Last night we hosted an event in our Santa Monica studio with our friends from a52 and the Chaos Group. Andy Hall and Kirk Shintani from a52 showed us some amazing commercials they created for the holidays for the Red Cross. The campaign, called "Holiday Giving with Fred" looks like it was shot stop-motion, but in reality it's entirely CG. They shared all of the behind-the-scenes details, including the tools and techniques they used. We got a special treat at the end when they shared a commercial they recently completed for VISA for the Olympics. Using old footage from past Olympic races - which cannot be altered in any way - they created slow motion scenes where four athletes win their respective races. Those sequences look completely real, though they're entirely CG. The spot is gorgeous and inspiring.
Escape Studios Checks Out Rhythm & Hues
Last Friday, some of the Escape staff & students were given the opportunity to visit the El Segundo studios of Rhythm & Hues, one of the premier studios in the VFX industry. Rhythm & Hues has led the way in CG animation with their work on such features as The Chronicles of Narnia, The Golden Compass and Hop. Currently they are working on Ang Lee's next film Life of PI and awaiting release of the much anticipated Snow White and the Huntsman.
Tupac Performs at Coachella Courtesy of Digital Domain
During their sold-out set at the Coachella Valley Music Festival, headliners Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg wowed fans when they were joined onstage by Tupac Shakur via a holographic projection. This incredibly realistic likeness of 2Pac was created by Hollywood vfx studio Digital Domain and reunited the legends in an exclusive, original performance of “Hail Mary” and “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.”
Congratulations to Our Friends on Their Oscar Win
Our sincerest congratulations to our friend Angus Wall for his second consecutive Oscar win for Film Editing! Angus and Kirk Baxter won for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, directed by David Fincher. The duo won last year in the same category for The Social Network.
Darin Grant from Digital Domain Joins our Advisory Board
Darin Grant, Chief Technology Officer of Digital Domain Media Group, just joined our Advisory Board. You’ll see when you click through to his biography that he has an enviable set of credentials.
News Round-Up: Monday 20 Feb, 2012
After a week's absence, there was a great deal of news to sort through. Here's what grabbed my attention during the last seven days. There's news of new VFX for The Muppets, talks of DreamWorks investing in China, various interviews with VFX pros and much more.
Linda Siegel from Digital Domain Joins Escape's Advisory Board
VES member and Senior Training Manager, Linda Siegel of Digital Domain is the latest member to join Escape Studios’ US advisory board.
John Leonti from The Mill Joins Escape Studios’ US Advisory Board
We have a few new additions to our Advisory board here in the US. We are truly excited as these folks are really smart and bring a lot of industry experience to our board. The gifts and talents we find among these people are boundless.
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