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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fxguidetv is on the air

June 20, 2007

After almost a 100 audio podcasts (91 to be exact), fxguide is launching our video netcast: fxguidetv. All you need to do is click here to subscribe in iTunes or visit our fxguidetv page to download each episode. This show is hosted by me, Angie Richards, and will bring you the latest news, info and […]

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The Wait is Over: Sapphire 4 Arrives

June 19, 2007

After years of waiting for signs of life in the Autodesk package of Sapphire sparks, GenArts has resoundingly delivered with a new release. The new version includes over 45 new effects and enhancements to previous sparks. We speak with GenArts founder Karl Sims and several beta testers about the new release.

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Digital Anarchy releases ToonIt! for turning footage into a cartoon look

June 19, 2007

San Francisco, CA – Digital Anarchy today announced the release of ToonIt! for Film/Video. ToonIt! 1.0 will reliably and easily create cartoon-like images from film and video footage, freeing artists from time consuming techniques such as hand painting and rotoscoping. The filters use advanced algorithms from Toonamation to create cartoon shading and lines in After […]

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Effects Fueled by the Desire to be Seamless

June 18, 2007

Two recent spots from Sony really caught our eye at the fxguide tech bunker. The simplicity of the ideas and the faultless execution of these commercials has become a hallmark of Sony’s advertising internationally in the last couple of years. We caught up with Dave Morley, one of the founders of FUEL international, about their work on the spots.

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Welcome to the new fxguide.com

June 16, 2007

We’re happy to make our new fxguide site live this weekend — its been in the works for a while and the first hardware upgrade in five years. We have a new, higher bandwidth server in preparation for the release of our new video netcast fxguidetv.  What have we changed? Quite a bit under the […]

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Imaginary Forces creates teaser for ‘œNational Treasure’ sequel

June 16, 2007

Los Angeles, CA ‘“ Entertainment and design company Imaginary Forces (IF) was recently called upon by Walt Disney Pictures to create a teaser for its upcoming feature, ‘œNational Treasure: Book of Secrets.’ In the ‘œNational Treasure’ sequel, treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) looks to discover the truth behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln […]

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Mr. Wonderful designs action-packed open for 32nd America’s Cup on Versus

June 16, 2007

York, NY – Continuing its successful relationship with VERSUS, design studio Mr. Wonderful was recently called upon to create a heart-pounding show open and animation package for the most prestigious regatta, the America’s Cup. The open tells the international story of a magnificent challenge ‘“ the race against time and nature to the final showdown […]

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SOLdesignfx for White Sox Baseball

June 14, 2007

CHICAGO, IL – As one of the spots in their new campaign via agency Two by Four laments, they “haven’t won a championship in, like, months.” Since then, however, the Chicago White Sox have assumed the responsibility of offering baseball fans a new look at an old favorite pastime. VFX Artist Chris Markos of SOLdesignfx […]

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Get the Picture to do Good Design

June 12, 2007

Picture Mill is a leading design and effects house doing title design for films such as War of the Worlds, Panic Room and logo film titles for studios such as SPYGLASS and Universal. In this podcast Mike sits down for a discussion on design issues, the role of titles and the nature of branding design with Creative Director William Lebeda.

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Go Go Gadget Car

June 11, 2007

In a global community TVC spots are now often being made ‘overseas’. This inventive spot was for the chinese market, shot in Shanghai, made in Australia for a Japanese car company.

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Mocap Without the Embarrassing Blue Suits

June 8, 2007

Motion capture has forced actors to don blue lycra to provide animators with artistic interpretation of characters. But the race is on to make this process easier, faster, cheaper and less awkward for the actor. One such advance is the recent showing of markerless motion capture from Organic Motion.

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VFXTalk interviews Luma to bring you the magic of The Covenant

May 31, 2007

VFXTalk is pleased to present you with a exclusive interview with the VFX team at Luma Pictures covering their recent work on The Covenant! This film was a VFX extravaganza and Luma handled nearly 80 shots including some of the most complicated fx sequences. Their work included everything from digital fx, full cg sets, compositing, […]

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Heroic VFX : Stargate Digital and NBC’s Heroes

May 30, 2007

With over 1000 effects in the first season, Stargate Digital has just finished the first season of the NBC smash hit Heroes. We look behind the heroes to their visual effects artists and discover how the shows characters fly, regenerate, stop time and more.

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Tight’s The Brothers Strause take Mercury Mariner up a tree

May 22, 2007

The Brothers Strause of tight chronicle the evolution of a good idea in Mercury Mariner “Tree,” the follow-up to their previous effort for the client, “Sound Wave.” Credits and spot after jump.

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Shrek The Third: Ogreachievers

May 22, 2007

With a weekend opening of over $120US million, Shrek the Third continues the box office success of the franchise. In this fxpodcast, we speak with Larry Cutler and Matt Baer from PDI/Dreamworks including their insights into how working on a series of films changes the workflow. Our online story also contains a large gallery of images.

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