The Muppets: It’s time to raise the curtain
We go behind the scenes with Look Effects VFX supe. Max Ivins on The Muppets.
For Example: The Mill LA’s Tim Davies and Flame
In the first of our new ‘For Example’ series, lead 2D artist Tim Davies from The Mill LA talks about how he uses Autodesk’s Flame and what tools he uses, for example, in his daily work.
Killer visuals: Tippett’s God speed fx for Immortals
We go in-depth with Tippett Studio on their Gods vs Titans vfx for Immortals.
Immortals: Q&A with VFX sup. Raymond Gieringer
Immortals VFX supervisor Raymond Gieringer discusses the planning, on-set InterSense and live-viz systems for the visual effects in Tarsem Singh’s film.
View from the penthouse: Tower Heist
Effects supes from Method, Phosphene and Gravity discuss their visual effects work on ‘Tower Heist’.
Breaking Bad: the end of Gus
Visual effects supervisor William Powloski breaks down the face off shot in the final season four episode of ‘Breaking Bad’.
Minute by minute: the vfx of In Time
The effects supes from soho VFX and Luma Pictures discuss their work on Andrew Niccol’s ‘In Time’.
Canon & RED Event Live Coverage
We had an amazing response to our coverage of the Canon and RED announcements, so many people tried to access the server that we could not handle the traffic (in spite of doubling capacity). This graph illustrates the spike in traffic we saw that forced us to use a twitter account to get the word […]
Puss in Boots: head in the clouds
We chat to the VFX supe and effects lead on Dreamworks Animation’s ‘Puss in Boots’, and go in-depth on their lighting and rendering approach for a major clouds sequence.
The Thing: a matter of life and breath
With A Twist Studio breaks down its breath shots for ‘The Thing’. Includes a behind the scenes making of reel.
Mikros image: the making of the Canal+ bear
Mikros image breaks down the visual effects in the Canal+ ‘Bear Rug’ spot.
Psyop keeps us happy
Psyop gives us the details on ‘The Great Happyfication’, its latest short for the Coca-Cola Happiness Factory series. Includes a specially made Psyop breakdown.
PromaxBDA creativity and that Canal+ bear
Olivier Schaack, Creative Services Director of Canal+ was one of the key speakers at the PromaxBDA conference in Sydney, the second largest Promax held outside the USA. Schaack, wearing a French rugby jersey after losing a bet on the World Cup, compared his work to that of a vampire feeding off the creative energy of his […]
The Three Musketeers: ships will soar
‘The Three Musketeers’ visual effects supervisor Dennis Berardi tells us about Mr. X’s work on the film. Includes behind the scenes making ofs.
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’.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.