British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) nominees

January 15, 2009

The British Academy Film Awards nominations were announced today. Nominees for the category Special Visual Effects are: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button – Eric Barba, Craig Barron, Nathan McGuinness, Edson Williams The Dark Knight– Chris Corbould, Nick Davis, Paul Franklin, Tim Webber Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull– Pablo Helman Iron […]

quicktakes

64-bit OS X Version of SynthEyes now Available

January 12, 2009

The powerful but affordable SynthEyes camera tracking application is now available in a 64-bit version for OS X Leopard. The new version provides a bit of a speed increase, but the main benefit with a 64-bit app is the ability to use more than 4 GB of RAM. This is useful for maintaining longer and […]

quicktakes

Autodesk Shows a bit of OS X Love

January 6, 2009

As foreshadowed in the rumor mill yesterday, Autodesk today announced 3 new OS X versions of their products: Toxik, Mudbox, and ImageModeler. The most interesting development is probably the release of Toxik, which brings a new high end compositing package to the Apple platform. The rumor of on OS X Toxik version has existed for […]

quicktakes

Bakeoff list for 2009 Oscars

January 6, 2009

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that seven films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 81st Academy Awards®. The films are listed below in alphabetical order: “Australia” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” “The Dark Knight” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” “Iron Man” “Journey to the […]

quicktakes

Macworld Rumor: OSX Versions of Toxik & Mudbox

January 5, 2009

No — it’s not a new iPhone Nano. Or a Mac Mini with media software. Or a 17″ MacBook Pro with a non-removable battery (who thought that would be a great idea?). But rumors have come our way via the prep for MacWorld in San Francisco that Autodesk will be showing off new OSX versions […]

quicktakes

fxguidetv: Harrision Ellenshaw & Green Screen with RED

January 4, 2009

This week we start by interviewing Industry legend Harrison Ellenshaw. Harrision is a Oscar Nominated matte painter who went on to run Buena Vista Visual Effects (BVVE). He has worked on films from Star Wars to Tron. BBVE credits include Dave, Honey I Blew Up the Kid, The Santa Clause, James and the Giant Peach, The Phantom,  Escape […]

quicktakes

The Spirit fxpodcast

December 30, 2008

This week’s fxpodcast we speak to Stu Maschwitz, director, author, accidental technologist and vfx supervisor of the Spirit. Stu supervised over 1900 shots, many done at the Orphanage in San Fran. The film follows in a similar, but not identical vein to the blockbusters 300 and Sin City. It is first feature directed solo by Frank Miller. We speak […]

quicktakes

fxguidetv ep #48: George Miller

December 27, 2008

It is our great pleasure for the holiday season to bring you an incredible fxguidetv episode. We are joined by film maker and Oscar winner George Miller. Coupled with this exclusive interview is a walk through of work done by Digital Domain artist Justin Van Der Lek for Mummy 3 : Tomb of the Dragon […]

quicktakes

Adobe .r3d support first review

December 23, 2008

This week in Red Centre we discuss the Adobe implementation of .r3d support in both AE and Premier with our own John Montgomery. We also look at the work of Artbeats who have been shooting now with the RED and offer not only clips but the source .r3d files for stock use purchase. Happy Holidays […]

quicktakes

Riot and Method Studios to Combine Operations

December 16, 2008

Ascent Media announced that Santa Monica based Riot and Method are officially combining operations beginning January 1st. Method will be moving its operations into the current Riot location — and the facility will do business under the Method name. A trip by the facility this week shows that the Riot sign has already been removed […]

quicktakes

Bring Back the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater

December 12, 2008

Mike is currently having a blast in Singapore at the inaugural SIGGRAPH Asia 2008, which started today. The original SIGGRAPH show has got to be our favorite of the year, with its mix of creative and intellectual stimulation. But one thing that was missing in action this past year was the Electronic Theater — always […]

quicktakes

The new new RED Deal

December 5, 2008

This week in Red Centre we discusses the Dec 3rd news from RED for Scarlet and Epic. We break down the deal for current RED ONE owners and also discuss our final section on Tripods in the RED ROOM. Visit our red centre page to listen or subscribe via RSS or iTunes. This week’s Episode […]

quicktakes

fxguidetv: Pablo Helman and Matte Painting Tip

November 29, 2008

We hope you’ve been enjoying the Masters of the Craft series as much as we had doing it. Getting to sit down and talk visual effects with people at this level has been a treat and this week was a true pleasure as we got to talk with Pablo Helman from ILM. The fxphd.com tip […]

quicktakes

Red Centre Special ep.- Stu, Jason & Mike

November 28, 2008

This week in we have a special Red Centre episode that discusses the plans for Scarlet and Epic – but from the point of view of DSLR, mounts and just what is likely to be possible. Joining Jason and Mike is special guest Stu Maschwitz of the Orphanage and the blog site ProLost.com. Listen before RED […]

quicktakes

fxphd live Inferno/Smoke Master Class in Seoul

November 21, 2008

On November 26th, there will be an fxphd live master class in Seoul covering Flame and Smoke. fxphd co-founder John Montgomery and flame/smoke artist CE Raum have joined up to teach these classes. Two years ago, they did a multi-city tour in Asia which was incredibly well received by the artists taking the classes. For […]

quicktakes

Autodesk Completes Acquisition of Softimage

November 19, 2008

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Nov. 18, 2008 – Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Softimage – a developer of 3D technology for the film, television and games markets – for approximately $35 million. On October 23, 2008, Autodesk announced it had signed a […]

quicktakes

Red Centre : Ted interview

November 14, 2008

With the new EPIC and Scarlet camera launched, we have a special new Red Centre episode that takes you behind the scenes of the launch as we interview Ted Schilowitz to explore some of the detail of the plans. He explains both more about the intended market, the new REDCODE, audio and the concept of what […]

quicktakes

CS4 RED on Nov 20th

November 14, 2008

The Adobe support for .r3d files:  Next week Adobe will ship a full native workflow for RED in Premiere Pro CS4, After Effects CS4 and even Encore CS4. Adobe claims the .r3d implementation has come along way since the IBC demos  “more performance, more stability, more options, and tuning it to CS4 which is architected […]

quicktakes

New RED Brains

November 13, 2008

Red announced today their new approach to both stills and moving digital capture. The new Red system will is based on a massively configurable system of modules, extending from a 2/3″ sensor to a newly announced 28K (yes 28K) 617.  Earliest new cameras are scheduled to be the 5K Scarlet S35 in Spring/Summer 09. Then the […]

quicktakes

14 Animated Features Submitted for 2008 Oscar

November 10, 2008

Beverly Hills, CA — Fourteen features have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 81st Academy Awards®. See the list after the jump…

quicktakes

fxphdlive Inferno/Smoke Master Class in Tokyo

November 7, 2008

On December 2nd and 3rd, there will be four fxphdlive master classes in Tokyo covering Flame, Smoke, and even a bit of Lustre. Each session will be covering the same material, but we wanted to have a variety of times to allow artists a chance to actually escape their suites. fxphd co-founder John Montgomery and […]

quicktakes

Holographic Correspondents on CNN

November 4, 2008

As the polls close, at fxguide we have been reviewing the tech of the coverage. As we write this, it is still early in the nightly coverage, but one of the more unusual technologies is the CCN’s Holographic correspondents. By having guests in remote studios standing in front of greenscreen and in front of 35 […]

quicktakes

fxguidetv: Scott Squires and XSI Tip

November 4, 2008

This week’s fxguidetv continues our “Masters of the Craft” series with a conversation with vfx legend Scott Squires. He sits down with Mike Seymour and chats about how he got started in the industry, starting on Close Encounters, and rising to a senior visual effects supervisor at ILM. Now freelance, Scott discuss both his career […]

quicktakes

Some People Really Really Like Snowboarding

November 4, 2008

Anonymous Content’s Justin Reardon via SF-based Cutwater directs this wild :60 for video game developer Ubisoft. The spot shines light on true devotion to the sport for the new game Shaun White Snowboarding. In the spot, ordinary people become snow boarding fans and rush to catch a snow boarding chopper flight.

quicktakes

And Another One Bites the Dust: Dalsa Sold to Arri

October 30, 2008

Dalsa is selling its camera division to Arri. Under the terms of the deal released to the stock exchange, Dalsa will sell its camera division, help develop future sensor chips for Arri, and seek to also sell its rental division separately. Faced with continuing losses in their high end camera sector, compared with modest profits […]

quicktakes

New fxguidetv, red centre and XSI fxpodcast

October 29, 2008

Well it has been a busy couple of days at fxguide. We have a new Episode of fxguidetv focused on RealFlow, with our 7 fave dumb FCP tips ! There is also a new fxpodcast looking at XSI version 7 with Bill Roberts, and finally Mike and Jason discuss grips and loads more on the […]

quicktakes

Assimilate Responds to Autodesk Lawsuit

October 24, 2008

When we first learned of Autodesk filing a lawsuit against Assimilate in early October, we asked both companies to comment on the litigation. ASSIMILATE CEO Jeff Edson promised the company would provide fxguide with a statement regarding the suit, and now they have. (note: Autodesk declined to comment regarding pending litigation) It probably comes as […]

quicktakes

fxguidetv #41 – John Dykstra

October 21, 2008

This week’s fxguidetv continues our “Masters of the Craft” series with a conversation with vfx legend John Dkystra. He sits down with Mike Seymour and chats about how he got started in the industry, the building of motion control systems, working on the first Star Wars movie, and how the digital age compares to the […]

quicktakes

fxguidetv #40 – John Knoll Interview

October 16, 2008

fxguidetv episode #40 is now available. We continue our “Masters of the Craft” series with a conversation with ILM vfx supervisor John Knoll. He covers his early days at ILM, the creation of Photoshop and Knoll Light Factory, and more….it’s a fun conversation outside of his usual work on films. The end of the episode […]

quicktakes

fxpodcast: Heroes vfx @ Stargate Digital

October 15, 2008

A new fxpodcast is out, and this week it is an interview with VFX Supervisor Eric Grenaudier from Stargate Digital about their work on the U.S. television series ‘Heroes’. The show recently started its third season in the United States, having been nominated for a visual effects Emmy in 2007 and 2008. Visit the fxpodcast […]

quicktakes