Eden FX is the visual effects (VFX) house responsible for producing computer generated effects seen in Star Trek: Voyager's seventh season and all four seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise. The company was formed in July 2000 by Digital Muse's John Gross and Digital Magic's Mark F. Miller. Gross' and Miller's founding team, some of those following them from Digital Muse, were among others, Bruce Branit, David Lombardi, Fred Pienkos and Brandon MacDougall of Foundation Imaging. Eden's staff was significantly reinforced upon the closure of Foundation Imaging in 2002 as several former employees of the latter joined their former co-worker MacDougall at the new company, bringing along with them the added advantage of having already worked specifically on Star Trek. After Foundation closed, Eden FX was the sole supplier of CGI for the last three seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise, the first time the television franchise relied on a single supplier for these effect. Eden FX also provided additional VFX for Star Trek Nemesis. Though the company itself did not receive credit for the feature, its employees working on it at the time did. The company is located only a few minutes away from the Paramount Pictures lot in Hollywood. [1]
The company has won Emmy Awards for their VFX on Voyager's series finale, "Endgame", and the Enterprise episodes "Broken Bow" and "Countdown" and received nominations for the Voyager episode "Workforce" and the Enterprise episodes "Breaking the Ice", "Dead Stop", "The Expanse", and "The Council".
The loss of the Star Trek account in 2005, after Enterprise was canceled – ending for the time being the live-action franchise – came as a severe blow to Eden FX as it had up till then been their primary account. A substantial number of employees, including former Foundation "refugees", had to be laid off. Most of them however, quickly found new gainful employment at the effects house Zoic Studios which provided the digital VFX for Ronald D. Moore's then recently revamped Battlestar Galactica franchise. At Zoic these former Eden staffers helped that successful franchise to its slew of Emmy Award nominations and wins, just like they had done for the Star Trek franchise.
Eden FX specializes in various effects techniques: 3D animation, digital matte painting, character animation, compositing, on-set supervision, and conceptual design. In addition to Star Trek, they have done effects work on such television programs as J.J. Abrams' Alias and Lost, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Office, Ghost Whisperer, and 24, and blockbuster films like Hellboy, Miami Vice, The Passion of the Christ, Spider-Man 3, Superman Returns, and Syriana. They have also worked on commercials for the likes of Kellogg's, Wendy's, and Nokia.
In 2007, Eden FX ended its independent existence when it was acquired by the larger Point.360 company, though Eden FX kept its identity initially as a separate entity within the group. [2] Both Miller and Gross were retained as managers for the company they founded, though, as of 2013, Eden FX is no longer recognized as a separate entity on Point.360's official site.
Staff[]
- Robert Bonchune (2002-2004, CGI Supervisor)
- Bruce Branit (2000-2004, CGI Supervisor/Lead CGI Animator)
- Benjamin Burnett
- Pierre Drolet (2002-2006, Lead CGI Artist)
- Eric Hance (2003-2010, Visual Effects Supervisor)
- Sherry Hitch (2002, Digital Compositor)
- Sean Jackson
- Gabriel Koerner
- Koji Kuramura (2002-2006, Lead CGI Artist)
- Joseph J. Lawson
- David Lombardi (2000-2001, Visual Effects Supervisor)
- Brandon MacDougall (2000-2006, Computer Modeler)
- Josh McGuire (2001, Visual Effects Artist)
- Dave Morton
- Fred Pienkos (2000-onward, Visual Effects Supervisor)
- Stephen W. Pugh (2002-2012, Visual Effects Producer)
- Steven Rogers
- Sean Scott
- Jacob D. Stephens
- Michael Stetson – Lead CGI Artist
- John Teska (2002-2008, Lead CGI Artist)
- Chris Zapara
Further reading[]
- "Behind the Scenes; Eden FX", John Gross, Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 24, April 2001, pp. 53-58
External links[]
- EdenFX.com(X) – archived official site
- Eden FX at the Internet Movie Database