Spectrum FX Puts Trust in Look Solutions Fog and HazeA family-owned business, Spectrum FX has been making effects for TV and film across the globe for over 30 years. Founded by Matt Kutcher, the company spans every aspect of the special effects industry, from concept and design, to actualization. They can simulate superpowers, or even make floods, fire, or earthquakes happen on demand. The team chooses Look Solutions for all their atmospheric fog and haze effects. Zack Kutcher is the second generation of this family business. A special effects coordinator, alongside his brother Matt "Smalls" Kutcher, the pair grew up on set watching their father, Matt, work magic on set. The team has expanded over the years, becoming as much a production company as a special effects company, with the addition of Donnie Dean, Ty Abrahams and Justin Johnson, this family business is facilitating huge growth, drawing on the wealth of talent that each member brings. Zack Kutcher explains why the relationship with Look Solutions USA has endured through the years. "Special effects were our childhood growing up, now we're doing it full time as coordinators, it's pretty cool," he says. "Everyone on set prefers Look Solutions; SAG [Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists] trusts it, and crew and cast find it the cleanest across the board. Look Solutions offers the most consistent results across its whole range of products." Look Solutions USA began bringing the German manufacturer's products to the US 25 years ago. The solutions used have not changed, so there are decades of data and evidence showing how safe they are to work near. It is this reliability that makes it a solid choice for film and TV sets and, as Kutcher continues, is a key factor in Spectrum FX's choice to use the products. "Atmospheric effects are not something people get excited about working around on set," Kutcher explains. "Having the support of Look Solutions USA has been great, the comprehensive safety data sheets mean we can show everyone that the products are safe to breathe. We've been using them for a long time, we have over two dozen machines, not including our Tiny machines, and everyone fights over them in the warehouse." The Spectrum FX team provides effects for multiple shows at the same time, so applications can vary hugely. Dean recently completed work on Sinners, a highly successful feature film, grossing over $365.7 million worldwide and Matt "Smalls" Kutcher just wrapped Season 3 of Tulsa King a Taylor Sheridan TV series starring Sylvester Stallone. "We also used Look Solutions on American Primeval, which is currently nominated for an Emmy for Best Cinematography," Zack continues. "We truly believe the atmosphere we created using Look Solutions tools, alongside the incredible work of Jacques Jouffret, played a role in helping the show earn that nomination." Zack's current project is The Chosen, a drama produced by 5&2 Productions and released in 2019. The first season was crowd funded, making it the most successful crowd-funded TV series in television history. It is currently filming its sixth. Constantly balancing the wishes of the director of photography and their desire for a specific effect, with the comfort of the crew and cast always in mind, can be a challenge for all special effects teams. It is the ability of being able to support crews with Look Solutions USA data and reliability that has helped maintain the lasting relationship between the companies. "We initially bought Look Solutions machines about 15 years ago, but started to use them all the time in around 2014. Dad took a bit of convincing, he'd been using different brands for 20 years, but once we had the Vipers on the shelves, he saw the benefits!" Kutcher recalls. "We deliver constant air quality control tracking on set and Look Solutions machines are very good at being consistent. I have three different monitors with a dashboard and every hour we track the air-quality and total weight of fog in the air. Look Solutions machines are so consistent that we can be really precise, which enables us to fine tune the parameters exactly to the requirements on set. They are just super reliable." Kutcher admits he is not kind to his equipment, often building Power Tiny or Tiny S machines into set pieces to deliver the required effect. Thanks to the robust engineering of the machines, professionals like the team from Spectrum FX can strip them back and squeeze them into all sorts of places. One memorable effect is the smoke grenade featured on Looks Solutions USA and Spectrum FX socials. By stripping-back a Tiny FX and custom designing 3D printed wedges to support the mechanism inside a prop canister, Kutcher created a smoke effect that could be reliably controlled and deliver a repeatable effect on set. "We really abuse them!" he exclaims. "We take them apart and take the batteries off of them so we can get the head into different places. We use them in cars a lot, perhaps for a smoking hood. I've taken them apart and stuffed them in all kinds of things that the production team want smoking for various reasons. They can get a little finicky every now and again, but it's hard to say something isn't super reliable when you take them apart and beat them up for 12 hours a day, all year long." The Look Solutions Tiny range can also be used in less destructive applications, adding accurate and defined accents to a scene. Offering a range of remote and direct triggering, operation is flexible and dependable, adapting to any situation easily. "The Tiny S is great for little kitchen effects, giving off a small amount of smoke exactly where it's needed," Kutcher continues. "We use the Vipers as a base level, then if there is any extra needed, we use the Power Tinys to waft in extra smoke, just beneath the camera lens. They can get right to where they're needed. The smoke grenade effect is a great example, someone can pull the pin and throw it, making it spin on the ground and have smoke spiral out. The Tinys are really useful for those intricate little smoke gags. The whole range is great." Professional machines have to withstand difficult environments and deliver reliable results in any condition. As Kutcher concludes, Look Solutions USA provides not only the equipment, but also the support and expertise that is essential to making excellent entertainment at the highest level of production. "We have been using them almost exclusively for 11 years. I've run them through mud, dirt and half submerged in water. I totally abuse them, and they keep running. They might blow a pump eventually, but those are easily replaced. These are great products that are super reliable for us to use. The team are great too, they have been really good to us, our family and our company. We just love them." 
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