Flash Film Works

Infobox_Company
company_name = Flash Film Works
company_
company_type = Privately held company
foundation = 1993
location = Hollywood, California, USA
key_people = William Mesa, John Mesa, Emily Wallin, Dan Novy
num_employees = 50
industry = Visual Effects, CGI animation
products = | revenue =
operating profit =
homepage = [http://www.flashfilmworks.com]

Flash Film Works is a computer graphics company that provides special effects for films, television shows and commercials. It is owned by director William Mesa and is located in Los Angeles, California.

History

In 1993, Visual Effects Supervisor William Mesa left Introvision International to direct the low budget science fiction film Galaxis. To create the effects work for the film, Mesa formed his own effects company, which he dubbed Flash Film Works.

As an independent visual effects company, they were hired by New Line Cinema to work on Wes Craven's New Nightmare. This work was well received and led to work on many other films.

John Dykstra hired Flash Film Works for work on the Warner Brothers motion picture Batman and Robin, creating a digital matte painting of an ice-laden Gotham City, as well as performing some rig and wire removal work on the film.

For Tale of the Mummy, FLASH FILM WORKS created 3-D mummy wrappings which unraveled and reformed into the mummy. FLASH also worked on the Adam Sandler comedy The Waterboy during this time as well as the Renny Harlin killer shark flick, Deep Blue Sea.

For the science fiction film, Red Planet, FLASH created various monitor display screens and interactive holographic monitors along with over 150 other shots for the film, including many wire removal shots to create the illusion of the actors floating in space.

In the year 2001, FLASH FILM WORKS worked on the Eddie Murphy sci-fi film The Adventures of Pluto Nash, creating computer generated Moonscapes for the actors to walk through.

For the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film Collateral Damage, FLASH FILM WORKS was responsible for over 200 visual effects shots including creating CG Helicopters and debris, multiple rig and wire removal shots and several other types of shots as well.

For the Andy Davis directed film, Holes, based on the book by Louis Sachar, William Mesa was the visual effects supervisor as well as the Second Unit Director. For the film FLASH FILM WORKS created and animated 3D lizards, designed and composited the "God's Thumb" mountain range and added desert and holes to many shots as well as considerable additional work.

FLASH FILM WORKS big project for 2003 was the Ed Zwick directed film, The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise. Flash performed around 200 effects shots on this film, including CG arrows, matte painting, compositing armies and face replacements.

FLASH FILM WORKS most recent work included creating a CG Storm for several sequences in The Guardian and creating backgrounds for Blood Diamond.

Awards

Flash Film Works won a number of Advertising Industry awards for its work on the series of Onstar television commercials which featured Batman driving the Onstar-equipped Batmobile.
Flash Film Works also won a Visual Effects Society Award for "Best Supporting Visual Effects" for its work on the motion picture The Last Samurai.

elected Visual effects filmography

* Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
* Cutthroat Island (1995)
* Batman & Robin (1997)
* Tale of the Mummy (1998)
* Very Bad Things (1998)
* The Waterboy (1998)
* Deep Blue Sea (1999)
* Red Planet (2000)
* Collateral Damage (2002)
* Death to Smoochy (2002)
* The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
* Birds of Prey (pilot) (2002)
* Holes (2003)
* The Last Samurai (2003)
* The Perfect Score (2004)
* White Chicks (2004)
* Ghost Whisperer (pilot) (2005)
* Dark Water (2005)
* Elizabethtown (2005)
* The Guardian (2006)
* Blood Diamond (2006)
* Defiance (2008)
* The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
* All About Steve (2009)
* The Pacific (2009)

External links

* [http://www.flashfilmworks.com/ Official Web site]
* [http://www.imdb.com/company/co0002487/ IMDB page]
* [http://animators.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=25446 Article on the companies work on "Last Samurai"]
* [http://fusioncis.com/about/press/guardians-fluid-fx/ Article about the vfx work on "The Guradian"]
* [http://www.cgw.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=DE4D5C17ECF149039260CBE5D0F3ACCE Another article on "The Guardian"]