Blog

Here are some shots of our newly installed VFX tag cloud! This is something we've been thinking about creating for a while and now we have the wall real estate I thought it was time. Our Operations Director Susan O'Neal and I sat down and came up with as many VFX terms as our brains would allow, then our designer friend and gentleman Mick Hodgson from PhD worked his magic and turned it into reality.

As award season rolls in, it’s a good time to look back over the most notable projects of 2011. To save you from trawling the net looking for the best and worst of last year’s CG offerings, check out Stash's Best of 2011 list. Separated into categories such as Best Cinema and Television Commercials, Best Music Videos, Best Broadcast and Title Design and many more, it’s a great way to see some extremely inspiring work from the top studios across the world.

Is your demo reel ho-hum? Not sure it catches recruiters’ attention? Well then let us take a look! We’re happy to announce that we are now offering free Demo Reel Reviews by VFX professionals in our Santa Monica studio. You’ll have an opportunity to share your reel with one of our talented VFX professionals in a one-on-one session. They will give you expert advice on how to make your reel stand out from the crowd. Plus, they’ll assess your skillset and help you determine if you need to improve in any areas of technical expertise.

We’re having a gathering at Escape Studios on March 15, 2012 for students and recent graduates who are curious and interested about VFX workflows in the Commercial/Advertising industry. John Leonti, head of 3D at The Mill, will be our guest speaker and he has some fantastic stuff to show us. He has promised a behind-the-scenes look at the work for the VES award-nominated spot “Immersion” for Mattel’s Hot Wheels, and the backstory behind Playstation’s cult-phenomena “Michael”. 

I have recently been exposed by my kids to the joys of a very special cartoon. Adventure Time is a newish series on Cartoon Network. It is by far the most inventive and original series I've seen in years. The creator Pendleton Ward has combined a ton of stuff from my childhood into a very surreal setting, a combination of Dungeons and Dragons, Felix the Cat and the humour from the likes of The Simpsons and Futurama. It is a very good watch for geek dads as well as anyone interested in the world of surreal animation.

Have you always wanted to learn more about Houdini? Are you in Los Angeles? Does the idea of attending a two-day boot camp float your boat? You're in luck!

An enthusiastic group arrived at the Escape Studios in Santa Monica the morning of February 4th to hear industry veteran Pam Hogarth talk about what it takes to succeed as an artist in the VFX industry. Always entertaining and informative, Pam gave the audience solid, practical advice that they can use as they pursue their careers in VFX.

As the race for the White House intensifies, I have no doubt that we’ll see a host of new plans and ideas emerge on how to tackle higher education. That’s why I wasn’t that surprised by Obama’s announcement on new initiatives in his State of the Union address. Regardless of the reasons why these are being revealed now – and there are many people who link these to Obama’s need to appeal to a key portion of the electorate – we surely need to encourage and applaud any moves to improve the plight of students who face very high levels of debt. 

Super Bowl approaches – do you have your snacks at the ready? Have you chosen your team? More importantly, have you set your DVR to record the commercials? 

This week’s mashup consists of some Super Bowl sneak peeks – we have a “Twilight”-like tailgating party for Audi courtesy of The Mill, takes 2 and 3 for VW and the “Star Wars” enterprise involving Man’s Best Friend, a couple of car spots steeped in fantasy complete with bikini-clad extras, the Coca-Cola polar bears (Giants v. Patriots) up their game and “The Avengers” trailer.

I remember when you actually had to wait for Game Day to see the spots! 

This year’s previews are kind of light on VFX  - I suspect everyone’s still rendering. 

Let us know which ones you liked – and we hope your team wins!

As Oscar fever is mounting up, there were lots of stories related to awards last week - no surprise there. But there were also lots of goodies such as a very cool video from TedTalk, an interview with the VFX Supervisor on Hugo and much more. Here's my take on last week...