While you all know Tim Miller as the director of Deadpool, did you know for the past 20 years he’s been running the visual effects, animation, and design company Blur Studio in Los Angeles? While you might not know the name Blur, trust me, you have seen their incredible work. The studio has contributed to countless campaigns for companies like EA, Fox, Microsoft, Universal, Marvel, Y&R, Warner Bros, Activision, and Paramount and has worked in both live-action and animation. Did you like the opening credits to David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? They did that. What about the almost entirely CG prologue of Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World? Also Blur. While I could go on and on and list all the cool stuff they’ve worked on, I think it’s better to just show you a cool animation FX reel which highlights some of their work:


Given the worldwide success of Deadpool, I thought it would be the perfect time to sit down with Tim Miller (CEO of Blur) and creative director Dave Wilson to talk about Blur's work on the R-rated superhero smash. During our wide-ranging conversation they talked about the massive success of the film, David Fincher’s reaction to seeing the movie, Blur's contributions, that test reel footage, the challenge of keeping their VFX company in Los Angeles, their favorite campaigns, the time they created something for Bill Gates and the first X-Box, how AR and VR can be used as extensions of the film-going experience, and so much more. Check out what they had to say below.

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Tim Miller and Dave Wilson:

  • What's it like to see the success of Deadpool after so many years of blood, sweat and tears?

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    Image via 20th Century Fox
    What was Fincher's reaction to Deadpool?
  • What is Blur and what do they do?
  • The Deadpool test footage was made at Blur. Was that used as a demo piece to get work or was it too secret to show anybody?
  • What did Blur do on Deadpool?
  • Miller adamantly clarifies that there was no helicarrier in Deadpool.
  • Talks about all the effects vendors that contributed to the film.
  • Who ran the business when Miller was off making Deadpool?
  • How challenging was it to keep their VFX company in Los Angeles when there are better incentives in other locations?
  • Do they find that the talent pool in Los Angeles is part of why they can compete?
  • Talk about how L.A. isn't the hub it used to be.
  • How many clients come in with a blank page and how many come in with an idea of what they want?
  • Do they have favorite campaigns or projects they're really proud of? Talk about Warhammer, Star Wars, DC, and the time they created something for Bill Gates.
  • What are the new technological developments that they're really excited about?
  • How could AR and VR be used as extensions of the film-going experience?
  • What is coming up for Blur in 2016?

 

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