MI6 caught up with Alexander L. Fernández, and the team at Streamline Studios, creators of the superb cinematic sequences in NightFire for the PC...

Streamline Studios Interview (2)
21st January 2003

MI6 caught up with Alexander L. Fernández, and the team at Streamline Studios, creators of the superb cinematic sequences in NightFire for the PC...

Continuing...

If you were given more time to spend on the cinematics, what would you like to change or improve?
More compositing, use of global illumination and subtleties of characters. Like all art studios, we look at our past work and see things that weren't as good as we wanted them to be. However, we're proud of the work created and feel that it was a step forward for our company as a whole.

 

How hard was it to capture the feeling of a James Bond scene? Did you find it any different to creating cinematics for any other, original storyline game?
We're avid Bond fans. What better way to get the feeling of Bond then to sit around with some beers and study the best reference available. We watched a few of the movies and got back into the mood before working on the cinematics. Creating the cinematics for Bond were like the ones we've done previously. It was important to get into the proper mindset and the rest was a matter of production.

Were there any problems concerning the time restriction during the project? Did any cutbacks have to be made to meet the deadline?
The best secret of the project was how the cinematics were produced with such a short turn around time. The project called for all cinematics to be complete in under eight months, with the last two weeks for change requests.

Nightfire on PS2
UK - MI6 Price: £14.99
USA - MI6 Price: $19.99

Left: PS2 cover art

The challenge here was logistical as well as in terms of production. Bond's head was replaced once and Mayhew went from a decrepit old man to a younger 50 something character. It was challenging having to do head replacements when you are 95% of the way done. No cutbacks occurred, but that was due to our teams dedication to the project and the fact that we worked through the weekends to get it done. It's no wonder that most of us were useless for a month or so afterwards.

NightFire was crafted to a format convincingly similar to the Bond movies, did you relate to any of the Bond movies when trying to make the cinematics realistic?
Amongst watching the movies we had one guy attempt to be Bond like at a club and was shot down horribly. He was a bit shaken, but not stirred and got back up on his feet like a good lad and found the next best thing to a Bond girl. What happened next isn't fit to print. Kidding.

We watched the movies to get an accurate feeling for Pierce, but also the overall Bond universe. It's tricky trying to get it to work correctly, but with games we're exploring a whole new medium in which to express a successful franchise so liberties are allowed

 
Above: Streamline Studios, based in Hilversum, Netherlands

What are you most proud of with the cinematics? If you had the chance to work on another Bond game, would you approach it using the same methods you have with NightFire, or would you like to approach different methods of production?
We're proud of the quality and dedication the team showed during the production. Our ability to complete a project on time and within budget received a booster shot with this project as well as serving as a jewel on our crown. If we were to work on another Bond game we would bring the knowledge and love we have for the franchise as well as some new technology and methods we've developed since our last involvement. All we can say on that is, muscle systems. MGM, and EA, let's have another dance!

Many thanks to Alexander and the team at Streamline Studios

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Interview - Streamline Studios (Part 1)