In yet another entry to their ever-expanding list of feature film credits, Rhino has wrapped up extensive visual effects work on the Warner Brothers action-comedy Cop Out. The film is the first of several forthcoming features that Rhino is handling visual effects for, including: Phillip Noyce’s Salt starring Angelina Jolie; Adjustment Bureau, the George Nolfi film starring Matt Damon; and The Other Guys, an Adam McKay-directed action-comedy starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell.

Cop Out, starring Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis as a team of cops engaged in a series of madcap urban policing adventures, is the latest entry from legendary filmmaker Kevin Smith of Clerks, Jersey Girl, and Zack and Miri Make a Porno fame. Smith recruited Rhino to bring the film’s explosive car chases and myriad action scenes to vivid life.

Rhino worked closely with Warner Brothers to supervise 133 visual effects shots throughout the film, from treacherous high-speed driving scenes to gun battles to subtle mixes of live action and animation. The Rhino team, led by VFX Supervisor Jim Rider, tapped their wide-ranging expertise to deliver these diverse scenes. They used 2D composting to enhance the many green screen driving scenes and a shot of a man leaping across a subway platform, and also on monitor composites and muzzle flashes.

In a scene in which baseballs appear to slam into the film’s stars, Rhino lit and composited 3D baseballs into the live-action sequence. Rhino also handled clean-up on specific scenes, deleting seatbelts for sequence continuity in one section and enhancing blood on the actors’ shirts in another. Extensive clean-up throughout the film included squib removals, rig removals, and removal of production special effects smoke.

“Complex 2D work of this nature in which every shot involves a mix of compositing and seamless blending relies upon a special relationship and trust between the producers and studio and we had that with Warner Bros,” noted Rhino COO/EP Camille Geier. “The high level of standards and expectations on all sides, not just for each sequence, but for the film as a whole, are necessities especially given we were the sole visual effects vendor on the show. Luckily Rhino has honed the technique for this sort of throughput in such a short production schedule.”

“Adding this project to Rhino’s expansive recent list of A-level feature films is further verification that we’re one of the most trusted studios around,” noted Rhino Managing Director Rick Wagonheim. “With our recently expanded network, top-notch studios, and ever-growing talent roster, Rhino has the resources to handle projects of any size or complexity, and to take on many of them at the same time.”

The string of 2010 releases follows many recent major films for Rhino, including The Weinstein Company’s highly-touted post-WWII feature The Reader, starring Ray Fiennes and Kate Winslet; Dimension Films’ Soul Men, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac as two backup soul singers reluctantly reunited after 20 years; and Dreamworks’ Ghost Town, a supernatural romantic comedy written and directed by David Koepp that stars Ricky Gervais as a surly dentist who dies for seven minutes in a colonoscopy gone awry, and awakens with the unwelcome ability to see and help ghosts.

About Rhino
Since its launch in 2000, Rhino has created award-winning visual effects, design, and animation for commercials, VFX for feature films, episodic television, webisodic mini-series, and videogame cinematics. The company’s principals and artists have also led the industry’s exploration into the boundless potential of branded digital content. By cultivating extensive relationships with key brands, advertising agencies, and film/TV studios, Rhino utilizes its creative directors and artists to develop and execute powerful branded entertainment to build both identity and awareness.

CREDITS
Film: Cop Out
Post/Effects: Rhino
VFX Supervisor: Jim Rider
VFX Producer: Cara Buckley
Flame Compositor(s): Micky Gorenstein, Kevin Quinlan, David W. Reynolds, Joe Vitale
Production Manager: Lauren Montuori
Flame Assistant: Barry Furlano
EP: Karin Levinson
COO/EP: Camille Geier
Managing Director: Rick Wagonheim
CEO: Zviah Eldar

RELATED LINKS
www.rhino-gravity.com
www.copoutmovie.warnerbros.com

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