SAPPHIRE PLUG-INS: AN INTEGRAL PART OF
SIMON SCOTT'S CREATIVE PROCESS


Having worked at a number of the top post houses around the world during his fifteen-year career, Simon Scott, a veteran digital artist, is no stranger to Sapphire Plug-ins and their integral role in the creative workflow. Now, as he is planning his new company Process, a California-based visual effects company, he's bringing the lessons of the past and his Sapphire Plug-ins with him.

His emerging company, already responsible for the latest music video from the Chemical Brothers, has longer term plans which include no less than a redefinition of post-production workflow. He's tight-lipped about his exact plans, but describes an open environment of cooperation and collaboration between all the players - a place where the "backroom" becomes non-existent, and creativity can flow and flourish from early in the conceptual stages through delivery.

Scott's own creative streak is closely entwined with a strong technical background in programming, both of which he developed at an early age. As a child, he channeled his fascination for the relationship between coding and imaging into the task of writing computer games for various companies. Later, he earned a Masters of Arts from Headington University in computer-based design. He got his first job in London working on Quantel's Mirage, then later moved through Harry, Henry, before settling on Discreet's Flame.

It was on a Flame during a visit to Smoke and Mirrors that Scott first saw an early version of Sapphire Plug-ins and from that day forward he was fascinated with their possibilities.

"My first thought was: 'This is it, a Flame with sparks, pure nirvana,'" he recalls. "I had always been open to embracing new tools, so I quickly adopted Sapphire into my workflow and was really pleased with the results."

The richness of the Sapphire toolset is what initially impressed Scott, and it's the depth of the package that continues to meet his creative challenges. "One can combine the effects in so many subtle ways that the results are often very photographic," he notes.

Courtesy of process        Courtesy of process

Scott used a combination of Sapphire effects on music videos for The Chemical Brothers and David Gahan's track "I Need You," both of which were recently completed through Process.

The Chemical Brothers project made extensive use of Sapphire Plug-ins. Since some of the footage was 16mm, Scott employed Sapphire FlickerMatch and Grain to integrate the elements. To achieve the psychedelic look required for the transition between the office world and the imaginary hippy world, WarpChroma was called to task. GlowMask, WarpMask, LensMask and MathOps were also used in the transition.

A combination of MathOps, WarpChroma and Streaks were used on the David Gahan video. Scott explains, "As we were referencing the 80's, we designed a look with an old Y-Front telecine and treated the images with Sapphire in an analog, optical way. The Sapphire combination was used to light the video and create a certain ambience."

Courtesy of process        Courtesy of process

"Typically, I work in batch. It's a logical workflow, which allows me to crank through a lot of shots once the general look is agreed upon. Half the nodes in any given batch tree usually have Sapphire in them. I suppose I've become quite fond of them!"

Throughout his career Scott has employed the best-of-breed tools to his creative advantage.

"I could not work on Flame without Sapphire. It's engrained in my workflow. Without it, my creativity would be restricted."

As Process evolves with Scott at the helm, it will be this combination of talent, Sapphire Plug-ins and collaborative workflow that will surely set it apart.

For information about Process contact info@processvfx.com.


About Sapphire Plug-ins
Sapphire Plug-ins provide digital artists with a collection of over 200 state-of-the-art image processing and synthesis effects. They fully and seamlessly integrate into a number of editing and compositing systems including: Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere; Apple Final Cut Pro and Shake; Avid's DNA family of products, Media Composer, Xpress, Xpress DV, Symphony and Avid DS; Discreet combustion, flint, flame, inferno, fire, smoke, and burn. Sapphire Plug-ins offer a comprehensive suite of tools and effects that can transform any film or video clip. They are resolution-independent, include multi-processor support for faster rendering, and run on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Irix. Effects in the package range from everyday tools such as Glows, EdgeRays, LensFlare, Glint, Blurs and RackDefocus, to more exotic effects like Lightning Zaps, FlysEye, JpegDamage, HalfTone and Textures.

About GenArts, Inc.
Based in Cambridge, Mass., GenArts, Inc. is a premier provider of digital visual effects plug-ins for the film and video industry. Introduced in 1996, Sapphire Plug-ins have become an industry standard for high-end visual effects creation at leading studios, broadcast and post production facilities around the world. They are widely recognized for their unrivaled quality and ease-of-use, and have been used extensively to create an array of feature films such as Terminator 3, The Matrix Reloaded, The Lord of the Rings, X-Men II, Daredevil, Star Wars-Episode I and II, Spider-Man, Ice Age, Pearl Harbor, Final Fantasy, Dinosaur, Titanic, Armageddon, Planet of the Apes, Contact, Star Trek and Godzilla. Additional GenArts product information can be found at http://www.genarts.com.

Contact:
Nicole Panas
GenArts, Inc.
1-617-492-2888
info@>genarts.com

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