Award-Winning Design/Visual Effects Studio Brings Hollywood Blockbuster-type Excitement to Highly Anticipated Videogame; Also Designs Trailer, Titles and Logo
HOLLYWOOD, CA -- One of the most highly-anticipated videogame releases this year is Capcom's Resident Evil 5, which features extensive work from the award-winning design/animation studio yU+co, who directed and designed 60-minutes of extensive 3D animated cinematics, as well as created the game's main title sequence and logo.
The project initially came to yU+co from Just Cause, a production company based in Marina Del Rey and Tokyo that specializes cinematic production, motion capture and action stunt work for videogames. According to Reuben Langdon, actor/producer/director of Just Cause, they came to yU+co because they were looking for a more distinctly Hollywood-action film feel for this project.
''We were looking for a Hollywood director to handle the cinematic portions of RE: 5 -- someone up-and-coming, yet somewhat established,'' Langdon said. ''We knew yU+co's work and have wanted to work with them in the past but the right project had not presented itself. We needed a company that could craft the creative aspects of this project and it was immediately obvious that this was the right project for both of us.''
HOLLYWOOD, CA -- One of the most highly-anticipated videogame releases this year is Capcom's Resident Evil 5, which features extensive work from the award-winning design/animation studio yU+co, who directed and designed 60-minutes of extensive 3D animated cinematics, as well as created the game's main title sequence and logo.
The project initially came to yU+co from Just Cause, a production company based in Marina Del Rey and Tokyo that specializes cinematic production, motion capture and action stunt work for videogames. According to Reuben Langdon, actor/producer/director of Just Cause, they came to yU+co because they were looking for a more distinctly Hollywood-action film feel for this project.
''We were looking for a Hollywood director to handle the cinematic portions of RE: 5 -- someone up-and-coming, yet somewhat established,'' Langdon said. ''We knew yU+co's work and have wanted to work with them in the past but the right project had not presented itself. We needed a company that could craft the creative aspects of this project and it was immediately obvious that this was the right project for both of us.''
Resident Evil 5, (known internationally as Biohazard) is the latest installment in the Resident Evil survival horror video game series for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game takes place four years after Resident Evil 4 and stars series mainstay Chris Redfield and newcomer Sheva Alomar as members of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) who are sent to investigate an incident in the African desert region of Kijuju.
Garson Yu, Creative Director of yU+co, explained that the Resident Evil/Biohazard franchise has a long history of well-crafted and exciting CG cinematics (the sequences that break up the gameplay, advancing the plot, presenting character development and providing background, atmosphere, dialogue and clues), and to help give this one the Hollywood blockbuster type of experience they were looking for, he brought in noted commercial director Jim Sonzero, who had recent success with his first feature -- the horror film Pulse.
''We were all familiar with both the Resident Evil story and the look, feel and visual techniques used in past cinematics,'' Yu said. ''We brought in Jim and began working with Capcom's script, designing the mood, texture, lighting and storyboarding the action sequences that would drive the story. The goal was to transcend the videogame genre and create a feature film wrapped inside a videogame experience.''
The process was a complex one: yU+co and Sonzero first created detailed storyboards and shot lists, then pre-viz animatics were produced that would serve as the guide for Sonzero's motion capture shoot.
Sonzero embarked on a 28-day motion capture shoot. On a set big enough for motorcycle stunts, with over 54 Vicon motion capture cameras surrounding them, the mocap performers brought the action to virtual life. The process allowed Sonzero to take a virtual camera into the already motion-captured scenes. Then he could replay the action over and over using the virtual camera to shoot the scenes from any angle he wanted all with a handheld camera.
After the motion capture shoot came the facial capture ADR shoot. All the actors were brought into a face capture booth at Just Cause's studio where dialog and facial expressions were recorded and later composited, under yU+co's supervision, into the final scene along with the motion capture and virtual camera data.
''The most amazing part of this process was utilizing the virtual camera,'' Sonzero said. ''Once mocap data was captured, we could then go into the scene and create camera moves on the data. This totally blew me away. The actors were gone. It was just the camera in the scene interacting with the data. I love this genre so it was a joy to work on. Horror, action, martial arts, stunts and a legendary franchise: what more could I ask for? What the game developers at Capcom gave us to work with was beyond genius.''
Resident Evil 5 represents just one of many videogame projects yU+co is currently working on. They recently created promo trailers for Spyro's Dawn of the Dragon and Tom Clancy's Hawks and EndWar. In addition, the company created the main title sequence for the features Watchmen, (directed by Zack Snyder who worked with yU+co on the title sequence for his blockbuster 300) and Return to Witch Mountain.
About yU+co:
Recognized as an industry leader in visual design and motion graphics with offices in Hollywood, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, yUco. specializes in main and end titles for film and television, visual effects, TV show opens and network graphics packages, theatrical logos, game cinematics and commercials. For more information contact: Michael Bennett -- gaming/ game cinematics and commercials (323-606-5050); and Dianna Costello -- feature film and television (323-606-5050).
Web Resources:
Click here to watch the trailer for Resident Evil 5:
http://02a5df3.netsolhost.com/PR/20090126/mov/Resident_Evil_5_TGS-LB_H.264.mov
Click here for more info about yU+co:
http://www.yuco.com/
Click here for more info about Resident Evil 5:
http://www.residentevil.com
Click here for more info about Just Cause:
http://www.for-the-cause.com/justcause/eng.html
Creative Credits:
Client: Capcom
Project: Resident Evil 5 -- cinematics, main title sequence and logo
Production/Design/Animation: yU+co, Hollywood, CA
Creative Director/Art Director: Garson Yu
Director: Jim Sonzero
Executive Producer: Carol Wong
Art Director/Designer: Etsuko Uji
Producer: Katie Rauh
Story Consultant/Writer: Johnny Ellsworth
2D Animator: Gary Garza
3D Animator: Tizu Tigran Taroumian
3D Animator: Kevin Williams
3D Animator: Pota Tseng
Storyboard Artist: Jerry Bingham
Concept Artist: Joel Chang
Concept Artist: Alp Altiner
Production Company: Just Cause, Marina Del Rey, CA
Producer/Director/Actor: Reuben Langdon
Garson Yu, Creative Director of yU+co, explained that the Resident Evil/Biohazard franchise has a long history of well-crafted and exciting CG cinematics (the sequences that break up the gameplay, advancing the plot, presenting character development and providing background, atmosphere, dialogue and clues), and to help give this one the Hollywood blockbuster type of experience they were looking for, he brought in noted commercial director Jim Sonzero, who had recent success with his first feature -- the horror film Pulse.
''We were all familiar with both the Resident Evil story and the look, feel and visual techniques used in past cinematics,'' Yu said. ''We brought in Jim and began working with Capcom's script, designing the mood, texture, lighting and storyboarding the action sequences that would drive the story. The goal was to transcend the videogame genre and create a feature film wrapped inside a videogame experience.''
The process was a complex one: yU+co and Sonzero first created detailed storyboards and shot lists, then pre-viz animatics were produced that would serve as the guide for Sonzero's motion capture shoot.
Sonzero embarked on a 28-day motion capture shoot. On a set big enough for motorcycle stunts, with over 54 Vicon motion capture cameras surrounding them, the mocap performers brought the action to virtual life. The process allowed Sonzero to take a virtual camera into the already motion-captured scenes. Then he could replay the action over and over using the virtual camera to shoot the scenes from any angle he wanted all with a handheld camera.
After the motion capture shoot came the facial capture ADR shoot. All the actors were brought into a face capture booth at Just Cause's studio where dialog and facial expressions were recorded and later composited, under yU+co's supervision, into the final scene along with the motion capture and virtual camera data.
''The most amazing part of this process was utilizing the virtual camera,'' Sonzero said. ''Once mocap data was captured, we could then go into the scene and create camera moves on the data. This totally blew me away. The actors were gone. It was just the camera in the scene interacting with the data. I love this genre so it was a joy to work on. Horror, action, martial arts, stunts and a legendary franchise: what more could I ask for? What the game developers at Capcom gave us to work with was beyond genius.''
Resident Evil 5 represents just one of many videogame projects yU+co is currently working on. They recently created promo trailers for Spyro's Dawn of the Dragon and Tom Clancy's Hawks and EndWar. In addition, the company created the main title sequence for the features Watchmen, (directed by Zack Snyder who worked with yU+co on the title sequence for his blockbuster 300) and Return to Witch Mountain.
About yU+co:
Recognized as an industry leader in visual design and motion graphics with offices in Hollywood, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, yUco. specializes in main and end titles for film and television, visual effects, TV show opens and network graphics packages, theatrical logos, game cinematics and commercials. For more information contact: Michael Bennett -- gaming/ game cinematics and commercials (323-606-5050); and Dianna Costello -- feature film and television (323-606-5050).
Web Resources:
Click here to watch the trailer for Resident Evil 5:
http://02a5df3.netsolhost.com/PR/20090126/mov/Resident_Evil_5_TGS-LB_H.264.mov
Click here for more info about yU+co:
http://www.yuco.com/
Click here for more info about Resident Evil 5:
http://www.residentevil.com
Click here for more info about Just Cause:
http://www.for-the-cause.com/justcause/eng.html
Creative Credits:
Client: Capcom
Project: Resident Evil 5 -- cinematics, main title sequence and logo
Production/Design/Animation: yU+co, Hollywood, CA
Creative Director/Art Director: Garson Yu
Director: Jim Sonzero
Executive Producer: Carol Wong
Art Director/Designer: Etsuko Uji
Producer: Katie Rauh
Story Consultant/Writer: Johnny Ellsworth
2D Animator: Gary Garza
3D Animator: Tizu Tigran Taroumian
3D Animator: Kevin Williams
3D Animator: Pota Tseng
Storyboard Artist: Jerry Bingham
Concept Artist: Joel Chang
Concept Artist: Alp Altiner
Production Company: Just Cause, Marina Del Rey, CA
Producer/Director/Actor: Reuben Langdon
