VFX expert Chris Bremble on secrets behind stunning sci-fi films

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"The real exciting part of the story is just being written," Chris Bremble, founder and CEO of Emmy Award-winning visual effects company Base FX, told CGTN as he spoke about the future of China's visual effects industry during the ninth Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF).

Beginning his career in the film industry as a writer, Bremble has been pushing the limits of film production for more than 20 years. In 2006, he founded Base FX in Beijing, which would later become one of the top-tier visual effects studios in the Chinese film industry.

Stills from movies, which Base FX participated in and worked on the visual effects shots for. /Photos courtesy of Base FX

Over a decade after its establishment, the company has grown from its original plus-10-strong team to 770 staff members across the globe with offices in China's Beijing, Wuxi and Xiamen, Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur, and Los Angeles in the United States.

Base FX has taken part in an array of productions in China and Hollywood. Its work portfolio includes acclaimed TV series "Agent Carter" and "True Detective," as well as 2015 Chinese box-office hit "Monster Hunt," Zhang Yimou's 2016 epic feature "The Great Wall," and Jiang Wen's 2018 action comedy "Hidden Man."

Base FX has pocketed three Emmy trophies for Outstanding Special Visual Effects. /Photo courtesy of Base FX

Bremble and his team have pocketed three Emmys for their "Outstanding Special Visual Effects" work on the Starz series "Black Sails" (2010) and two HBO series, "The Pacific" (2011) and "Boardwalk Empire" (2014).

Bremble and BJIFF

Bremble is also a frequent guest at BJIFF. Successive iterations of the film festival witnessed some of the biggest highlights of the company's history.

At the third edition of BJIFF, Base FX signed an expanded cooperation deal with Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), further strengthening its strategic alliance with the Hollywood visual effects powerhouse.

Chris Bremble (C) participates in a panel discussion at the International Digital Cinema Technology Forum during the ninth BJIFF at Beijing Hotel in Beijing, China, April 16, 2019. /CGTN Photo

Two years later, at the same event, Base FX jointly launched the China Post Production Alliance (CPPA) with other three Chinese companies to promote and enhance the development of visual effects in the country.

This year, Bremble was invited to attend the International Digital Cinema Technology Forum, and participate in a panel discussion.

'A new adventure'

Ahead of the event, Bremble spoke to CGTN about a range of topics. He described his decision to stay in Beijing and start his studio as "one of the best" he made in his life.

Despite his achievements, Bremble admitted that significant challenges lie ahead.

Chris Bremble, founder and CEO of Emmy Award-winning visual effects company Base FX, speaks to CGTN during the ninth BJIFF. /CGTN Photo

"We're a little smaller in China than we used to be. We're growing a little bit more in Malaysia,” he said, adding, "That's been a new adventure for us. But we certainly see China as home and we'll stay home."

As the Chinese appetite for big-budget and effects-driven movies grows, Bremble noted that "There's been a lot of press about the growth of the Chinese film industry and its rise to be the number two industry in the world. I think that the real exciting part of the story is just being written."

"Now, I think what lies ahead of us is not fast growth, but deep and broad efforts to pull the world into films and experiences that are part of the Chinese culture or come from the Chinese experience," he said.

Want to learn more? Watch the interview video at the beginning of this article!

(Video by Hong Yaobin; Cover image by Li Jingjie)