Raymond Frederick Harryhausen R.I.P 1920-2013
Raymond Frederick Harryhausen Born: Los Angeles 29th June 1920 Died: London 7th May 2013. From the Harryhausen Family posted via Facebook: The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s […]
Read the ArticleIron Man 3: more suits to play with
More suits, more extreme effects. How the VFX studios behind Iron Man 3 made the film possible.
Read the ArticleNotes from AdobeMAX: It’s in the Cloud
I’m attending AdobeMAX for the first time this year and we share some thoughts from the conference with or fxphd and fxinsider members. New apps, new features, and new pricing model for Adobe’s software.
Read the ArticleStop frame animation made with atoms. Yes, at the atomic level!
Atomic short film – literally a film made at atomic – per atom level by IBM – truly remarkable and a key to future atomic memory devices.
Read the ArticleLED light quality: a free fxphd Background lecture
LED lighting is rising in popularity but this free fxphd lecture explains and compares LED lights in this free in depth BKD class from fxphd.com. The results are surprising.
Read the ArticleCanon 5D Mk III firmware update released
Now out of Beta the 5D Mk III update is ready to be downloaded…
Read the ArticleAaton out of the Game? updated
Reports that Aaton has shut down subject to finding additional funding. Updated 4/291600GMT with statement from Jean-Pierre Beauviala, Founder and CEO of Aaton
Read the ArticleFMX 2013 – final wrap-up
Some final thoughts on FMX 2013 and a look at the Iron Man 3 presentations by Trixter and Weta Digital, and on virtual production.
Read the ArticleThe science of spherical harmonics at Weta Digital
Just what are Spherical Harmonics? And how are the visual effects artists at Weta Digital using SH to handle vast renders?
Read the ArticleDay 2 at FMX 2013 – Lara Croft’s hair, Arnold, MPC’s FX tools, OpenSubdiv
Day 2 at the FMX 2013 conference in Stuttgart, Germany had more great VFX and gaming talks, plus a look at digital camera work and Pixar’s OpenSubdiv.
Read the ArticleDay 1 at FMX 2013 – Pixar, Cloud Atlas, Life of Pi, Katana, V-Ray
We wrap-up day one at FMX 2013 in Stuttgart, which saw panels on the state of VFX, behind the scenes of Cloud Atlas, Life of Pi, The Blue Umbrella and Epic and ILM’s use of V-Ray.
Read the ArticleHow Digic made the Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag trailer
Pirates, sailors and Assassin’s Creed – behind the scenes of Digic Pictures’ Black Flag trailer with CG turntables and making ofs.
Read the ArticleInside Oblivion
We talk to DOP Claudio Miranda, ASC and the visual effects supes from Digital Domain and Pixomondo about Oblivion.
Read the ArticleRC special – what’s in Jason Wingrove’s Epic kit?
After several emails and comments in fxphd’s forums, we offer this update of the typical state of the art gear in an independent Epic film package. We asked the RC’s Jason’s Wingrove to open his camera bags and show us his typical kit.
Read the ArticleWorld-building: making the TV series Defiance
Behind the scenes of the VFX in Syfy’s new TV series Defiance, with befores and afters imagery and a bonus gallery.
Read the ArticleOpenEXR 2.0 goes deep
Now out of public beta, an update of the open source high dynamic range file format OpenEXR to include several new features, including deep data support, has been released with version 2.0.
Read the ArticleNAB 2013: Blackmagic and Moore’s Law
The buzz especially in the South Hall and Central Halls of the NAB 2013 which cater to production and post-production was the power of Moore’s Law as represented by a tiny ‘point and film’ camera that perhaps was the biggest news.
Read the ArticleHDRs for an animated film? Behind the scenes of The Croods
How DreamWorks Animation employed Point-Based Global-Illumination on The Croods, relied on HDRs to inform lighting and developed a new cross-over between effects and animation.
Read the ArticleBroadcast and ident design highlights
Here’s a couple of broadcast design and idents projects that have caught our eye recently – from NASCAR to MTV and the BBC – featuring work by The Mill, Polynoid and Engine Room.
Read the ArticleWelcome (back) to Jurassic Park
How ILM’s VFX art director literally put his body on the line to help make Jurassic Park, and what the hardest thing in the film was to convert for its 3D release – you’ll be surprised.
Read the ArticleAdobe’s new pro video tools: NAB sneak peek
Adobe has revealed its next versions of Premiere Pro, After Effects, SpeedGrade, Audition, Prelude, Media Encoder and Story.
Read the ArticleThe Iron Man science project
Behind the scenes of an Iron Man-themed Verizon TV spot, with visual effects by The Embassy.
Read the Articlefxguide’s guide to FMX 2013
The definitive guide to the effects, animation, games and transmedia presentations planned for FMX 2013 in Stuttgart, Germany from 23 to 26 April.
Read the ArticleThe best tech demos from GDC2013
Some of the best game engine and tech demos from this year’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
Read the ArticleCreature features: VFX in TVCs
Dinosaurs to dragons, Easter bunnies and…avalanches. We look at characters and creatures in recent TVCs.
Read the ArticleG.I. Joe: Retaliation – kick-ass action
Find out how the biggest effects shots in G.I. Joe: Retaliation were created by ILM, Digital Domain and Method Studios. Featuring exclusive Digital Domain making of VFX clips.
Read the ArticleRhythm & Hues auction won by Prana Studios (UPDATED x2)
Rhythm and Hues has been sold at auction following bankruptcy to Prana Studios. Final hearing scheduled for Friday at 10:00 am.
Read the ArticleWhat’s new from Autodesk
See the new announcements from Autodesk for Maya, 3ds Max, MotionBuilder, Mudbox, Softimage and Sketchbook Designer.
Read the ArticleMore notes from the NVIDIA GPU Tech Conference
In the second of our reports from GTC, we cover HFR with Douglas Trumbull, ZOIC’s ZEUS pipeline, Rhythm & Hues Crom VFX platform, as well as a few more details about Octane’s cloud solution and the GRID VCA.
Read the ArticleHow VFX saved Washington: Olympus Has Fallen
We break down the visual effects behind Olympus Has Fallen with before and after imagery and making of videos.
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