NEXODUS Cooperative

07/12/2023

NEXODUS gathering in Beverly Hills!

As a fully remote company, we love when our team members can get together in-person.

06/12/2023

Say hello to Cindy!

Cindy started at NEXODUS in May of 2021 and is now a coordinator, VFX editor, board member, question-haver & question-answerer, and categorizer of ALL THINGS in ShotGrid.

Anthony Kramer, one of our founding members and friend, “singled me out as the most organized person he knows, and thought I might be interested in a part time job to supplement my retouching career. Hardy har-har-har, how the tables have turned! Now I supplement my VFX production career with retouching and matte painting.”

Cindy has worked on many projects over the years, but the one that's been so present in her life over the last year is Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender.

“I've really enjoyed the challenges and triumphs on this one, and we're in the home stretch now!”

When Cindy isn’t working at NEXODUS she is non-stop knitting and knit-planning. “My dreams are made of wool.”

Learn more at nexod.us

05/12/2023

🎧 Listen now for a behind the scenes look at bringing the 👻 "Ghost Girl" to life! Our VFX Supervisor, Ryan Urban, chats with befores & afters about our work on Big Time Rush's 'Weekends' music video. 🌟 "

How this music video was made by painting the talent...silver. VFX supervisor Ryan Urban joins the Befores & Afters podcast to discuss making Big Time Rush’s music video for ‘Weekends’, with VFX by NEXODUS Cooperative. https://beforesandafters.com/2023/12/04/how-this-music-video-was-made-by-painting-the-talent-silver/

30/11/2023

NEXODUS artist Holli Alavadro recently had the opportunity to participate in an Unreal Engine Fellowship for animation. For three weeks, instructors hosted lectures that covered everything from Sequencer, animation, FBX ingestion, control rig, mocap workflows, Blueprints, Take Recorder, Blend Spaces, facial motion capture, IK retargeting, additive animation, Cinecamera, constraint systems, lighting, post processing, and rendering. There were also guest speakers from a wide variety of fields, who all use animation in unreal in some way.

While in attendance, participants were asked to create and present an Exquisite Co**se Animation with an assigned team. Each individual needed to produce a single-camera 10-15 second animation, hopefully showing the range of character animation possible in Unreal Engine. The individual animation would need to sync up with those who would come before and after, so that the edit seemed seamless, aka an Exquisite Co**se.

“I was able to keep my mind sharp and learn new skills that have forever changed how I will approach concept art, previz / layout, as well as matte painting and environment work. I loved every minute of this fellowship!” -Holli

final animation coming soon

23/11/2023

We hope that everyone gets to enjoy the company of family and friends today. 🦃

Eat plentifully.
Rest easily.
Travel safely.
Watch the NFL games, if you’re into that.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday,
From the NEXODUS family

Norman Rockwell, 1943, “Freedom From Want”

16/11/2023

NEXODUS Unveils a New Era of Creative Empowerment in Visual Effects

https://www.stashmedia.tv/worker-owned-vfx-cooperative-nexodus-launches-in-los-angeles/

15/11/2023

NEXODUS is excited to announce our involvement on Avatar: The Last Airbender. Catch it on Netflix February 22. 🍿

Always remember who you are…The four nations of the world once lived in harmony, with the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeping peace between them. Bu...

09/11/2023

When we're not busy creating breathtaking visuals, we love a good book.

Here’s what some of our NEXODUS team has been reading this month!

“Uneducated” - An autobiography about a journalist and the “non-traditional” pathway to his career. In our credential-obsessed world, what is the true value of a college degree? Was hooked only after a few pages while standing at the library.

“The Marlow Murder Club” - If you’re an Agatha Christie fan you’ll enjoy this book. It’s got a solid Ms. Marple vibe. Bonus! There are recipes. Would also highly recommend the audio book.

“Meddling Kids” - Exactly what you would expect if the Mystery Gang was real and adults. Think, Saturday night ghost club, 80’s, and gothic-horror feel with a slow building creep.

04/11/2023

02/11/2023

Meet Arnie Mecham!

He joined NEXODUS in February of this year as a compositor for a project we’re currently working on - to be released next year!

“From the first meeting with folks at NEXODUS, it was clear this was going to be a great fit. Getting to deliver all sorts of different shots and constantly learning and growing makes every day so rewarding. ”

Outside of VFX work, Arnie loves exploring LA from beaches to comedy clubs and trying all of the delicious food the city has to offer.

Learn more about the team at nexod.us

31/10/2023

This is Stanley.

Our resident 12-foot skeleton.

and he wishes you a Happy Halloween!

30/10/2023

25/10/2023

We are THRILLED to announce that "Night Feeding" has been selected to be part of this year's program at the esteemed MORBIDO FILM FEST! We love this festival and it's such an honor to be part of it again. www.morbidofest.com

24/10/2023

NEXODUS Staff Halloween Movie Picks

Halloween is 1 week away!!

We’ve put together a short list of movies that get us in the mood for , in no particular order.

What are your favorites?

14/10/2023

It’s festival weekend!

“Night Feeding”, The second short horror film from Best Bad Dog Films, directed by Sarah K. Reimers and her husband, NEXODUS member, Robert Rossello. Premiering at the San Francisco Film Festival and Atlanta Horror Film Festival this weekend!

The inspiration came from the long, sleepless nights caring for their infant daughter, when Sarah would find herself up at regular intervals, all night; feeding the baby and pondering the shadows and sounds of the darkened house.

12/10/2023

NEXODUS member Robert Rossello helped create a short film that was recently accepted into the San Francisco and Atlanta Film Festivals!

🎥 Here is the trailer.

“Night Feeding” is the second short horror film from Best Bad Dog Films, directed by Sarah K. Reimers. Sarah and her husband, Robert produced the short, challenging themselves to see what they could do with equipment they had on hand (or could borrow). The skeleton crew consisted of a skilled and talented group of friends and family.

The inspiration came from the long, sleepless nights caring for their infant daughter, when Sarah would find herself up at regular intervals all night, feeding the baby and pondering the shadows and sounds of the darkened house.

They especially enjoyed the opportunity to mix practical effects with computer effects to create the “monster”. Sculpting teeth, painting rubber and hot glue, and experimenting with rigs to puppet the monster was a satisfying part of the project. Being able to utilize our post-production skills and technology to integrate those practical effects onto our live actors was an enjoyable challenge that yielded excellent results!

Congratulations friends ✨

06/10/2023

Some 'Unreal' work 🎮

ARK 2 thrusts players into a brutal new world of primitive survival against both beast and man, facing down the ever-present threats of hyper-realistic intelligent dinosaurs, aggressive alien fauna, and the exotic environments of an unearthly planet.

NEXODUS had fun partnering with Studio Wildcard to deliver an ambitious, four-minute announcement trailer for ARK II, the sequel to Wildcard’s acclaimed open-world adventure ARK: Survival Evolved. The 100% CGI project featured a lush jungle setting teeming with otherworldly creatures -- from an exotic flower that turns out to be a chameleon to a rampaging dinosaur -- and a clan of human survivors led by a digital double of action star Vin Diesel.

Check out the full announcement trailer:
https://www.nexod.us/projects/ark-2-announcement-teaser

02/10/2023

Earlier this year National Geographic photographer, contacted our own compositor Kurt Lawson () about including images he and Sean Goebel had captured of their friend Wade Meade hiking Half Dome in Yosemite.

As mentioned in the Amazon description, this is a dazzling coffee table book, acclaimed scientist-photographer Anand Varma unveils a world never before seen by human eyes, achieved through the innovative techniques of today’s finest photographers.

Huge congrats friends!