The Animation Studio for Television Producers - TMBA, Inc.

TMBA has worked long and hard to dispel the myth that great CGI is too expensive for the average television budget. Take a look at our web site and you will find dozens of 3D scenes, all of them created for TV. There are alligators and accidents, storms and space ships, maps and modern marvels of architecture. These were created for producers just like you, with similar budgets and the same tight production schedules.

Audiences are used to seeing fantastic CGI thanks to feature films and video games, but what about television? If you are a producer that believes CGI belongs only in the big leagues, with the likes of Pixar, Cameron and Lucas, you can skip this email altogether and just keep juggling. But, for those of you passionate about storytelling, crazy about great cinematography, and looking for out-of-the-box solutions to some of video production’s most challenging problems, then hand those problems over to us.

When telling a story for television, failing to engage an audience is not an option. But, sometimes you hit the wall. In factual, fantasy or news programming there’s often a place in the story that has a visual gap larger than the Grand Canyon. The script is hinging on something that can’t be shot, because it doesn’t exist, or capturing it on video would capsize the budget.

At TMBA, we have developed a new hybrid of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) which delivers the quality of feature film CGI, but on a television budget. We can create what can’t be shot. We can help you explain the complex, explore the future, re-create the past, dive into the depths of the ocean. You can X-ray, blast apart, reverse a process, explore outer space.

Here’s just a few examples…

A Show in Ruins

Producers at NBC were charged with telling the story of the ancient Egyptian labyrinth, known as Hawara, for the Syfy Channel. This was, at one time, a massive, gorgeous structure that has since been swallowed up by time, and possibly looted for building materials by ancient General Contractors. To this day, no one really knows if the remains of Hawara are still buried under the sand.

There are few written accounts of the place, but today there’s not even ruins left to shoot. So, the producers called us.

In less than 3 weeks, TMBA’s 3D artists delivered a visual journey deep into this ancient labyrinth, complete with mysterious twists and turns down long dark tunnels, and imposing Egyptian figures. While most 3D artists are technically proficient, and could have created many of the elements in this scene, artists at TMBA are also cinematographers, with an eye for lighting, camera placement, and timing, so that the visuals unfold in tandem with the narration. Very few 3D artists working today go beyond the technology to create a moving image that works. TMBA is all about elegant visual solutions that draw the viewer deeper into the story.

The Original Ghost Town

In another segment of this same show for Syfy producers needed to explore an ancient Mayan compound known as Lubaantun in Belize, South Central America. Here, there are beautiful ruins to shoot, which is great. But, the story is also about the village as it looked when its inhabitants lived there and more importantly, what it looked like after they mysteriously abandoned this bustling city.

They needed to see this village, after it became a ghost town, so they contacted TMBA.

Again, in just a few weeks, TMBA quite literally re-created this large Mayan compound and the stunning landscape that surrounds it. Based on accounts and sketches by archeologists, this is a journey fit for a world traveler. Take a free tour of Lubaantun buy clicking here:

Four Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

And, finally, this link will help you dive deep into the ocean:

Getting underwater footage is certainly not impossible, but it can be a gamble. Hiring the right scuba/camera crew, renting to boat, controlling the conditions- there’s just no guarantee that the pivotal thing you need to see the most, will turn up. Producers at Discovery decided they could bypass all that risk, and let TMBA do the “diving.”

In “Quest for Sunken Warships” TMBA built impressive military vessels, submarines, and gave them amazing underwater views they couldn’t have gotten any other way.

Presenting a story visually is more challenging than ever before. Audiences are choosing between hundreds, if not thousands of media outlets. Building a loyal tribe of viewers requires more, bigger, and better visuals. So, when it comes to something you can’t shoot, skip the “B” roll and give us call. We’ll help tell your story in a new way.

Contact Us Today

TMBA is the animation studio that producers call when they need footage that can’t be filmed. TMBA creates the animations that take your audience to unimagined destinations, and we do it on time and for a reasonable budget.

Contact TMBA, Inc. today to discuss your next project. (212) 789-9077