By Joe Shepter

So it is with Jonathan Rothbart, Scott Stewart, and Stewart Maschwitz, the ex-Industrial Light and Magic special FX men who've relaunched themselves as an independent film and production company called The Orphanage (U.S).

On a grimy San Francisco day, they hold visiting hours at their temporary offices near Market Street. Computers slump on cafeteria tables, and an embarrassed bit of light pokes through windows which could've used a good washing four years ago. Oblivious, the Orphans load a few clips into a digital camera.

Suddenly, a dinosaur from Jurassic Park peers into the camera. Then a house from "Twister" rolls across a road. Space ships fly through the ether, weapons are shot out of hands.

But then comes something entirely unexpected: an independent film with Rothbart, Stewart, and Maschwitz (among other Orphans) as actors.

"We've done a lot of beautiful work on films that seem like they were written by a committee," says Rothbart. "We left ILM mainly because we wanted to tell our own stories."

And tell they are. In six months, they've unleashed a barrage of shorts whose other-worldly effects and quirky plot lines have won acclaim from Berlin to Sundance.

Maschwitz's "The Last Birthday Card" is a good example of the firm's eclectic formula: The film, about a hit man who is also struggling artist, features a scene in which a helicopter destroys an apartment building.

The approach represents what Rothbart deems the next step in the "digital film evolution." "Everyone is talking about a revolution," he says, "but people have been making films digitally for years. The last "Star Wars" had only two shots that weren't digitally modified. It's just now that that same technology is available to independent movie producers. And we can help them make it happen."

They claim it hasn't been a hard sell. Not only are traditional indie filmmakers excited about effects-driven projects, but Hollywood is snapping at the bait too.

"A lot of big name directors are hot to do it," says Stewart, "because this way, they can own a much bigger chunk of a film than they ever could before, and still have it look right. Not just because it's cheaper, but because it's also easier."

One thing the Orphans have to overcome, however, is the common fate of many who have split off from the George Lucas mothership: ILM has a reputation for producing great artists but dismal businessmen. Even so, the Orphanage seems to be taking care of their own. In addition to continuing big-budget effects work, including four shots for "Mission to Mars," they've developed something they call the Magic Bullet process. Magic Bullet is a proprietary postproduction process which allows the Orphanage to create a "look" for digital films, much in the way that traditional directors can using standard filming techniques. To this end, The Orphanage signed deal reported in the $15-$20 million range to help the new digital department of Greenstreet films.

"We'll be around for a while, don't worry," Maschwitz says.

In other words, chances are you're not going to find these orphans on a street corner any time soon. Unless, of course, they're blowing up the building across the way.

Adobe.com Senior Editor Joe Shepter thoroughly enjoys things that go boom.