Conference The State of VFX VFX for Features
ON SITE ROOM U brought to you by UNITY Thursday, May 06, 15:00

Creature Feature: Building Beasts and Worlds in Monster Hunter

Get an in depth look at how each monster was created for Paul W.S. Anderson's cinematic adaption of the wildly popular video game film Monster Hunter with the creative team behind the visual effects. Join MR. X's Trey Harrell (VFX Supervisor), Jo Hughes (VFX Producer), Ayo Burgess (DFX Supervisor) and Tom Nagy (Animation Supervisor) as they walk us through how they adapted Capcom's famous video game creatures for the silver screen. They will cover everything from partnering with Anderson and Capcom early on in creative development of the script, to working with upward of 350 artists on research and development to perfect everything from the look of the eyes, the physical movements, to creating photorealistic fur for these larger-than-life monsters.

Trey Harrell, VFX Supervisor, Mr. X

After leaving a career in advertising, Trey Harrell joined MR. X in 2010 to work exclusively as the Lead Lighting TD on Tron: Legacy. In the years since, he has been instrumental in supervising the lighting department and re-engineering MR. X’s lighting and rendering pipeline.

Harrell’s keen eye artistic eye and technical expertise has won two back-to-back Canadian Screen Awards for Achievement in Visual Effects, in 2013 for Resident Evil: Retribution and in 2014 for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Harrell teamed up with Guillermo Del Toro on the Academy Award winning feature The Shape of Water in 2017 garnering a BAFTA award nomination for Best Special Visual Effects. His creative vision and collaborative spirit were most recently employed as MR. X’s co-VFX Supervisor on Paul W.S Anderson’s Monster Hunter.

 

Ayo Burgess, DFX Supervisor, Mr. X

Ayo Burgess, one of MR. X’s premier CG supervisors, graduated with a Bachelor of Computer Science from Queen’s University in 2003. After plying his trade as a Lead Artist in MR. X’s Lighting Department, Ayo was appointed as CG Supervisor in 2018 and hasn’t looked back since.

From his work in Tron: Legacy, to Darren Aronofsky’s biblical-epic Noah, Paul W.S Anderson’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, and most recently as DFX Supervisor on Monster Hunter, Burgess’ expertise in lighting integration of photo-realistic characters and environments have been fundamental to the success of each project he’s been involved with over the last 13 years.

Jo Hughes, VFX Producer, Mr. X

Jo Hughes began her career in film in 2005 and has since established herself as a talented player within the Visual Effects industry. In 2010, Hughes joined MR. X, starting as VFX Production Manager on Disney’s Tron: Legacy. Her organizational skills, diplomacy, and ability to lead were quickly recognized and the following year she was promoted to VFX Producer.

As a VFX Supervisor, Hughes’credits include the Nicole Dorsey-directed short Arlo Alone which received a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the Queen Palm International Film Festival, the Chelsea McMullan and Sarafina DiCrese-directed short My Life is a Joke as well an upcoming feature in development.

Hughes’ talent has earned her three Canadian Screen Awards for Achievement in Visual Effects; the first in 2013 for her contribution to Resident Evil: Retribution, another in 2014 for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, and a third in 2015 for Pompeii

Tom Nagy, Animation Supervisor, Mr. X

With over a decade’s worth of experience, MR. X Animation Supervisor Tom Nagy served as the Animation Lead for all four seasons of Guillermo del Toro’s vampire-inspired series The Strain. The director then hand-picked Nagy to play an integral role in developing the animated design of the leading fish-man in his Academy Award-winning turn, The Shape of Water.

As a key creative collaborator, Nagy is a multi-disciplined artist with endless problem-solving capabilities. Most recently, Nagy served as the Animation Supervisor on Paul W.S Anderson’s adaptation of Capcom’s most successful video-game to date, Monster Hunter: a creature-laden production with over 1400 shots delivered by MR. X.