New Deal Studios is an effects house in California that has been worked on high-profile projects for over 20 years. Some of the films they’ve worked on include Interstellar, The Aviator, Dark Knight Rises, Hugo, The Avengers, Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Watchmen, I Am Legend, Night At The Museum 2, Alice in Wonderland, and Inception. Their work has received awards from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Visual Effects Society, & The British Film and Television Academy.

New Deal offers a variety of effects services, but they are one of the few studios in the world that specializes in shooting miniatures. On top of that, they also place priority on treating their employees right, another rarity in an industry where overtime abuse runs rampant.

Jeff Jasper is our guest on this episode. He started at the company as a digital artist and compositor. Over the years he has worked his way up to technical lead and digital effects supervisor. Jeff came on the podcast to discuss

• When to shoot miniatures and when to use digital effects
• Some of the special considerations for planning a miniatures sequence
• What has caused a number of other effects companies to go out of business
• How treating employees with consideration can lead to better work
• The work New Deal Studios did on The Dark Knight, Hugo, and Interstellar

After the interview, I discuss my take on some of the Christopher Nolan films and the hidden ciphers you need to understand them properly.

Listen to the Episode