Mapping out The Three Musketeers
Mr. X creative lead James Cooper discusses the miniaturized opening titles battle for ‘The Three Musketeers’.
In print: ILM’s artistry and the design of Star Wars
We take a look at two great vfx and filmmaking books, ‘Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of Innovation’ and ‘Star Wars: The Blueprints’.
You saw the unblur clip with the audience gasping…here is the source
You saw the video of the audience gasping as Dr. Jue Wang presented the deblurring tech demo at Adobe MAX 2011. Here is the full video, samples and the original research paper.
CVMP: November 16/17th in London
fxguide is excited to be a partner for the 8th annual Conference on Visual Media Production, which brings together post production pros with imaging and graphics researchers. The conference has grown since its inception and again this year there are some outstanding presentations.
Real Steel: case study in CGI / live action integration
Digital Domain produced beautifully animated and composited fighting robots for Real Steel. We examine what it takes to integrate CGI and live action.
The Art of Roto: 2011
Updated in-depth Art of Roto (2011) covering the history of roto to the tools and best practice for production roto. New sections include stereo workflow and stereo conversion tools, including Mocha, Silhouette, Fusion, Nuke, Flame 2012 and much more.
Bunraku: digital origami
Origami Digital breaks down its more than 1000 stylistic visual effects shots for Guy Moshe’s ‘Bunraku’, marked by constantly folding and unfolding paper-like buildings and skies.
fxphd: the role of the optical printer
The Optical Printer was the backbone of visual effects. With the start of the new term at fxphd, we present this sample class from last term on the Optical Printer at ILM and how it works in After Effects !
Sapphire 6: Sparks with new life
We review the new Sapphire version 6 for Autodesk Flame and Smoke. GenArts has quite an ambitious plan, one that embraces the high end rather than ignoring it. But not without a price, or rather a brassy price tag.
Rhythm and crowds: Moneyball
We talk to Rhythm & Hues about their invisible crowd visual effects shots on ‘Moneyball’. Includes behind the scenes ‘making of’ images.
Incredible, invisible effects
We take a look at some brilliant recent releases with invisible effects work, including Contagion, Killer Elite, Apollo 18, Drive, Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and Water for Elephants.
Dino-sized effects in Terra Nova
We talk to Terra Nova visual effects supe Kevin Blank and Pixomondo’s Jason Zimmerman about the new Steven Spielberg dinosaur series. Also included are clips and images from our visit to the set in Queensland, Australia.
HPA: The Present & Future of Reference Monitors
On Saturday October 1st the Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA) will present a full day session on reference monitors. Registration in advance is required.
Disney’s genius tech talent united and publishing
We go inside the secret (or not so secret) image research labs of Disney, with the Director of Disney Research Zurich, Dr. Markus Gross, to discuss its amazing global effort, its new found love of publishing, and we look to the next conference Disney will be publishing at; SIGGRAPH Asia.
VES Production Summit 2011
On October 1, 2011 the Visual Effects Society will present their third Production Summit in Beverly Hills with the theme “Trending the Global Marketplace: You Are Here”.
Breaking news: Hacking, camera industry VP pleads guilty
In a development that echoes the UK phone hacking scandal, film and camera tech industry veteran Michael Bravin has pleaded guilty to hacking into the computers of Band Pro Film and Digital while he was working for ARRI.
The Lion King 3D: in-depth with Disney
Stereographer Robert Neuman discusses his work for the 3D conversion of ‘The Lion King’, a project that involved unarchiving the original Disney CAPS files and the creation of an entire depth score for the film.
Hamsters vs. Robots: a Method double-shot
Method visual effects supervisor Sean Faden discusses two epic TVCs featuring dancing hamsters and battling robots.
Visual Effects Society Issues Industry Bill of Rights
The Visual Effects Society has issued an Industry Bill of Rights, approved by the board and released today.
The rise of the previs of Planet of the Apes
We talk to Image Engine and Pixel Liberation Front, two of several studios involved in the previs behind ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’. Includes previs clips and images.
Art Directors Guild Launches Previs Informational Site
The Art Directors Guild has launched a new informational web site to provide information and start a dialogue with artists and companies.
The science of fluid simulations
In the spirit of our “Art of” stories we launch today a new style of story: “The Science of” In these articles we take a topic and explore the state of the art in that field. We start with fluid simulations: what are they, what are the issues, and how do they work?
Spies and effects (times four)
We speak to Hybride about their 1000+ visual effects shots for Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids: All the Time in the World. Includes before and afters from the film.
Music videos: effects highlights
We take a look at recent music video effects nominees from the MTV VMAs, and some newer clips by Bjork, The Wombats and Linkin Park. Updated with befores and afters for the winning Katy Perry video.
IBC show floor express
With IBC 2011 in full swing, we spent the weekend traveling the show floor looking for interesting products and presentations. Consider this your virtual visit to the show. Here’s a look at some of the highlights we found.
IBC news: eyeon’s new asset management tool
eyeon Software announced this week at IBC in Amsterdam the release of Generation AM, a visual effects asset management front end that is integrated into the company’s Generation set of effects tools.
Creative Arts Emmy Winners
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded the 2010-2011 Creative Arts Primetime Emmy Awards for programs and individual achievements at the 63rd Emmy Awards presentation at the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles.
The Foundry Announces HIERO
The Foundry announced HIERO, a new conform and vfx workflow tool designed to work with NUKE, but flexible to work with any product. Utilizing tech from the now end-of-life STORM, the product fills a timeline-based gap in the shot-based NUKE workflow. Click through for the press release and be sure to check out fxguidetv #119 for an exclusive look at HIERO.
The move to 48 frames per sec
RED Digital Cinema company has been very active in pushing a cinema quality experience. We speak to RED founder Jim Jannard about what drives him and we share a video piece we produced interviewing Ted Schilowitz discussing the move to Stereo 48 fps filmmaking, which we made for our partners at The Daily (News Corp).
Red EPIC Canon mount test drive review
We road test the new Canon mount for the Epic Camera with 120 fps 5K wild animals – and HDR fisheyes – all in a wild day of swinging and eating out, with monkeys, gorillas, lions and tigers.