Trusted by the world's top companies:
Building an effects-driven spot (full sequences)
Integrating CGI elements into live action
An agency or production company with footage that needs comp, cleanup, or roto
Extending sets, replacing screens, painting environments
Out of internal VFX capacity with a delivery date that won't move
You're in the right place if you're...
Our VFX work
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Keep every shot in the same world
A shot can look convincing on its own and still feel out of place in the edit. VFX shots and sequences need a consistent sense of light, scale, and movement as the camera or scene changes. We consider the surrounding footage when planning compositing and CGI integration, so the new elements belong to the film you're making.
That applies to the less conspicuous work too. A screen replacement should feel part of the device; a cleanup should leave the action intact. Whether you're commissioning a handful of repairs or a complete effects sequence, we work toward what the audience should notice and what should pass without a second thought.
What we deliver
CGI Integration & Effects Sequences
We design, animate, and integrate CGI characters, products, particles, and simulations as complete sequences within your spot. We match the lighting, lens characteristics, and grain to the footage, so the CG sits in the frame instead of on it.
Compositing
The core craft: CGI into plates, green screen and chroma key comps, screen replacements, beauty and cleanup. The whole job is making it invisible: shots that don't look like shots.
Compositing is where effects become invisible: CGI integrated into plates, green screen and chroma key comps, screen replacements, beauty and cleanup - matched to lens, light, and grain until there's no seam to find. We're obsessed with making it invisible.
Matte Painting
Build beyond the set. Environments and imagined worlds, painted, projected, and composited into your footage with detail that holds at full resolution.
Matte painting is the oldest trick in cinema, practiced digitally: painted environments, set extensions, and sky and city replacements, projected and composited so the camera believes them. It's equal parts painting, photography, and engineering - a combination we find genuinely delightful to practice.
Rotoscoping & Cleanup
Frame-accurate roto, paint-outs, rig and wire removal, and plate restoration, done with the same care as the hero shots, because on screen they are the same thing. Standalone or inside larger comps
Rotoscoping is the frame-by-frame craft of isolating, removing, and restoring: mattes for comps, paint-outs, rig and wire removal, plate cleanup. It's meticulous work, and on screen it's identical to the hero shots - so we treat it that way. Verizon's iPhone campaigns ran through exactly this pipeline.
The VFX production process
We begin by reviewing your footage or storyboards, reference edit, shot list, and delivery specifications. Together, we establish what each shot needs, which frames are involved, and how the effects should look in the sequence. That gives us a basis for the estimate, production schedule, and review stages, whether you need a few finished VFX shots or support across a longer sequence.
The work follows the needs of each shot. Compositing can combine live action with CGI, replace a screen, extend a set, or remove something that should not be there. Tracking, rotoscoping, and green-screen work prepare the elements; lighting, perspective, edges, and grain help them sit convincingly together. We review shots in motion and in the edit, where continuity and timing are as important as an individual frame.
As the shots reach approval, we prepare the final versions to your agreed color and delivery specifications. They can return to your existing finishing pipeline or continue through our own Finishing & Post for the edit, grade, and sound.
FAQ
How do you price VFX shots and sequences?
We bid per shot for a locked shot list, by the day for open-ended work, or per shot with a day rate held for unknowns.
Price depends on frame count, edge complexity, camera movement, and how much needs creating or repairing. Compositing, roto, cleanup, and matte painting each bring different demands, especially when custom 3D work is involved.
Send footage or boards and references for a scoped estimate. See our VFX cost guide.
How long do VFX shots take?
Turnaround depends on frame count, camera movement, and the work involved. Hair, motion blur, and overlapping subjects make roto more demanding; cleanup may need background reconstruction, while CGI adds asset creation, animation, and rendering.
Share representative footage, the shot list, and your deadline. We’ll identify the shots that need the longest lead time and agree on a realistic schedule with room for review.
What do you need from us to bid?
Send the plates, meaning the original footage we’ll work on, or storyboards if the shoot hasn’t happened yet. We also need creative references, delivery specifications, and your deadline. If the spot is already cut, include a reference edit and an EDL or XML so we can identify the shots and their timing. A shot list with a short description of the work needed on each shot is useful, but we’re happy to build one from the cut.
Do you take standalone rotoscoping and cleanup?
Yes. We take standalone rotoscoping and cleanup, including object isolation, paint-outs, rig and wire removal, and plate restoration. Verizon’s campaigns have come through this pipeline.
We can handle a few difficult shots or a larger batch while your team manages the production. Share the frame ranges and required work, and tell us whether you need mattes for your compositors or finished, cleaned-up footage.
Can you match our color pipeline?
Yes. We work to your finishing specifications, including the agreed ACES workflow, log footage, and LUTs. Before work starts, we’ll need the source color space, viewing transform, and required delivery format so we’re reviewing the shots consistently with your team. That helps avoid surprises when the finished compositing goes back into the edit and grade. We can also carry the shots through our own Finishing & Post.
Green-screen shoots: can you advise before the shoot?
Yes, and it’s worth involving us while you’re planning the shots. For green screen compositing, we can advise on screen coverage, even lighting, subject separation, spill, and any tracking references the shot needs. Hair, reflective surfaces, motion blur, and camera movement all affect how cleanly the subject can be separated from the background. A conversation before the shoot helps identify those issues while the setup can still be adjusted.
How real can matte painting look?
The aim is photographic: an environment that feels as though it was there when the footage was shot. Digital matte painting can create set extensions, landscapes, and imagined worlds, but the details have to agree with the plate. We match perspective, lighting, atmosphere, color, and texture, then integrate the result through compositing. Camera movement and final resolution help determine how much detail and dimensional work the shot needs.
Can matte painting work with a moving camera?
Yes. For a moving shot, artwork can be projected onto 3D geometry so the environment responds to the camera with appropriate perspective and parallax. Larger moves may need more detailed geometry or fully modeled elements.
We choose the approach around what the camera reveals. A locked-off shot can use a matte painting built for a single viewpoint.
Hand-keyed or assisted?
We choose the approach around the shot. Tracking and assisted tools can help with rotoscoping, while difficult edges need careful manual work. Hair, motion blur, transparency, and objects passing in front of one another can all require different treatment within the same shot. We judge the result in motion as well as frame by frame, looking for edges that hold their shape and detail without slipping, chattering, or cutting into the subject.
What’s the difference between VFX services and buying VFX shots?
Our VFX services cover the craft: compositing, CGI integration, matte painting, rotoscoping, and cleanup. Buying VFX shots means commissioning finished work with an agreed shot list, scope, and delivery specifications. That might be a single screen replacement or a complete effects sequence inside a commercial. We take the work through to final shots for your finishing pipeline. Our VFX service page explains the capabilities in more detail.
