It’s about this time of year when I actually start getting quite excited about watching TV. I know it sounds quite sad, but I don’t get that much spare time to watch the box normally. Xmas is THE time when I indulge my secret passion for children’s tales and magical stories. The child in me is reawakened every year during that time, when I barely move out of the house – or off the sofa!
Dreamworks Animation Fills Their Boots
As Puss in Boots sets Box Office records in the US, we were very keen to watch a special preview screened by Paramount Pictures at the BFI Southbank on Sunday afternoon, to judge if the film lives up to the surrounding hype, and we weren’t disappointed.
News Round-Up: Monday 5th Dec 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.
MARI 1.4 Has Launched!
MARI has already gained a reputation for being a powerful compositing tool, but the team at The Foundry continue developing this software to make MARI an even faster, more flexible tool.
CG Whiz 2011 Shortlist is Announced!
The entries for CG Whiz 2011 are in and the judges are now hard at work reviewing this year’s crop of talent. We’ve had over 200 showreels entries, making 2011 the biggest CG Whiz yet!
Esri CityEngine; A New World of Possibility
I wonder how many of you have heard or Esri? Before I go on to explain why I am writting about them today, here is a quick introduction to this very interesting company.
News Round-Up: Monday 28th 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.
A Successful UGM for Softimage
On 16th November 2011, Escape Studios and Autodesk joined forces to organise a Softimage user group meeting. The event was held at the Autodesk London office on Broadwick Street, where product manager Jason Brynford ‘Chinny’ Jones presented updates as well as a preview on the Softimage roadmap. An over subscribed event, the UGM attracted an obvious attendance from users within Soho but also users from as far as Sweden, France, Bulgaria, and Germany.
Book A HIERO Demonstration with Escape Studios
The news is travelling fast that The Foundry have a new product in development. This product is called HIERO and is thought to be the 'missing link' in shot management system for VFX pipelines. Designed specifically to help increase output and manage multiple jobs, this tool is said to be a game changer for the post production community.
3D Consumer Apps From Autodesk
Autodesk are making a serious play for the consumer world, with their new 123D range of applications. Some time ago they came up with the 123D Cad and Make software aimed at people who wish to make models and get them produced via 3D printing and laser cutting shops. Though it held much appeal for students and hobbyists, its real target is small businesses.
NVIDIA Maximus New Release
As a creative professional, we hope you’re going to find the information below as exciting as we do. Last week, 14th November 2011, NVIDIA announced the arrival of NVIDIA Maximus, a technology that is set to revolutionise the way we all work. Delivering significantly increased speed and productivity to any pipeline with a single system that allows you to achieve a range of compute-intensive and graphics-intensive tasks simultaneously, you may start to wonder how you ever managed without it.
The Illusionist: Beautiful Animation but is it Faithful to Tati?
I love Sunday. It’s my favourite day of the week: a day when I can 'veg out' and watch all the stuff on TV I don’t normally have time for. Yesterday, I settled down to watch a feature animation which had been on my ‘To Watch’ list for some time. It’s called “The Illusionist” and is a Franco-British collaboration, directed by Sylvain Chomet.
News Round-Up: Monday 21st 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.
Resonance Producer Will Be Presenting Project To Escape Students
We are delighted to welcome Simon Jones from SR Partners to Escape Studios this week to present a visual treat 'Reasonance' to our students.
News Round-Up: Monday 14th 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 Closes To Entries But Which Is Your Favourite? Vote Now!
Time’s up! Escape Studios’ CG Whiz competition 2011 is now closed. Our judges are starting work behind the scenes and boy, do they have some work to do! What a breath of fresh air this year’s entries have been! The standard has been exceptionally high and unbelievably inspiring. Not only are they technically accomplished, but they are also proof of the raw talent that continues to emerge. All, I'll say is that I’m glad I'm not judging the countless number of entries; they’d all get my vote!
Escape and Dive Into The Blu
When Wemo Media launched theblu.com a few weeks ago they quickly attracted a lot of attention. But what exactly is it?
Davi Stein Goes to VES Screening of Captain America
I had the priviledge to see a VES (Visual Effects Society) screening of the film "Captain America: The First Avenger" a few weeks ago, which was held at Framestore. Afterwards Framestore and Double Negative talked a bit about their involvement on some effects shots.
The Foundry Release OCULA 3.0
The latest version of OCULA has arrived. Last Thursday, 3rd November 2011, The Foundry announced their release of OCULA 3.0, a leading live action, stereo-3D correction and integration toolset for compositors. A production proven tool, OCULA is a plug-in that has been used extensively on major productions such as Avatar, TRON: Legacy, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. For these films, working in stereoscopic 3D had many undiscovered challenges. Over a course of trial and discovery, OCULA has developed into a reliable tool that meets the demands of artists to mend polarisation issues in photographic plates or correct common stereo-3D defects with precise speed and ease.
Is it really Movember again?
Yes, it is. That time of year when many of us give up our face real-estate to grow some facial hair in the name of prostate cancer. This year is no exception and team "There's Mo Escape" and its 16 members of varying facial hair success, are just 10 days in...
For some of us it's hard to see we are actually partaking in the fund-raising event. But hey, we are having fun trying... If you have a spare 50p and want to see how stupid we all look as we'll post some pics then please feel free to donate!
