Post-production effects
More production value from the footage your team shoots
Source footageFinished frameWinter from a summer shoot, holiday dressing and a bigger world around your locations. Synthetic FX, the effects company of Synthetic Cinema International, turns the shots your team filmed into finished effects shots, delivered to your post team.
- Changed
- Deep snow, bare branches and a white winter sky.
- Kept
- The siding, windows and porch, and the framing.
Three Generations, One Christmas · Great American Family · Viamar Productions
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Demo reel
See the finished shots
Two-and-a-half-minute reel of finished Holiday Touchdown shots: snowy Chicago streets and a pub, a Bears tailgate outside Soldier Field, a firehouse and a public library in winter, a Christmas market, a riverside cafe, a snow-covered house and the stadium colonnade.
01At a glance
Your team films the scene.
We expand its world.
Your team
Films the scene
Your team runs the shoot and keeps overall delivery of the film.
Sends the material
A brief, the selected shots, a reference cut and your post contacts.
Approves the work
You sign off the look and every finished shot.
Synthetic FX
Assessment and look development
We check what your footage supports and propose the look for your approval.
AI-assisted creation and finishing
We create the change with AI-assisted tools, then our artists composite and finish it.
Revisions and delivery
Agreed revisions, then approved shots handed to your post team.
Networks: introduce us to the production company making your film, or commission the partnership.
02Proof
Three Generations, One Christmas:
175 hybrid VFX shots
Viamar Productions filmed Three Generations, One Christmas in warmer weather. Synthetic FX delivered the hybrid VFX that finished it as winter, consistent from scene to scene.
- Production
- Three Generations, One Christmas · Great American Family
- Starring
- Mario Lopez, Taylor Kalupa & Tony Danza
- Produced by
- Mark Roberts & Mario Lopez
- Filmed by
- Viamar Productions
- Post-production
- Synthetic Cinema International · Hybrid VFX by Synthetic FX
- Delivered
- 175 hybrid VFX shots
Case reelFrom the film
The three Victorian house frames show the same house from the same camera position in three scenes, finished to one winter look.
Holiday slates need snow and lights every year, whenever they shoot. A repeatable winter treatment is a practical place to start.
What we change
The world around
the performance
Seasons, surroundings and holiday dressing. Each example says what changed and what we kept.
A winter street from a summer shoot
Source footageFinished frameFinished frameTap the frame to switch. Press and hold to peek.
Showing finished frame
Your crew films the location in warmer weather. We create the winter around it.
- Changed
- The summer canopy becomes bare, snowy trees, and snow covers the lawns, planters and fence line.
- Kept
- The white church and steeple, the museum sign, the street signs and the parked car.
One shot, start to finish
Where AI helps, and
where artists finish
Here is the route on one shot from Holiday Touchdown, where only the street through the store windows changes.
Source footage
01The shot as the production filmed it: two leads in a dressed store, a summer street through the windows.
03Handoff
What we need from you,
what you get back
We align with your editorial and finishing contacts at intake.
At intake and review
Brief
- From your team
- The scenes, the intended look and your effects deadline
- From Synthetic FX
- An assessment of what the footage supports, and a proposed approach
Source material
- From your team
- Selected shots, a reference cut, frame ranges and handles
- From Synthetic FX
- Identifiable shot versions for your review
Color and output
- From your team
- Your color workflow and output requirements
- From Synthetic FX
- Approved shots delivered to those requirements
Notes
- From your team
- Consolidated director, producer and network notes from the agreed approver
- From Synthetic FX
- Revisions within the agreed review allowance
Changes
- From your team
- A decision on any change in scope
- From Synthetic FX
- The cost or timing effect of the change, before we extend the work
Contacts
- From your team
- Your editorial and finishing contacts
- From Synthetic FX
- Named working contacts on our side
Detailed technical specifications go in the project handoff document.
Schedule
A clear route to
your effects deadline
Timing depends on how many shots change and how much. We agree priorities and review milestones with your post team, including time for artist work and review, then work to your deadline.
Before filming
Capture guidance
If we join early, we advise on useful source material. Your team runs the shoot.
Demanding shots
Representative tests
We test a planned challenge, like camera movement through an area we'll transform.
In post
Client review
Your team reviews each shot at the agreed milestones.
- Your deadline
Handoff
Effects delivery
Approved shots delivered into your editorial and finishing workflow.
Your deadline
Already in post? We start by assessing the supplied shots.
04Quality and AI use
No one should see
the seams
We judge the effects in the context of the scene. Here is what you can expect on every project.
Artists finish every shot
AI-assisted creation is one route to an image. Our artists composite, refine and finish every shot we deliver.
One approval route
The people you name sign off the look and the finished shots, and director, producer and network notes reach us through one agreed route.
Clear versions
Every version you review is clearly labeled, and nothing reaches your edit until you approve it.
Performance preserved
Your actors' performances are the foundation of every shot, and we don't create digital replicas of performers.
AI use listed per shot
Your designated studio or network contact gets a list of the AI-assisted steps on each shot before work begins.
Your footage stays yours
Your footage is never used to train AI models.
Questions
Before you send
the first shot
Do you change the actors or their performances?
No. We change the world around the performance, and we don't create digital replicas of performers. What changes is the season, the view, the surroundings, holiday dressing or distractions in frame. We don't alter a performer's face, body, wardrobe or dialogue unless your production asks for it and approves it in writing.
How do finished shots come back into our edit?
Approved effects shots go to your post team for integration into the film, to the output requirements agreed at intake.
How long does it take?
We set dates once the shot scope is known, planned back from your effects deadline. Where a shot is demanding, a representative test comes first.
Where is AI used, and who approves the work?
AI-assisted creation builds or transforms selected surroundings. Our artists composite, refine and match every shot, and only approved shots go to your post team. At the start we agree who approves the look and the finished effects, and how director, producer and network notes reach us. Before work begins, we list the AI-assisted steps on each shot for your designated studio or network contact.
How is the cost worked out?
We scope the complete effect: representative tests where needed, imagery creation, iterations, compositing, cleanup, artist finishing and reviews. You can prioritize the scenes with the strongest visual value, and we flag the cost or timing effect of any change before extending the work.
05Start
Let's make your footage go further
Bring us the scene you want to improve, the footage you have or plan to shoot, the look you're after and your effects deadline. We'll assess it, set out who does what, and scope a representative test where it answers an important question.
Start with
A script excerpt
A shot list
Existing footage
Private demonstrations by request