RSVP and Complete Details Including Directions & Easy Validated Parking:  http://boscpugjan22-2015.eventbrite.com

Join the Boston Creative Pro User Group Thursday, January 22 for our first BOSCPUG of 2015 – with post networking + refreshments (pizza and drinks) following at SALVATORE’S!

Get out to meet & mingle with fellow filmmakers in the Bright Family Screening Room at The Paramount Center at Emerson College – Enjoy a great night of networking, engaging screenings & conversation – swap stories and business cards, discover talent and crew for your next project – and interact with members of Boston’s Production and Post community.

Then, join us for an industry reception featuring Refreshments + Networking next door at SALVATORE’S. Grab a seat now!

Our BOSCPUG events and speakers that we invite to Boston are part of Emerson College’s Bright Lights Film Series: http://web.emerson.edu/brightlights/

FEATURED:

Making of ‘BIRDMAN’: A Special Conversation with Ara Khanikian of Rodeo FX

We are thrilled to begin 2015 in a big way by featuring a special conversation on the making of ‘BIRDMAN or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance’ with ARA KHANIKIAN, Visual Effects SuperVisor for the film. Ara will show before and after footage from BIRDMAN and share a few breakdowns explaining how Rodeo FX created the VFX of the movie.

We have special permission from the studio to screen this before and after material and share this info at BOSCPUG – so BRING YOUR QUESTIONS with you as this will be a rare opportunity to connect with Ara and go “behind the scenes” on the making of the film!

‘BIRDMAN or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance’ is a black comedy that tells the story of an actor (Michael Keaton) – famous for portraying an iconic superhero – as he struggles to mount a Broadway play.  In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself.

ABOUT ARA KHANIKIAN
Rodeo FX’s Ara Khanikian serves the company as a VFX Supervisor and Head of 2D. He has worked on over 60 feature films during the course of his career, including such high profile projects as Unbroken, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Now You See Me, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, 300, and many others. Ara was also instrumental in creating the imperceptible visual effects for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s BIRDMAN, acting as VFX supervisor on the project.

Ara attributes his success to staying calm and always presenting a positive attitude, while focusing on what needs the most attention at any given time. In addition to his ability to maintain a high level of organization, he is also well known for his good sense of humor.

Ara both manages the creative and technical expectations each director requires to achieve his vision, and is also responsible for on-set supervision within his role as VFX Supervisor. As the Head of the Rodeo FX Compositing Department, Ara also provides hands-on experience and leadership when working closely with Rodeo’s artists who have been tasked with delivering shots that always meet the highest levels of quality. He is an acknowledged master at blending artistic and technical challenges, ultimately delivering to his clients the most photo-real shots possible.

Ara Khanikian is also a Board member of the VES (Visual Effects Society) – Section Montreal.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1210046/ | Twitter: @FXRodeo  | Website: www.rodeofx.com

ABOUT RODEO FX
Founded in 2006 by Sébastien Moreau, a former Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) artist, Rodeo FX has grown to 200 accomplished artists and professionals with studios in Montreal, Quebec City, and Los Angeles. The company has contributed visual effects on more than 70 feature films, including Angelina Jolie’s highly anticipated UNBROKEN (now playing), the critically acclaimed BIRDMAN, LUCY, EDGE OF TOMORROW, 22 JUMP STREET, THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE, PACIFIC RIM and NOW YOU SEE ME. Rodeo FX has an advertising division that created the opening sequence for NBC’s Sunday Night Football and is currently working on the opening for NBC’s 2015 Super Bowl. Rodeo FX won an Emmy Award in 2014 for its work on the TV series “GAME OF THRONES.” 

Twitter: @FXRodeo  | Website: www.rodeofx.com

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Behind the Scenes of ‘THE EQUALIZER‘ with Sean Deveraux of ZERO VFX

We’re thrilled to have VFX Supervisor Sean Deveraux of ZERO VFX return to BOSCPUG to share with us how ZERO VFX supervised all aspects of the visual effects for ‘THE EQUALIZER‘ and created over 600 shots including all CG environments and pyrotechnics.

Bring your questions for Sean!

ABOUT SEAN DEVEREAUX (VFX Supervisor, co-founder)
Sean Devereaux tells story through moving images. Sean’s artistry has appeared in over thirty feature films, including FURY, THE INTERVIEW, THE EQUALIZER, AMERICAN HUSTLE, TRANSFORMERS, THE TOWN, and CINDERELLA MAN. Sean has worked for some of the best-known and most well-respected visual effects studios in the world, including Industrial Light & Magic and Pixar. He is the Co-founder and Lead Visual Effects Supervisor at ZERO VFX, a Boston-based Visual Effects Studio. Zero works closely with directors and creatives to help them realize their vision; turning ideas into dynamic and awe-inspiring motion pictures. Most recently, Sean Co-founded ZYNC. ZYNC’s cloud-based rendering software offers unlimited power to post-production artists wherever in the world they are located, no matter how much computer power they need. A frequent speaker at industry events, Sean has taught thousands of artists from around the globe the art of visual effects. But, perhaps even more importantly, he has helped artists harness their talents and turn their passion into work that is both meaningful and impactful.

Twitter: @filmsoup  | Website: www.zerovfx.com

ABOUT ZERO VFX
ZERO VFX creates photo-real visual effects and finishing services for commercials and feature films. ZERO was built around the central tenants of executing impeccable work in the most efficient manner possible while at the same time challenging our artists to bring their unique creativity to each project. This has led ZERO to build an extremely streamlined pipeline that screens out the noise and lets the creatives be creative. Led by VFX Supervisor Sean Devereaux, ZERO’s team of artists and technicians are an assembly of talent brought together from the biggest and most innovative studios in the world. They join ZERO with an accomplished body of award-winning work including TRANSFORMERS, TRON LEGACY, CINDERELLA MAN, X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PASZT, THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, SPIDER MAN, THE AVENGERS, NON-STOP and MORTDECAI to name a few.

Twitter: @zeroVFX  | Website: www.zerovfx.com

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PLUS OUR BIG DIG RAFFLE TO START OFF 2015!

Featuring cool filmmaker prizes you want to use on your projects –

Stay Tuned for complete list of prizes!