MPC’s pirates & their ships sail on Stranger Tides
We talk to MPC’s visual effects supervisor Gary Brozenich about some of his studio’s shots for On Stranger Tides, and working for the first time in native stereo.
Paws, claws and jaws in Attack the Block
We take a look at Fido’s CG fur, paws, claws and jaws for the film Attack the Block, with before and after pics, concept art and screenshots. Warning: spoilers.
London calling for Pirates 4 at Cinesite
We talk to Cinesite about their visual effects contribution to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, with the work spanning a carriage chase sequence through London, CG toads and the creation of Barbossa’s peg leg.
Priest: not your average vampire movie
We take a look at just some of the 750 effects shots in Priest by Tippett Studio, Spin VFX, Svengali FX, Spy Post and The Senate.
Psyop tested to perfection
For ‘Tested To Perfection’, a Castrol TVC for the company’s newly reformulated EDGE motor oil, Psyop was called upon to help create an elaborate test track complete with giant engine parts and a hero made of oil going through its paces. We talk to Jamie Scott (2D lead and co-vfx supervisor) and Tony Barberi (technical […]
Elastic opens Game of Thrones
We speak to Creative Director Angus Wall from Elastic about designing and executing the two and half minute opening titles for Game of Thrones.
The latest from Rok!t Studio
We talk to Rok!t Studio creative director Steve Viola about two recent projects – opening titles for Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family and stereo animation work for the Justin Bieber bio Never Say Never.
Realms, robots & rainbow bridges: crafting Thor
We talk to Thor visual effects supervisor Wesley Sewell and some of the VFX vendors about a few key sequences from Kenneth Branagh’s film of the Marvel comic.
MPC on track with Fast Five
MPC visual effects supervisor Guillaume Rocheron breaks down the train heist sequence from Fast Five.
yU+co captures crime for Call of Juarez: The Cartel
We cover yU+Co’s work on the ‘Call of Juarez: The Cartel’ trailer by animation director Richard Taylor and the facial capture tech from Depth Analysis, with an exclusive insider making of video.
Outcasts: creating the darkside of space
We talk to Darkside Animation about their work for the BBC series Outcasts and present several break down clips from the show.
Glassworks manipulates metal and builds a baby
We take a look at two recent TVC’s featuring visual effects from Glassworks – ‘Baby’ and ‘Manipulation’ – completed by artists in London and Amsterdam.
Engine Room makes a splash with Soul Surfer
We talk to Engine Room founder and VFX supervisor Dan Schmit about creating more than 750 shots for the inspiring true story of Soul Surfer.
Busted! How The Mill helped Mythbusters blow stuff up
We go behind the scenes with The Mill for a Discovery Channel Mythbusters promo using motion control, practical elements and CG.
Your Highness: A little bit of Framestore magic
Framestore visual effects supervisor Mike McGee talks about collaborating closely with the Your Highness filmmakers.
Mr. X’s spy effects for Hanna
We talk to Mr. X visual effects supervisor Brendan Taylor about his work for Joe Wright’s coming-of-age espionage thriller, Hanna.
ZYNC: get your own vast renderfarm – instantly
We speak exclusively to Atomic Fiction and Zero vfx, about their use of ZYNC cloud computing.
The Easter Bunny lives, in Hop
In Hop, teenage rabbit E.B. laments his impending crowning as the new Easter Bunny and instead makes way for Hollywood. Director Tim Hill called on Rhythm & Hues to realize E.B. and the film’s other anthropomorphized animals as CG creations.
De-compiling the VFX of Source Code
For Source Code, director Duncan Jones looked to visual effects supervisor Louis Morin to help realize 850 shots of trains, explosions, virtual transitions and other crucial sequences in the film.
Opening the door to The Adjustment Bureau
In The Adjustment Bureau, two lovers played by Matt Damon and Emily Blunt find themselves kept apart by mysterious business men in hats. Visual effects supervisor Mark Russell enabled several portal door transitions and a signature ‘Escher stairs’ sequence to reveal the Bureau’s secret world.
The tale of the wolf: Red Riding Hood
In Red Riding Hood, a terrifying werewolf haunts the inhabitants of a medieval village. Rhythm & Hues tells us how they brought the wolf to life for this modern re-telling of the classic fairytale.
Fractal zooms and other side effects in Limitless
The best part about vfx is when someone comes up with a cool new original look or shot, we talk to Look Effects and Comen VFX about creating the amazing fractal zooms and out-of-body moments in Limitless, designed as an inside glimpse to the power of a new fictitious wonder drug.
Paul: Double Negative’s alien adventure
With Paul, Double Negative adds to its already impressive list of visual effects credits through a major character animation show. We talk to animation supervisor Anders Beer and visual effects producer Hal Couzens about the film.
Rising Sun Pictures finds The Way Back
In The Way Back, a group of prisoners escape a Siberian Gulag camp during World War II and trek many, many miles through Mongolia, China and over the Himalayas to India. Director Peter Weir called on Rising Sun Pictures to create 200 visual effects shots to complement the harrowing journey. We talk to visual effects supervisor Dennis Jones.
HDRx: The Impossible Shot
Every camera – film or digital – has limits of exposure latitude. With the EPIC those limits just got pushed…a lot.
Cinesite runs rings around Battle: LA
The arrival of destructive beings on the west coast of the U.S. in Battle: Los Angeles is heralded by a unique take on alien spaceship technology: mysterious smoke rings. The rings, used heavily in the film’s marketing, were created by Cinesite and from their visual effects supe Ben Shepherd.
Aiding the invasion in Battle: Los Angeles
In Battle: Los Angeles, the Californian city once again finds itself under attack from alien invaders. Visual effects supervisor Everett Burrell and an army of effects artists wrought havoc on the city as well as realizing the other-worldly warriors.
Revv-ealing effects: Drive Angry 3D
Director Patrick Lussier’s Drive Angry 3D tells the fantastical story of a vengeful father who escapes from hell to save his granddaughter. VFX supe Glenn Neufeld takes us through the key effects shots and how he used them to help slowly reveal some of the film’s key surprises.
Back to NBA’s future with a52
Vancouver. 1996. A young Steve Nash is visited by a fan from the future whose life was changed by the NBA superstar. But it’s all thanks to visual effects from a52. Lead Flame artist Glyn Tebbut guides us through how this ‘Nash’ future kid spot for the NBA was realised. We also have a making of clip.
Autodesk 2012 releases: change is good
For the first time ever, Autodesk announced new versions of their creative applications on a single global launch day. There are new 2012 versions of Flame, Smoke, Maya, 3ds Max, Softimage, MotionBuilder, and Mudbox. We have information about the new releases as well as details about some key structural changes that have the teams working together more than ever before.