Technicolor and Mr. X Help Make The Strain Infectiously Entertaining

Technicolor Creative Services brings production and VFX expertise to Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain.

Technicolor’s Toronto creative team provided on-location services, dailies, and complete picture & sound post to the show’s first through third seasons.
Technicolor’s VFX brand Mr. X provided an array of production services, including: Design & Previsualization, VFX Supervision, Digital Environments, VFX Editorial, Art Direction & Creature Design, 3D Animation, CGI Effects, and VFX Compositing

The third season of Guillermo del Toro’s award-winning thriller series, The Strain, kicks off later this month to audiences on FX Network. The show follows Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his CDC Canary team as they battle against an ancient strain of vampirism that has started to spread across the globe. "The close creative collaboration with Technicolor and Mr. X has been vital in elevating The Strain and every project we work on,” says show creator Guillermo del Toro.

Shot in Toronto, Technicolor and its VFX brand Mr. X have worked on the series since its premiere in July, 2014, providing on-location services, dailies and complete picture and sound post. In addition, Technicolor’s Mr. X brand has been the lead VFX house on the series, delivering more than 3,500 shots over seasons 1-3. Del Toro added, “their enormous energy, know-how and invention has given us an edge we would not have otherwise.”

Seasons 1-3 leveraged Technicolor’s remote sound mixing capabilities with all mix playbacks and reviews taking place at the client’s location. Technicolor created a sound room within The Strain post production office in Los Angeles that mirrors the speaker setup and quality of its Toronto mix stage, allowing clients to monitor the mix and collaborate with the mixing team in real-time without leaving Los Angeles.

The Strain returns for its third season Sunday, Aug. 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX.

Click here for a comprehensive case study on The Strain.