the role we play," said Executive VFX Supervisor, Payam Shohadai. "Our contributions to 'In Time' will help audiences to immerse themselves into the film and keep them rooted in the reality of the world Andrew Niccol has invented."

About Luma Pictures
Luma Pictures is a leading provider of visual effects services to Hollywood with a reputation for artistic integrity, technical innovation and efficient production. The company recently served as one of the lead visual effects providers on Thor (Marvel Entertainment) and The Green Hornet (Columbia Pictures), as well as the Academy Award-nominated True Grit (Paramount). Some of the studio's other recent credits include: X-Men: First Class (Twentieth Century FOX), Captain America: The First Avenger (Marvel Entertainment). Current projects include The Avengers (Marvel Studios) and Underworld: Awakening (Lakeshore Entertainment). http://lumapictures.com

In Time