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The company was co-founded in January 2001 by director Pierre De Lespinois, who was based in [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]], and Discovery Communications, based in [[Bethesda, Maryland]].<ref name=":0" /> De Lespinois, who had created the [[High-definition television|HDTV]] series, ''[[The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne]]'',<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kaufman |first=Debra |date=January 6, 2010 |title=CES’ 3D focus |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/ces-3d-focus-19221/ |access-date=2022-10-29}}</ref> became president of Meteor Studios, while continuing to run Evergreen Films, his HD live-action company.<ref name=":0" />
The company was co-founded in January 2001 by director Pierre De Lespinois, who was based in [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]], and Discovery Communications, based in [[Bethesda, Maryland]].<ref name=":0" /> De Lespinois, who had created the [[High-definition television|HDTV]] series, ''[[The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne]]'',<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kaufman |first=Debra |date=January 6, 2010 |title=CES’ 3D focus |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/ces-3d-focus-19221/ |access-date=2022-10-29}}</ref> became president of Meteor Studios, while continuing to run Evergreen Films, his HD live-action company.<ref name=":0" />


The initial impetus was to provide a steady supply of cost-effective computer graphics for scientific programming on the Discovery
The initial impetus was to provide a steady supply of cost-effective computer graphics for scientific programming on the Discovery Channel.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> Meteor Studios built CG libraries of dinosaurs, ancient architecture, and weather phenomena, to create visual effects which had proven popular in movies, for television.<ref name=":0" />

Channel.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> Meteor Studios built CG libraries of dinosaurs, ancient architecture, and weather phenomena, to create visual effects which had proven popular in movies, for television.<ref name=":0" />


The company also saved on costs by using "previsualization" tools to produce test composites in the field after each shot.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Whitney |first=Daisy |date=June 10, 2002 |title=Production getting more productive |volume=21 |page=10 |work=Electronic Media |issue=23 |location=Chicago |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/203862665/fulltext/E795E645D67B4BFCPQ/27 |access-date=2022-10-28 |via=[[ProQuest]]}}</ref> Rather than waiting until post-production to see how the computer-generated and drawn elements worked together with the actual background and actors, the director was able to assess immediately whether the desired shots had been captured or not, thereby minimizing film crew costs.<ref name=":2" />
The company also saved on costs by using "previsualization" tools to produce test composites in the field after each shot.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Whitney |first=Daisy |date=June 10, 2002 |title=Production getting more productive |volume=21 |page=10 |work=Electronic Media |issue=23 |location=Chicago |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/203862665/fulltext/E795E645D67B4BFCPQ/27 |access-date=2022-10-28 |via=[[ProQuest]]}}</ref> Rather than waiting until post-production to see how the computer-generated and drawn elements worked together with the actual background and actors, the director was able to assess immediately whether the desired shots had been captured or not, thereby minimizing film crew costs.<ref name=":2" />

Revision as of 10:44, 30 October 2022

Meteor Studios
IndustryAnimation
Founded2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Founder
Defunct2007 (2007)
Headquarters
Montreal, Quebec
,
Canada
Key people
Pierre De Lespinois

Meteor Studios was a Canadian production company based in Montreal that worked in computer animation for many films and TV series. Founded in 2001 by American director Pierre De Lespinois and parent company Discovery Communications, the company specialized in creating "realistic CG on TV budgets".[1] In 2002, it won an Emmy Award in association with the Discovery Channel for Walking With Prehistoric Beasts.[2][3] By 2005, it was the largest visual effects studio in eastern Canada.[4] Meteor's film credits included movies such as 300, Fantastic Four, Scooby-Doo 2, and Catwoman.[5][4] After wrapping its first 3D VFX project, Journey to the Center of the Earth, the company closed in November 2007 without having paid its workers for three months.[6]

Background

Meteor Studios occupied the seventh floor of the old Northern Electric Building in Montreal[4]

The company was co-founded in January 2001 by director Pierre De Lespinois, who was based in Los Angeles, California, and Discovery Communications, based in Bethesda, Maryland.[1] De Lespinois, who had created the HDTV series, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne,[7] became president of Meteor Studios, while continuing to run Evergreen Films, his HD live-action company.[1]

The initial impetus was to provide a steady supply of cost-effective computer graphics for scientific programming on the Discovery Channel.[1][4] Meteor Studios built CG libraries of dinosaurs, ancient architecture, and weather phenomena, to create visual effects which had proven popular in movies, for television.[1]

The company also saved on costs by using "previsualization" tools to produce test composites in the field after each shot.[8] Rather than waiting until post-production to see how the computer-generated and drawn elements worked together with the actual background and actors, the director was able to assess immediately whether the desired shots had been captured or not, thereby minimizing film crew costs.[8]

The main office was housed in the old Northern Electric Building in Pointe St. Charles near the Lachine Canal in southwestern Montreal, Canada.[4]

Projects

Its highly rated works included When Dinosaurs Roamed America on the Discovery Channel, which had more than 500 scenes integrating CG into live-action HD.[1] In 2002, Meteor Studios shared an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program One Hour or More with the Discovery Channel for Walking With Prehistoric Beasts.[3]

For the live-action film Fantastic Four, an adaptation of the Marvel comic book, Meteor produced nine minutes and nine seconds of effects, which Montreal Gazette said had "elevated the shop to another level".[4] The effects included 240 shots for the Brooklyn Bridge sequence in Fantastic Four, which "was actually greeted with real enthusiasm by the jaded brass at 20th Century-Fox in L.A."[4]

For the historical action movie 300, Meteor Studios posted 250 shots to portray liquids, including a large amount of spraying blood.[5]

In 2007, Playback reported that Meteor Studios was venturing into 3D VFX for the first time, for Journey to the Center of the Earth to be released the following year.[9]

Bankruptcy

The studios closed in November 2007 and filed for bankruptcy.[6][10] In September 2009, 130 mainly Canadian artists accepted an offer to recoup 70 percent of compensation owed to them by Discovery Trademark Holding Co. Inc. and Evergreen Digital LLC.[6]

Filmography

Television

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wolff, Ellen (July 2002). "Meteor Studios". Millimeter. Vol. 30, no. 7. pp. 18–22. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  2. ^ Schneider, Michael (September 22, 2002). "Emmys' new best 'Friends'". Variety. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Dinos and Futurama Rule at Emmy Awards". Animation World Network. September 16, 2002. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Griffin, John (July 9, 2005). "Meteor streaks into effects orbit". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. Retrieved October 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c Davidson, Sean (March 6, 2006). "Meteor hits 300". Playback: Canada's Broadcast and Production Journal. p. 18. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ a b c King, Mike (2009). "Special-effects artists accept pay deal". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Kaufman, Debra (January 6, 2010). "CES' 3D focus". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Whitney, Daisy (June 10, 2002). "Production getting more productive". Electronic Media. Vol. 21, no. 23. Chicago. p. 10. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  9. ^ Stewart, Lianne (April 30, 2007). "How did they do that? Meteor Journeys deep into 3D". Playback: Canada's Broadcast and Production Journal. p. 31. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  10. ^ "Ex-Meteor Studios workers seek pay". Playback Online. July 21, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
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