L.A.-based special effects studio MastersFX (MFX) announced that it has named long-time VFX producer Scott Coulter as its new vice president and executive producer of visual effects.
“Scott is a rare sort. His knowledge is diverse and his skill set is truly unmatched. We’re really excited to welcome him back to MFX,” said company founder and president Todd Masters, noting that the two have had a lengthy working relationship over a couple of decades. “Scott and I worked together more than 15 years ago on early MFX projects such as Demon Knight, Dark Skies and Mortal Kombat. Back then we were using puppets and prosthetics – only. And Scott was there, coming up with great tricks, even then. But it was all practical FX, and long before the birth of digital.”
MFX has evolved over the years to combine both practical and digital effects techniques. The company calls its unique of blending both art forms “dMFX.” Practical and visual FX work from MFX can currently be seen on Spring, Hemlock Grove, The Flash, Arrow, iZombie and Falling Skies, soon to be ending its five-year run on TNT. Additionally, MASTERSFX is currently prepping a new Underworld movie, a television pilot, and a soon-to-be-announced feature film project with Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.
“Because we’ve changed many of the ways we approach FX these days, both Scott and I did a bit of an adjustment over these past many, many years – just working from separate locations and with slightly separate disciplines,” explained Masters. “Most recently, I’ve been helping develop and supervise the art-side of our advanced FX methodologies, while Scott’s been evolving himself into this amazingly creative and experienced, worldwide VFX executive. He’s one of the few FX executives I know of who has seen it all and done it all, from numerous vantage points.”
Coulter is already overseeing day-to-day operations on visual effects at MFX’s Los Angeles headquarters, and is spearheading character and creature design work for their current slate of projects.
“The merging of practical and visual effects is the future of visual design in media, and MastersFX is a world-class company, leading in this space,” Coulter said. “The blending of these disciplines is the greatest challenge moving forward, and this company is the place to perfect this blending and really make it happen.”
Coulter has over three decades of experience in this field, having worked on more than 200 films which have integrated nearly every aspect of special and visual effects. His credits span across numerous feature films, including The Expendables, Conan the Barbarian, Dogma, My Favorite Martian and The Crow.