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.
Rhythm & Hues - more than just talking animals
Nice to see our friends at Rhythm & Hues getting such great coverage in this Animation Magazine article.
New Free Tutorial: Sculpting Smoke in Maya Fluids
This month's free tutorial was JUST posted and we can't wait to tell you about it! In this month's tutorial, you'll learn how vfx pros achieve a realistic smoke simulation. We’re talking about the heavy, ‘bubbling’, dry ice type smoke that covers the floor, creating another level of atmosphere within a shot. You’ve probably seen what we’re talking about in movies like ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’, a film where all the smoke effects were digitally generated.
How The Third Floor helped to shape "The Avengers"
Ever wonder what the difference is between previs, techvis, and postvis? This article goes through each step in the process as put together by our friends at The Third Floor, who were involved even at the storyboard level on the blockbuster "The Avengers". The team there were able to work closely with Director Joss Whedon and VFX Supervisor Janek Sirrs on all aspects of the film.
Attend and Win!
Don't miss out on your chance to win a free V-Ray license at our upcoming event at our Santa Monica studio on Thursday May 17th. Join us as we host an evening with Director Andy Hall from a52 and Lon Grohs from Chaos Group. Andy will be showing us some cool, award-winning commercials he recently directed for the Red Cross. They look like they were shot stop-motion, but amazingly, they're entirely CG. He'll show us some breakdowns and give us all the behind-the-scenes details, including how he used Chaos Group's V-ray software to create the spots. Then, Lon will tell us about the recent upgrades to V-Ray and how you can utilize it for your own projects. He'll also be giving away a free V-ray license to one lucky winner!
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.
Is Implosion the new Explosion?
Slate Magazine has very nicely summarized an emerging trend - big Hollywood blockbusters are shying away from explosions, instead using the subtler but somehow more frightening implosion to tell the story of utter destruction.
Stunning Commercial Work from Escape Studios Graduate Justin Wentz
One of our recent graduates - who was hired as a Matte Painter at The Mill in Los Angeles - posted this commercial that he just worked on for Pepsi. Take a look at this extended version. It's SO well done! Congratulations to Justin and the rest of the team at The Mill that worked on this spot. It's really impressive.
Escapee Todd Williams at NAB2012 with Autodesk
US Escapee Todd Williams went to NAB this year to help our friends at Autodesk with their booth on the floor. Here is his coverage of his time there. We hope you enjoy!
Free Tutorial: Scarab Beetles!
This month's intermediate level tutorial shows you how to create a mass of scurrying scarab beetles similar to those you’ve seen in "The Mummy" films. Our VFX instructor Dan Shutt will demonstrate how to animate hundreds of scarab beetles using a combination of goal objects and particle instancing. It's a more advanced tutorial, but once you learn it you'll be able to apply the technique to other objects. And, once you show this mastery on your reel, your work will surely stand out from the rest.
Suitcase sized Rube Goldberg Machine by HeyHeyHey
I love VFX as much and the next nerd but sometimes you really have to appreciate the practical magic that some people can come up with. Case in point, this amazing, suitcase sized Rube Goldberg machine by Dutch directors HeyHeyHey (Elske van der Putten & Erik Sjouerman). I can't imagine how long this had to have taken them, it really is a feat of imagination, ingenuity and beauty. I'm sure OK GO will be calling them very, very soon!
Gweek of the week!
VFX Supervisor and all around wonderful guy Kevin Mack is Gweek of the week for Boing Boing.
The Dark Knight Rises Final Trailer
Are you ready for this? Christopher Nolan's final Installment in his beloved Batman Trilogy is almost out and here is the final trailer. Looks like our buddies at Double Negative are at it again with some amazing VFX work (check out that bridge collapse!). The Dark Knight Rises hits a theater near you on July 20th
Free Webinar: Explore the New ZBrush4R3 Features
As many VFX artists know, ZBrush is an incredible digital sculpting tool that allows you to model, texture and paint in both 3D and 2.5D. To introduce the latest tools now available in the newest version of this software - ZBrush4R3 - we'll be hosting a webinar on May 10th, 2012 with Pixologic's 3D Application Engineer, Paul Gaboury. He'll be presenting all the cool new features including updates to FiberMesh. Plus, he'll demonstrate how to highlight using the MicroMesh at BPR render time to add an even more detail to your digital images. Then, he'll finish the session with a basic overview of how to apply the BPR render system with FiberMesh and MicroMesh (a great toool to give your images even more detail).
Hot Smokin' Deal on VFX Bootcamps
Summer is almost here, so what will YOU be doing during summer vacation? Watching TV? Surfing the internet? Hanging out all day at Starbuck's?
Summer blockbusters mean work for VFX
It's summertime, and that means loads of new movies in the theaters. This LA Times article outlines what we all know - great movies contain great visual effects! And they cost money to make.
Fun "Pirate's" Spoof
A fun spoof on Pirates "Band of Misfits" & "Hunger Games"
Enjoy the Mashup...savvy?
Prometheus, and progress!
It's been an exciting and challenging term for my new students.
Hollywood abandoning 35mm film?
I read this article in the LA weekly with great interest - as a visual effects artist confined to digital I can see the perceived cost savings of going all-digital. But as I've learned in my own photo collection, the momentos that last the longest are the negatives and the prints - firstly, they're readily visible (once you unarchive) without the use of specialized technology that may or may not become obsolete in a few years; and secondly there's no chance of accidentally deleting these analog artifacts, unless you should throw them away, have a home flood or fire.
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