A subject that started off as an online murmur, has gathered a considerable amount of momentum over the last few weeks, as many VFX artists and industry professionals have begun to campaign, (or at least talk about campaigning) for the unionisation of VFX artists.

If a movie is a massive studio blockbuster, then the Prime Focus World visual effects team have most likely had some involvement in its making. Prime Focus was responsible for creating the stunning effects for titles such as Men in Black 3, Dredd 3D, Mirror Mirror and Total Recall…to name just a few! And of course, every new VFX project comes with its own challenges. Len Wiseman’s remake of Total Recall was one such project that allowed the team to flex their creative and technical muscle.

If you’ve not had access to the internet over the last week, (why else wouldn’t you be keeping up to date with the hottest VFX blog on the planet?) as well as some highly informative, highly entertaining, VFX related internet titbits, you’ve missed out on a few smashing success stories.

Today sees the launch of Reasons to be Creative, an annual festival dedicated to art, design, code and being creative. Born from its predecessor Flash on the Beach, this is a Brighton based digital media conference perfect for those who want to learn, get inspired, network, brainstorm, and collaborate. This is where leading minds in the business are brought together to share their knowledge, experience and above all inspire.

Ever found yourself pondering over a possible career in VFX? We’ve all had those moments when we’ve seen some awesome CG visuals and thought ‘how did they do that?’ The people who created these effects all started out somewhere, and that starting point is usually the time they started learning the tools they needed to get the job done.

Taking the leap from Storyboard Artist to Compositor is no easy feat at the best of time. Well what if I was to tell you that recent escapee, Carlos de la Sotilla, managed it in less than 2 years.

In pursuit of some new blog material, I managed to stumble across this über cool, VFX heavy advertisement. For the most extravagant collection of watches I think I’ve ever seen. And as far as product shots go, this one is a pretty elaborate example.

Calling all VFX artists! Is it time to take your career to the next level? Learn how to create earth shattering natural disasters, amazing particle flows, beautifully complex dynamic simulations and cataclysmically destructive explosions…without being prosecuted.

In this modern age of gadgetry we've got tablets, Siri and GPS coming out of every orifice, but sometimes it's nice to remember the past, the things that people used to do before the technological world took over, like writing a letter—with an actual pen and paper, using real stamps from a post office?! That's perhaps a retro step too far, but if there was some way to combine the old and the new worlds...some sort of postcard sending app, maybe? But if only you could use your own picture—not the generic touristy crap you can get everywhere, something more personal...Everyone LOVES taking photos on their phone—it's fast and it's easy. But what do you do with them after that? Sure you can whack them on twitter, upload them to facebook and wait for the likes but what about posting it...as a postcard?

Over the past six months we have been working with Michael Illingworth, founder of Vine Post Production to expand his studio. Michael has worked at The Mill and Cinesite and has been involved in post-production, compositing and visual effects supervision on some of the biggest film names in the industry including the Harry Potter franchise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down.