BUF Compagnie
Encyclopedia
BUF Compagnie is a French
visual effects
company, specializing in CGI
for feature films, commercials, and music videos.
, California
, BUF Compagnie (BUF) was founded by Pierre Buffin in 1984. The company develops new software advances in visual effects
(VFX) and computer animation
for feature films, commercials, music videos and special venue projects. BUF’s pre and postproduction services have earnt industry nominations for Best Visual Effects and awarded innumerable technical achievement awards .
BUF is credited with pioneering in the following fields : stereo-modeling and camera mapping techniques in production; the development of motion blur post-process and camera tracking software; creating ‘freezing-effect’; conceiving 3D camera movements in a photorealistic environment reproduced by utilizing still photographic images; introducing new software that simulates clothing; producing invisible continuous shots between live action and full CG; advancing singular character animation software; introducing crowd generation and management techniques along with new fluids and solid dynamics systems; creating original tools dedicated to animation and paint3D and launching the ‘bullet time’ effect created for “The “Matrix” franchise, which was directly inspired by the research carried out by BUF while working on Michel Gondry
's "Like A Rolling Stone"http://www.buf.com/WORK/project.php?id=573 music video in 1996.http://www.buf.com/ABOUTUS/?class=history
BUF has an animation studio complex in Pantin, France, which developed the entirety of animation for “Arthur and the Minimoys.” of over 1,600 shots requiring the involvement of 20 supervisors and 100 artists at any one time. Buffin also customized the equipment and trained his team of artists to work on every aspect of the structure and creation of the company’s first animated motion picture.
To date, BUF’s commercial division has developed more than 1,000 commercials adopting broad visual methods and technical challenges, to realize the director’s vision on the small screen. BUF’s most recent triumph was the #1 top-rated 2007 Super Bowl advert for Hewlett-Packard. Commercials for Mercedes-Benz, Lancia, Nissan, Peugeot, Canal +, Coca-Cola and Disney, have also been executed by BUF.
As of April 2007, BUF has received 14 awards for Best Visual Effects and 20 additional nominations and accolades in Technical Cinematic Excellence. The company has won eight Clio Awards, the advertising industry’s highest honour, and five Music Video Awards for The Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna and White Stripes. Other music video credits include Lenny Kravitz, Björk, Nina Hagen, Terence Trent d’Arby, Air, Emilie Simon, Chemical Brothers, Melanie Blatt, Ginger Ale, Daft Punk, Texas, All Saints and Foo Fighters.
Graphic design is a further extension of BUF’s expertise, having executed principal branding campaigns for Disney, Coca-Cola, Citroën, General Electric, Lexus, Paramount Pictures, Studio Canal, Europa and Metropolitan.
As a broadly documented resource in the VFX domain, BUF has been integral to numerous publications, textbooks, industry reference books and manuals, including The Animation Business Handbook, Rendering with mental ray, Monte Carlo and Quasi-Monte Carlo Methods 2004, Cyberarts 2000: International Compendium Prix Ars Electronica, Comic Art of Europe Through 2000: An International Bibliography.
The company Buffin was built into a $250 million business over 23 years. By forming an on-the-job learning Academy for young professional artists, BUF now employs a large percentage of its workforce directly from specialized universities across Europe, with a median age of 25.
BUF continues to carry out numerous diverse VFX projects for feature films. Buffin is also mounting two literary adaptations destined for animated films, one from a Jules Verne novel and another from Lewis Carroll. In addition, BUF has two live-action projects and two animated sequels to “Arthur and the Minimoys” in development.
Already in discussions with several U.S. entities on this front, Buffin is presently producing pilots and two motion picture projects in Los Angeles.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
company, specializing in CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
for feature films, commercials, and music videos.
History
Based in Paris, France and Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, BUF Compagnie (BUF) was founded by Pierre Buffin in 1984. The company develops new software advances in visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
(VFX) and computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
for feature films, commercials, music videos and special venue projects. BUF’s pre and postproduction services have earnt industry nominations for Best Visual Effects and awarded innumerable technical achievement awards .
Technology
BUF’s research and development group is composed of 13 engineers.BUF is credited with pioneering in the following fields : stereo-modeling and camera mapping techniques in production; the development of motion blur post-process and camera tracking software; creating ‘freezing-effect’; conceiving 3D camera movements in a photorealistic environment reproduced by utilizing still photographic images; introducing new software that simulates clothing; producing invisible continuous shots between live action and full CG; advancing singular character animation software; introducing crowd generation and management techniques along with new fluids and solid dynamics systems; creating original tools dedicated to animation and paint3D and launching the ‘bullet time’ effect created for “The “Matrix” franchise, which was directly inspired by the research carried out by BUF while working on Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
's "Like A Rolling Stone"http://www.buf.com/WORK/project.php?id=573 music video in 1996.http://www.buf.com/ABOUTUS/?class=history
BUF has an animation studio complex in Pantin, France, which developed the entirety of animation for “Arthur and the Minimoys.” of over 1,600 shots requiring the involvement of 20 supervisors and 100 artists at any one time. Buffin also customized the equipment and trained his team of artists to work on every aspect of the structure and creation of the company’s first animated motion picture.
To date, BUF’s commercial division has developed more than 1,000 commercials adopting broad visual methods and technical challenges, to realize the director’s vision on the small screen. BUF’s most recent triumph was the #1 top-rated 2007 Super Bowl advert for Hewlett-Packard. Commercials for Mercedes-Benz, Lancia, Nissan, Peugeot, Canal +, Coca-Cola and Disney, have also been executed by BUF.
As of April 2007, BUF has received 14 awards for Best Visual Effects and 20 additional nominations and accolades in Technical Cinematic Excellence. The company has won eight Clio Awards, the advertising industry’s highest honour, and five Music Video Awards for The Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna and White Stripes. Other music video credits include Lenny Kravitz, Björk, Nina Hagen, Terence Trent d’Arby, Air, Emilie Simon, Chemical Brothers, Melanie Blatt, Ginger Ale, Daft Punk, Texas, All Saints and Foo Fighters.
Graphic design is a further extension of BUF’s expertise, having executed principal branding campaigns for Disney, Coca-Cola, Citroën, General Electric, Lexus, Paramount Pictures, Studio Canal, Europa and Metropolitan.
As a broadly documented resource in the VFX domain, BUF has been integral to numerous publications, textbooks, industry reference books and manuals, including The Animation Business Handbook, Rendering with mental ray, Monte Carlo and Quasi-Monte Carlo Methods 2004, Cyberarts 2000: International Compendium Prix Ars Electronica, Comic Art of Europe Through 2000: An International Bibliography.
The company Buffin was built into a $250 million business over 23 years. By forming an on-the-job learning Academy for young professional artists, BUF now employs a large percentage of its workforce directly from specialized universities across Europe, with a median age of 25.
BUF continues to carry out numerous diverse VFX projects for feature films. Buffin is also mounting two literary adaptations destined for animated films, one from a Jules Verne novel and another from Lewis Carroll. In addition, BUF has two live-action projects and two animated sequels to “Arthur and the Minimoys” in development.
Already in discussions with several U.S. entities on this front, Buffin is presently producing pilots and two motion picture projects in Los Angeles.
Films
- The City of Lost ChildrenThe City of Lost ChildrenThe City of Lost Children is a dystopian French fantasy/drama film by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet released in 1995. The film is stylistically related to the previous and subsequent Jeunet films, Delicatessen and Amélie. It was entered into the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:A mad scientist,...
(1994) - Batman & Robin (1997)
- Fight ClubFight Club (film)Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job...
(1999) - The CellThe CellThe Cell is a 2000 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Tarsem Singh, and starring Jennifer Lopez in the lead role.-Plot:...
(2000) - Panic Room (2002)
- S1m0neS1m0neS1m0ne is a 2002 science fiction comedy film written, produced and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Rachel Roberts, Evan Rachel Wood, Winona Ryder and Rebecca Romijn.-Plot:...
(2002) - Matrix Reloaded (2003)
- Matrix Revolutions (2003)
- Van HelsingVan Helsing (film)Van Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
(2004) - Finding NeverlandFinding NeverlandFinding Neverland is a 2004 semi-biographical film about playwright J. M. Barrie and his relationship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan, directed by Marc Forster. The screenplay by David Magee is based on the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee...
(2004) - 20462046 (film)2046 is a 2004 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It is a loose sequel to the 1991 Hong Kong film Days of Being Wild and the 2000 Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love...
(2004) - AlexanderAlexander (film)Alexander is a 2004 epic film based on the life of Alexander the Great. It is not a remake of the 1956 film which starred Richard Burton. It was directed by Oliver Stone, with Colin Farrell in the title role...
(2004) - Batman BeginsBatman BeginsBatman Begins is a 2005 American superhero action film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson,...
(2005) - Angel-AAngel-AAngel-A , directed by Luc Besson, is a French fantasy and romantic drama featuring Jamel Debbouze and Rie Rasmussen. The film was premiered in the United States at the Sundance Film Festival of 2007.- Plot :...
(2005) - Revolver (2005)
- Three Burials of Melquiades EstradaThe Three Burials of Melquiades EstradaThe Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is a 2005 American drama film directed by Tommy Lee Jones and written by Guillermo Arriaga. It stars Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Julio Cedillo, and Dwight Yoakam....
(2005) - Once Upon a Time in the Oued (2005)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy film directed by Mike Newell and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
(2005) - Silent HillSilent Hill (film)Silent Hill is a 2006 horror film directed by Christophe Gans and written by Roger Avary. The story is an adaptation of the Silent Hill series of survival horror video games created by Konami. The film, particularly its emotional, religious and aesthetic content as well as its creature design,...
(2006) - The PrestigeThe Prestige (film)The Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century...
(2006) - United 93United 93 (film)United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
(2006) - Arthur and the InvisiblesArthur and the InvisiblesArthur and the Invisibles is a French/American part-animated, part-live action feature film adaptation of the 2002 children's book Arthur et les minimoys / Arthur and the Minimoys, and the 2003 sequel Arthur et la cité interdite /...
(2006) - Our Earthmen FriendsOur Earthmen FriendsOur Earthmen Friends is a French movie released in April 2007 and produced by Claude Lelouch. It has been adapted from the play written by Bernard Werber Nos Amis Les Humains.-Plot:...
(2007) - Spider-Man 3Spider-Man 3Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 American superhero film written and directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent. It is the third film in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
(2007) - Mr. Magorium's Wonder EmporiumMr. Magorium's Wonder EmporiumMr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is a 2007 film written and directed by Zach Helm. The film stars Dustin Hoffman as the owner of a magical toy store, and Natalie Portman as his store employee.-Plot:...
(2007) - Two Worlds (2007)
- Big CityBig CityBig City may refer to:* Big City , a fictional future city in Antarctica*The Big City , directed by Tod Browning*Big City , a 1937 film, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Luise Rainer and Spencer Tracy...
(2007) - Dante 01Dante 01Dante 01 is a science fiction film by French director Marc Caro. It is the first solo directing effort by Caro, who is well-known for his directing collaborations with Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The film was released in 2008.-Plot:...
(2008) - Asterix at the Olympic GamesAstérix at the Olympic Games (film)Asterix at the Olympic Games is a French film, adapted from René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo's Astérix comic series. It was filmed essentially in Spain in the course of the year 2006. Its €78 million budget makes it one of the most expensive European movies ever...
(2008) - Be Kind RewindBe Kind RewindBe Kind Rewind is a 2008 American comedy film with dramatic elements from New Line Cinema, written and directed by Michel Gondry and starring Jack Black, Mos Def, Melonie Diaz, Danny Glover and Mia Farrow. The film first appeared on January 20, 2008 at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. It was later...
(2008) - Speed RacerSpeed Racer (film)Speed Racer is a 2008 American live action film adaptation of Tatsuo Yoshida's 1960s Japanese anime series of the same name, produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The film is written and directed by the Wachowskis...
(2008) - The Dark KnightThe Dark Knight (film)The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
(2008) - Babylon A.D. (2008)
- City of EmberCity of EmberCity of Ember is a 2008 science fiction-fantasy film based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Jeanne DuPrau. It was directed by Gil Kenan from a screenplay by Caroline Thompson, and stars Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Bill Murray, Mackenzie Crook, Martin Landau and Tim Robbins.-Plot:In the...
(2008) - RickyRickyRicky may refer to:*Ricky , a diminutive of Richard, Fredrick or Patrick*Ricky , UK indie band*Ricky , song by "Weird Al" Yankovic, the title of which refers to:*Rickmansworth, town in England...
(2009) - Solomon KaneSolomon KaneSolomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. A late 16th / early 17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a sombre-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanquish evil in all its forms...
(2009) - SpliceSplice (film)Splice is a 2009 Canadian/French science fiction horror film directed by Vincenzo Natali and starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley. The story concerns experiments in genetic engineering being done by a young scientist couple who attempt to introduce human DNA into their work of splicing animal...
(2009) - In the BeginningIn the Beginning (2009 film)In the Beginning is a 2009 French drama film directed by Xavier Giannoli. The film competed in the main competition at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.- Cast :* François Cluzet* Gérard Depardieu* Emmanuelle Devos* Brice Fournier - Louis* Roch Leibovici...
(2009) - KnowingKnowing (film)Knowing is a 2009 American-British science fiction film directed by Alex Proyas and starring Nicolas Cage. The project was originally attached to a number of directors under Columbia Pictures, but it was placed in turnaround and eventually picked up by Escape Artists. Production was financially...
(2009) - Enter the VoidEnter the VoidEnter the Void is a French film written and directed by Gaspar Noé, starring Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, and Cyril Roy. Set in the neon-lit nightclub environments of Tokyo, the story follows Oscar, a young American drug dealer who gets shot by the police, but continues to watch succeeding...
(2009) - Arthur and the Vengeance of MaltazardArthur and the Vengeance of MaltazardArthur and the Revenge of Maltazard is an French/American feature film with live action and animation co-written, co-produced and directed by Luc Besson, based on his novel of the same title and starring Freddie Highmore and Mia Farrow...
(2009) - Avatar (2009)
- Arthur and the two worlds war (2010)
- ThorThor (film)Thor is a 2011 American superhero film based on the comic book character of the same name published by Marvel Comics. It is the fourth film released as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
(2011)