fxguidetv @ SIGGRAPH2007: Episode 6

August 9, 2007

It’s been a great week here at SIGGRAPH2007 covering the show and we hope you’ve been enjoying the coverage. Sony Pictures Imagework’s Rob Bredow lead a great course given by the crew at Sony Pictures Imageworks about the making of “Surf’s Up”. It was a fanastic presention to a packed room — in fact, attendess […]

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SIGGRAPH 3 fxguidetv : Paul Debevec

August 7, 2007

In this episode we look at Emerging technology here at fxguide. At SIGGRAPH each year there is a display of Emerging technologies, some are purely research projects such as robotic head sets, others have a more commercial application – such as Microsoft’s Surface table. We also interview Paul Debevec and discuss not only his ‘holographic […]

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Second fxguidetv from Siggraph – Massive

August 7, 2007

The second SIGGRAPH episode is up – this time we speak to the founder of Massive, Stephen Regelous about massive 3.0 and the windows version of the software. Massive also includes Mental Ray support and new hair and Lanes features. Click special SIGGRAPH box in upper right of this page to view. Click below for […]

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SIGGRAPH starts

August 7, 2007

We are here and the shows have started! Let me outline our SIGGRAPH coverage – we are doing 8 fxguidetv shows from San Diego, these will include interviews with artists such as the guys from Surf’s Up, ILM and Transformers, the senior renderman team, plus leading equipment manufacturing news and some other cool stuff such […]

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Toxik 2008 Good News: Say Goodbye to the Database

August 2, 2007

Autodesk announced Toxik 2008 — and the big news is that it will now be offered as a standalone app without the database. This is hugely welcome news, as it brings Toxik to the same type of app as Nuke, Fusion, and Shake. It would be one thing if it used a database and as […]

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Harry Potter: The Magic of Double Negative

August 1, 2007

Harry Potter is one of the great publishing stories of our time and the Warner Brothers films have consistently produced Muggles gold. We provide our own Patronus to explain the true wizards behind Privet Lane, giants, and charms, as well as go inside the Ministry this week in our fxpodcast with Double Negative’s Paul Franklin. We also have notes from some other vfx shops involved in the movie.

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fxguidetv New Episode

July 29, 2007

fxguidetv episode 4 with your host Angie Richards Chicago, Via China: fxguidetv episode 4 is out including a great interview with Steve Pearce and Phillippo Costanzo from Activion, covering the future of the gaming industry. Plus a great tip from Rose Draper on how to extract mattes from difficult – less than perfect – Jpeg […]

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High-Resolution Gigapixel Panoramic Photography Takes VFX to New Level

July 25, 2007

xRez Launches Visual Effects Studio Employing Ground-Breaking Technology Los Angeles, CA – With more than two years of R&D under its belt, xRez Studio has launched a visual effects division based on the studio’s work employing gigapixel panoramic photography. Founded by Eric Hanson and Greg Downing, both veterans in advanced photography and motion picture visual […]

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eyeon announces new 5.2 version of Fusion

July 24, 2007

Eyeon today announced features which will be part of the new Fusion version 5.2. Pricing and availability of the new version will be announced at Siggraph. The release of Fusion 5.2 includes over one hundred updates and modifications, such as interface performance improvements in various areas that make the artist’s workflow more efficient. A new […]

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Charging up Creative at rhinofx

July 23, 2007

The days of work simply walking in the door are long gone and it is key that the vfx facility brings something strong to the table. In the end, if the house adds creative value to spot, it’s likely that the agency creatives will return to work with the artists again and again…like Merkely did at rhinofx when they approached them about a Mercedes spot.

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Emmy nominees announced

July 19, 2007

The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations were announced this morning at 5:40 AM PT. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be held Saturday, September 8 and the Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 16, both at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The list of visual effects nominees is after the read more.

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Eight takes a stroll through Petra’s world for HP

July 17, 2007

SANTA MONICA, CA – Eight VFX continues its stellar collaborative run with director Olivier Gondry and HP with “Petra Nemcová,” the latest in a new three-spot campaign via Goodby, Silverstein & Partners/SF (Eight also contributed the effects for “Vera Wang” and “Michel Gondry”). A shop whose recent credits include projects for Pepsi, Scion, Guinness, and […]

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Don’t miss…

July 16, 2007

The latest episode of fxguidetv video netcast is on the air! All you need to do is click here to subscribe in iTunes> fxguidetv episode #3 is out! This show contains a longer interview with Ken Ralston and Dennis Muren recorded at the VES Festival of Visual Effects. John Montgomery talks with them about their […]

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SIGGRAPH2007 Preview

July 16, 2007

With Siggraph approaching, we asked Conference Chair Joe Marks to guide us through the highlights for this week’s fxpodcast. For our online story, we also asked Paul Debevec to give us his personal ‘Picks of the Papers”, plus we highlight some of the fun and not so fun surprises in store in San Diego with the Viking Animation Lords.

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Bombastic flower-themed graphics for Concert for Diana

July 11, 2007

New York, NY – When audiences tune in to the highly anticipated Concert For Diana, they will enjoy a graphics package created in a collaborative effort between VH1 and design/branding company Bombastic. The concert is a tribute to the Princess and a fundraiser for the charities she supported during her lifetime. Accordingly, the graphics package […]

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CafeFX swims with the fish for ‘Evan Almighty’

July 10, 2007

SANTA MARIA, California ‘“ Feature film visual effects facility CafeFX created a scene-stealing school of computer-generated tropical fish for Universal Pictures’ EVAN ALMIGHTY. The visual effects-intensive comedy, the second in the ‘œAlmighty’ series, is directed by Tom Shadyac. In the film, Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), newly elected to Congress, leaves Buffalo behind and shepherds his […]

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Your Reel, your dream job @ Siggraph

July 10, 2007

We are really excited by the July 07 term and the courses on offer at fxphd.com. As part of our plans for this term, we have a Siggraph Special Service! A key part of Siggraph’s appeal is the job market. To help you, if you’re going to Siggraph – we are offering to individually review […]

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Eight VFX explores the mind of ‘Michel Gondry’ For HP

July 10, 2007

SANTA MONICA, CA – The three worlds of acclaimed film and spot director Michel Gondry are explored in this latest spot for the HP Pavilion Entertainment PC laptop via Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. Directed with affection and wit by his brother, Olivier Gondry, “Michel Gondry” combines film, animation, and visual effects. Striking this delicate creative […]

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Michael Bay and the Edit of Transformers

July 9, 2007

The huge visual effects movie Transformers racked up the biggest July 4th single-day gross in boxoffice history. We speak to director Michael Bay and, for a something different, guest writer Robin Rowe looks in depth at the editing of the megahit blockbuster.

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How Green is My…

July 7, 2007

For the start of Live Earth we have put together some of the latest thinking on making your production environmentally friendly. One company committed to the cause is Instant Karma – we spoke with co-founder Craig Farkas to find out what it costs to run a Carbon Neutral Shoot (and it is less than you think !)

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fxguidetv episode 02

July 4, 2007

The latest episode of fxguidetv video netcast is on the air! All you need to do is click here to subscribe in iTunes or visit our fxguidetv page to download each episode. Hi I am the host of fxguidetv, Angie Richards, and this week we again bring you the latest news, info and tech about […]

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Design Studios Onesize and yU+Co Team Up To Rebrand G4 Network

July 4, 2007

LOS ANGELES, CA and DELFT, THE NETHERLANDS Combining their distinct creative skills and resources, award-winning design studios Onesize and yU+Co teamed together to deliver the comprehensive redesign of G4, the LA-based network seen in 61 million homes that boasts being the fastest growing network on television in 2006. “We were looking for a network redesign […]

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Academy Sci-Tech Council Launches Internship Program

June 29, 2007

Beverly Hills, CA — The Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has launched a summer internship program designed to provide real-world experience to students interested in careers in computer graphics and animation technology. Pixar Animation Studios, Rhythm & Hues Studios and Sony Pictures Imageworks will each provide an […]

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Killer Schedules: Behind that Variety Story

June 26, 2007

“Blockbusters Take Toll on f/x Shops” was the headline of a Variety article that has stirred much conversation in the visual effects world. In this week’s fxpodcast we talk to the author of that article, David Cohen from Variety, about the role of vfx and death of post schedules.

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fxphd July07 Term Courses Announced : Including NUKE

June 26, 2007

Our visual effects training site fxphd.com has information on the upcoming July07 term, which was just announced. Based upon feedback from members, we worked hard to build upon our first year and make the term even better than past terms. We’ve got new courses with accompanying VPN software (for non-commercial use) for The Foundry’s Nuke […]

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Digital Skin Grafting using Eyeon “Fusion”

June 26, 2007

The technique behind Super Star Rajini’s European complexion in the film ‘Sivaji – The Boss’ About the Film: The film “Sivaji The Boss” starring super star rajini is the costliest film made in india to date. Directed by S.Shanker, Cinematography by K.V.Anand, Music by A.R.Rahman, Produced by A.V.M Productions.

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NUKE price reduction

June 25, 2007

Missing from the release last week was news that The Foundry has reduced their NUKE GUI prices by 30%. A full NUKE license can be purchased for £1750 / $3,500, while render licenses are now priced at £125 / $250 per license — about a 70% reduction in cost.

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Codex Digital announces ground-breaking portable field recorder

June 23, 2007

Cine Gear Expo – Codex Digital, specialist in high-resolution media recording systems, is launching a new, high-resolution portable field recorder with the potential to revolutionise digital cinematography and the production of motion pictures and high-end TV. No larger than a toaster, the Codex Portable’s cutting-edge design is packed with powerful, ground-breaking features, and the industry’s […]

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Weta Surfers

June 21, 2007

With Silver Surfer, Weta continues its amazing run of effects projects. The company consistently delivers year in and year out. While they were sharing the work load on Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, as is the pattern these days, their current slate of production is nothing short of jaw dropping.

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Nuke Version 4.7 Released

June 21, 2007

The Foundry announced that a new version of Nuke has been released. It is the first release since the company took over development of the software earlier this year. The release includes full OFX support, Framecycler Professional 2007, an improved curve editor, an upgraded version of Primatte, a brand new optical flow engine and many […]

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