Case Study: Hive FX brings VFX sizzle to “A Walk in My Shoes”

Filmed entirely in and around Portland, A Walk In My Shoes tells the story of a stressed-out high school teacher who wrecks her car and finds herself living in the shoes of the mother of one of her students – a woman she had previously judged and criticized. The movie features over 40 special effects sequences used to underscore the ‘magic’ in the storyline – all of which were created by www.hive-fx.com at its Portland-based headquarters.

 “Our contribution to this great movie goes to prove that you don’t have to go to Hollywood to get Hollywood-grade VFX,” said HIVE-FX partner Jim Clark. “It was a wonderful opportunity to VFX supervise a movie right here in our back yard then keep the shots in Portland for post”.

http://www.vimeo.com/24592291

Craig Anderson, Executive Producer said, “We were delighted to be able to use a Portland-based company for the visual effects. We never felt for a moment that we were settling for less than the best. Hive’s work was easily on par with LA-based VFX houses, and by working with a local company we were able to make the production more efficient as well as benefiting from the Oregon Tax Incentives.”

HIVE-FX delivers ‘soup-to-nut’ creative services in all forms of visual media including: still photography and digital manipulation for major brands apparel brands, 2D, 3D, and stop-motion animation, VFX, compositing, color correction, editorial and live-action; to a wide variety of clients such as Intel, HP, Quaker and Simple Shoes. “First and foremost, we’re storytellers,” says Clark. “We’ve been successfully creating animation and visual FX for commercials and film for many years, and we’re proud to be working with such great storytellers as NBC. Our Portland-based VFX team is very qualified and all have worked on features like Coraline and commercials for many major brands. There’s good reason for productions shooting here to access our expertise and save money, because the work we do qualifies under the Oregon film tax rebate”.

A Walk In My Shoes stars Nancy Travis as Trish Fahey, a highly strung teacher who can’t understand her students’ lack of effort and why their parents don’t seem to care. This is especially true of Justin (Cameron Deane Stewart), a basketball star who is under-performing in her class. All this changes when Trish wrecks her car and wakes to find herself living in the shoes of Justin’s mom (Portland actress Jana Lee Hamblin), a woman she has personally judged and criticized. With the help of a mysterious stranger (Yara Martinez), Trish discovers the real reason behind her struggles, teaching her a new meaning of compassion. No one is left unchanged. Philip Winchester and Jackson Pace also star in the project, which comes from Craig Anderson Productions and director John Kent Harrison.

Director John Kent Harrison, a longtime collaborator with companies such as Hallmark Hall of Fame, has directed over 25 films. He said “HIVE-FX understands we are all in the story business and their contribution in visual effects made our story stronger, more articulate and cost-efficient. Jim Clark offered imaginative and innovative solutions to story problems while his partner, Gretchen Miller, managed the post production process with calm efficiency. I look forward to working together again soon.”

P&G and Walmart decided to work together in creating this movie after hearing from families who wanted more quality options to be offered on television. The companies conducted a research study with the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) Alliance for Family Entertainment that revealed that parents across America are seeking more family-oriented entertainment to enjoy together.

VFX CREDITS
VFX SUPERVISOR: Jim Clark
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Gretchen Miller
LEAD COMPOSITOR: Steve Balzer
COMPOSITOR: Michael Miller
COMPOSITOR: Nick Childs
COMPOSITOR: Sean Saul
COMPOSITOR: Jay Twenge
DATA WRANGLER: Guy Cappiccie
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Jessica Butler

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2 thoughts on “Case Study: Hive FX brings VFX sizzle to “A Walk in My Shoes”

  1. If it weren’t for PBS family entertainment would be very hard to find. This sounds like a very interesting project, lot’s of good things happen in Portland.

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