HOT HOUSE: Rhinofx

A self-described diversified digital studio, New York’s Rhinofx has certainly put its stamp on a broad range of projects, from VFX for film and character animation to photo-realistic TV spots.

A self-described diversified digital studio, New York’s Rhinofx has certainly put its stamp on a broad range of projects, from VFX for film and character animation to photo-realistic TV spots. The same company that created its own proprietary software for what Rick Wagonheim, Rhino’s partner/managing director, says is “probably one of the most unusual opening title sequences” for Halle Berry’s recent film Perfect Stranger, is also the studio behind K-Mart’s CG-animated talking blue light bulb.

“It’s very unusual to find a company that does character CG like the K-Mart spot, and then turn around and do very high-end visual effects for Mercedes,” explains Wagonheim. But that’s exactly what this studio was about when Wagonheim started Rhinofx in August of 2000 with a team of 12 artists and producers from R/Greenberg Associates- at the time, one of the industry’s preeminent digital effects studios (known for its pioneering flying title sequence of Superman and the Diet Coke ads that paired Paula Abdul with Cary Grant).

Rhino pretty much started life at the top, launching seven years ago with an unusually large-sized team and a good amount of high-profile projects. "We took a chance," says Wagonheim.

Jobs included a spot for 3M (which won several awards), a “very unusual” CG animated spot for Levis Dockers and a somewhat controversial job for HBO’s hit drama The Sopranos where they literally brought the dead back to life. Actress Nancy Marchand, who played Tony Soprano’s mother, had died during the off-season and Rhino was asked to create a scene “with a woman who was no longer in existence.” That move landed Wagonheim a guest spot on the Today show to discuss the ethics of bringing a dead person back to life for film.

More of the company’s recent work includes continuing spots for Mercedes and several breathtaking yet stylistically different pieces for Fidelity (one of which inspired this month’s exclusive cover). Wagonheim says Rhino owes its success to its team of artists, producers and creative directors. "Right from the beginning, the concept was that‘it’s all about the talent’ and the diversity of our creative directors," he says. "We also have one of the most international teams in the industry," with artists hailing from London, Tel Aviv, Russia, Bangladesh and Serbia.

Vico Sharabani, one of Rhino’s supervisors/partners, explains that while the company does use a good amount of gear already on the market, including Maya, Digital Fusion, Flame, Inferno and plug-ins from GenArts, the company also does explore new tools when it can.

Sharabani explains that Rhino "develops a lot of our own techniques by further expanding the capabilities of tools that already exist. We don’t feel the necessity to develop proprietary software from scratch, but rather, to build on the strengths of what’s already out there."

Rhinofx’s artists are not only active beta testers. Because of their close relationships with several manufacturers, they often contribute new ideas that end up appearing in future releases. "Different sensibilities require different tools," says Sharabani. Wagonheim agrees: "It really does depend on what you need for each project. Luckily, we have the ability and capability to adapt from one style of work to another. we really are unique in that way."