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Spectrum FX
Spectrum FX focuses on mechanical special effects, including pyrotechnics, weather machines, and aerial rigging.

Spectrum FX is an American special effects and production company based in Slidell, Louisiana. It operates in the USA and worldwide, providing pyrotechnics, mechanical rigs, and other visual effects for more than 300 movies and TV shows.

Work
Spectrum FX focuses on mechanical special effects, including pyrotechnics, weather machines, and aerial rigging.

Their special effects team works closely with each project’s Director of Photography to achieve the desired shot. For example, they created the car-roll mechanism for the climactic scene of 10 Cloverfield Lane[ ], allowing Mary Elizabeth Winstead to perform the stunt herself.

Spectrum FX also uses hydraulics to create motion bases, which allow large props and sets to move during action sequences. For Piranha 3D, they built a rig to safely tilt a floating stage, as well as an enormous water tank to shoot the film’s action sequences. The team coordinated with the props department to construct complex boat sets that accommodated hydraulic effects. They rigged the glass-bottom boat on a gimbal, creating the illusion of the boat breaking and sinking. Similar to 10 Cloverfield Lane, they also built a rig to allow cast members to safely perform stunts in the climactic scene.[ ]

Other notable motion-base projects include the lifeboat for Captain Phillips, the airplane for Snakes on a Plane, and the train for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.

They coordinate with digital effects studios to integrate practical effects and stunts, as in their collaboration with WETA Digital on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.[ ]

The company also builds customized rigs to create the illusion of flight or acrobatic stunts, as in their work on Blades of Glory.[ ]

History
Spectrum FX was established in Santa Clarita, California in 1993[ ] by Matt Kutcher Sr. Other early projects include Tombstone, Cliffhanger, and Fire in the Sky''. Although the company was based in California, they occasionally worked on New Orleans sets. Their first'' was Interview with the Vampire in 1994[ ]. Over the years, Kutcher noticed an increase in Louisiana-based film workers and began to hire more local crew members for his New Orleans projects.[ ]

While working on 2012’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter in Louisiana, Spectrum FX hired only in-state Louisiana talent.[ ], creating 18 new jobs. [ ] This proved to Kutcher that working out of Louisiana was possible[ ]. He decided to move the company to Harahan, Louisiana, and they later relocated to their current homebase Slidell[ ].

Louisiana Operations
Spectrum FX taps into Louisiana’s thriving film industry, which has benefitted from a 2002 tax credit[ ][ ] and its overall infrastructure for the growth of “Hollywood South.”[ ] Louisiana now ranks third in U.S. film production; New Orleans alone has 1,000 full-time workers in the industry.[ ]

The company has since gained repute as a Louisiana-based family business[ ] that hires talent locally[ ]. They have led local training seminars in New Orleans to help regional workers gain skills to work in film production[ ], as well as training at Loyola University and for local fire departments and law enforcement agencies.

The company is an Entertainment Partner with the organization NOVAC[ ], which strives to develop Louisiana’s workforce for the film and video industry.

Team
Spectrum FX is owned by its founder, Matt Kutcher, and his wife Lisa Kutcher.[ ] Their sons, Zack Kutcher and Matt Kutcher Jr., are both special effects coordinators with the company.[ [ ]

Kutcher Sr. has taught Special Effects for Film as an adjunct professor at Loyola University New Orleans. He was featured as a pyrotechnics expert on the Science Channel’s show “Strange Evidence,”[ ][ ][ ] which uses special f/x techniques to test possible explanations for bizarre security cam footage.

Operations Coordinator Donnie Dean is a special effects coordinator who has worked on a range of films and TV shows. He won an Emmy for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for American Horror Story: Freak Show.[ ]

Awards and Accolades

Spectrum FX has been nominated for 7 awards over its 29-year tenure.

At the 2014 VES Awards, Matt Kutcher and the Spectrum FX team won Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture[ ] for their work on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The film has been praised[ ] for its seamless integration of motion-capture technology, cinematography, and CGI animation. Spectrum FX’s engineers worked closely with New Zealand FX company Weta Digital, known for The Lord of the Rings and Avatar. They focused on practical effects, stunt work, and pyrotechnics to complement Weta’s computer-generated creatures.[ ]

Kutcher won in the Visual Effects category[ ] for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes at the Satellite Awards.

The company has received a Primetime Emmy for its work on American Horror Story: Freak Show. The award was granted to Spectrum FX’s lead special f/x coordinator, Donnie Dean.[ ] He stated that the visual effects required immense coordination, such as mechanical rigging to make the circus tents appear to be outdoors rather than on a soundstage.[ ]

Spectrum FX also received a VES nomination for The First.[ ]

References