DF: Could you tell us which software you use ot handle your renders?

JT: Currently we are using Rush for rendering on our render farm. Once you get the hang of it it?s not that hard to use. It does have a learning curve that may seem daunting at first but when you?ve got everything figured out and it?s all running it?s a really good tool with a lot of control of what you do. And it?s very stable as well.

DF: Talk about your pipeline.

JT: After Frostbiten we started working on a new pipeline since we had some issues with our previous one. We have been using Maya?s referencing system quite heavilly, during Frostbiten we had so much headaches beacuse of it?s limitations and bugs that we decided to work out a new pipeline here at Fido Film. Still based on the referencing system, which really is a great concept, we tracked down most of the errors to the step from animation to rendering. When stuff starts to get keyframed the reference system sometimes went totally crazy (too often I?m afraid), exploding geometry and messing up connections for example. So what we are doing now is that all animation gets baked out and then it?s referenced in from a completely new file with only the baked geometry in it. Thus eliminating the problems we had with keyframed control objects and what not, but still using the good things that comes with referencing. So far it seems to be working out great! Time will tell :)

We have also put together a comprehensive documentation on how to properly name stuff and organize our scenes to allow for easier scripting of various parts of the production. The document also covers the compositing process and guidelines on how to try and keep you projects as streamlined and easy to understand as possible. Working a lot with freelancers it?s really important that there is a common structure that everyone uses, so that if the person who initially did a project isn?t still around someone else can still open it up and get into it and understand whats going on.

DF: Do you think this movie would have a worldwide release?

JT: Yes, at this years Cannes festival it was the hottest Swedish movie and was among others sold to: Australia (TV), Singapore, The Filippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, UK, USA, Canada, Spain and Germany (DVD).

DF: Any thing else you would like to add?

JT: I?m really glad to have had the opportunity to work on a project such as Frostbiten, even though there were some endless days, for me it was just a dream project come true!

I truly do hope that this project could help Fido Film to get seen by producers and presumtive clients all over the world. This interview is most certainly a step in that direction.

I also would like to thank you Luis, and the entire Death Ffall team, for all your time and patience that you have put into this interview.

Cheers,
Janak

DF: Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions and good luck!

Related Links:
Fido Film's Home Page
Janak's Homepage
REALVIZ MatchMover Professional Showcase
Rush - Network Render Queue

Breakdown Video - 30MB