Heretic Foundation
new - paradigm - filmmaking
HERETIC FOUNDATION is a new paradigm in VFX creation & Virtual Production.
Employing a seamless workflow and the flexibility of Unreal Engine and LED screen tech, we place ultimate control into the hands of creators – from pre-visualization, to shoot, post, colour grade & finish.
We believe in the power of imagination.
We can enable filmmakers to make anything reality. ​
We believe that budget should never limit
creative possibilities.​
HERETIC FOUNDATION is a bespoke workflow --
Built by a team of industry leaders to service the creation of any kind of content --
From TVC’s & music videos
to episodic series & theatrical feature film.
We provide the full scope of VFX & VP --
Pre-visualization
3D asset & character creation
Environment build
Real-time on-set VP & mo-cap
Post-produced VFX & animation
Final render & comp
Editorial & finish
We build project-specific teams to help produce the best possible results.
We provide streamlined solutions for the demands of "next level" immersive storytelling. ​
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We enhance how creative teams work together by simplifying collaboration.
We maximise cost effectiveness and shoot/post efficiencies.
HERETIC FOUNDATION is the future, now.
AGE OF BEASTS
The trailer for Age Of Beasts was made possible by the newly released V5 of Unreal Engine.
Starting with blocking the animatic all the way to final render, Unreal Engine allowed us to keep our cameras, file structure and workflow consistent throughout the project.
One of the main challenges of this project was the use of fur for the beasts. We used Maya Xgen to generate the fur on the models, and imported it to Unreal's groom for render, lookdev and secondary animation. The hero beast has full physics, while we removed hair physics on background creatures to save performance.
The entire project made use of Lumen realtime GI and none of the lighting was baked. This was a game changer: allowing us to progress lighting from previs to final render without any interruption. It was a very iterative and flexible way to work. Coming from offline renderers, it was a revelation for the team. We did tests using Path tracer early on, but the lack of support for some shaders and the slow render times did not give us enough flexibility.
For animation, we used a blend of Mocap keyframe animation on modified Meta Human assets. For the body, we captured performances using Move.ai markerless motion capture using a 6 camera setup. We then cleaned up body animation in Maya, exported from Unreal via the 3rd party Meta Body tool set. Some body animation was also finessed using Unreals Control Rig. For facial animation, we used a blend of keyframe and Live Link Facial capture via the iPhone app.
A final pass in DaVinci Resolve allowed fine tuned colour grading tweaks
The Team
With 35 years' film and TV experience, Andrew has served as the GM of Deluxe Australia and Omnilab Group, the Executive Producer of Method Studios, and the Founder of Postmodern. His Executive Producer credits include THE WOLVERINE, THE GREAT GATSBY, AUSTRALIA, and MAD MAX: FURY ROAD.
Andrew Robinson
With several decades in the film and television industry, Jayne has worked at many of the top post and production companies in Australia. Combining her experience in VFX, post production, design and live action, she heads up the Production & Operations department. “I’m thrilled to be working with the team at Heretic, at the forefront of emerging VP technology and being part of the future of film making."
Jayne da Costa
Mathieu spent 13 years working for films, TV, brands and commercials. Starting in London as a lighting artist on award winning films, he also spent two years in Beijing where he worked as a VFX producer. Mat has more recently worked on the development of a startup specialised in 3d scanning, building a platform for VR & VP. “Digital and physical are merging rapidly, and Virtual Production allows authors to shape this new reality.”
Mathieu Burri
Whether it was making sculpture out of car parts, building robots out of lego, or crafting camera parts from scratch, Aleksei's drive to create knew no bounds. He kicked off his career as a graphic designer developing a strong visual sense and imagination, and it wasn't long before Cinematography became an obsession. "We use powerful tools that merge art and science together to capture the imagination."
Aleksei Vanamois
Chris Breeze
Chris started moons ago making games on his TRS80 and ZX81. Storytelling was at his heart, and he was ernest to continue adding narratives to all disciplines that followed. He was one of the core team members setting up the BBC’s first CG animation department The CharacterShop which produced BAA and Annecy winning pieces. He worked in VXF and was Animation Director at Method Studios.
Currently he is focused on real-time CG puppetry driven by body and facial capture.
Contact
Heretic Foundation
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Unfortunately, we cannot accept any unsolicited materials.
Heretic Foundation acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands on which we work and pays respect to elders, past and present.