Toronto post shop Optix Digital Pictures has been wrapped up in an icy universe for the past three months, doing preproduction on the forthcoming sci-fi series Ice Planet, starring Michael Ironside (Starship Troopers).

The 22 x 60 drama, a Canada/Germany copro from producers Daniel D’Or, Philip Jackson and Paul Rapovski of SpaceWorks Entertainment and Germany’s Circles & Lines, was to begin shooting in Toronto on Jan. 8. Ironside stars as Commander Jonas Trager, who leads his crew after they crash on a mysterious planet made of ice.

‘It’s a very large project for us,’ says Optix president George Levai. ‘We’re handling the concept and design of all the CGI elements, including modeling and animation, computer graphics and post-production.’

The shop has been developing the look of the show’s key spaceship since October, while modeling work on the planet’s ice surface got underway in December, followed by lighting and animation.

The series is being shot with the Thomson Grass Valley Viper FilmStream camera in raw-data format recorded to an HDCAM SR deck. Once picture is locked, Levai says Optix will perform the color grading to an image projected from a state-of-the-art Christie system.

Between the editors, color graders, animators and FX supervisors, Optix will use on average 18 to 25 team members throughout post.

SpaceWorks also earlier announced the participation of Toronto’s Fast Motion Studios, which is providing motion-capture material to be married to the CGI.

Ice Planet will be distributed by CHUM Television International and will air on Space later this year, although no exact date has been set.

www.optix.ca