Jul 3, 2012 By James Gregory

Peter Parker returns to theaters today with The Amazing Spider-Man, a contemporary re-imagining of the classic Marvel superhero. The film takes the reigns from the popular Tobey Maguire/Sam Raimi trilogy, featuring a new cast and director, as well as an original take of the character’s origin story.

Among the most noticeable updates to the franchise is the film’s striking visual style, which boasts a modern look with clean lines and a vibrant color scheme. Early clips have unveiled this distinct take on the comic book universe, which was helped realized by a dozen alumni of our Film and Computer Animation programs.

Among these graduates were Devin Fairbairn and Dax LaFleur, who worked on the visual effects team as matchmove artist and visual effects artist respectively. Catching up with the pair, they gave us a quick preview of what changes we can expect with the new film.

“Spider-Man looks great, and director Marc Webb has a very cool vision for the franchise,” Dax says. “What I think is unique is that what I have seen seems more realistic, less cartoony.”

The action sequences in the trailers show an increased fluidity in this Spider-Man’s movements, and it’s obvious how much work the visual effects team put into creating that sense of realism. Devin explained that the film’s tone and visuals will go a long way in pleasing fans of the series.

“I think a lot of people will be excited about this because the character really captures what Spider-Man is,” Devin says. “There’s a cool back story, and then there’s also a dark side to that that people are going to want to see. On top of that the entire visual effects team did great work, so there’s a lot of elements that makes this film what it is.”

The 12 graduates who worked on the film are:

• Andrea Babineau (Film, 2007; additional art department assistant)
• Marcus Bykowsky (Film, 2005; key production assistant: second unit)
• George Daratany (Film, 2008; production assistant)
• Camila Davila (Computer Animation, 2008; texture painter)
• Devin Fairbairn (Computer Animation, 2005; matchmove artist)
• Matthew Fortino (Film, 2003; set production assistant: second unit)
• Dax LaFleur (Computer Animation, 2003; visual effects artist)
• Toby Miller (Film, 2005; rigging electrician)
• Gautama Murcho (Computer Animation, 2009; digital compositor)
• Eric Provan (Computer Animation, 2005; character modeler)
• Yoshi Sonoda (Film, 2002; rigging electrician)
• Ryan Trippensee (Computer Animation, 2004; digital compositor)