Sony Announced today the details of the PMW – F3 Camera. A PL mount, Super 35mm sensor, 24P video camera. While not cheap at an estimated under $19,000, it is also not expensive for a S35 sensor. The camera signals a huge shift and a creative opportunity for film makers and documentarians.

Director Robert Schwentke’s Red tells the story of ex-CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) recruiting his former team to help him defeat a hi-tech assassin. CIS Vancouver contributed 220 shots to the film ranging from detailed composites, CG bullets, an exploding RPG and plentiful destruction. We talk to CIS vfx supe Randy Goux.

For ‘Deliver Hope’, an epic Xbox Halo: Reach spot, Method Studios delivered visual effects for a major battle sequence involving the game’s newest characters. We talk to Method senior creative director and visual effects supervisor Dan Glass about the commercial.

For ‘Flow’, a spot promoting the 2011 MINI Countryman, SWAY Studio created hundreds of vehicles magically splitting, reforming and driving with precision through the streets of Milan. We talk to visual effects supervisor Aaron Powell about the use of SWAY’s Drive-a-Tron driving simulation tool for the commercial.

For the 2010 film Predators, director Nimrod Antal and producer Robert Rodriguez set out to maintain the appeal of the 1987 original film by employing similar designs and relying on both practical and digital effects. We take a look at the visual effects work by Troublemaker Digital and Hybride.

In The Expendables, director Sylvester Stallone harks back to the gritty and explosion-filled action films of days gone by to follow a team of mercenaries helping to overthrow a South American dictator. We talk to visual effects supervisor Wes Caefer about the practical and digital effects work in the film.

In Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the title character woos his new girlfriend by battling her seven evil exes in Japanese Anime-style fights punctuated with video game-like on-screen graphics. Visual effects supervisor Frazer Churchill oversaw more than 1200 shots for film. We take a look at the work by Double Negative and Mr. X.

The original Magic Bullet Colorista brought the 3-way color corrector to After Effects and improved upon the one built into Final Cut Pro. With the recent release of Colorista II and the addition of secondary color correction, more flexible masking, and UI refinements the plugin has solidified its place as our go-to favorite for grading within those desktop applications.

Phillip Noyce’s SALT takes audiences on a thrill ride with title character and CIA agent Angelina Jolie, who may or may not be a Russian spy out to assassinate the U.S. President. Visual effects supervisor Robert Grasmere oversaw the work of several vendors to provide hundreds of invisible shots for the film. We take a look at the effects by Framestore and CIS Vancouver.

In Mike Newell’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (out soon on Blu-Ray &DVD), rogue Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) safeguards a magical and sought-after dagger that can reverse time. We look at a few of the major effects sequences by Cinesite, MPC, Framestore and Double Negative, & the previs work by Nvizage. VFX supervisor : Tom Wood.

Here is our third and final report from Siggraph, but watch for fxguidetv eps and podcasts rolling out this week and next.
Today we look at Day&Night, Airbender and a summary of cool things around the show, including the mysterious Spheron HDRV camera.

Siggraph starts fully today Monday in LA. Avatar dominates the production sessions, but Siggraph delivered as usual with a stunning array of technical papers and creative sessions. In addition to the Avatar highlights, the Computational Photography session provided a timely insight into the cutting edge of photography. The parties also hit with the huge Foundry User party, the Mental Images User group, and will continue into the night.

For The Last Airbender, director M. Night Shyamalan turned to Industrial Light & Magic to create dynamic fighting scenes featuring elemental manipulation, as well as complex creatures and environments for the film. VFX supe Pablo Helman and associate VFX supervisor Craig Hammack take us through some of ILM’s main technical challenges.

America: The Story of Us is one of the History Channel’s most popular series, telling the story of how the United States was invented. To help showcase many years of history in only a 12 part series, Jellyfish Pictures realised several sweeping ‘transition’ shots to link stories together. We talk to Jellyfish creative director Phil Dobree and visual effects supervisor Hasraf Dulull.

Director Joe Carnahan’s re-imagining of the popular 1980s TV series The A-Team sees the renegade soldiers taking on a more modern mission. Overall visual effects supervisor James E. Price looked to both practical and digital means to achieve the characteristically crazy and high action stunts made famous by the series. We drill down on some of the major FX sequences from the film.

For a sneak peak of the not-yet-released Lexus CT 200h, director James Brown created an interactive adventure called ‘Dark Ride’. With the help of visual effects from Speedshape, users take on the role of the accomplice to Lexus driver Tony and must get the secret car – unscathed – from the Nevada desert to Los Angeles. We talk to Speedshape vfx supe Connor Meechan about his studio’s CG car work.

Director Tom Dey called on several FX shops for Marmaduke, the story of a loveable Great Dane who moves to Orange County with his unsuspecting family. Under overall VFX supe Craig Lyn, artists brought to life several talking animals mostly via CG face replacements, although some key scenes featured an all-digital title character. We take a look at the work by Cinesite, CIS Vancouver and Rhythm & Hues.

fxguide spoke to Franck Lambertz, Visual Effects Supervisor and Lead Flame artist at MPC LA, about their work on Washington’s Lottery spot. The Mini Market Musical final piece is both theatrical and engaging and literally turns the world upside down.

In ‘Secret Training Camp’, a commercial for Australian telco Optus released to coincide with the 2010 World Cup, the nation’s soccer team takes on a group of African animals under the cover of darkness. Paranoid US Director Thierry Poiraud turned to Paris studio BUF to combine real players with real (and sometimes CG) animals for the spot.