Good Monday to you all! This week's round up of news has lots of stories about "John Carter", some interesting announcements from Adobe, some new software releases and much more. Hope you enjoy the read and don't forget to let me know if I have missed anything important.
A Chance to Win Free Maya or ZBrush Online Courses
We are very keen to find out what sort of video tutorials you like and which in particular you would like us to develop. So, in order to get as much feedback as possible, we have devised a very simple 5 questions survey. I takes less than a minute to complete and if you fill it in, you stand a chance to win 12-months access to our Maya Essentials online course or 12-months access to our ZBrush for 3D Artist course. Not bad for less than a minute's work!
Stu Schwartz Talks About His Internship at The Mill
VFX Bake-off Short List Announced
The Academy met last night to cull the list of films in the running for a Visual Effects Oscar nomination to a mere ten. The list is below, in alphabetical order.
Escape Studios LA Celebrates the Season
It’s hard to believe we’ve been holding classes for six weeks already. To celebrate that and the holidays, we had a little gathering of friends, students and colleagues. We appreciate all the hard work that’s gone into getting things off the ground and with the pending holiday season, that’s cause to celebrate. Cheers to all and thanks—it’s truly been a team effort.
Watch the CG Whiz Reveal Event Video
The winners have been revealed! Last Thursday in London at Escape Studios headquarters, we announced the winners of the CG Whiz 2011 competition at our now annual Reveal Event. Amidst free flowing champagne and much celebration, Daniel Danielsson was announced as the winner of the Amateurs Category. With general manager Mark Cass and head judge Lee Danskin on hand, his demo reel was shown. Daniel was left speechless as the team explained why he was elected to be this year’s winner. One small point to share, Daniel created his reel with no professional training—he taught himself how to use the software to create his piece.
2011 CG Whiz Winners Revealed!
After our best year yet, the 2011 CG Whiz competition has officially come to a close with the announcement of our talented winners from all over the world! Escape Studios and its judging panel were totally wowed by the quality of this year’s entries and the incredible level of talent across all categories.
The Results Are In for CG Whiz 2011
That’s right folks, after a nailbiting two weeks the CG Whiz judging is a wrap! The votes are in and the winners have been decided...but you’ll have to wait until the 14th December to find out who they are!
Announcing The CG Whiz 2011 Shortlist!
After two intense weeks of judging, the CG Whiz finalists have been decided! This year’s talent crop was the best we’ve ever seen, proving it was the right move to open up an entire category for Young Pros in addition to uncovering talented beginners in the Amateurs category.
CG Whiz Judges Deliberating, Facebook Voting Underway
Just a quick reminder to get your votes in for your favorite CG Whiz entry on our Facebook page. The viewers’ choice voting will close December 1, 2011, so be sure to head over and vote by clicking “Like” on your top picks in the Amateurs Category Gallery and Young Pros Category Gallery.
10th Annual VES Awards Are Coming Soon!
February 7, 2011 marks the 10th annual VES Awards ceremony. I always look forward to the Awards Ceremonies - an opportunity to get all dolled up and fête my visual effects colleagues in a manner most worthy of their efforts.
News Round-Up: Monday 14 Nov, 2011
Here is my usual Weekly Round-Up of News, with stories that I have picked up over the past week. If you have suggestions for stories I missed, just drop me a line or post a comment.
CG Whiz 2011 Has Closed for Entries:: Start Voting Now!
CG Whiz 2011 is now closed to new entrants, and it’s been an incredible third year for the competition. We’ve seen our highest-ever number of entries (almost 200!), including an impressive showing in the new Young Pros category. The standard this year has been higher than we’ve ever seen before, and it’s been amazing to see the amount of talent that’s out there in the world of digital creativity.
Spotlight on the ‘Amateurs’ Entries in CG Whiz
In one of our last post about this year’s CG Whiz entries, we shared with you some of our early favorites in the Young Pros Category. With just a few more days to get those CG Whiz entries in, we’re calling special attention to the incredible talent in our Amateurs category too -- and there’s been no shortage of it.
And the Lucky iPad & Voucher Winners Are…
Thanks to everyone that participated in our recent survey to update our database. We offered a chance to win one iPad or one of ten $20 Amazon vouchers and eleven lucky winners were notified yesterday that they’d won prizes.
Enlightening Evening With Digital Domain & the "Real Steel" Team
On Thursday last week, our friends from Digital Domain came by to breakdown their work on "Real Steel". The house was packed to capacity, and the Q&A sessions were lively as Erik Gamache, Geoffrey Baumann, Justin van der Lek and Blake Sweeney explained the process behind animation, environments, crowd duplication and lighting.
Last Call for Entries in CG Whiz 2011!
Gasp! We can’t believe it, but we’ve almost reached the deadline for CG Whiz submissions this year.
2010 CG Whiz Winner Geeks Out on Video Composting, Houdini and Weta
Last year’s CG Whiz winner Stu Schwartz will be the first to tell you that winning this competition changed the direction of his career in a big way. After completing his training at Escape Studios during the summer, Stu’s skill level, approach and attitude towards his craft has changed:
CG Whiz 2010 Winner Stu Schwartz’s Advice for Visual Effects Amateurs
Most new graduates are unsure what visual effects jobs are out there, what jobs they can apply for or even how to go about it. In fact, if you check out the US Bureau of Labor Statistics website you can read how CG grads “get their start in industry by running errands, moving objects on the set, controlling traffic, and helping with props. Production assistants and grips (stagehands) often work in this way.”
CG Whiz Entries Heating Up: Spotlight on Young Pros
Since kicking off CG Whiz last week we’ve been amazed by the high calibre of entries so far and wanted to share some of the highlights so far with you.
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