In the middle of Tijuana Zona Rio lies a creative hub,
making a name for itself in the entertainment industry.
More and more Hollywood productions
and different visual entertainment companies
are looking to outsource their work
to become more efficient.
Sometimes abroad of way like India, Europe Eastern Europe,
or so on, but believe it or not Baja
and specifically Tijuana is becoming also a hub
for special effects services for big time productions.
We're gonna meet the company at the forefront of that.
It's right here in TJ.
It's called Boxel and you're gonna get to see it right now.
This place is no joke, no shortage of talent
but we want to know how this well-oiled machine functions.
Okay, so the man in charge of the operation here at Boxel
is the a guy standing next to me.
His name is Andres Botello.
How are you doing my friend?
- Fine thank you. (laughs)
- So Andres like, talk to me about your operation.
First of all, what are you...
What does Boxel specialize in?
- We specialize in three specific markets animation,
going from script to final animated delivery.
If we go modeling rigging, shading, texturing, set assembly,
lighting and shading, rendering and compositing
and delivering the final product.
- Correct.
- Visual effects for live action, we receive the plates
and we basically separate all the production processes
that need to be done for all of the plates
and we do that.
So live action, animation,
and we have an interactive division.
So that's what we do at Boxel.
Boxel we use technology to solve creative
and visual endeavors for producers.
They'll say, we already film the live action series
and there's a lot of cables to be removed in a stunt,
or there's a lot of muscle flashes
to be incorporated in a gun.
Most of the big productions are now
breaking their productions because they're so massive.
The amount of shots that they require
for their films.
- Okay.
- Are just ridiculous.
They want what we call the California solution.
They want visual effects and technology producers here
that can provide an efficiency of producing the content.
Cheap is definitely not a driving factor
and we're actually not going for cheap.
We consider ourselves cost efficient.
- Okay.
- And the reason that we're cost efficient is
because cost of living.
You have to really understand
what is the mark and the expectation
of the production values that you're going to invest.
Production values can be a little bit sacrificed
but if the story is strong enough
people will actually let it go.
- Yeah.
- But if the story is not good
and you put all your money into production values--
- Even if there are amazing effects.
- People will criticize you deeply.
- You're not just a tool them you're actually assisting.
- Correct, we are in meetings in production
from the get go of the writing.
- You're affecting the story.
- And that's where I think we add a lot of value
being very near in California.
I think that one of the key inhibitors
of this industry is a good communication
being really clear on the expectation of the work
that you're going to do, so yes.
- I don't like this frame,
I need access to you to tell you exactly what I do want.
- Hey, can you drive up guys.
I need to explain this because it just...
Putting it on email is going to be so difficult.
Sometimes when you're incorporated too late
into the equation, which has happened to us,
now you become more of a problem solver.
Than actually somebody that's consulting
and adding value to that production.
Everybody has one thing in common.
- The objective, right?
- They wanna finish and they wanna finish in time
and with a quality that they want.
We have actually hired people from Canada
to come in for certain productions
or from other parts of the world.
They're willing to work in Mexico
for a specific time of period.
- Oh , nice. - And...
But they're not willing to do it for less
- They wanna get paid
what they were getting paid over there.
- Correct. - Right.
- The closeness plays a role
in the type of talent that we can attract.
- Okay
- Not a role
on making it cheaper. - Right.
- We have artists here that worked on movies like Deadpool.
We have artists that work on movies
like Justice League that combed in other shots
We have artists that worked in Star Wars
in big studios in Canada that are wanting to give back.
So they come back from Canada
they stay here with us for a couple of months.
They work with us -- - Oh, they're given like
shops to your guys?
- Shops and worked on shots for our projects,
because - Wow!
- What they want...
What we want to do is provide to our producers
top-notch visual effects talent
for their independent films.
- How many of your employees here are from Baja?
- Okay, about 50% are from Baja.
- And the rest? - And the rest
are divided between Mexico City, Guadalajara Jalisco
and some of them from different parts of Mexico.
We have people from Chiapas - Okay.
- From Pachuca.
- But are they're all on locationed here
or you're working remotely with those people?
- No, no, no,
all of them here. - Really?
- Yeah sorry we're responsible for increasing,
(laughs)
the demographics of the city.
But yes yes.
And most of those artists come for a specific production
but some of them really started start loving Tijuana.
And there's many people from TJ that did their careers here
and they're working on big, big, major studios in Canada
that have worked on big block baster movie in very big shots
for Sony pictures, The Shallows
we're working on some of those shots,
for History Channel and A&E we did a night, two, three
and four for the series Roots.
- People don't know that there's even
like full blown series being fully shot
in Baja as we speak.
- Yes. - For like Netflix, AMC.
- I think the proof that we're capable of delivering
it's now here and it exists and it's real.
Can you do the shots?
Can I film a series in TJ?
Yes, now it's a matter of growing that business.
- The skill of their staff has allowed them to
even launch a fully animated feature
and to work significantly with productions in Tinseltown.
(car screeching)
- Everything that has to do with creative,
everything from color pallette, lighting, scripts
passes through this wonderful artists hands.
And all of artists are...
Well, this type of artists are enabled with 3D printers.
So they can actually print in what they're working on.
- You molded this on the computer.
- Yeah, you model it and then you print it
and then you print it out
and then you get the basic shape of it.
So the guys are animating and in 3D that series.
So most of this are animators
and there giving life to those characters.
- Nice.
- Yep yep all of these guys are layout.
These guys are the first guys that are seeing
the actual movie in 3D space now with the actual sets.
Because this is a 3D animated production,
storyboard is done in 2D.
And then that storyboard will get
in between frames to give it time and length,
that will become an animatic.
- Okay. - And then animatic
will be coming to sequences of the actual film
or the actual episode.
So these guys are actually for the first time seeing
the film in context.
The 3D space will significantly change the way
that you perceive that shot.
Most of our modeling team they work
on live action or animated films.
So in this case, Alex is doing a CG prosthetic
that it's going to be overlaid on top of a green screen.
So this is basically- - Right, they put
a green like a sock.
- Yes, and then - And then
they put that over.
- Correct.
So in this case, Alex is doing a very full realistic arm
with kinda like the skin layers and the actual--
- The lighting. - The lighting
and everything so this guys
can actually overlay so-- - Really?
- So onset they
do prosthetics. - Yeah.
- But they look cheap or they look like the scenes
you can see them.
So you use this type of techniques in order to blend
them in better. - Cover that, yeah.
So what do you call this department?
Lighting and shading.
- Lighting and shading.
- Yep, compared to live action.
These guys will be
your cinematographers. - Right, for sure.
- These guys are your DPs.
- They're doing this checking the lighting and the texture.
- They're checking your lighting shading, correct.
These guys basically are the hub for everything.
So this guys had to review concept art.
These guys needed to review the script.
These guys needed to see the animatic.
So they know exactly what they need to be modeled
what needs to be textured, what needs to be shaded.
So these guys are the guys that get all
of the errors from the different departments.
If there were they
catch them all. - Yeah
- I have friends working on mid and high level studios.
And you'll be surprised there's no,
(laughs)
there is no such thing
as a perfect scenario.
- It's amazing to see you the real life process
of this movie making magic experience.
- They shot some of the effects practical and when--
- That's the lap, right?
- No, this is actually a muscle flash like from set
but this director, for some reason,
on the camera settings, we're actually making
that artifact.
- Boxel also does augmented reality integrations.
The mobile device or the phone
has become our central hub of content consumption, right?
- Yes.
Now, those phones are being enabled
by the major hardware creators like Apple and Samsung,
to be AR enabled.
- AR stands for augmented reality.
And it is developed to enhance the user's experience
with the real world through their device, like a phone.
- Oh, it's so cool. - It will actually track.
Click on the black ops, click on it
and it will open it up.
- What!
- And it will show me the product
so I can actually now like, look
how it's built the quality of the materials.
Like - (chuckles) Oh!
- It's doing a little animation so I can explore,
like click on the materials,
button down there, yeah. - Materials.
- Yes, so now what it's going to do is going to
calculate the distance from my camera
and it will let me know what material is that made of.
So aluminum, that's made of G10 composite.
So it's detecting the angle of the camera.
So now you can imagine, how far are you from an object,
it we'll actually let you know.
And I can explore the product as well.
It's going to correct.
And then I can select different topics on it.
And then I can scroll back through the items.
So as you can see a completely different way
of exploring a product in 3D
and then I can deactivate it.
And why are companies doing this?
Because many people in the store open up the box.
- To see it.
- Yes and people don't like to buy an open box product,
even if it's new. - Right.
- So in order for them to avoid opening the box
you give them experiences so they can explore the product.
- Now imagine everything in a store having this.
- Correct, without the need of an iPad
without the need of phone.
- With your glasses.
- Just what you're wearing glasses these.
- Computer. - Yes
tell me the amount of fat.
- Yes. - This muffin has .
- Literally. - Right.
- It will happen, thanks to Dexter.
(laughing)
Right now through augmented reality,
what if I use my phone and just basically
aim it at the stereo and it will through augmented reality
will let me know how to pair with my Bluetooth device,
- A little digital hand
press here. - Yes.
And you're like, oh, whoa, boom.
- Literally in 3D space. (laughs)
And that's
happening right now. - Wow.
- So Apple is putting a lot of efforts in education,
for example so instead of actually opening a frog in school
you can actually through AR in animated content,
create virtual animals to explore an anatomy of them
and project them in mixed reality.
So what we're trying to do is
make the Tijuana become like a hub.
We're calling it like a California solution
in the South for the Hollywood industry.
- A cost-effective solution.
- Yeah a cost-effective solution.
We are the largest and only studio
that it's basically servicing the industry.
But we are hopeful that within the near future
a couple of more studios will start to rise
and hopefully more producers will look
to the South in getting their productions done.
- It's Crossing South folks.
One of the many things happening in the region,
important things happening
or even major productions are being considered down here.
And one of the guys that it's enabling
and effecting those productions in the visual market
it's this guy right here.
- Thank you so much guys. - Andres.
(laughs)
Thank you, man, thank you.
(Indistinct ) don't go anywhere.