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The 40-year history of the French special effects studio behind The Matrix, Blade Runner 2049, Fight Club, and more cult films
In 1982, during the infancy of computer animation, Pierre Buffin and Henry Seydoux sought to establish themselves in the field of special effects with BSCA (Buffin Seydoux Computer Animation). Back then, everything had to be made from scratch, from inventing the tools and building the teams to creating the first effects. In 1988, they finished a six-minute 3D animation about insects living in a computer, the first “long animation” in France. Extraordinary images rapidly began pouring out of their machines, revolutionizing the style of TV graphics, commercials, and short videos, first in France and then around the world.
While BSCA ended in 1990, Buffin founded BUF in 1984, and in just a few years, it became one of the most important leaders in visual effects, responsible for the “bullet-time effect” seen in The Matrix and “camera-mapping” techniques used in Fight Club. For over 40 years, BUF has provided stunning special effects for more than 75 films—including films two through four in the Matrix franchise, Fight Club, The Dark Knight, Life of Pi, The City of Lost Children, Alexander, and Arthur and the Minimoys—and 800 commercials for leading brands—including Perrier, Levi’s, Air France, and Kenzo.
For the first time, this beautifully illustrated book uncovers BUF’s trade secrets, telling the stories behind some of its collaborations and pioneering projects. Dubbed the studio “where you go when you don’t know what you want,” BUF creates the special effects that nobody else would dare attempt.
Réjane Hamus-Vallée is a university professor at the University of Évry Paris-Saclay, within the Pierre Naville Center, where she directs the master’s program Image and Society: Documentary and Social Sciences. Her research focuses primarily on special effects, film industry professions, and visual and filmic sociology. She is the editor of Sociologie de l’image, sociologie par l’image, CinémAction, 2013). Caroline Renouard is a senior lecturer and academic coordinator at the University of Lorraine in Metz. A specialist in special effects, she coauthored with Réjane Hamus-Vallée the titles Superviseur des effets visuels pour le cinéma (Eyrolles, 2015), Les Effets spéciaux au cinéma: 120 ans de création en France et dans le monde (2018), and Truquer, Créer, Innover: Les effets spéciaux en France (2024, with Giusy Pisano).
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