Results tagged “master key films”

We've heard a little update from MasterKey, the amazing team behind the effects of the new Knight Rider series. They were featured in an article from Variety focusing on VFX Emmy Contenders:

Another entry in this year's race is NBC's "Knight Rider" and its battle between hero car K.I.T.T. and evil K.A.R.R.

Master Key VFX, which created the sequence, also gets enormous creative control and relies on small teams.

"It allows them to know how everything is connected," says Elan Dessani, effects producer for "Knight Rider."

Master Key was able to choreograph the K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R. battle to put the focus on the cars, keeping the fight in one location so artists would only have to create one background landscape.

"We didn't expect to have that much power, but because we had proposed this larger sequence, (the showrunner) let us go," Dessani says.

Be sure to visit MasterKey's website where they've just relaunched their site, complete with a new reel that focuses on some of their post Knight Rider works. Also check out our time with them over the last year.

If you all were in the chat last night, the folks at MasterKey mentioned that the epic battle between KARR and KITT was shortened because of the budget cuts that NBC bestowed upon the Knight Rider production.

They've put it up on YouTube for everyone to see. Here now is the full length of what it was originally conceived to be.

YouTube

NBC just released this extended clip with KARR from tonight's episode Knight to King's Pawn. Peter Cullen still sends chills down our spine as the voice of KARR.

Also remember that tonight we will be having a live video one way chat with the kind folks at MasterKey Films. We will be doing it twice at 8pm, once at 8pm EST and again at 8pm PST.

Be sure to check it out at our enhanced event website at http://knightrideronline.com/events/masterkey/

We have previously taken you on a tour of the Knight Rider Visual Effects team at MasterKey. But we could not resist returning to see how they were coming along on their design of KITT's nemesis KARR. This time we were guided by Stephan Fleet the man heading up the 2D department and also the designer of the heads up display. Check out part one below with some peeks at KARR.

Stephan Fleet continues our tour with a look back at the development of the HUD and other early concepts. Check out the video below.

Check out the real tour of Masterkey after the jump.

Wow, did this weekend get interesting in a hurry! We were just browsing around MaterKey Film's website, and one thing led to another and we came across a video that we haven't seen before. Contained within is this amazing footage you see above of KARR in this weeks episode Knight to King's Pawn.

There are some pretty nice shots/spoilers contained within. KARR rolling towards what we assume is KITT, Torres locked in KARRs deadly grip and an amazing pan of KARR standing above a fallen soldier with complete mayhem behind him. This is going to be one heck of an episode based on these amazing visuals.

Check it all out here

We here at Knight Rider Online are thrilled to reveal a treat for all Knight Rider fans! During next weeks episode Knight to Kings Pawn the fine folks at MasterKey Films will be available via Kyte Video chat.

This will be a moderated chat with Q&A from the viewers during the commercial breaks. We will be doing it twice. Once at 8pm EST for the East Coast Feed and again at 8pm PST for the West Coast Feed.

Please take the above widget (click on "get & share" and put the embed code where ever you can! Facebook, Myspace, your personal websites. Get the word out that Knight Rider is coming out swinging next week - and these guys will be a huge treat to all those curious how KARR returns.

When touring the Knight Rider set a short while ago there was one place we knew we could not leave without checking out. Nestled in amongst the sound stages is the home of MasterKeyFilms the Visual Effects department behind some of the most amazing scenes in Knight Rider. We caught them busy at work designing our hero KITT's arch-enemy KARR. Lookout for some spoilers ahead, but if our video leaves you wanting more you will just have to tune in on Wednesdays!

The online magazine VFXWorld spoke with our good friends at Master Key Films - the team responsible for the Visual Effects on a weekly basis for Knight Rider.

Clients always seem to raise their eyebrows when they enter the offices of Master Key Prods., a small start-up vfx house located on the Santa Clarita Studios lot.

The surprise comes from the fact that Master Key, a company consisting of only six rooms, a team of roughly 10-12 animators and compositors, two office assistants and one full time IT engineer supplies NBC's Knight Rider (airing Wednesdays at 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET on NBC) with roughly 200-300 effects shots an episode, while never sacrificing time, quality or cost.

"It's a lot of information and given the nature of TV, we don't get the kind of elongated time for post-vfx that one gets on features," suggests Elan Dassani, Master Key's co-founder and president. "Right now we're working within a two-week turn around period from the day materials are delivered to us to the final delivery of our effects back to post-production.

"We learned pretty early on that any break in the communication between the on-set production, post-production and Black Ginger [an effects house located in South Africa that provides Master Key with driving compositions, cylon light additions and monitor replacements] could have drastic effects on not only our workflow but also the show's budget, delivery dates and air dates.

"The goal was always to create a team where a limited number of people working within a well constructed workflow: a machine where animators and compositors could create a synergy based on that day's needs, could churn out a significant number of shots per week,"adds Rajeev Dassani, co-founder of Master Key and vfx supervisor. "I think we've proved that this is a viable system and I'm very proud of what we've accomplished here."

Which brings us to the real question: How does the company handle the vast demands of a schedule this tight?

The answer is simple: redefine and restructure the existing vfx workflow model to fit these specialized needs.

You can read the rest of the article on their website.

Be sure to see our interview with the Dassani Brothers and Stephan Fleet here. Additionally check out Master Key Films website, as they have just recently relaunched their site with a beautiful show reel that focuses a lot on their work on Knight Rider!