Platt College San Diego

The Golden Compass

Originally posted on: 2008-02-29

Students find their way with The Golden Compass...

Michael Fink (X-men, Constantine, Batman Returns), Senior Visual Effects Supervisor for the New Line Cinema release, The Golden Compass gave a well-spoken overview and Q&A of the efforts behind the Oscar Award-winning film. He was joined by Visual Effects Producer Susan Mcleod and two animators.

This field trip offered a glimpse of the highest levels of the animation industry from a production point of view. The Golden Compass was unique because many of the 1200 CG shots required services from as many as four different vendors to complete. The animators spoke about the importance of following naming conventions when sharing files and the difficult task of producing consistent quality effects throughout the film. Matt, an animator on the film, used words like ‘painstaking’ and ‘being in the trenches’ to describe his experience though he was obviously proud to be involved. During the Q & A someone asked Fink about compromises during production.

“In most studios you see a triangular sign with the words ‘quality, time, and money’” he responded. “And then underneath, it says, ‘pick two’”.

Towards the end of the Q&A Michael Fink got a bit emotional after someone asked him how it felt to win an Oscar. “I’ve been in the industry for 30 years…It’s taken my whole life to make this movie.”