JML Film Corporation specializes in the design, creation, and execution of excellent make-up and visual effects using the most efficient and budget conscious methodology in the business.
Jump to: The Concept in Detail
Jump to: Our History: Technology, Experience & Creativity
Jump to: How We Are Different
Overview
Our concept is simple: We utilize industry resources effeciently and creatively by drawing all the strengths of the Effects industry, and minimizing the weaknesses with a result that runs more smoothly, is more dynamic, and costs less.
1. If you run an effects shop in Hollywood - either make-up effects or visual effects - everyone draws from the same pool of talent. These are industries of independent contractors with very few of the most talented dedicated to only one shop or venue. Everyone knows each other, everyone works together. No matter what shop you are, the only real difference is the location and the infastructure. The people are what makes the real difference.
2. Having a shop in either effects branch in an industry that is bloated with competition, in an age where technology is so accessible is ineffecient, costly to both the owner - and costly to Production - because whether it is a line in the budget or not Production pays for the shop overhead and equipment for the duration of the picture and beyond. Effects shops are expensive to run, and both industies have very high overheads whether they are working or not - and everyone builds this fact in to their budgets.
3. Production buys assets during the course of production, and those assets should be returned to production to off-set costs. Make-up Effects and Visual Effects naturally work well together, and with all of these aspects taken into consideration, we present a new approach to the creation of Effects in feature film production that is clean, Producer friendly, intuitive, creatively inspiring and simply costs less. We set up a new shop for each project, and custom design a team of people, a facility, and equipment specifically designed for the needs of each project - if production doesn't need it, production doesn't pay for it. And that's the way it should be.
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The Concept in Detail
JML Film Corporation is a different kind of effects company.
For the past 5 years, founder J.M. Logan has been developing a method of combining make-up effects and visual effects into one cohesive department that works seamlessly together.
This brings a number of advantages to production:
1. We are efficient
The two departments work seamlessly together as one unit. There is no miscommunication or reliance on another department to perform, and as such the visual and make-up effects supervisor can work in unison with the Producer and Director of the project to be sure that the best method practical or digital can be used to achieve the purpose of the effect.
2. We are unified
Production hires one team instead of several, and the over-all supervisor of the show can be certain the Director’s vision is executed and the Producer’s budget and requirements are satisfied.
3. We are flexible
While on set, JML Film Corporation supervisors can constantly work with Production to come up with viable solutions on the fly, trading hands to make-up or visual effects as is necessary while in production while shifting budgets internally. Resources can be allocated and redistributed easily based on the constantly changing needs of production without the production team ever feeling a bump.
4. We are creative
The Creative’s of the film have one point person to turn to that understands the needs of both effects departments, and can expand their creativity by throwing up ideas relevant to the effects production and design of the entire show, not just a single department.
5. We are well-rounded
JML Film Corporation supervisors understand film making not just from the effects perspective, but from the perspective of the entire production. We understand the needs of every department on set, and work to be an integrated team working with all departments to achieve the desired moment, and have a well seasoned understanding of the balance between creativity and the technical needs of delivery from working on set to final delivery of visual effects.
In addition to the practicalities and benefits of combining the departments into one, we are also practical on a structural level in ways that also benefit production from another perspective.
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Our History: Technology, Experience & Creativity
JML Film Corporation’s totally unique approach to effects is designed to utilize technology, experience, and creativity to be a very low impact department on every level from budget to maintenance. Because we are one department instead of two, production has one meeting with a department that has less miscommunication.
Our history, of course, comes from many years of working in effects shops, both make-up and visual effects. As technology and filmmaking continue to align and streamline, we chose to completely restructure the model of the classic effects-shop into something more efficient. We started by recognizing problems:
Big effects shops come with big overheads. People open effects shops in warehouses and office buildings and never plan to leave, making their overhead a constant drain on their resources especially when they aren’t working. When bidding a show, they must build into their cost not only the cost of operation during the show, but also a pad to be sure that they can continue to pay their overhead until they get another show. We do not feel that production should have to bear this cost.
Regardless of whose shop you are in, there are always key people that run every show. This can maintain a level of quality on one hand, but on the other hand we do not feel that the same key staff is appropriate for every movie that comes in the door. That’s why shops get pigeon-holed into doing one kind of work over and over again, because that is where their key staff excels. We feel that the supervisor of each department for the film should be chosen based on the needs of the individual film, not the need to keep your staff employed.
Every shop goes through the same hiring and laying-off process for every show, and their crew is based on exactly the same pool of people no matter which shop you go to. There are only so many people that work in the business, and the quality of your crew can vary greatly from show to show because it’s based on the availability of talented crew. You can have the most talented key artist, but if you don’t have equally talented support crew the quality can slip tremendously. This happens time and time again at shops that are known for producing good work, but occasionally produce something that doesn’t work because all they can get is a “B” crew, because those are the only crew that is available at the time. We feel that every production deserves a team that is custom built for the needs of each film, not just taking a film and throwing who ever is available at it with unpredictable results.
Trying to improve the classic shop model has lead us to solutions for the above problems that can make effects an inefficient, unpredictable, and expensive venture.
This is how we are different.
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How We Are Different
We take a film and a production crew and using our many years of experience in the film industry, we come up with a customized, unique approach to every individual film, utilizing our diverse knowledge of make-up and visual effects to find the most efficient and effective methodology based on the demands of the script as well as the time and budget.
We walk in with a plan, and then refine by talking with the Producer and Director to determine the unique style of the film. Then from our pool of resources, knowledge and experience we assemble a customized supervisory team for the make-up and visual effects based on the needs of the script, budget, style, and even personalities of the Creatives on the project, and then present a proposal to production based on our choices. The success of the department is entirely dependent on the people, not the entity, and we cut straight to the core and find the right fit for the job
Our proposal and bid will include setting up a custom shop and resources based on the needs of the film if we don’t need a big shop we don’t rent one. We balance what the film demands and tailor our shop to those needs, and then pull from our pool of independent contractors and outsource vendors based on time and budget to put together a complete package from soup to nuts that we will manage throughout production. Either way production pays for a space and equipment, it just comes down to whether or not production will pay for estimated overhead that has been padded to include down-time, or pay the direct costs associated with it.
Because we build both our make-up effects and VFX facilities to suit the show, you are ensured that equipment will always be the best and most recent, as well as being on the cutting edge of technology. Production doesn’t have to worry about paying for future equipment upgrades and maintenance for a facility, because the equipment is always new. As an added advantage, because production pays for the equipment production owns the equipment. The facility is designed to be shut down at the end of the show, at which time we arrange and manage an auction to sell back the barely used and nearly new equipment before it loses its value, and the proceeds fold back into Production to offset costs.
By following this methodology, JML Film Corporation can not only bring an outstandingly efficient effects production model that utilizes the best available crew, but can also do it at a cost that makes the most sense to production.
We do not send out informational packets, no one reads them. We take meetings and pitch our methodology.
We do not waste time with company demo reels, they are meaningless. A shop is only as good as its crew, and we showcase the work of the actual key artists and crew that will be doing the work on the film. If one piece seems out of place, we replace that piece instead of the entire department.
We do not have a shop, we have an office with a low overhead and expand based on the needs of production. We stay modular.
We do not have a crew, we have several over-all supervisors that understand the needs of production as well as the needs of the individual departments.
We do not put money into our shop, we put it into our people.
We specialize in the design, creation, and execution of excellent make-up and visual effects using the most efficient and budget conscious methodology in the business.
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