Dzignlight is Bugging Out Dzignlight is Bugging Out

1968 classic VW Bug gets new digital effects at Dzignlight.

With all the hype surrounding the new VW Bug, running a series of digital effects on a 1968 classic bug was the last thing Dzignlight Studios expected. The effects intensive piece, created by Broadus & Associates for Ericsson Inc., was produced by Panther Productions. The foreground elements were filmed over Ultimatte green and composited into CG backgrounds using SGI workstations and Ultimatte's automatic matte generation and film grain removing software. Dzignlight also created a series of digital motion and blur effects of people moving in and around the classic beetle. Dzignlight had just added the Ultimatte software to its effects arsenal, the same software used in the Ultimatte System 8 box, except it runs on a desktop workstation.

Eric Deren, owner of Dzignlight Studios, explains that they have been using real-time Ultimatte to composite their virtual sets in video for years, and now they can use it for film work. The project was posted at Artisan PictureWorks, formerly the Atlanta Video Production Center and Berkeley Park Post, located in the same facility as Dzignlight. Artisan Senior Editor David Ballard stated that having the effects company so close to the post house allows the client to make last minute changes. Dzignlight completed the project with enough time left to composite additional Ultimatte b-roll shots for the finished product.