Another year another SIGGRAPH and what a packed in week it was. This year, LA didn't just give us earthquakes, heat waves and the biggest burritos known to man but also a full week of presentations from some of the biggest and newest studios plus an exhibition hall packed with the latest technology from around the world.
Here is a quick summary and a few favourites from last week. These are just some of the things to check out:
SIGGRAPH Round Up...
Disney Research showcases facial-capture technology at SIGGRAPH
So as many of you will know, SIGGRAPH was in full swing last week, where the nerdy world of CGI congregate in LA to share innovations, lectures and an incredible amount of boasting. SIGGRAPH is the Official Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, where leading personnel and companies in the CGI world get together and share what's been going on for them in the past and will be in the future.
Online Academy - Free Trial!
Is your mind a whirling dervish of creativity? Do your Ideas formulate out of the blue, and evolve from non-existence to an intrinsically detailed vision, in a matter of minutes?
Maybe you need to apply the reins to such skills, and materialise your ideas in an industry where the boundaries are near limitless…
There is a universal rule for all occupations, and whether you’re a butcher, baker, or a candlestick maker, the only way to get to the top of your game, Is to learn from the best in the business. Escape studios is a testament to such a statement. Coupled with a healthy dose of hard work, our experienced professional tutors can keep you on the straight and narrow path towards VFX success.
We understand though, that in the bustling 21st century one of our classroom courses is not the most ideal option for everyone. Which is why we’ve invested a lot of time making our online VFX academy as close to our classroom course as possible.
Mentored by one of our expert tutors on a weekly basis, you’ll be guided personally through each project, all the while receiving feedback on your progress. Our virtual classroom also allows you to meet, chat and see critiques of other students work. Isn’t technology marvellous?
We’re so pleased with our online set up in fact, that we’re inviting you to take part in a one week free trial of it! You’ll be taken on a tour of our online academy by one of our fantastically helpful training advisors, after which you’ll proceed swiftly onto your costless one week trial.
Don’t pass up the chance to get stuck into a piping hot, plentiful serving of VFX expertise. It really is an opportunity not to be missed!
Is your mind a whirling dervish of creativity? Do your ideas formulate out of the blue, and evolve from non-existence to intrinsically detailed visions, in a matter of minutes? Channeling these skills can be an adventure, especially if you enter an industry where the boundaries are seemingly limitless…
A new Kinetica exhibition space launches at Emigre Studios
Saturday 18th August sees the launch of a new Kinetica exhibition space at Emigre Studios. For those of you who don't know, Kinetica is an awesome art organisation, which exhibits kinetic/moving interactive art installations that often involve video and digital art.
Gold Medal VFX
In case you hadn’t heard, the Olympics is on at the moment, and amidst the gold medals, world records, union jacks and jovial sports fans, there have been a number of VFX delights that have caught our eye here at Escape, and we thought we’d share a couple with you!
The first video comes from Piranha bar, who have teamed up with Pubilicis Dublin to create a visual treat of an advertisement, on behalf of Cadburys. Watch this Olympic themed, motion capture animation and read about the project here. It truly is a delight for the eyes.
A very close silver medal is awarded to Crystal CG, who’ve teamed up with electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers, to create a VFX driven intro sequence for the big screens in the Velodrome. The objective of said video - to get the crowd roused before the sessions begin.
Watch the Tron inspired project here, and let us know if it’d get you in the mood for some lightning paced cycling.
My answer is a conclusive yes!
In case you hadn’t heard, the Olympics is on at the moment, and amidst the gold medals, world records, union jacks and jovial sports fans, there have been a number of VFX delights that have caught our eye here at Escape, and we thought we’d share a couple with you!
Ted is Bear-illiant!
Ted, the loveable (if not a tad feckless) bundle of fuzz waddled onto our cinema screens last week, and I was first in line to watch his hilarious shenanigans—voiced by the film's writer and director, Seth MacFarlane.
Patching Up ZBrush
Last week it was announced that Pixologic released ZBrush 4R4, a free upgrade that is available for current registered license holders. But it seems that the love from Pixologic does not end there...less than two weeks after the release of 4R4, ZBrush has a patch upgrade.
New Relationship Manager at Escape Studios
There have been some exciting changes at Escape Studios recently, and with that we are very pleased to welcome our new Relationship Manager, Anita Gribble. In this role Anita will have two main responsibilities. One is to work closely with post houses up and down the country to continue building on the industry coaching scheme we currently have for our full-time students. As well as this she will be helping to maintain our relationship with recruiters at a variety of post houses to further benefit our students.
Interview with Legendary Matte Artist
The art of filmmaking has come a long way over the last 100 years. The technology we use today to create breath-taking scenes continues to push the boundaries of high-definition and realism, but we should never forget the genius of film crews who didn’t have the opportunity to ‘fix it in post’ or rely on computer graphics to set the scene. As lots of you know, some of the best moments in film history were created by filmmakers having to think on their feet, making the best of an impossible situation. And of course there are certain skills that were essential to the filmmaking process back then that will start to be forgotten due to the rise in post-production capabilities and accessibility.
Maxon Cinema 4D
It has been announced this week that MAXON will be releasing CINEMA 4D R14 in September this year. MAXON have almost 20 years of programming innovation under their belts and CINEMA 4D is one of the best known and most successful 3D motion graphics, painting and rendering software applications around.
My, That's A Lot Of Dwarfs You Got There
Peter Jackson, reknowned director for the massively popular Lord of the Rings trilogy took to Facebook earlier this week to announce that his latest creation The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will now be a trilogy of films.
A Quick And Honest Review
Last weekend I finally got to see The Dark Knight Rises. I love a bit of Batman, with my favourite being Batman Returns (1992) as it has a few of my loves under one roof: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Tim Burton.
Introducing the BOXX renderPRO
BOXX Technologies present the BOXX renderPRO, the first personal, dedicated, rendering solution for animation, VFX, engineering and architectural visualisation. The renderPRO is designed for desk-side rendering with easy configuring and a compact design for professional performance in minimal space.
Escapee Reunion at Saddington Baynes
Last Wednesday we sauntered down to our friends at Saddington Baynes, devoured some gourmet Pizza, washed it down with some ice cold beer and cleansed our pallets with some invigorating VFX related conversation, all in the name of our second graduate reunion…who says you can’t mix business with pleasure? And with a high calibre of industry employed attendees from the likes of Double Negative, Framestore, The Mill and MPC London, conversation was rife.
Pixologic Release New Upgrade
Pixologic have just released a new update for ZBrush. Any one of the new features would have been worth the price of upgrade... but wait, I forgot...you don't have to pay for the upgrade because its free and totally awesome.
Thinkbox Deadline 6.0 at Siggraph
CG Whiz 2011 Winner: Journey So Far
For the past three years, we have held a ‘CG Whiz’ competition, and one of the winners from last year just recently claimed part of his award by beginning a 12 week VFX course here at Escape Studios. We wanted to offer a little insight into what this opportunity means for Daniel, but, before we jump in, here’s a low down on the competition itself.
Last in the Current Series...
It is with great sadness that we post the last in the current series of mocha Pro V3 videos from our mocha Pro mini-series. But we had a good run...wouldn't you say?
Man Of Steel
Putting The "New" in PFTrack and PFMatchit
We are pleased to share you that The Pixel Farm products PFTrack and PFMatchit are now available on the Escape Studios Technology Store.