VFX Oscar Predictions Spreadsheet
(goldderby.com) "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" won visual effects in a visual effects-driven feature motion picture at the 10th annual Visual Effects Society Awards. Seven of the nine winners of this prize went on to claim the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
Two of its Oscars rival were in that race -- "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," and "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" -- while another, "Hugo," which the supporting visual effects award. The fifth Oscar contender -- "Real Steel" -- was snubbed by the VES.
The motion capture used in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is similar to the technique used in "King Kong" which won this Oscar race in 2005. Andy Serkis played a primate in both films and also appeared in digitally enhanced form in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Joe Letteri won for two of those three films -- "The Two Towers" and "Return of the King" -- as well as "King Kong" and “Avatar." His co-nominees -- Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon and R. Christopher White -- are all first-timers. This is the only Oscar bid for this summer blockbuster. The last film to win its sole nomination in this race was "Death Becomes Her" in 1992.
"Hugo" is the only Best Picture nominee represented in this category which could give it the edge. Oscar cham Rob Legato ("Titanic") vies for the third time -- his other bid was for "Apollo 13" -- while Ben Grossmann, Alex Henning and Joss Williams are first-time nominees.
Two other films in the "Harry Potter" franchise -- "Prisoner of Azkaban" (2004) and "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" (2010) -- contended in this category. Oscar champs Tim Burke ("Gladiator") and John Richardson ("Aliens") were nominated for those films as well as this one. Greg Butler and Dave Vickery are first-time nominees.
"Transformers" (2007) was nominated for Best Visual Effects but didn't win while the first sequel -- "Revenge of the Fallen" (2009) -- was snubbed which is not a good sign for this third entry. John Frazier won one ("Spider-Man 2") of his previous nine bids while Scott Farrar has gone one ("Cocoon") for five. This is the second nominations for Scott Benza who was recognized for the first film in this franchise. Matthew Butler is an Oscar rookie.
Erik Nash, who contended for "I, Robot" picked up another bid for fashioning the men of steel featured in "Real Steel." Swen Gillberg, John Rosengrant and Ben Taylor are rookie nominees.
Take a look - odds spreadsheet: http://www.goldderby.com/events/445/oscars-2011/best-visual-effects.html
With "Akira" on Hold, Warner Bros. Turns to Live-Action "Bleach" Movie
(spinoff.comicbookresources.com) Undeterred by its difficulties with Akira, Warner Bros. has acquired the live-action film rights to Bleach, the bestselling action-fantasy manga by Tite Kubo, Variety reports. Wrath of the Titans screenwriter Dan Mazeau will pen the adaptation, with Get Smart‘s Peter Segal producing and possibly directing.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of Bleach and have great respect for its creator Kubo and the truly original and amazing world he has created in this manga,” Segal said.
Debuting in 2001, Bleach follows Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenager with the ability to see spirits who inadvertently absorbs the powers of a Soul Reaper — a personification of death similar to the Grim Reaper — and dedicates his life to protecting the innocent and guiding lost souls to the afterlife.
The manga’s 53 volumes to date have sold 75 million copies in Japan, and spawned a hit animated television series and four feature films. Warner Bros. has been trying to secure the rights to the property since at least March 2010.
Heroes alum Masi Oka, who brought Bleach to Segal’s Callahan Filmworks, will also produce along with Segal’s partner Michael Ewing and Viz Productions, a subsidiary of Viz Media, which publishes the manga in North America.
VFX Company Shows Young People Tech Career Opportunities
(womenintechnology.co.uk) A British visual effects company that has worked on films such as Harry Potter has taken time away from the computers to show young people the careers they could have in the technology sector.
Double Negative, which has won Bafta awards for its work, has taken part in BigAmbition, a project run by e-skills UK.
More than 50 technology employers have collaborated with BigAmbition so far. The website is aimed at young people and features interviews with IT professionals, company profiles, games and quizzes, in the hope that they can see the range of careers they could have in the technology sector.
"The visual effects industry needs all kinds of creative and technical talent. BigAmbition is a great way to show young people the variety of career opportunities there are," commented Vic Rodgers from Double Negative.
"Attracting the right people into the industry is key to our continued growth. It’s important to us to get young people interested in technology as early as possible, and to show them how varied and exciting the industry can be."
It is predicted that 500,000 people will be required to fill IT jobs in the next five years.
womenintechnology has a dedicated careers advice service for women, graduates and experienced professional looking for technology and IT jobs.
Kerry Conran's "John Carter of Mars" Demo Reel
For a look at what might have been, here is Kerry Conran's "John Carter of Mars" demo reel for Looking Glass Films and Paramount Pictures.
VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdEas1NWusY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Greek Mythological "Hercules" Sets Up at MGM
(darkhorizons.com) Dwayne Johnson is in talks to play the titular Greek mythological hero “Hercules” in a new film about his exploits setup at MGM and Spyglass Entertainment reports The New York Daily News.
An adaptation of Steve Moore's comic "Hercules: The Thracian Wars", the story follows Hercules years after he carried out his twelve tasks and has turned his back on the Gods.
Now he and six friends have become mercenaries who've been hired by the King of Thrace to train his men into becoming an army every bit as ruthless as they are. Ryan Condal wrote the script while Brett Ratner is set to direct.
James Cameron’s Avatar The Game: Walkthrough Video
(cinestarsite.info) As seen on avatarmoviegame.com Today, were throwing you into the Pandora rain forest, one of 16 different environments in the game, as a member of the Resources Development Administration, or RDA military.
VIDEO - Take a look: http://cinestarsite.info/james-camerons-avatar-the-game-walkthrough-video.htm
Visual Effects & Animation veteran Tony Hudson joins “The Eyes of Thailand” Team
(eyesofthailand.com) Tony Hudson is a veteran filmmaker and entertainer with more than two decades of experience in film visual effects and animation. Having spent most of his career working at such companies as Industrial Light and Magic, Walt Disney Feature Animation and Lucasfilm Animation, Tony now finds satisfaction with his home-based visual effects studio, Fxvet Studio, which specializes in production design and providing visual effects and title services for independent film producers looking for collaborative services at a reasonable price. Recent projects include the motion graphics for Jayebird Films’ “The Right to Love”, and title and effects work for Wandering/Cut Films’ “Things I Don’t Understand” and San Simeon Films’ “Into the Wild”.
Tony joins “The Eyes of Thailand” team as the Titles and Motion Graphics designer.
Welcome aboard, Tony!
Source: http://www.eyesofthailand.com/2012/02/19/visual-effects-animation-veteran-tony-hudson-joins-the-eyes-of-thailand-team/
Support “The Eyes of Thailand” Film: http://www.eyesofthailand.com/2012/02/01/action-alert-28-days-left-to-support-the-eyes-of-thailand-film/
2012 SJ Movie Awards: Best Creature Effects Artists
(screenjunkies.com) The moment of shock and awe come blasting to your mind when you remember cinematic moments like King Kong coming from the jungle, the brontosaurs grazing in "Jurassic Park", or poor John Hurt having his chest burst open in "Alien." These scenes have become fewer and fewer through out time as we settle for "Transformers"-esque fast paced special effects or cheap CGI. But here are three movies that don't fall into the modern day pitfalls of creature effects and give us some of the most memorable creature moments in recent cinema history. These are the Screen Junkies Awards winners for Best Creature Effects.
MASTERSFX to Collaborate with Twisted Twins Productions on American Mary
(btlnews.com) Hollywood-based MASTERSFX is partnering with Twisted Twins Productions to create the character designs and produce the prosthetic and makeup special effects for the new indie horror film American Mary, currently in production.
The deal comes on the heels of the recently released DVD of Dead Hooker in a Trunk – the debut film from Twisted Twins Productions. Inspired by Robert Rodriguez‘s 1995 book Rebel Without A Crew, Jen and Sylvia Soska – identical twin sisters from Vancouver – produced Dead Hooker in a Trunk on a shoestring budget – writing, directing and staring in the film themselves, as well as doing their own stunts. The film went on to develop a cult following – touring film festivals and getting picked up by IFC Midnight.
Full article: http://www.btlnews.com/news/mastersfx-to-collaborate-with-twisted-twins-productions-on-american-mary/
Hayek Producing Animated Adaptation of Gibran's The Prophet
(comingsoon.net) Khalil Gibran's best known fictional work "The Prophet" is being adapted for the big screen in a new production that will involve collaborations across many borders. In this adaptation, each of the 89-year old classic's chapters will be directed by a different award-winning filmmaker, with Roger Allers (The Lion King) responsible for the connective through-line narrative.
Pre-production is scheduled to begin this month, with Salma Hayek producing along with Clark Peterson and Ron Senkowski. Doha Film Insititute (DFI) is co-financing along with Participant Media, MyGroup Lebanon, FFA Private Bank, JRW Entertainment and Code Red Productions.
"'The Prophet' has been an incredible source of wisdom and inspiration for millions of people all over the world. Being of Lebanese descent, I'm particularly proud to be part of a project that will present this masterpiece to new generations, in a way never seen before," said Hayek.
Vote For 'Best Visual Effects' Oscar
http://www.goldderby.com/predictions/addprediction/18/23
Cockpit Photo from "The Europa Report" Channels Kubrick’s Space Odyssey
(io9.com) Cockpit photo from The Europa Report channels Kubrick's Space Odyssey We've seen possible footage from the mysterious space flick The Europa Report, which is about a team of astronauts headed out to explore one of Jupiter's moons. This newly released production still reveals yet another sweeping view of the gorgeous ship.
This image is taken from the "nose camera" on the ship and shoots straight down, conjuring up a lovely 2001: A Space Odyssey vibe thanks to the polygonal shaft. The Europa Report should hit theaters sometime in 2013.
Take a look http://io9.com/5887301/cockpit-photo-from-the-europa-report-channels-kubricks-space-odyssey
VIDEO - Possible footage - Take a look: http://io9.com/the-europa-report/
Unscene Heroes: Stan Winston
(eatsleeplivefilm.com) This week follows on thematically from special effects, when I looked at the stunning contribution of Weta Digital, but the focus today pre-dates the kind of jaw-dropping scenes we see in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and addresses earlier techniques such as animatronics and prosthetics. Today’s individual in question has had a fantastic impact on both the film industry and on the awards front.
Stan Winston, visual effects supervisor, makeup artist and bit-part director, was born in 1946 in Arlington, Virginia. After he graduated High School, he took a 4-year University course where he undertook sculpture and painting. Shortly afterwards he moved to Hollywood, but since an acting career failed, he altered his approach and became a makeup apprentice at Walt Disney.
Only a few years later, Winston had established his own effects company and won an Emmy for a TV film, Gargoyles, in 1972. He continued to gain such Emmy recognition for the rest of the decade, until 1982 where he was nominated for an Oscar for the movie Heartbeeps. However, it was his astounding work on the Carpenter classic, The Thing, that propelled him into the limelight, which is a film that still holds its own today.
The following year he continued to work on projects for TV before beginning a recurring partnership with James Cameron. Their first film, Terminator, genuinely put Winston on the map with his vision and realisation of the now iconic machine portrayed by Schwarzenegger and just two years later in ’86, he won his first Oscar (Visual Effects) for his designs and creation of the terrifying nasties in Aliens.
The years that followed saw him assert his skills to film such as Edward Scissorhands and both Predators (for which he created the recognisable character). 1988 saw his first venture into directing with the horror film, Pumpkinhead, which won him Best First Time Director at the Paris Film Festival.
However, it was in 1990 when he reignited his affiliation with Cameron for the superb Terminator 2: Judgement Day, which blew audiences, as well as the Academy, away with its breathtaking visuals, earning two Oscars (Best Visuals & Makeup) at the 1992 ceremony.
Following that, he again teamed up with Tim Burton for Batman Returns, creating the look for Danny DeVito’s The Penguins and Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, for which he was praised for his realisation of Burton’s ideas and tone of the film.
1993′s Jurassic Park saw a slight change in direction from horror nasties to prehistoric ones, when he worked alongside Spielberg for this monster (excuse the pun) blockbuster. Animatronics were at the forefront of this visual effects marvel, and earned him another Best Visual Effects Oscar.
A more prominent venture into animatronics was to come, as himself and Cameron joined forces to establish Digital Domain: a visual effects company that became one of the most renowned in the world. Since completing the hugely successful Titanic, the pair parted ways, yet Winston continued with his team to earn an Oscar nomination for Jurassic Park: The Lost World, until yet another Spielberg movie came knocking.
This time it was the Kubrick inspired A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, where some advanced animatronics and striking CGI earned him the final Oscar nod of his career. The fantastic SFX and visuals were largely down to the handy skills and his team as well as his imprecible vision, as the film went on to receive numerous Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.
Towards the latter stages of his career, Stan Winston shared his creative input on Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, but beforehand had been left very hurt after being snubbed for Paul W.S. Anderson’s Alien vs. Predator. Considering he designed both the original concepts and visual effects on the films, he expected to be included, yet unfortunately wasn’t. This was probably a blessing in disguise, as even though it had great takings at the Box Office, it was a truly pitiful film.
Upon his death in 2008, Arnold Schwarzenegger made a public speech honouring his life, as well as John Favreau dedicating a sci-fi award for Iron Man to him in his memory.
Winston had intended Jurassic Park 4 to be his next project, and even up to his death he had a hand in Avatar with old pal Cameron, and his studio Legacy Effects (renamed from the original Stan Winston Studios) continued to strongly with Avatar and Shutter Island. Winston was a massive influence in his field and should be remembered for his prowess, impeccable skill and dedication.
Special Effects Company of the Year 2012!
(q-sfx.com) We are very proud to announce that we have been named Special Effects Company of the Year 2012 at the Event Production Awards.
We’d like to thank all at the Event Production Show, our clients and most importantly our fantastic (and hungover) team.
SPFX Portfolio: http://www.q-sfx.com/sfx-portfolio/
Source: http://www.q-sfx.com/2012/02/event-production-awards-special-effects-company-of-the-year-2012/
-H I'm done with effects movies for now. When you do a movie like 'Transformers,' it can feel like you're doing three movies at once - which is tiring. -Michael Bay
Friday, February 24, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Worth a mention - 02/22/12
Guillermo del Toro Goes CG In "Day of the Dead"
(darkhorizons.com) Guillermo del Toro is set to produce the Mexican CG animated feature "Day of the Dead" with Reel FX says Heat Vision.
"El Tigre" creator Jorge R. Gutierrez helms the film described as a Romeo & Juliet-style love story set against the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. Gutierrez and Doug Langdale co-wrote the script.
Aaron Berger and Carina Schulze will also produce. The film is aiming for a Fall 2014 release.
Paramount Animation Chief David Stainton Resigns
(reuters.com) David Stainton, president of Paramount Animation, resigned on Wednesday for personal reasons.
Stainton joined the fledgling animation unit in October after 17 years at Disney, where once served as president of its feature animation division.
“We are grateful for the time David spent at the studio and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” Adam Goodman, president of the Paramount Motion Picture Group said in a statement.
Goodman will directly oversee the animation development team moving forward.
Paramount formed its animation unit last year after the success of “Rango,” the Oscar-nominated film starring Johnny Depp. It also helped finance and distribute "The Adventures of Tintin."
'Rango' Wins Editing Award
"The Descendants," "The Artist" and "Rango" each took home an Eddie Award on Saturday night. The American Cinema Editors honored Kevin Tent in the dramatic motion picture category for his work on "The Descendants," while Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius won for best edited comedy or musical film for "The Artist." All three are also nominated for the Academy Award in the editing category.
Craig Wood earned a feature film Eddie for the animated film "Rango."
The 62nd annual awards were handed out Saturday night at a black-tie ceremony hosted by comic and actor Patton Oswalt at the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
'Star Wars: Episode I -The Phantom Menace': Just How Successful Has the 3-D Re-release Been?
(insidemovies.ew.com) Two weeks ago, when Fox re-released Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, many people expected George Lucas’ sci-fi sequel to rake in huge amounts of dollars and easily top the box office. After all, when Disney re-released The Lion King in 3-D in September, the animation roared up a huge $94.2 million, so prognosticators assumed that a Star Wars film had to be at equally successful. But that’s not really how things have played out.
The Phantom Menace scored $22.5 million in its first three days, enough for a fourth-place finish behind The Vow, Safe House, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. It then plummeted 65 percent in its second weekend (a holiday weekend no less!) to $8 million — which put the film in sixth place. All told, the re-release has brought in $35.8 million in its first 11 days.
So is that gross actually any good? “I think some would characterize this as a disappointment,” says Hollywood.com’s Paul Dergarabedian, “[but] to me, to get another $36 million [so far] out of a film that so many people have seen — it’s a good thing.”
Lucasfilm is feeling chipper as well. A rep for the studio tells EW, “It’s exciting to see a whole new generation of fans experience Star Wars on the big screen, the way it was meant to be seen. We look forward to bringing more of our galaxy far, far away to fans in 3D!”
Perhaps Lucasfilm is so excited because their upgraded version of The Phantom Menace came with minimal negative costs. Converting a film into 3-D typically takes about $10-15 million (this is a ballpark figure ascertained through conversations with other studio reps), and we can assume that Fox spent somewhere in the $10-20 million range to advertise the event (again, an educated guess). Thus, while The Phantom Menace, which seems headed for a $45 million finish, won’t turn over a major profit with this theatrical run, it will, according to Dergarabedian, “keep the franchise alive” and set the stage for future box office hauls.
“This is a great warm up,” says the analyst, who agrees with my personal theory that perhaps Fox chose to release The Phantom Menace first to build up excitement for re-releases of the original Star Wars movies — the real draws in this re-release process. “The truly exciting thing would be to see the first Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi in 3-D,” he says. “It’s sort of like saving your big guest for the end of the show so people don’t leave after the beginning.”
It should be noted that this isn’t the first time a Star Wars movie has been re-released — the original Star Wars was currently getting a second run on this very week in 1997 — and it probably won’t be the last. “It’s a license to make money,” explains Dergarabedian, “and this is box office gravy.” Why not cash in?
Pixar Engineers Leave to Build Real World Living Toys
(readwriteweb.com) ToyTalklogo.jpgTeddy Ruxpin, meet Siri.
Imagine a children's toy designed by the people behind the Toy Story and Finding Nemo movies but connected to the web and chock full of artificial intelligence. Then add in visual tracking, speech recognition and massive network scalability. It appears that's what San Francisco startup ToyTalk is building, based on conversations and information available online.
The company is putting together a powerful team of technologists and creatives from Pixar and SRI (makers of Siri) and is being relatively open about what it's up to. But it has received no press coverage anywhere as far as I can tell. That's going to change once word gets out about who they are and what they're doing. The possibilities in both entertainment and education are amazing.
OrenJacob.jpg
ToyTalk CEO Oren Jacob, photo by Chuck Foxen.
Neilsen announced new numbers yesterday, showing that tablet computers are increasingly being used by children. 70% of US households with both tablets and children under 12 now report that their children use the family tablet computer, up 9% over Q3 of last year.
Imagine the youngest of children using Web-connected toys carrying character-driven chatterbot artificial intelligence programs. If done well, the possibilities for child development, education, language learning and more are awe inspiring to consider. What are the problems that need to be solved? Lovability, connectivity and sufficiently intelligent interactivity. It's that last one that seems the hardest, the least solved. Perhaps if ToyTalk can pull it off, the company can resolve one of the world's most damaging resource shortages, the shortage of engaging time and energy for childhood development.
The Brains
ToyTalk CEO Oren Jacob worked at Pixar for 20 years, where he served as Chief Technology Officer. Then he was the Entreprenuer-in-Residence at August Capital. Now he's assembling a company that includes other ex-Pixar people, a heavy-duty engineer from Internet mega-pipe Akamai and a computer scientist from SRI, the research firm that created the now Apple-owned mobile personal assistant Siri. (Jacob once made a documentary film about competitive grocery bagging; more on him here.)
ToyTalk's Creative Director Bobby Podesta worked on Pixar movies like A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and was a Directing Animator on Cars. Podesta is hiring a mobile UI developer and a creative writer who can build out charecter dialogue.
Martin Reddy, the ToyTalk CTO, is a Computer Science PhD with more than 40 published papers and 5 years of experience building geospatial visualization technology at the Artificial Intelligence Center at SRI International, the organization that built Siri.
Now imagine massive data input and output from these toys. James Chalfant, ToyTalk's Director of Scalability, helped build Akamai, a massive Content Delivery Network that serves up 30% of all the web-based content consumed in the world.
Michael Chann built Pixar's animation technology and is now a visual tracking software specialist at ToyTalk. Brian Langner is a Carnegie Mellon PhD and now ToyTalk's "Senior Speech Scientist" specializing in human computer spoken word interaction. Byrne Reese was the Product Manager for Movable Type, one of the world's first major blogging platforms and is now Head of Customer Development at ToyTalk. Renee Adams, head of operations at ToyTalk, spent years working on logistics and retail operations at Apple.
Got that? We're talking about children's toys built by an AI scientist from where Siri was born, that tracks human movement, can interact with spoken words, is connected to the web and mobile by an engineer with a world-beating scalability background, promoted by an early advocate of blog publishing software that changed the world and designed by people behind the most popular children's movies in history.
That sounds incredible. And maybe a little bit frightening.
Could these be the toys that teach your children multiple languages, that help provide some interactivity to neglected children, that save the next generation from passive consumption of non-interactive broadcast media?
Or will they fall into the Uncanny Valley, seem creepy to adults but desensitize children to the true humanity of living people, ushering in a generation of humans so comfortable with robots that the robots proliferate and ultimately... Well, you can imagine. Perhaps it's post-humanity that will feel like Elvis's swinging hips for our generation, so wrong to us but a much-loved part of the future for our children.
Those are the questions I'll be asking when more information comes out about ToyTalk. The company hasn't yet responded to my request for an interview. I hope they will soon.
Green Screen is EVERYWHERE!
(98fm.com) Is nothing real on TV?
It’s just mind-blowing how much stuff they shoot on green screen.
VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8QIzHbt0dQE
Unpaid VFX Internships In Canada
(vfxsoldier.wordpress.com) VFX workers in Ontario, Canada have pointed me to a discussion about job postings by an animation studio called Guru for unpaid internships.
Apparently the post garnered so much outrage in the comments section that the site took the post down and instead put up an article that seems to whitewash the issue:
We’re asking if these interns should be getting paid for their work or not. But therein lies the conundrum. Because they’re not getting paid, they’re not technically employees, and therefore, not covered under the employment standards act. They’re volunteers, pure and simple.
But the commenters continued to take a stand. Here were a few that I feel were compelling:
At least in China, a college grad who can only get a job at an IPad factory gets paid $22US a day.
Canadian animators with college education and “1-2 years experience” are only offered unpaid internships for full time work?
To make matters worse, the province uses taxpayer money to pay the producers to do the work in Ontario. So the students are indirectly paying to work for free:
Isn’t the 20% salary Ontario animation tax credit incentive enough?
Look, it doesn’t matter at all what the law says. Artists in Ontario can easily end this practice by forming a union that sets appropriate standards. Have the employers sign a collective bargaining agreement that sets wage minimums for all workers.
I personally feel internships should be banned. I find it disgusting that after going to school for years in VFX training that you are expected to “pay your dues” and take an unpaid internship for a project that exists for a profit. Wasn’t paying thousands of dollars in tuition enough?
The excuse by employers for unpaid internships is usually to assess if you’re a competent and good worker but isn’t that true for all jobs that are paid? No matter how experienced or how well you are paid you are being assessed everyday. If you aren’t cutting it you get fired. The only difference is with an unpaid internship the employer gets free work. Of course they know you’re a competent worker, why would they want you to waste their time if they knew you couldn’t do the work for them?
One thing is for sure, hats off to the artists in Ontario for speaking out against this. Remember almost a year ago when these kinds of things would happen in Canada and workers were too scared to speak out? Know hope.
Employers, if you want charity, go to a church.
Calling for a Collaborative Performance Oscar
(hitfix.com) With many grousing that the Academy's technophobia deprived Andy Serkis of an Oscar nod for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," Matt Zoller Seitz makes a case for a compromise honor: a new Oscar category for Best Collaborative Performance, for characters created by heavily altered actors in conjunction with motion-capture artists, animators and makeup wizards. Serkis aside, performances Seitz suggests could have won here include Jeff Goldblum in "The Fly" and Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" -- though his notion that anti-FX bias cost Pitt the 2008 Best Actor Oscar is an empty one when you consider his competition. Overall, It's an intelligent suggestion, though it would surely hinder the possibility of such performances cracking the main acting races.
20th Century Fox Live-action/CGI Hybrid KING KONG Feature Moving Forward
(dailyblam.com) 20th Century Fox is currently pushing forward with a re-imagining of the long standing pop culture character is animated form. The latest news on the project reveals that it sill in the very early development stages.
king-kong-019.jpg
King Kong, last seen in the 2005 live-action/CGI hybrid film by director Jackson, will get a revamp of sorts with a new animated film. The story will be told from Kong's point of view, and Fox Animation (Ice Age, Rio) has tapped relative unknowns Christian Magalhaes & Bob Snow to develop the screenplay based off an already written story from Mike Weber.
Producer Shawn Levy recently offered a few words concerning the project, stating that it is still in the early stages of conceptualization:
“It’s an animated movie for Fox Animation and it’s a retelling of Kong as a family animated comedy… It’s in script stage; so no it’s not yet at the point where you’re doing those animation tests.
"It’s moving forward in that Fox Animation really likes it, I really like it, I think that when Fox Animation gets it right, almost always through Blue Sky, they get it really right. I’ve got a couple with them, and that’s the one that I think I’m the most bullish on.”
Unscene Heroes: Weta Digital
(eatsleeplivefilm.com) More-often-than-not, films rely on special effects. From the smallest, subtlety of a moving duvet in Paranormal Activity, to the epic battle scenes for Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings; a lot of movies nowadays depend on the talents of visual effect artists to achieve a vision that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.
Developments in the special effects world have aided films in their quest to impress and astound audiences as they bring to life the wildest, most fantastical aspects of a director’s imagination. Arguably The Lord of the Rings set the modern benchmark for SFX with its numerous breathtaking moments of CGI, but since then even more developments have been made with the technology that was so effective in bringing Gollum to life. I am of course referring to motion capture, as well as the advancement of animation in general. Examples of just how far technology has come can be seen in the shape of Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin and more recently the motion captured, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
The ones at the forefront of such technological advancements are Weta Digital. Named after a species of 70 insects from New Zealand, Weta is a company that was founded by Richard Taylor, Jamie Selkirk and Peter Jackson in 1993, and took charge of the special effects in the latter’s film, Heavenly Creatures.
To date, the company have won 5 Oscars for Best Visual Effects for efforts on each of The Lord of the Rings movies, as well as for King Kong and Avatar.
Weta are responsible for developing and creating new technology and programmes such as MASSIVE, which is a piece of software that allows hundreds of moving characters to perform individual, independent actions all one screen simultaneously. This was used predominantly for LotR in the battle scenes that heavily feature, and looks stunning with the amount of creatures on display together.
They also came up with CityBot, which is a programme that can build an entire city, shot-by-shot, and was used in order to recreate 1933 New York for King Kong. Not only that, but for Kong’s fur they had to devise completely new modelling and simulation software in order to realistically re-create the beast. In fact, a staggering 460 billion strands of fur made up the giant ape in order for it to believably interact with different surfaces. MASSIVE was further developed for Avatar, with the help of senior visual effects artist, Joe Letteri, which was by in large a mo-cap, CGI and animation heavy affair of a movie.
In total, Weta Digital have worked on an impressive 30 films since their debut 19 years ago, including Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, which is out December of this year, as well as 2013’s Man of Steel and second Hobbit instalment.
They’ve also had a huge part to play in films such as I, Robot, District 9 and X-Men: First Class, too, with Rise of the Planet of the Apes being the film to really showcase their capabilities in the next step of motion capture. For years, including sequences in the multi-Oscar winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy, motion capture has been achieved under close supervision and within the confines of a studio. However, for Rise, Weta Digital evolved their technology and captured the desired character movement and data unrestricted, whether it be on a set or on location; it opens up a number of possibilities for motion capturing action in a wide open space.
This year Weta are yet again up for Best Visual Effects for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and would be an injustice for them not to win it considering how life-like Caesar et al look in the film.
It’s no secret that Weta Digital are industry innovators, with an amazingly talented team to make it all possible in the first place. They have proved a massive influence on the film industry with their combination of motion capture, SFX and exquisite animation that their films will be the cornerstone and model example for years to come, especially when we look back as perhaps we have done with the likes of Blade Runner and more recently, Jurassic Park, for its special effects and ground-breaking visual impact.
Shared Costs Aids Canadian VFX Shops
(variety.com) With their data storage costs on the rise as visual effects companies render more and more work, vfx and animation houses are finding a silver lining in a shared cloud.
And while the idea of basing render farms in the ether has been around for a long time, it's only recently that faster and higher-capacity transmission capabilities, plus greater assurances of security, have enabled the technology to take hold.
In Vancouver, where many vfx and animation houses have set up shop to service the region's growing film and TV production business, three of the city's top shops -- Rainmaker, Digital Domain, and Image Engine -- among the converts that are switching over to a cloud-based media storage and rendering system, eliminating the need for each of them to maintain a costly inhouse system of their own.
The facilities were all facing the same issue, says Image Engine head Jason Dowdeswell. Each time they tackled large-scale projects they were forced to purchase more storage and rendering capability. However, once a show was done, there was no way to scale back down.
So the studios -- partners in the Vancouver Studio Group, a 16-member association formed in 2009 to identify production efficiencies -- looked into a way to share rendering computers. After entertaining various proposals, they decided to go with RenderCloud, from Toronto-based technology firm Scalar Decisions, and set to launch Feb. 15.
The technology allows users to share a hub of high-performance off-site servers that are controlled, managed and maintained by a third party. Rendering takes place via a high-speed connectivity. This sharing of resources lets the studios take on larger projects and become more competitive in attracting more 3D, animation and vfx work to Vancouver.
Scalar Decisions has invested more than $4 million to launch the service, and already has better than 1,000 servers in place; it expects to expand to 1,500 by summer. In addition to Vancouver, Scalar will market RenderCloud's services in Montreal, Toronto and Los Angeles.
Great Northern Way Campus -- a joint venture between the U. of British Columbia, Simon Fraser U., Emily Carr U. of Art + Design and the British Columbia Institute of Technology -- is a partner in the initiative, which turns an 18-acre industrial site in the heart of the city into Vancouver's "digital district."
Rainmaker, Digital Domain and Image Engine are RenderCloud's first customers and have each signed three-year agreements. The three studios are the founders of the initiative, but Dowdeswell says that they're also inviting other local animation and vfx shops to join in. "We're all looking out for each other. We all recognize that the more we help each other, the better off everyone's going to be. As independents, we all want to remain competitive, but we all also want to eliminate the common issue that we have, which is having to spend cash on systems that (often) sit dormant."
Darren Sharpe, Scalar's general manager for Western Canada, says the company's ability to provision resources collaboratively is what sets it apart. Although the studios will be accessing a common location for rendering through RenderCloud, their work will remain secure. Each facility's activity will be controlled by and visible only to that facility.
"We were at a crossroads where we had to decide to either build out yet another server room on our premises that might give us another year or two of expansion or find another long-term solution like RenderCloud," Dowdeswell says. Now as the company expands, instead of buying more rendering capability, it will be renting it from Render Cloud and paying as it goes.
Image Engine will be using the new technology for all productions starting with Sony Pictures Entertainment's "Elysium" and Universal Pictures' "R.I.P.D".
Dowdeswell is confident that RenderCloud offers the kind of flexibility and scalability that is needed to meet production demands as animation and effects continue to grow in Vancouver. "Directors and clients now have the expectation that they can be working on every shot right till the bitter end," he says. "The only way that we can support that type of service is to have the quickest, easiest way to expand our capabilities."
High capacity and fast connectivity "ensure that there are no latency issues," says Sharpe, referring to the possibility of an annoying lag in rendering time.
Although many facilities with existing rendering capability might find it difficult to consider switching over to cloud technology and decommissioning their servers, Sharpe says that there's not just the hard cost of hardware to consider, but also soft costs like power and manpower. He suggests that studios look into scaling out gradually. "The (return on investment) of no longer having to expand their render capability is impressive," he says.
And while Sharpe admits that RenderCloud can be susceptible to lines being cut or major outages, he insists that the "connectivity we offer is very much in line with that of major telecommunications and Internet providers."
Nonprofit government org BC Film + Media is assessing how studios from outside Vancouver can take advantage of British Columbia's tax credits for post-production when they use RenderCloud.
Pixar In Danger
(thedeletedscene.wordpress.com) It has happened countless times, from Lucas to Shyamalan, as success too early in a career seems to impede creative growth and promotes the perpetuation of cinematic flaws. Now, another cinematic powerhouse seems to be in danger of losing self-awareness, and it is not just one filmmaker but an entire group of them.
Pixar has enjoyed almost unparalleled success both critically and financially, it is no wonder it enjoys almost complete artistic freedom. They answer to no one but themselves, and this is when filmmakers like Lucas ran into problems. When you no longer have to answer to anyone, because of earlier success, the problems you have can be glossed over as you lose self-awareness.
Over the last 20 years, Pixar has delivered some of cinema’s best films. Its own unique brand of intelligent, whimsical, family films have set the bar almost impossibly high. Since their first film, Toy Story, the owners and filmmakers at Pixar have been fighting to create a home for complete creative freedom. And while they have successfully done so, Pixar’s recent disappointment, Cars 2, may be a sign of a larger problem than just a failed film.
The first Cars film, directed by John Lasseter, was seen as simply a mediocre film in an otherwise brilliant filmography. It was a major financial success for the already profitable studio, and it is no wonder why they decided to move forward with a sequel. Some believed that the sequel could be a redemption for the franchise, however Cars 2 turned out to be an even bigger disappointment. The basic concept of the films is inherently flawed, as the world is both creepy and clichéd. This is clearly reflected in the negative critical reception of the film.
The issue is not that Pixar made a mediocre film, but rather that they did not recognize and correct their mistakes. The first film did not work, it was an OK animated feature but certainly not at the level of quality that Pixar has set for themselves. It is worrying that they moved forward, and revisited the Cars universe without accepting its failure. More so, with Pixar dominating the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars virtually every year, it was a noticeable change of pace this year with Cars 2 not receiving a nomination. Several members of the Pixar team have spoken out, defending the film.
It should be noted that I am a huge fan of Pixar, and I believe they have one of the best track records of any studio around. That does not mean they are not in danger of losing self-awareness. In fact, it appears they may have already. They hold themselves at such a high standard with such a great catalogue of films, yet they do not seem to realize that the Cars films simply do not work. They may be acceptable for another studio, but Pixar should know better.
Maybe this is overreacting, or maybe it is just John Lasseter’s fault. He is the creative force behind the Cars films and he seems to genuinely love the universe he created. Pixar, as a whole, could still fall prey to the Lucas-syndrome. Pixar is in a situation that all filmmakers wish they could be. They answer to no one but themselves, and while in most cases this has allowed cinematic greatness, it also has allowed cinematic mediocrity.
Lucas had success too early, and because of that, became blind to his own faults. Pixar has done the impossible and pushed themselves to allow for the creative freedom they currently enjoy, let’s just hope they take advantage of that freedom and leave the Cars universe behind.
How Do I Get Into the Special Makeup Effects Industry?
(makeup.ohamor.com)
Please be aware that it is competitive industry (name one that isn’t) but a broad skill base means there are a number of avenues to pursue.
A great many ‘Hollywood’ films are made in places other than Hollywood. In the UK, I have been fortunate enough to work on The Mummy, Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator-all full of UK crew and extras. European locations are often used (Prague and Budapest were popular) and Morocco is often used for desert locations so it may be necessary to travel if you get involved in that area.
Many successful makeup effects artists did not go through conventional makeup schooling-rather they misspent their youth making monsters for fun and gradually honed their skills over time. They were doing it for fun, making mistakes and enjoying it long before it paid their bills.
Most people are freelance, as the nature of the work arrives in peaks and troughs so you’ll need to sustain yourself with your earnings while the going is good, and accept there will be quiet times of the year.
A lot of prosthetic work takes place in a workshop environment rather than the set, which is a completely different world. It is messy, smelly and often long hours-not at all glamorous. But if you like sculpting, painting and making monsters then it should be your natural habitat!
Many makeup artists will be expected to do some ‘special effects’ such as straightforward casualty makeup, illnesses and subtle aging. Specialist makeup effects departments step in when the skills needed are more extensive.
If you can’t find what you want near you, I suggest getting a good book, and spending the money on some kit and practice. Good books include:
* Character Makeup by Make-up Designery (ISBN-13: 978-0974950006)
* Special Make-Up Effects by Vincent Kehoe
* Special Makeup Effects for Stage & Screen: Making and Applying Prosthetics by Todd Debreceni
* Stage Makeup by Richard Corson
Some courses can be expensive ways to learn unless you are totally set on doing it as part of a career move. The best teaching will come from those who make their living from it, and naturally there will be emphasis on film quality work.
I also teach in the UK, and a lot of people from all over the world travel to learn. If you were successful in the trade, you would most likely need to travel all over the world when you work, so if you don’t like travel or working away from home, you may limit what work you can do.
Family commitments often hold people back in this way, and a lot of good artists who start early in their lives work all over don’t settle down.
You may not be able to travel to learn, but know that your competition will-it is a very competitive industry if you want to make a career out of it.
Check http://makeupmag.com/faqmain/. They also host trade shows (check http://www.makeupartistshow.com/) It is worth going, so you can meet and speak to people face to face about your intentions. It is great meeting like minded souls, and most of the big schools are there giving demos and often have show offers and discounts.
Whoever you go with, check them out online, see if anyone has anything bad to say about them. If you want a career in film and TV I also suggest you run the tutors name through http://www.imdb.com/, and see what credits they have to their name. Many teach it although they haven’t actually done it themselves in industry.
Kind regards
Stuart
mail@learnprostheticmakeup.com
2012 Academy Awards Odds: Betting On Best Visual Effects
(gambling911.com) When it comes to the 2012 Academy Awards betting odds, WagerWeb.com has one of the most complete wagering menus available. Here, Gambling911.com takes a look at some of the more obscure odds including “Best Makeup” and “Best Sound Effects”. You’ll notice quite a few of these categories feature competitive pricing.
Best Achievement in Visual Effects is offered at a decent price with nominal risk for the favorites.
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
5170
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
+300
Bet Now
5171
Hugo
+275
Bet Now
5172
Real Steel
+4500
Bet Now
5173
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
-400
Bet Now
5174
Transformer: Dark of the Moon
+3000
Bet Now
Harry Potter VFX Supe Talks Changing Voldemort's Death in Deathly Hallows: Part 2
(snitchseeker.com) Tim Burke, visual effects supervisor of the Harry Potter series beginning with Chamber of Secrets, recently discussed some of the changes and special effects used for key moments in the finale of the saga, Deathly Hallows: Part 2, including the Gringotts ride, dragon, and Hogwarts during the final battle.
Of particular note was the fact that Voldemort's death in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was changed from its initial filming to what is seen in the final cut (shown below), which was altered mere months before the July 2011 release of the movie. Some may recall a promotional still released online featuring a very different ending for Voldemort, where Harry stood above his dead body. Burke recently won the BAFTA film award for his work in Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and is up for achievement in visual effects for this Sunday's Academy Awards.
On changing Voldemort’s death:
Tim Burke: We were designing end shots for the death of Voldemort a couple months before we delivered the film. There were certain areas of the film unresolved and because of the virtual environments, [David Yates] realized we could recreate shots quickly.
The key thing that changed was the death of Voldemort. That happened after we had locked cuts. We had done some screenings and realized we needed a more epic ending. So we redesigned the sequence and thankfully with the digital assets we could recreate the environment.
We projected some elements of Ralph Fiennes onto geometry of him and added those to the shots, and for a couple shots had to use a full CG Voldemort. It happened way past the 11th hour. The shoot had finished 12 months earlier, so it was long past the point of pick-up shots. We had to take materials from other shots and recreate him.
On the shield (force field) protecting Hogwarts:
Tim Burke: As Voldemort arrived with his army on the hillside, the teachers went into the areas of the courtyard and created a magical shield that enveloped and protected the school. It took a long time to create the magical shield. Then Voldemort bombarded the school and destroyed the shield. We wanted to give that an epic scale.
We referenced the Hindenburg airship disaster, when it went up in flames, to get the scale of the flames and burning materials. That was the reference for pieces of cloth-like fire that dropped down onto the school. It was magical – not in a Harry Potter sense. It was beautiful and shocking at the same time. Those shots were completely CG and had a big design aspect, which is rewarding.
On the Gringotts dragon:
Tim Burke: We had to emphasize and feel sorry for this 60-foot dragon through pure performance. We found reference from badly treated real animals and translated that body language into our character. He was trapped. Unable to fly. Partially blind. And he had been down there his whole life. It was important to emphasize that so you wanted him to escape and when he did, he flew with majesty and pride. That was a lovely story to roll into the character of the dragon.
On the decision to create a virtual Hogwarts:
Tim Burke: We didn’t use any miniatures for Hogwarts. It was the first time we did away with the 24th-scale model. We used a third-scale viaduct for the sequence with the giants. We scaled the architecture they were running on to make the actors look taller. But we didn’t use miniatures to recreate Hogwarts.
It was a big change, a big decision that we made before starting the film. We were still working on the sixth film [Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince] and in discussions with the director and producers. All we had was the book. No script. We realized how much a part of the film and the story the school had become. David [Yates] wanted the freedom to fly the camera outside the school, inside the windows, explore the school as part of the developing battle.
Having worked with miniatures in the past, one big 24th-scale and bespoke models at different scales for key areas, we knew it would be a daunting task to build all those miniatures and nest them into wider shots. Double Negative had technology that we had used successfully on Half-Blood Prince to rebuild the whole of London. It was time to throw away the model.
Order the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 DVD and Blu-ray sets, out today in the U.S. and December 2 in the UK, at the Amazon links below, or through the official Warner Bros Shop.
WALKING DEAD VFX DISSECTED
(98fm.com) I love all the VFX videos that are coming out these days. It seems Stargate Studios are the main dudes!
This one is all from The Walking Dead, which is SUCH an amazing show. Season 2 Part 2 has just started up on FX on Friday nights at 10pm. Don’t miss it. It’s AWESOME!
VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKao6wZklec&feature=player_embedded
Pixar’s Star Wars?
Or would you prefer to see George Lucas’s Up? I’ve accepted droids, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable flying an X-wing that talked. Through a mouth. Andrew Chesworth composed this image for Star Wars Day — you know, May the Fourth.
Take a look: http://andrewchesworth.blogspot.com/2011/05/may-fourth-be-with-you.html
-H "A monster looks phony if his mouth doesn't move when he's talking. Fix it. A mouth on the blob." -Irwin Allen
(darkhorizons.com) Guillermo del Toro is set to produce the Mexican CG animated feature "Day of the Dead" with Reel FX says Heat Vision.
"El Tigre" creator Jorge R. Gutierrez helms the film described as a Romeo & Juliet-style love story set against the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. Gutierrez and Doug Langdale co-wrote the script.
Aaron Berger and Carina Schulze will also produce. The film is aiming for a Fall 2014 release.
Paramount Animation Chief David Stainton Resigns
(reuters.com) David Stainton, president of Paramount Animation, resigned on Wednesday for personal reasons.
Stainton joined the fledgling animation unit in October after 17 years at Disney, where once served as president of its feature animation division.
“We are grateful for the time David spent at the studio and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” Adam Goodman, president of the Paramount Motion Picture Group said in a statement.
Goodman will directly oversee the animation development team moving forward.
Paramount formed its animation unit last year after the success of “Rango,” the Oscar-nominated film starring Johnny Depp. It also helped finance and distribute "The Adventures of Tintin."
'Rango' Wins Editing Award
"The Descendants," "The Artist" and "Rango" each took home an Eddie Award on Saturday night. The American Cinema Editors honored Kevin Tent in the dramatic motion picture category for his work on "The Descendants," while Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius won for best edited comedy or musical film for "The Artist." All three are also nominated for the Academy Award in the editing category.
Craig Wood earned a feature film Eddie for the animated film "Rango."
The 62nd annual awards were handed out Saturday night at a black-tie ceremony hosted by comic and actor Patton Oswalt at the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
'Star Wars: Episode I -The Phantom Menace': Just How Successful Has the 3-D Re-release Been?
(insidemovies.ew.com) Two weeks ago, when Fox re-released Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, many people expected George Lucas’ sci-fi sequel to rake in huge amounts of dollars and easily top the box office. After all, when Disney re-released The Lion King in 3-D in September, the animation roared up a huge $94.2 million, so prognosticators assumed that a Star Wars film had to be at equally successful. But that’s not really how things have played out.
The Phantom Menace scored $22.5 million in its first three days, enough for a fourth-place finish behind The Vow, Safe House, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. It then plummeted 65 percent in its second weekend (a holiday weekend no less!) to $8 million — which put the film in sixth place. All told, the re-release has brought in $35.8 million in its first 11 days.
So is that gross actually any good? “I think some would characterize this as a disappointment,” says Hollywood.com’s Paul Dergarabedian, “[but] to me, to get another $36 million [so far] out of a film that so many people have seen — it’s a good thing.”
Lucasfilm is feeling chipper as well. A rep for the studio tells EW, “It’s exciting to see a whole new generation of fans experience Star Wars on the big screen, the way it was meant to be seen. We look forward to bringing more of our galaxy far, far away to fans in 3D!”
Perhaps Lucasfilm is so excited because their upgraded version of The Phantom Menace came with minimal negative costs. Converting a film into 3-D typically takes about $10-15 million (this is a ballpark figure ascertained through conversations with other studio reps), and we can assume that Fox spent somewhere in the $10-20 million range to advertise the event (again, an educated guess). Thus, while The Phantom Menace, which seems headed for a $45 million finish, won’t turn over a major profit with this theatrical run, it will, according to Dergarabedian, “keep the franchise alive” and set the stage for future box office hauls.
“This is a great warm up,” says the analyst, who agrees with my personal theory that perhaps Fox chose to release The Phantom Menace first to build up excitement for re-releases of the original Star Wars movies — the real draws in this re-release process. “The truly exciting thing would be to see the first Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi in 3-D,” he says. “It’s sort of like saving your big guest for the end of the show so people don’t leave after the beginning.”
It should be noted that this isn’t the first time a Star Wars movie has been re-released — the original Star Wars was currently getting a second run on this very week in 1997 — and it probably won’t be the last. “It’s a license to make money,” explains Dergarabedian, “and this is box office gravy.” Why not cash in?
Pixar Engineers Leave to Build Real World Living Toys
(readwriteweb.com) ToyTalklogo.jpgTeddy Ruxpin, meet Siri.
Imagine a children's toy designed by the people behind the Toy Story and Finding Nemo movies but connected to the web and chock full of artificial intelligence. Then add in visual tracking, speech recognition and massive network scalability. It appears that's what San Francisco startup ToyTalk is building, based on conversations and information available online.
The company is putting together a powerful team of technologists and creatives from Pixar and SRI (makers of Siri) and is being relatively open about what it's up to. But it has received no press coverage anywhere as far as I can tell. That's going to change once word gets out about who they are and what they're doing. The possibilities in both entertainment and education are amazing.
OrenJacob.jpg
ToyTalk CEO Oren Jacob, photo by Chuck Foxen.
Neilsen announced new numbers yesterday, showing that tablet computers are increasingly being used by children. 70% of US households with both tablets and children under 12 now report that their children use the family tablet computer, up 9% over Q3 of last year.
Imagine the youngest of children using Web-connected toys carrying character-driven chatterbot artificial intelligence programs. If done well, the possibilities for child development, education, language learning and more are awe inspiring to consider. What are the problems that need to be solved? Lovability, connectivity and sufficiently intelligent interactivity. It's that last one that seems the hardest, the least solved. Perhaps if ToyTalk can pull it off, the company can resolve one of the world's most damaging resource shortages, the shortage of engaging time and energy for childhood development.
The Brains
ToyTalk CEO Oren Jacob worked at Pixar for 20 years, where he served as Chief Technology Officer. Then he was the Entreprenuer-in-Residence at August Capital. Now he's assembling a company that includes other ex-Pixar people, a heavy-duty engineer from Internet mega-pipe Akamai and a computer scientist from SRI, the research firm that created the now Apple-owned mobile personal assistant Siri. (Jacob once made a documentary film about competitive grocery bagging; more on him here.)
ToyTalk's Creative Director Bobby Podesta worked on Pixar movies like A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and was a Directing Animator on Cars. Podesta is hiring a mobile UI developer and a creative writer who can build out charecter dialogue.
Martin Reddy, the ToyTalk CTO, is a Computer Science PhD with more than 40 published papers and 5 years of experience building geospatial visualization technology at the Artificial Intelligence Center at SRI International, the organization that built Siri.
Now imagine massive data input and output from these toys. James Chalfant, ToyTalk's Director of Scalability, helped build Akamai, a massive Content Delivery Network that serves up 30% of all the web-based content consumed in the world.
Michael Chann built Pixar's animation technology and is now a visual tracking software specialist at ToyTalk. Brian Langner is a Carnegie Mellon PhD and now ToyTalk's "Senior Speech Scientist" specializing in human computer spoken word interaction. Byrne Reese was the Product Manager for Movable Type, one of the world's first major blogging platforms and is now Head of Customer Development at ToyTalk. Renee Adams, head of operations at ToyTalk, spent years working on logistics and retail operations at Apple.
Got that? We're talking about children's toys built by an AI scientist from where Siri was born, that tracks human movement, can interact with spoken words, is connected to the web and mobile by an engineer with a world-beating scalability background, promoted by an early advocate of blog publishing software that changed the world and designed by people behind the most popular children's movies in history.
That sounds incredible. And maybe a little bit frightening.
Could these be the toys that teach your children multiple languages, that help provide some interactivity to neglected children, that save the next generation from passive consumption of non-interactive broadcast media?
Or will they fall into the Uncanny Valley, seem creepy to adults but desensitize children to the true humanity of living people, ushering in a generation of humans so comfortable with robots that the robots proliferate and ultimately... Well, you can imagine. Perhaps it's post-humanity that will feel like Elvis's swinging hips for our generation, so wrong to us but a much-loved part of the future for our children.
Those are the questions I'll be asking when more information comes out about ToyTalk. The company hasn't yet responded to my request for an interview. I hope they will soon.
Green Screen is EVERYWHERE!
(98fm.com) Is nothing real on TV?
It’s just mind-blowing how much stuff they shoot on green screen.
VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8QIzHbt0dQE
Unpaid VFX Internships In Canada
(vfxsoldier.wordpress.com) VFX workers in Ontario, Canada have pointed me to a discussion about job postings by an animation studio called Guru for unpaid internships.
Apparently the post garnered so much outrage in the comments section that the site took the post down and instead put up an article that seems to whitewash the issue:
We’re asking if these interns should be getting paid for their work or not. But therein lies the conundrum. Because they’re not getting paid, they’re not technically employees, and therefore, not covered under the employment standards act. They’re volunteers, pure and simple.
But the commenters continued to take a stand. Here were a few that I feel were compelling:
At least in China, a college grad who can only get a job at an IPad factory gets paid $22US a day.
Canadian animators with college education and “1-2 years experience” are only offered unpaid internships for full time work?
To make matters worse, the province uses taxpayer money to pay the producers to do the work in Ontario. So the students are indirectly paying to work for free:
Isn’t the 20% salary Ontario animation tax credit incentive enough?
Look, it doesn’t matter at all what the law says. Artists in Ontario can easily end this practice by forming a union that sets appropriate standards. Have the employers sign a collective bargaining agreement that sets wage minimums for all workers.
I personally feel internships should be banned. I find it disgusting that after going to school for years in VFX training that you are expected to “pay your dues” and take an unpaid internship for a project that exists for a profit. Wasn’t paying thousands of dollars in tuition enough?
The excuse by employers for unpaid internships is usually to assess if you’re a competent and good worker but isn’t that true for all jobs that are paid? No matter how experienced or how well you are paid you are being assessed everyday. If you aren’t cutting it you get fired. The only difference is with an unpaid internship the employer gets free work. Of course they know you’re a competent worker, why would they want you to waste their time if they knew you couldn’t do the work for them?
One thing is for sure, hats off to the artists in Ontario for speaking out against this. Remember almost a year ago when these kinds of things would happen in Canada and workers were too scared to speak out? Know hope.
Employers, if you want charity, go to a church.
Calling for a Collaborative Performance Oscar
(hitfix.com) With many grousing that the Academy's technophobia deprived Andy Serkis of an Oscar nod for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," Matt Zoller Seitz makes a case for a compromise honor: a new Oscar category for Best Collaborative Performance, for characters created by heavily altered actors in conjunction with motion-capture artists, animators and makeup wizards. Serkis aside, performances Seitz suggests could have won here include Jeff Goldblum in "The Fly" and Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" -- though his notion that anti-FX bias cost Pitt the 2008 Best Actor Oscar is an empty one when you consider his competition. Overall, It's an intelligent suggestion, though it would surely hinder the possibility of such performances cracking the main acting races.
20th Century Fox Live-action/CGI Hybrid KING KONG Feature Moving Forward
(dailyblam.com) 20th Century Fox is currently pushing forward with a re-imagining of the long standing pop culture character is animated form. The latest news on the project reveals that it sill in the very early development stages.
king-kong-019.jpg
King Kong, last seen in the 2005 live-action/CGI hybrid film by director Jackson, will get a revamp of sorts with a new animated film. The story will be told from Kong's point of view, and Fox Animation (Ice Age, Rio) has tapped relative unknowns Christian Magalhaes & Bob Snow to develop the screenplay based off an already written story from Mike Weber.
Producer Shawn Levy recently offered a few words concerning the project, stating that it is still in the early stages of conceptualization:
“It’s an animated movie for Fox Animation and it’s a retelling of Kong as a family animated comedy… It’s in script stage; so no it’s not yet at the point where you’re doing those animation tests.
"It’s moving forward in that Fox Animation really likes it, I really like it, I think that when Fox Animation gets it right, almost always through Blue Sky, they get it really right. I’ve got a couple with them, and that’s the one that I think I’m the most bullish on.”
Unscene Heroes: Weta Digital
(eatsleeplivefilm.com) More-often-than-not, films rely on special effects. From the smallest, subtlety of a moving duvet in Paranormal Activity, to the epic battle scenes for Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings; a lot of movies nowadays depend on the talents of visual effect artists to achieve a vision that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.
Developments in the special effects world have aided films in their quest to impress and astound audiences as they bring to life the wildest, most fantastical aspects of a director’s imagination. Arguably The Lord of the Rings set the modern benchmark for SFX with its numerous breathtaking moments of CGI, but since then even more developments have been made with the technology that was so effective in bringing Gollum to life. I am of course referring to motion capture, as well as the advancement of animation in general. Examples of just how far technology has come can be seen in the shape of Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin and more recently the motion captured, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
The ones at the forefront of such technological advancements are Weta Digital. Named after a species of 70 insects from New Zealand, Weta is a company that was founded by Richard Taylor, Jamie Selkirk and Peter Jackson in 1993, and took charge of the special effects in the latter’s film, Heavenly Creatures.
To date, the company have won 5 Oscars for Best Visual Effects for efforts on each of The Lord of the Rings movies, as well as for King Kong and Avatar.
Weta are responsible for developing and creating new technology and programmes such as MASSIVE, which is a piece of software that allows hundreds of moving characters to perform individual, independent actions all one screen simultaneously. This was used predominantly for LotR in the battle scenes that heavily feature, and looks stunning with the amount of creatures on display together.
They also came up with CityBot, which is a programme that can build an entire city, shot-by-shot, and was used in order to recreate 1933 New York for King Kong. Not only that, but for Kong’s fur they had to devise completely new modelling and simulation software in order to realistically re-create the beast. In fact, a staggering 460 billion strands of fur made up the giant ape in order for it to believably interact with different surfaces. MASSIVE was further developed for Avatar, with the help of senior visual effects artist, Joe Letteri, which was by in large a mo-cap, CGI and animation heavy affair of a movie.
In total, Weta Digital have worked on an impressive 30 films since their debut 19 years ago, including Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, which is out December of this year, as well as 2013’s Man of Steel and second Hobbit instalment.
They’ve also had a huge part to play in films such as I, Robot, District 9 and X-Men: First Class, too, with Rise of the Planet of the Apes being the film to really showcase their capabilities in the next step of motion capture. For years, including sequences in the multi-Oscar winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy, motion capture has been achieved under close supervision and within the confines of a studio. However, for Rise, Weta Digital evolved their technology and captured the desired character movement and data unrestricted, whether it be on a set or on location; it opens up a number of possibilities for motion capturing action in a wide open space.
This year Weta are yet again up for Best Visual Effects for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and would be an injustice for them not to win it considering how life-like Caesar et al look in the film.
It’s no secret that Weta Digital are industry innovators, with an amazingly talented team to make it all possible in the first place. They have proved a massive influence on the film industry with their combination of motion capture, SFX and exquisite animation that their films will be the cornerstone and model example for years to come, especially when we look back as perhaps we have done with the likes of Blade Runner and more recently, Jurassic Park, for its special effects and ground-breaking visual impact.
Shared Costs Aids Canadian VFX Shops
(variety.com) With their data storage costs on the rise as visual effects companies render more and more work, vfx and animation houses are finding a silver lining in a shared cloud.
And while the idea of basing render farms in the ether has been around for a long time, it's only recently that faster and higher-capacity transmission capabilities, plus greater assurances of security, have enabled the technology to take hold.
In Vancouver, where many vfx and animation houses have set up shop to service the region's growing film and TV production business, three of the city's top shops -- Rainmaker, Digital Domain, and Image Engine -- among the converts that are switching over to a cloud-based media storage and rendering system, eliminating the need for each of them to maintain a costly inhouse system of their own.
The facilities were all facing the same issue, says Image Engine head Jason Dowdeswell. Each time they tackled large-scale projects they were forced to purchase more storage and rendering capability. However, once a show was done, there was no way to scale back down.
So the studios -- partners in the Vancouver Studio Group, a 16-member association formed in 2009 to identify production efficiencies -- looked into a way to share rendering computers. After entertaining various proposals, they decided to go with RenderCloud, from Toronto-based technology firm Scalar Decisions, and set to launch Feb. 15.
The technology allows users to share a hub of high-performance off-site servers that are controlled, managed and maintained by a third party. Rendering takes place via a high-speed connectivity. This sharing of resources lets the studios take on larger projects and become more competitive in attracting more 3D, animation and vfx work to Vancouver.
Scalar Decisions has invested more than $4 million to launch the service, and already has better than 1,000 servers in place; it expects to expand to 1,500 by summer. In addition to Vancouver, Scalar will market RenderCloud's services in Montreal, Toronto and Los Angeles.
Great Northern Way Campus -- a joint venture between the U. of British Columbia, Simon Fraser U., Emily Carr U. of Art + Design and the British Columbia Institute of Technology -- is a partner in the initiative, which turns an 18-acre industrial site in the heart of the city into Vancouver's "digital district."
Rainmaker, Digital Domain and Image Engine are RenderCloud's first customers and have each signed three-year agreements. The three studios are the founders of the initiative, but Dowdeswell says that they're also inviting other local animation and vfx shops to join in. "We're all looking out for each other. We all recognize that the more we help each other, the better off everyone's going to be. As independents, we all want to remain competitive, but we all also want to eliminate the common issue that we have, which is having to spend cash on systems that (often) sit dormant."
Darren Sharpe, Scalar's general manager for Western Canada, says the company's ability to provision resources collaboratively is what sets it apart. Although the studios will be accessing a common location for rendering through RenderCloud, their work will remain secure. Each facility's activity will be controlled by and visible only to that facility.
"We were at a crossroads where we had to decide to either build out yet another server room on our premises that might give us another year or two of expansion or find another long-term solution like RenderCloud," Dowdeswell says. Now as the company expands, instead of buying more rendering capability, it will be renting it from Render Cloud and paying as it goes.
Image Engine will be using the new technology for all productions starting with Sony Pictures Entertainment's "Elysium" and Universal Pictures' "R.I.P.D".
Dowdeswell is confident that RenderCloud offers the kind of flexibility and scalability that is needed to meet production demands as animation and effects continue to grow in Vancouver. "Directors and clients now have the expectation that they can be working on every shot right till the bitter end," he says. "The only way that we can support that type of service is to have the quickest, easiest way to expand our capabilities."
High capacity and fast connectivity "ensure that there are no latency issues," says Sharpe, referring to the possibility of an annoying lag in rendering time.
Although many facilities with existing rendering capability might find it difficult to consider switching over to cloud technology and decommissioning their servers, Sharpe says that there's not just the hard cost of hardware to consider, but also soft costs like power and manpower. He suggests that studios look into scaling out gradually. "The (return on investment) of no longer having to expand their render capability is impressive," he says.
And while Sharpe admits that RenderCloud can be susceptible to lines being cut or major outages, he insists that the "connectivity we offer is very much in line with that of major telecommunications and Internet providers."
Nonprofit government org BC Film + Media is assessing how studios from outside Vancouver can take advantage of British Columbia's tax credits for post-production when they use RenderCloud.
Pixar In Danger
(thedeletedscene.wordpress.com) It has happened countless times, from Lucas to Shyamalan, as success too early in a career seems to impede creative growth and promotes the perpetuation of cinematic flaws. Now, another cinematic powerhouse seems to be in danger of losing self-awareness, and it is not just one filmmaker but an entire group of them.
Pixar has enjoyed almost unparalleled success both critically and financially, it is no wonder it enjoys almost complete artistic freedom. They answer to no one but themselves, and this is when filmmakers like Lucas ran into problems. When you no longer have to answer to anyone, because of earlier success, the problems you have can be glossed over as you lose self-awareness.
Over the last 20 years, Pixar has delivered some of cinema’s best films. Its own unique brand of intelligent, whimsical, family films have set the bar almost impossibly high. Since their first film, Toy Story, the owners and filmmakers at Pixar have been fighting to create a home for complete creative freedom. And while they have successfully done so, Pixar’s recent disappointment, Cars 2, may be a sign of a larger problem than just a failed film.
The first Cars film, directed by John Lasseter, was seen as simply a mediocre film in an otherwise brilliant filmography. It was a major financial success for the already profitable studio, and it is no wonder why they decided to move forward with a sequel. Some believed that the sequel could be a redemption for the franchise, however Cars 2 turned out to be an even bigger disappointment. The basic concept of the films is inherently flawed, as the world is both creepy and clichéd. This is clearly reflected in the negative critical reception of the film.
The issue is not that Pixar made a mediocre film, but rather that they did not recognize and correct their mistakes. The first film did not work, it was an OK animated feature but certainly not at the level of quality that Pixar has set for themselves. It is worrying that they moved forward, and revisited the Cars universe without accepting its failure. More so, with Pixar dominating the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars virtually every year, it was a noticeable change of pace this year with Cars 2 not receiving a nomination. Several members of the Pixar team have spoken out, defending the film.
It should be noted that I am a huge fan of Pixar, and I believe they have one of the best track records of any studio around. That does not mean they are not in danger of losing self-awareness. In fact, it appears they may have already. They hold themselves at such a high standard with such a great catalogue of films, yet they do not seem to realize that the Cars films simply do not work. They may be acceptable for another studio, but Pixar should know better.
Maybe this is overreacting, or maybe it is just John Lasseter’s fault. He is the creative force behind the Cars films and he seems to genuinely love the universe he created. Pixar, as a whole, could still fall prey to the Lucas-syndrome. Pixar is in a situation that all filmmakers wish they could be. They answer to no one but themselves, and while in most cases this has allowed cinematic greatness, it also has allowed cinematic mediocrity.
Lucas had success too early, and because of that, became blind to his own faults. Pixar has done the impossible and pushed themselves to allow for the creative freedom they currently enjoy, let’s just hope they take advantage of that freedom and leave the Cars universe behind.
How Do I Get Into the Special Makeup Effects Industry?
(makeup.ohamor.com)
Please be aware that it is competitive industry (name one that isn’t) but a broad skill base means there are a number of avenues to pursue.
A great many ‘Hollywood’ films are made in places other than Hollywood. In the UK, I have been fortunate enough to work on The Mummy, Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator-all full of UK crew and extras. European locations are often used (Prague and Budapest were popular) and Morocco is often used for desert locations so it may be necessary to travel if you get involved in that area.
Many successful makeup effects artists did not go through conventional makeup schooling-rather they misspent their youth making monsters for fun and gradually honed their skills over time. They were doing it for fun, making mistakes and enjoying it long before it paid their bills.
Most people are freelance, as the nature of the work arrives in peaks and troughs so you’ll need to sustain yourself with your earnings while the going is good, and accept there will be quiet times of the year.
A lot of prosthetic work takes place in a workshop environment rather than the set, which is a completely different world. It is messy, smelly and often long hours-not at all glamorous. But if you like sculpting, painting and making monsters then it should be your natural habitat!
Many makeup artists will be expected to do some ‘special effects’ such as straightforward casualty makeup, illnesses and subtle aging. Specialist makeup effects departments step in when the skills needed are more extensive.
If you can’t find what you want near you, I suggest getting a good book, and spending the money on some kit and practice. Good books include:
* Character Makeup by Make-up Designery (ISBN-13: 978-0974950006)
* Special Make-Up Effects by Vincent Kehoe
* Special Makeup Effects for Stage & Screen: Making and Applying Prosthetics by Todd Debreceni
* Stage Makeup by Richard Corson
Some courses can be expensive ways to learn unless you are totally set on doing it as part of a career move. The best teaching will come from those who make their living from it, and naturally there will be emphasis on film quality work.
I also teach in the UK, and a lot of people from all over the world travel to learn. If you were successful in the trade, you would most likely need to travel all over the world when you work, so if you don’t like travel or working away from home, you may limit what work you can do.
Family commitments often hold people back in this way, and a lot of good artists who start early in their lives work all over don’t settle down.
You may not be able to travel to learn, but know that your competition will-it is a very competitive industry if you want to make a career out of it.
Check http://makeupmag.com/faqmain/. They also host trade shows (check http://www.makeupartistshow.com/) It is worth going, so you can meet and speak to people face to face about your intentions. It is great meeting like minded souls, and most of the big schools are there giving demos and often have show offers and discounts.
Whoever you go with, check them out online, see if anyone has anything bad to say about them. If you want a career in film and TV I also suggest you run the tutors name through http://www.imdb.com/, and see what credits they have to their name. Many teach it although they haven’t actually done it themselves in industry.
Kind regards
Stuart
mail@learnprostheticmakeup.com
2012 Academy Awards Odds: Betting On Best Visual Effects
(gambling911.com) When it comes to the 2012 Academy Awards betting odds, WagerWeb.com has one of the most complete wagering menus available. Here, Gambling911.com takes a look at some of the more obscure odds including “Best Makeup” and “Best Sound Effects”. You’ll notice quite a few of these categories feature competitive pricing.
Best Achievement in Visual Effects is offered at a decent price with nominal risk for the favorites.
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
5170
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
+300
Bet Now
5171
Hugo
+275
Bet Now
5172
Real Steel
+4500
Bet Now
5173
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
-400
Bet Now
5174
Transformer: Dark of the Moon
+3000
Bet Now
Harry Potter VFX Supe Talks Changing Voldemort's Death in Deathly Hallows: Part 2
(snitchseeker.com) Tim Burke, visual effects supervisor of the Harry Potter series beginning with Chamber of Secrets, recently discussed some of the changes and special effects used for key moments in the finale of the saga, Deathly Hallows: Part 2, including the Gringotts ride, dragon, and Hogwarts during the final battle.
Of particular note was the fact that Voldemort's death in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was changed from its initial filming to what is seen in the final cut (shown below), which was altered mere months before the July 2011 release of the movie. Some may recall a promotional still released online featuring a very different ending for Voldemort, where Harry stood above his dead body. Burke recently won the BAFTA film award for his work in Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and is up for achievement in visual effects for this Sunday's Academy Awards.
On changing Voldemort’s death:
Tim Burke: We were designing end shots for the death of Voldemort a couple months before we delivered the film. There were certain areas of the film unresolved and because of the virtual environments, [David Yates] realized we could recreate shots quickly.
The key thing that changed was the death of Voldemort. That happened after we had locked cuts. We had done some screenings and realized we needed a more epic ending. So we redesigned the sequence and thankfully with the digital assets we could recreate the environment.
We projected some elements of Ralph Fiennes onto geometry of him and added those to the shots, and for a couple shots had to use a full CG Voldemort. It happened way past the 11th hour. The shoot had finished 12 months earlier, so it was long past the point of pick-up shots. We had to take materials from other shots and recreate him.
On the shield (force field) protecting Hogwarts:
Tim Burke: As Voldemort arrived with his army on the hillside, the teachers went into the areas of the courtyard and created a magical shield that enveloped and protected the school. It took a long time to create the magical shield. Then Voldemort bombarded the school and destroyed the shield. We wanted to give that an epic scale.
We referenced the Hindenburg airship disaster, when it went up in flames, to get the scale of the flames and burning materials. That was the reference for pieces of cloth-like fire that dropped down onto the school. It was magical – not in a Harry Potter sense. It was beautiful and shocking at the same time. Those shots were completely CG and had a big design aspect, which is rewarding.
On the Gringotts dragon:
Tim Burke: We had to emphasize and feel sorry for this 60-foot dragon through pure performance. We found reference from badly treated real animals and translated that body language into our character. He was trapped. Unable to fly. Partially blind. And he had been down there his whole life. It was important to emphasize that so you wanted him to escape and when he did, he flew with majesty and pride. That was a lovely story to roll into the character of the dragon.
On the decision to create a virtual Hogwarts:
Tim Burke: We didn’t use any miniatures for Hogwarts. It was the first time we did away with the 24th-scale model. We used a third-scale viaduct for the sequence with the giants. We scaled the architecture they were running on to make the actors look taller. But we didn’t use miniatures to recreate Hogwarts.
It was a big change, a big decision that we made before starting the film. We were still working on the sixth film [Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince] and in discussions with the director and producers. All we had was the book. No script. We realized how much a part of the film and the story the school had become. David [Yates] wanted the freedom to fly the camera outside the school, inside the windows, explore the school as part of the developing battle.
Having worked with miniatures in the past, one big 24th-scale and bespoke models at different scales for key areas, we knew it would be a daunting task to build all those miniatures and nest them into wider shots. Double Negative had technology that we had used successfully on Half-Blood Prince to rebuild the whole of London. It was time to throw away the model.
Order the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 DVD and Blu-ray sets, out today in the U.S. and December 2 in the UK, at the Amazon links below, or through the official Warner Bros Shop.
WALKING DEAD VFX DISSECTED
(98fm.com) I love all the VFX videos that are coming out these days. It seems Stargate Studios are the main dudes!
This one is all from The Walking Dead, which is SUCH an amazing show. Season 2 Part 2 has just started up on FX on Friday nights at 10pm. Don’t miss it. It’s AWESOME!
VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKao6wZklec&feature=player_embedded
Pixar’s Star Wars?
Or would you prefer to see George Lucas’s Up? I’ve accepted droids, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable flying an X-wing that talked. Through a mouth. Andrew Chesworth composed this image for Star Wars Day — you know, May the Fourth.
Take a look: http://andrewchesworth.blogspot.com/2011/05/may-fourth-be-with-you.html
-H "A monster looks phony if his mouth doesn't move when he's talking. Fix it. A mouth on the blob." -Irwin Allen
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Worth a mention - 02/21/12
Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim Will Blow You Away
(shocktillyoudrop.com) Two of the busiest guys in town, Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, did a bit of script work on Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim. The duo landed on the genre scene with Feast and went on to script multiple Saw sequels and the upcoming Piranha 3DD, among other projects.
Pacific Rim is currently shooting up in Toronto with a cast that includes Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Charlie Day, Rinko Kikuchi, Max Martini, Rob Kazinsky, Clifton Collins Jr. and Diego Klattenhoff. Originally scripted by Travis Beacham, the story is an epic humans-versus-giant-monsters tale.
Inside, Melton and Dunstan - who were brought in for rewrites - tease you with what's to come.
In an interview with FEARnet, Melton said:
"It is going to kick major ass. It's giant monsters versus giant robots, and Guillermo del Toro is the only person who could bring it to you. That was an amazing experience, because we read the script, and so we went in knowing what the producers and studio wanted us to do; and we went in and met Guillermo, and he started showing us the tests by ILM. They were just mind-blowing. I think they'll probably show something at Comic-Con 2012. Because they should be done by then, or close to done by then. I'm telling you, it's gonna rule Hall H when Guillermo, the king of geeks, comes out and shows some of the stuff he's shot. People are gonna be blow away."
He went on to add:
"This is a PG movie. Most of his stuff is pretty edgy, for the most part. Nothing below PG-13 that I can think of. So this is his sort of four-quadrant movie. But it's got all the traits of a Guillermo movie, with the monsters and the younger characters and the things that go bump in the night… It's pretty great."
Pacific Rim is due in theaters July 12, 2013.
Digital Domain To Co-Produce "Ender's Game" & Do VFX
(marketwatch.com) Digital Domain Media Group, a co-production partner on Ender's Game with K/O Paper Products, OddLot Entertainment, and Summit Entertainment, noted that shooting will begin on the sci-fi, live-action feature later this month in New Orleans. Ben Kingsley and Viola Davis recently joined the cast, which also includes Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Abigail Breslin and Hailee Steinfeld.
Based on the best-selling, award-winning novel by visionary author Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game is a futuristic adventure about a brilliant young strategist named Ender Wiggin, who is drafted by the International Fleet to save the human race. Ender's Game is written and directed by Gavin Hood (x-men origins:Wolverine)(x-men origins:Academy Award® winner Tsotsi).
Kingsley, an Academy Award winner and three-time nominee, will play legendary war hero Mazer Rickman. Davis, a two-time Academy Award nominee, will play a military psychologist who oversees the emotional welfare of young trainees and helps design the games that test their skills and resistance. The two join Butterfield, currently starring in director Martin Scorcese's Hugo, who will play the lead role of Ender. Ford, Oscar®-nominated for his role in Witness, is confirmed to play "Colonel Graff." Breslin and Steinfeld, both Oscar nominees for their roles in Little Miss Sunshine and True Grit respectively, have also been cast: Breslin as Valentine, Ender's sister, and Steinfeld as Petra.
In addition to being a co-production partner, Digital Domain is also creating visual effects for the feature, under the direction of Visual Effects Supervisor Matthew Butler, who is Academy Award-nominated this year for his work on Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Panasonic Bringing Star Wars 3D to Blu-Ray
(techradar.com) Jar Jar in 3D - stop crying, no really, stop crying
Panasonic is set to cement its relationship with LucasFilm and bring Star Wars 3D to Blu-ray in the spring.
Panasonic was the only AV manufacturer in 2011 to bundle the Star Wars Blu-ray with its Blu-ray players and home cinema setups and it seems it has kept this deal and will bring the 3D versions of the movies to homes in the coming months.
3D Blu-ray
Star Wars: Episode 1 – A Phantom Menace is currently in cinemas in its 3D state and a source has revealed to TechRadar that the 3D Blu-ray will be launched as soon as the spring - though we reckon it looks more like a September launch - and Panasonic will bundle the Blu-ray with its home cinema setups – much like what it did with the recent Blu-ray releases.
Lucasfilm has decided to release the Star Wars movies once a year from 2012 in 3D, so it is thought that it will be only the first – well not the first but the first within George Lucas' expanded vision of the Star Wars universe – which will come bundled with Panasonic kit.
Panasonic has stayed true to active shutter 3D, so it is a massive move for them to have Star Wars linked with the technology.
Animated 'The Secret World of Arrietty' Wows Japan With $8.1 Million U.S. Opening
(hollywoodreporter.com) TOKYO – The $8.1 million opening weekend in the US for The Secret World of Arrietty is by far the biggest stateside bow for a Studio Ghibli animation, and is making headlines in Japan.
Karigurashi no Arrietty, as it’s known in Japan, opened on 1,522 screens and finished the President’s Day weekend in eighth spot. The Tokyo-set reimagining of English author Mary Norton's The Borrowers was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi.
PHOTOS: 28 Of Berlin Film Festival's Most Outrageous Posters
Studio Ghibli’s website in Japan posted a message celebrating the opening and thanking Disney, which released the dubbed version in the U.S. and has been cooperating with Hayao Miyazaki’s animation house for years, for its support.
By way of comparison, Ghibli’s Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi), which went on to win the Academy Award for best animated feature, opened on only a couple dozen screens in 2002, pulling in less than $500,000 on its opening three-day bow in the America. It finished with more than $10 million after its Oscar win, though this was dwarfed by its record-breaking $230 million takings in Japan.
The Secret World of Arrietty was released in July 2010 in Japan and took 9.2 billion yen ($115 million), the highest grossing domestic film of the year.
Warners Makes Deals For "I Am Legend" Sequel
(darkhorizons.com) Akiva Goldsman, Overbrook Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures have closed a deal for a follow-up to 2007 sci-fi hit "I Am Legend" reports Deadline.
Following the $584 million worldwide gross of 'Legend', talk quickly swirled of a possible prequel for a while before the buzz died down.
Now though it has picked up steam again with Arash Amel penning the script and Will Smith likely to reprise his role as scientist Robert Neville - the last man on earth doing battle with the mutated mobs left after a virus wiped out the population.
Despite the previous rumours this will apparently NOT be a prequel, and Smith won’t commit until the script is ready. There's also the little issue of his character's fate at the end of the first film to be worked out.
Oscars 2012: Making a Case For 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'
(nypost.com) It's not enough to just make chimpanzees appear out of nowhere�at least, not anymore. They have to look really good. They have to be immaculate. They have to move like chimpanzees do, and blend perfectly with the urban and rural backdrops surrounding them. Otherwise, you've got yourself another Deep Blue Sea to deal with (just in terms of CGI�otherwise, that movie is a masterpiece). Sincerely, the realism of the imagery lends itself to every other aspect of the story. It makes the characters more easily relatable and the situations more compelling. Thus, a good deal of the fascination derived from Rise of the Planet of the Apes is owed to its stunning visual effects.
I dare any 2011 moviegoer to claim that Caesar didn't simply look, but feel like a living, breathing entity. Caesar, motion-captured via a splendid performance from Andy Serkis (who also lent such talents to The Lord of the Rings trilogy's Sm�agol/Gollum), is unique as a primarily speechless, animated protagonist in a film featuring an array of human stars�not excluding the debonair James Franco. But even among Francos and Lithgows and a Malfoy, Caesar is the most vibrant figure onscreen. And although Serkis' performance is the benefactor of our investment in Caesar, we cannot discount the character's breathtakingly lifelike appearance as significantly responsible as well.
Caesar isn't just your carbon copy of a real-life ape. There is an element of surrealism to his physical makeup that allows us even greater interest in the character's every move and thought. The artists behind the Rise of the Planet of the Apes hero blended reality with the science-fiction nature of Caesar and his story to develop the perfect physicality that would carry the tale appropriately. When Caesar needs to look ape-like, he does. When he needs to look human-like, he does�and all of it with unabashed certainty.
There is never a moment when we doubt the veracity in anything Caesar does. None of his movements or expressions seem out of place or disjointed. In fact, we cringe when he reigns blows upon the jerk neighbor of the Rodman family. We shudder when he's tortured by the even bigger jerk of a prison guard who seems to get a kick out of being mean to helpless animals. And many of us shed a tear when he shares moments of love�sweet and bittersweet alike�with his friend and family member, William Rodman (Franco). All of it seems so incredibly real, because that's just what Caesar is to us.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes accomplishes more with Caesar than many films do with actual humans. The film's visual effects may not offer us monumental explosions or massive alien worlds, but what we get from Apes's CGI is much more powerful: we get a real character with whom we become entirely connected, and a real story with which we become fully invested. In short, everything we get from Caesar, we truly believe. Every tree he climbs. Every puzzle he solves. Every Rocket he cookies. It's all real. That's where the film's wonder comes from, and it's magic worthy of awards.
What's the Future of CGI?
(worstpreviews.com) We recently asked WP users to submit articles about movies and/or the website that we would post on the site. Today is the first installment in the "WP Users Speak" series and Minkowski is the first person to put together an article. Check it out and feel free to express your opinions in the comments section below.
The Future of CGI by Minkowski: Even though there are essentially three possible futures for CGI, photo-realism, alternate-realism and stylized-realism, all three share the same goal: the rendering of artificial reality and ultimately the replacement of live actors with synthetic performers.
The recent film "Avatar" took viewers on a sensually exhilarating trip towards all three possible futures, with a heavier emphasis on photorealism, through the use of advanced motion capture techniques on principle actors Sam Washington and Zoe Saldana and by employing powerful new texture and shading methods, captured in brilliant high-definition 3D.
In 2011, "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" titillated teenage movie-goers with a variety of CGI implementations of the highly photo-realistic variety, including virtual battle-bots and exploding skyscrapers so indistinguishable from reality, you could almost taste the cold steel and smell the acrid fumes of sheetrock burning within completely synthetic flames, with much, if not all, of the robotic acting originating through physically-accurate key frame animation, and Shia LaBeouf's onscreen performances.
Other film production companies have used a far more stylized-realistic route, such as Pixar, which owns an impressive list of CG films such as "Up" and their latest as-of-yet unreleased heroine film "Brave," both of which feature convincingly and realistically lit and rendered characters in otherwise heavily stylized formats and settings.
The last variant, hyper-realism, hasn't made much headway into cinema, though it could when a new generation of filmmakers in the molds of David Cronenberg and David Lynch embrace CGI as a complete means to depict a reality that is at once realistically acceptable and believable and yet dream-like in depiction and execution. The closest examples to date that have made modest American box-impacts are Christian Volckman's "Renaissance" and Richard Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly," both of which used more 2D post-production alterations than true 3D CGI.
Culture Warrior: The Importance of Honoring Motion Capture Performances
(filmschoolrejects.com) The performance was so compelling, and the digital handiwork so real, that critics believed it would be a huge oversight if the Academy didn’t find a way to recognize this historical milestone. Audiences were compelled and engrossed with a CGI creature whose features and expressions were so detailed that he seemed to integrate seamlessly with his flesh-and-blood cohorts on the silver screen, occasionally even going so far as surpassing them in terms of the quality of his performance. The character was Gollum, the film was The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and the performer was a talented but then little-known British actor named Andy Serkis. Almost a decade since, Serkis has since found his rightful place as the premier motion capture performer working in Hollywood, but he is still yet to be recognized by the Academy for his work. I imagine that the debates over his snub for Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes will surmise yet again with another standout performance, just as this year’s debate closely resembles the one contested over Gollum nine years ago.
It’s not that The Academy is slow to adapt to significant technological changes in Hollywood. The Best Cinematography (Black and White) Award, for instance, no longer exists. But more importantly, as an occasion that (almost exclusively) celebrates Hollywood, the ceremony only benefits by advertising new adaptive technologies in full force. For instance, the academy devoted a significant portion of screen time to a documentary that depicted the making of the first Toy Story during the 1996 ceremony. If cinema is a spectacle (especially through the digital saturation that has defined biggest of Hollywood’s output since the mid-90s), then the industry only benefits from selling the mechanics of that spectacle. Just as early cinema audiences fascinated by the moving image alone watched films with the projector loudly operating within the same room, we admire special effects not only because of the potential power of the illusion they create, but also the artistry of their creation: the political economy of special effects have become as much a selling point as special effects themselves.
It’s strange, then, that the Academy is still reluctant to honor motion capture performances. Perhaps they don’t know exactly who deserves the credit in this case: the actor, or the team of technicians tasked with rendering that actor unrecognizable. But such logic assumes that a similar collaboration isn’t taking place in more “conventional” cases where the sign of the actor is perfectly and clearly visible onscreen. This year, Meryl Streep is nominated for portraying Margaret Thatcher, and with the aid of makeup she ages several decades in the film. Why is it that the presence of the post-production digital artist makes the fidelity of the motion capture actor’s performance suspect, but not the makeup artist for the “conventional” performer? Actors are accompanied by a bevy of other collaborators whose influence may not be totally visible by the film’s final product, including dialect coaches, stuntmen, stand-ins, dance or fight choreographers, etc. Film is a collaborative medium, and an individual’s contribution to a larger work is never without the influence of other contributors (this may be a larger problem with the act of categorizing necessary to give out such awards in the first place).
Perhaps Academy voters see performances like Serkis’s as less of a contribution by the actor because of the heavy special effects work. After all, the technical awards are often voted on by separate voters from the major awards – perhaps the only way to truly allow motion capture performances to be recognized is to have a collaborative voting block between special effects voters and acting voters (as acting voters may be prejudiced in thinking that all such performances are only products of post-production, or that Serkis’s creative role has little to do with how Ceasar ultimately portrayed in the final film). However, such an undertaking would assume that the role of the Academy voter casts their ballot based on what they think happened behind the scenes of a set they weren’t present at, when voters can only do what they’ve always done: evaluate the film based on the final product, not inferences about its production process. After all, the Academy has regularly recognized screenplays for films that were improvised – films, in other words, for which no shooting script actually existed.
As suggested in a recent Time article, the dual “snub” of Serkis and Spielberg’s Tintin may point to the Academy’s collective reluctance to accept motion capture. But this points yet again to a larger problem: the greater blurring of the supposed line between animation and live action. The Best Animated Picture category was introduced only a few years ago, and was seen as a productive move to honor the brilliant animated work being done which, with the exceptions of Beauty and the Beast and Up, goes largely unrecognized in a top category which greatly prefers “real” actors. But who is to say that the 11-times nominated Hugo isn’t, in so many ways, an animated film? Can we really say that a movie whose effect on its audience is so indebted to post-production wizardry belongs definitively to a “live action” category? It seems that we judge whether or not a movie is live action or animated almost solely by how we perceive actors and their performances/roles in the film.
Three years ago, Brad Pitt was nominated for Best Actor for a performance in …Benjamin Button that contained significant components of motion capture. Pitt’s face, however, was always visible and recognizable, even as it was placed on another performer’s body (in a case in which at least two bodies manifest the same character, when recognizing the performer, one is honoring something quite different than recognizing the performance). Pitt’s face provided an index for who this performance belonged to, even if such an index didn’t illustrate the full picture of how that character came to be onscreen. The case is quite different for Serkis, who has been recognized more for his performance capture roles than his life action ones. But this comparison perhaps points to the greatest reason why institutions like the Academy are reluctant to recognize performances such as Serkis’s: it relents to a greater change that’s been taking place in terms of who (and thus, what content) is valued in a given film.
The acting awards have been the Academy’s greatest draw for viewers for most of its broadcast history. Stars have been manufactured by the Hollywood system for mass audience appeal, and thus it is the actor (not the director or even the movie itself) which has been the most appeal for the ceremony’s audiences. The actor provides a clear frame of reference for the viewer, even as their performance is chopped up and reassembled by the filmmaking process. The exhaustive fashion critique enacted at each year’s red carpet focuses on actors, not filmmakers. If the Academy begins recognizing performances rendered invisible by technology, then the ceremony’s economy of stardom is weakened. Yes, Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt’s faces were rendered nearly unrecognizable in Iron Lady and Benjamin Button respectively, but they still provide assurance to audiences that, beneath these layers of artifice, still lies the great actor, star, and celebrity. Such a sense is not as clear or comparably indexical with the motion capture performance. While Serkis may not have played an icon like Margaret Thatcher or a silent film star, he did what I assume very few actors can in embodying a character of a different species.
But not recognizing motion capture performances based on its potential threat to our conventional understanding of the Hollywood performance only ignores the larger problem: that the centrality of stardom in Hollywood is waning, a reality made by a Hollywood that seeks to profit off the spectacle of performances like Serkis’s and gain repeat business from franchises like the Apes films. In a year in which Rise of the Planet of the Apes made more money than two Brad Pitt Best Picture nominees and one George Clooney Best Picture nominee combined suggests that Hollywood needs to recognize the relevance of its own creation and consider thinking about motion capture performances as performances. By real actors.
Creature Designer Terryl Whitlach Offers Creature Design Course
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The VFX Trade Organization Dilemma
(vfxsoldier.wordpress.com) Last week VFX Artist Joe Harkins started a petition to end VFX subsidies and lobby for a trade organization that represents the VFX facilities. He also wrote a post on why we need to support the trade organization:
Unlike other crafts in the film business, we don’t work directly for the movie studios. We work for a 3rd party that negotiates the work, agrees to a price, and then executes the task at hand. We need the facilities we work for to be healthy.
While I agree with the conclusion that we need to end subsidies and form a trade organization, I have to respectfully disagree with the premise used to make the argument. The trade organization is a helpful but unnecessary earmark to the very prudent idea: Ending subsidies.
The Nationalist Point Of View Alienates Supporters
Throughout Joe Harkins’ post he conveys a nationalist point of view by proclaiming things like “I’m an American first, VFX artist second.”
This is a big mistake. The US VFX industry is made up of a huge number of immigrants and by making this an “American first” issue he alienates a huge group of vfx professionals who built and support the industry here and also want to see an end to subsidies.
Now to be fair, some of my international readers alienate those artists based here also by expressing that their struggle is somehow retribution for US corporate and government policy.
Since when did advocating for families, labor rights, and health insurance become a strictly American idea? If anything it’s a global idea.
The irony is that many of these struggles are symptoms derived by global subsidies offered to US studio conglomerates. You don’t hurt US corporations by giving them your local taxpayer money and you definitely don’t hurt them when you cheer the demise of the middle class in the US.
Mr. Harkins post also alienates foreign VFX facilities too. Why would a VFX facility in London join a trade organization that’s about putting Americans first?
It’s Unfair To Condemn Foreign Subsidies & Condone Local Subsidies At The Same Time
Mr. Harkins argues that we need to have a VFX trade organization that will end foreign subsidies but lobby for local subsidies too.
Again I disagree. I have been strongly against subsidies in New Mexico, Florida, Michigan and even California. Subsidies are regulated by the WTO not because of “Americans first” but because its a form of protectionism that artificializes the price of VFX.
Also again, why would a VFX facility in Vancouver want to join a trade organization that wants to take their subsidies away but lobby for subsidies in the US?
Unions Don’t Need To Wait For A Trade Organization
Mr. Harkins feels unions should wait for a trade organization because that’s how Hollywood did it. Historically speaking, that’s not correct: The MPAA was formed in 1922. The IATSE was formed 30 years before that in 1893.
He also argues that unions are for employees of studios, not subcontracting companies like the ones many of us work for. However many members of TAG and other union locals work for subcontractors.
To ask the unions to wait is a cop out. If anything, the formation of a union would coerce the facilities to jointly negotiate. Boom there’s your trade organization.
Mr. Harkins argues that forming a union is too much of a monumental task.
I disagree: They have the money, the retirement & health insurance plan, infrastructure, and representation. In fact The Animation Guild already covers many VFX artists. All they have to do to unionize is to confidentially sign a rep card.
The Trade Organization Has A Monumental Task Also
On the other hand the VFX trade organization is a monumental task: No money, no policy proposals, and most importantly, no interest from the facilities.
Asking the President and having professionals sign petitions is great but none of those have the authority to require the facilities to organize. However if vfx professionals confidentially sign union rep cards the facilities and studios are required by law to recognize the labor organization and collectively bargain.
Furthermore the trade organization has yet to even make a proposal of how they intend to ensure the financial health of its members. Is this organization going to negotiate bids for the group? Are they intending to fix prices? I’ve asked for details of what they intend to propose.
Full Article: http://vfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/the-vfx-trade-organization-dilemma/
Taking Risks for FX
(iol.co.za) SELF-TAUGHT local film school drop-out Simon Hansen has transformed into Hollywood hot property.
Now a top visual effects producer for some of the world’s most talked-about films, Hansen’s latest work, Chronicle, is getting rave reviews. The science fiction film about teenagers who discover they have superpowers, and must choose whether to use them for good or evil, opens in SA this weekend.
Hansen, 39, who lives in Cape Town, calls it a “commercial independent film”, a film that falls somewhere between indie and Hollywood blockbuster.
As a youngster, Hansen was impressed by visual effects, but never thought he would be able to learn how to do them. “I saw Star Wars and I was astounded,” he recalls. “But I also thought that kind of stuff was too far beyond reach.”
Hansen had plans to study film at university, but dropped out and used his tuition fees to buy a camera, with which he took pictures at weddings and matric dances.
“Then I just started messing around with computers, rebuilding editing programmes and such.”
Years later, he had developed so much experience in the field that he surprised even himself. “It suddenly dawned on me that I knew quite a bit about it. It was as if everything started to click together.”
But he’s quick to say he could never have got this far without the support of his friends, family and co-workers. Most of his colleagues attended Wednesday’s premiere of Chronicle.
“We are all so happy for him,” says Amira Quinlan, Hansen’s colleague and wife. “He is very talented, but he’ll never brag about it. So that’s why we’re here.”
Quinlan and fellow producer Hannah Slezacek are heavily involved with Hansen’s work. A self-proclaimed “geek”, Hansen says the two women help him to socialise and network at large events.
But what the team are most adept at is figuring out fresh ways to produce visual effects on a tight budget. “We can’t have the mindset that there is not enough money, so we’re just not going to do it,” Quinlan says. “We have to think of how we can create something without a big budget. It forces us to think creatively, outside the box.”
Audiences first saw Hansen’s work in District 9, directed by Neill Blomkamp, a collaborator who Hansen met in 1995. His own short science fiction film, Alive in Joburg – also directed by Blomkamp – was the basis for the 2009 hit.
Alive in Joburg, a film about a population of extraterrestrial refugees that alludes to themes and politics of apartheid, was shot in Joburg. “It is so great to see something really take off,” he says of District 9’s success, “because it just as easily could have flopped.”
Although he has written dozens of scripts, worked with many renowned directors, and developed the SI-2K digital cinema camera used to film Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, Hansen remains humble. He is no perfectionist, he says, and believes in the fact that many great creations happen by accident.
Referring to the original Superman movie, where producers had to think of a creative way to make actor Christopher Reeve fly, Hansen comments: “The courage and passion they needed to take on the challenge is basically the underpinning of my philosophy – taking risks is what leads to innovation.”
Seeing his own work up on a big screen is not as climactic as one would think, he says, but what he does look for is audience reaction.
“I tend to look at the audience while the movie is playing. Then I can see what works and what doesn’t, what people are reacting to and what they’re not reacting to.”
Wednesday’s audience response was positive.
“The theatre was completely full,” Quinlan says. “And I think the film really captured them.”
Hansen’s achievements have helped draw attention to SA’s film industry. He has also trained more than 200 young film talents, many of whom have gone on to top film houses all over the world.
As for his next venture, Hansen says the offers are streaming in. “It’s amazing, and I’m so grateful to be in position to choose. The fact that I am even getting recognised is so cool, because there are so many who contribute to work like this.”
A reader's comment worth a mention:
I'm afraid this information is misleading and damaging to the Vfx industry in South Africa as a whole. The distinct impression is given that Mr Hansen did or managed, or even supervised the Visual effects for the film Chronicle. Mr Hansen was a Visual effects supervisor on the set, as the film was shot in Cape Town. This is a small role, often migrated to locals for 'pick up' purposes. Mr Hansen had absolutely NO role whatsoever in the actual Visual effects of the film. Printing this article poses a risk to potential clients and to the reputation of the industry as a whole. It's a glory peice that misrepresents Mr Hansens abilitites. It's more like an advertorial, and is damaging to other Vfx practitioners who don't resort to misleading the public for work. Marketing out of control with no link or regard to the truth or fair play. A concerned worker
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/saturday-star/taking-risks-for-fx-1.1238428
Own The Light of ILM
(ebay.com) Acquired at auction when Kerner Optical (ILM Practical Division) closed its doors, this Inkie Focal Spot hails from the ILM Stage, the birthplace of the original Star Wars Series and Prequels, Indiana Jones, Starship Troopers, Jurassic Park, Men in Black, Pirates of the Caribbean and many, many more.
Equipped for 120 or 220 volt use.
* Designed to be placed in tight spaces as an accent light, or as a main light for small subjects.
* Accepts bulbs in 100, 150, 200, or 250 wattages.
* Cast aluminum construction.
* Mounts to a standard 5/8" stud.
Tested and fully functional for use. Also great as a decoration or museum piece!
View ILM's many movie credits here: IMDB
It should also be noted that all proceeds form this sale will go to fund my independent science fiction project MORAV
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"The Lone Ranger" Loses A Bad Guy
(cinemablend.com) Sooner or later, Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger will be in movie theaters, and uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer and his A-list director will be able to look back at all of the pre-production turmoil and – we hope – have a good laugh. Because trying to keep this train on its track has been a full-time job. The latest hiccup in a bumpy production schedule? Deadline says Dwight Yoakam has exited the cast due to “a scheduling conflict.”
Do they still have Johnny Depp as Tonto? Yes. Is Armie Hammer still locked in for the Lone Ranger role? So far. So in the long run, Lone Ranger’s still ready to gallop forward with a late-February start to filming so it can maintain its May 31, 2013 release date.
Deadline does say that Yoakam was set to play one of the major bad guys, which is interesting. Right now, Tom Wilkinson’s still on tap to play Latham Cole, the film’s chief villain. We weren’t sure who Yoakam was scheduled to play.
Andrew Stanton And Producers Deny ‘John Carter’ Budget Reports
(slashfilm.com) No one ever thought Disney’s John Carter was going to be a cheap movie. To create a world worthy not only of author Edgar Rice Burroughs but director Andrew Stanton and the studio behind the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, lots and lots of money was going to have to be spent on the effects, the sets and much more. But as production rolled on over several years, reports pegged John Carter as an almost runaway train with an out-of-control budget. One article even said the film would have to make $700 million to be considered for a sequel.
According to the film’s director and producer, those rumors are false.
At the film’s press junket, Stanton and producer Jim Morris both emphatically denied these allegations and, in fact, said the film came in on time and under budget in some places. Read more after the jump.
Here’s what producer Jim Morris, who has worked in different aspects on films such as Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and more, had to say to me on the subject:
One thing that is frustrating is while this is a very expensive movie, we didn’t go wildly over budget. We went a couple points over budget and all of that was… We had planned for summer shooting, but we did a little bit of additional to kind of hone stuff and tighten it up and so forth. [That wasn’t] because things needed fixing, just because we wanted to improve them. So when you’re reading this stuff it’s sort of like ‘Well, judge the movie.’ We executed the plan we came up with for this. There wasn’t anything wildly out of the box. A lot of the things, like the visual effects for example, came in under budget, which is unheard of. So that stuff is just all bullshit. I mean just to say it. I’m not saying the movie wasn’t expensive, it was very expensive. It was expensive from the day we started, but it didn’t get out of whack or out of control.
Andrew Stanton, the Oscar-winning director of Finding Nemo and Wall-E, agreed, flat out saying the film was not in anyway the out of control production it was painted by in the press:
It’s always frustrating to hear lies put out there. And it’s always frustrating to see how people are so gullible. I mean by now people should know that if you read it in print, that doesn’t mean its true. And if you read it in print on the Internet, it’s really not true. It’s easy to ignore when it’s not true.
The director expanded on that to additional outlets, such as the following over on Movieline:
I want to go completely on record that I literally was on budget and on time the entire shoot. Disney is so completely psyched that I stayed on budget and on time that they let me have a longer reshoot because I was such a good citizen, so I find it ironic that we’re getting accused of the opposite.
We’ll have much, much more on John Carter in the coming weeks before its March 9 release including one on one video interviews with Stanton, star Taylor Kitsch and more.
'How to Make a Monster, the Art & Technology of Animatronics'
(voxy.co.nz) Dramatic, exciting, imaginative, scientific and a just little bit scary - 'How to Make a Monster, the art and technology of animatronics' opens at Waikato Museum next month.
On display at Waikato Museum from 25 February until 15 July 2012, 'How to Make a Monster' gives an insight into the art and technology of animatronics.
Waikato Museum Acting Director Andy Lowe says the exhibition, on tour from Australia, is based on the various stages in the creation of monsters and creatures developed for the film industry from scripting, to creature design and mechanics.
"This world-class exhibition is exciting, imaginative and fun for all ages. It's a truly interactive exhibition and the programme of events developed for it will bring to life the world of animatronics. There are opportunities to meet animatronics experts from the film industry, experiment with stop-motion animation, competitions and an after-school programme where kids can unleash their creative side and create their own gruesome clay monster," he says.
'How to Make a Monster, the art and technology of animatronics' was created by leading Australian creature effects company, John Cox's Creature Workshop. Director John Cox has more than 35 years experience in the visual effects industry. Mr Cox received a 1995 Academy Award for Visual Effects for the movie 'Babe' and in 1999 was elected as a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He was awarded the 2006 Kinetone Award for 'significant contributions to the Queensland Film and Television Industry' and is 2007 Australian Film Industry (AFI) Awards winner for Visual Effects for the film 'Rogue'.
"This is the only New Zealand showing planned for this exhibition and we're very excited to have it here at Waikato Museum," said Mr Lowe.
'How to Make a Monster, the art and technology of animatronics' is supported with a T Shirt design competition, monster storytelling , after-school pottery classes , clay animation workshops, and live sessions with John Cox the exhibition creator and Sam Doyle from Weta Digital.
Admission applies and there are costs associated with the after-school programme and some workshops.
The full programme of events can be viewed on the Museum's website, waikatomuseum.co.nz or by contacting the Museum on 07 838 6606.
So You Want to Build Monsters For A Living?
(cubepuzzle.mblogi.com) Like any preteen boy with an overactive imagination, Chris Clark loved monsters. He preferred the blood-sucking murderous variety, but truly anything with claws or scales was acceptable.
Twenty-ish years later, Clark builds monsters for a living. As a Vancouver-based special effects artist (okay, his official title is prosthetic FX tech), he’s punched fur into monkey suits worn in the recent Planet of the Apes prequel, and splattered brains on set of the Final Destination horror franchise.Our guides provide customers with information about porcelain tiles vs.
Clark is one of roughly 2,000 Vancouverites working in the special effects trade for big Hollywood-funded productions. It’s a growing sector that’s turned many childhood fantasies into another day at the shop. Just Choose PTMS Injection Mold Is Your Best Choice!
But what sets Clark apart from other young makeup artists and prop designers vying for the next break, is that he never bothered with post-secondary. With film programs in B.C. ranging anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000 in tuition,Specializes in rapid Injection mold and molding of parts for prototypes and production. Clark says it’s too a steep price for skills that are better learned on the job.
He says this just as Capilano University has opened a $40-million facility for training the next generation of film industry workers, joining a number of other programs in the region that charge tuition with similar promises. Which raises the question: what does a young person really need to do to make a career in the movie biz?
Clark first got his taste of the makeup industry at age 12, when a family friend who worked for St. John’s Ambulance cracked open a kit used to simulate medical accidents.
“He added a little wax to my thumb to make it look like it was cut off,” recalls Clark. “It flipped me right out.”
Captivated, young Chris turned gore-making into a personal quest. “I went home and took out all of the library books I could find on makeup, props, dentistry, prosthetics of the medical industry — I just read everything I could find.”
Clark transformed his parents’ basement into a laboratory, where he crafted paper maché limbs and other corpse-like oddities. “I always had art supplies kicking around,” he says. “I saved up allowance for products — latex, a bottle of blood, or scar wax — stuff like that.”
Working as a barista in his teens, Clark caught his break from a perfect stranger. “I was working at Starbucks and saw a guy with an XFX hat. XFX was this company in the States that I knew about,” he says. Clark struck up a conversation by name-dropping the effects company’s founder, Steve Johnson.
“He was like, ‘Yeah, how’d you know?’ And I explained that I do effects too. I had this little portfolio of the things I had done in my basement.” The coffee customer seemed impressed, according to Clark, and tipped him off to higher-ups working on the X-Files series.
“He said, ‘Well, why don’t you bring your portfolio in?’”
Once he started breathing again,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, Clark soon found himself working under Tony Lindala, a household name in the sci-fi special effects biz.
“I showed up as the bucket washer guy,” Clark recalls.
But his days as a rookie were short-lived for one simple reason: extra hands never go unused on a movie set. It wasn’t long before Clark was casting molds, aging faces and ostensibly killing people all on his own.
“Like any job, as long as you’re willing to help out and you fix problems instead of causing them, people are pretty willing to take you under their wing,” he says,Sharps include syringe needle, adding that each new coworker would show him a different set of trade skills.
“They’ll teach you everything,” Clark says of the close-knit mentoring mentality. “They’ll just take you aside and say ‘Here, I’ll show you some stuff.’”
By 21, Clark was a foreman of an independent Vancouver prop shop. “I had always wanted to make effects, but I didn’t think it was actually going to happen,” he muses. “I think my parents were just stoked that I wasn’t a serial killer.”
Andy Serkis ‘Gollum’ Up for Directing a Film of his Own
(the-hobbitmovie.com) After many outstanding performances on the screen, Andy Serkis will be taking a shot behind the scenes as a director for his own movie. His roles in motion-capture have given him a potential advantage as a director while working alongside legends like Peter Jackson and Steven Speilberg, to name a few. British producer, Sam Tromans of STS productions, says the drama that Serkis will be directing is, “…a fantastic script with a great female role.” He compares it to “The English Patient up a mountain.”
Since Andy Serkis is somewhat of an apprentice to Peter Jackson these days, expectations are high for his directorial debut. Let us know what you feel about a passion/drama film brought to you by Gollum!
-H Demanding directors, like Michael Bay, use ILM “to create something impossible and make it look real." There’s a lot of fear involved. -John Bruno
(shocktillyoudrop.com) Two of the busiest guys in town, Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, did a bit of script work on Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim. The duo landed on the genre scene with Feast and went on to script multiple Saw sequels and the upcoming Piranha 3DD, among other projects.
Pacific Rim is currently shooting up in Toronto with a cast that includes Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Charlie Day, Rinko Kikuchi, Max Martini, Rob Kazinsky, Clifton Collins Jr. and Diego Klattenhoff. Originally scripted by Travis Beacham, the story is an epic humans-versus-giant-monsters tale.
Inside, Melton and Dunstan - who were brought in for rewrites - tease you with what's to come.
In an interview with FEARnet, Melton said:
"It is going to kick major ass. It's giant monsters versus giant robots, and Guillermo del Toro is the only person who could bring it to you. That was an amazing experience, because we read the script, and so we went in knowing what the producers and studio wanted us to do; and we went in and met Guillermo, and he started showing us the tests by ILM. They were just mind-blowing. I think they'll probably show something at Comic-Con 2012. Because they should be done by then, or close to done by then. I'm telling you, it's gonna rule Hall H when Guillermo, the king of geeks, comes out and shows some of the stuff he's shot. People are gonna be blow away."
He went on to add:
"This is a PG movie. Most of his stuff is pretty edgy, for the most part. Nothing below PG-13 that I can think of. So this is his sort of four-quadrant movie. But it's got all the traits of a Guillermo movie, with the monsters and the younger characters and the things that go bump in the night… It's pretty great."
Pacific Rim is due in theaters July 12, 2013.
Digital Domain To Co-Produce "Ender's Game" & Do VFX
(marketwatch.com) Digital Domain Media Group, a co-production partner on Ender's Game with K/O Paper Products, OddLot Entertainment, and Summit Entertainment, noted that shooting will begin on the sci-fi, live-action feature later this month in New Orleans. Ben Kingsley and Viola Davis recently joined the cast, which also includes Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Abigail Breslin and Hailee Steinfeld.
Based on the best-selling, award-winning novel by visionary author Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game is a futuristic adventure about a brilliant young strategist named Ender Wiggin, who is drafted by the International Fleet to save the human race. Ender's Game is written and directed by Gavin Hood (x-men origins:Wolverine)(x-men origins:Academy Award® winner Tsotsi).
Kingsley, an Academy Award winner and three-time nominee, will play legendary war hero Mazer Rickman. Davis, a two-time Academy Award nominee, will play a military psychologist who oversees the emotional welfare of young trainees and helps design the games that test their skills and resistance. The two join Butterfield, currently starring in director Martin Scorcese's Hugo, who will play the lead role of Ender. Ford, Oscar®-nominated for his role in Witness, is confirmed to play "Colonel Graff." Breslin and Steinfeld, both Oscar nominees for their roles in Little Miss Sunshine and True Grit respectively, have also been cast: Breslin as Valentine, Ender's sister, and Steinfeld as Petra.
In addition to being a co-production partner, Digital Domain is also creating visual effects for the feature, under the direction of Visual Effects Supervisor Matthew Butler, who is Academy Award-nominated this year for his work on Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Panasonic Bringing Star Wars 3D to Blu-Ray
(techradar.com) Jar Jar in 3D - stop crying, no really, stop crying
Panasonic is set to cement its relationship with LucasFilm and bring Star Wars 3D to Blu-ray in the spring.
Panasonic was the only AV manufacturer in 2011 to bundle the Star Wars Blu-ray with its Blu-ray players and home cinema setups and it seems it has kept this deal and will bring the 3D versions of the movies to homes in the coming months.
3D Blu-ray
Star Wars: Episode 1 – A Phantom Menace is currently in cinemas in its 3D state and a source has revealed to TechRadar that the 3D Blu-ray will be launched as soon as the spring - though we reckon it looks more like a September launch - and Panasonic will bundle the Blu-ray with its home cinema setups – much like what it did with the recent Blu-ray releases.
Lucasfilm has decided to release the Star Wars movies once a year from 2012 in 3D, so it is thought that it will be only the first – well not the first but the first within George Lucas' expanded vision of the Star Wars universe – which will come bundled with Panasonic kit.
Panasonic has stayed true to active shutter 3D, so it is a massive move for them to have Star Wars linked with the technology.
Animated 'The Secret World of Arrietty' Wows Japan With $8.1 Million U.S. Opening
(hollywoodreporter.com) TOKYO – The $8.1 million opening weekend in the US for The Secret World of Arrietty is by far the biggest stateside bow for a Studio Ghibli animation, and is making headlines in Japan.
Karigurashi no Arrietty, as it’s known in Japan, opened on 1,522 screens and finished the President’s Day weekend in eighth spot. The Tokyo-set reimagining of English author Mary Norton's The Borrowers was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi.
PHOTOS: 28 Of Berlin Film Festival's Most Outrageous Posters
Studio Ghibli’s website in Japan posted a message celebrating the opening and thanking Disney, which released the dubbed version in the U.S. and has been cooperating with Hayao Miyazaki’s animation house for years, for its support.
By way of comparison, Ghibli’s Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi), which went on to win the Academy Award for best animated feature, opened on only a couple dozen screens in 2002, pulling in less than $500,000 on its opening three-day bow in the America. It finished with more than $10 million after its Oscar win, though this was dwarfed by its record-breaking $230 million takings in Japan.
The Secret World of Arrietty was released in July 2010 in Japan and took 9.2 billion yen ($115 million), the highest grossing domestic film of the year.
Warners Makes Deals For "I Am Legend" Sequel
(darkhorizons.com) Akiva Goldsman, Overbrook Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures have closed a deal for a follow-up to 2007 sci-fi hit "I Am Legend" reports Deadline.
Following the $584 million worldwide gross of 'Legend', talk quickly swirled of a possible prequel for a while before the buzz died down.
Now though it has picked up steam again with Arash Amel penning the script and Will Smith likely to reprise his role as scientist Robert Neville - the last man on earth doing battle with the mutated mobs left after a virus wiped out the population.
Despite the previous rumours this will apparently NOT be a prequel, and Smith won’t commit until the script is ready. There's also the little issue of his character's fate at the end of the first film to be worked out.
Oscars 2012: Making a Case For 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'
(nypost.com) It's not enough to just make chimpanzees appear out of nowhere�at least, not anymore. They have to look really good. They have to be immaculate. They have to move like chimpanzees do, and blend perfectly with the urban and rural backdrops surrounding them. Otherwise, you've got yourself another Deep Blue Sea to deal with (just in terms of CGI�otherwise, that movie is a masterpiece). Sincerely, the realism of the imagery lends itself to every other aspect of the story. It makes the characters more easily relatable and the situations more compelling. Thus, a good deal of the fascination derived from Rise of the Planet of the Apes is owed to its stunning visual effects.
I dare any 2011 moviegoer to claim that Caesar didn't simply look, but feel like a living, breathing entity. Caesar, motion-captured via a splendid performance from Andy Serkis (who also lent such talents to The Lord of the Rings trilogy's Sm�agol/Gollum), is unique as a primarily speechless, animated protagonist in a film featuring an array of human stars�not excluding the debonair James Franco. But even among Francos and Lithgows and a Malfoy, Caesar is the most vibrant figure onscreen. And although Serkis' performance is the benefactor of our investment in Caesar, we cannot discount the character's breathtakingly lifelike appearance as significantly responsible as well.
Caesar isn't just your carbon copy of a real-life ape. There is an element of surrealism to his physical makeup that allows us even greater interest in the character's every move and thought. The artists behind the Rise of the Planet of the Apes hero blended reality with the science-fiction nature of Caesar and his story to develop the perfect physicality that would carry the tale appropriately. When Caesar needs to look ape-like, he does. When he needs to look human-like, he does�and all of it with unabashed certainty.
There is never a moment when we doubt the veracity in anything Caesar does. None of his movements or expressions seem out of place or disjointed. In fact, we cringe when he reigns blows upon the jerk neighbor of the Rodman family. We shudder when he's tortured by the even bigger jerk of a prison guard who seems to get a kick out of being mean to helpless animals. And many of us shed a tear when he shares moments of love�sweet and bittersweet alike�with his friend and family member, William Rodman (Franco). All of it seems so incredibly real, because that's just what Caesar is to us.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes accomplishes more with Caesar than many films do with actual humans. The film's visual effects may not offer us monumental explosions or massive alien worlds, but what we get from Apes's CGI is much more powerful: we get a real character with whom we become entirely connected, and a real story with which we become fully invested. In short, everything we get from Caesar, we truly believe. Every tree he climbs. Every puzzle he solves. Every Rocket he cookies. It's all real. That's where the film's wonder comes from, and it's magic worthy of awards.
What's the Future of CGI?
(worstpreviews.com) We recently asked WP users to submit articles about movies and/or the website that we would post on the site. Today is the first installment in the "WP Users Speak" series and Minkowski is the first person to put together an article. Check it out and feel free to express your opinions in the comments section below.
The Future of CGI by Minkowski: Even though there are essentially three possible futures for CGI, photo-realism, alternate-realism and stylized-realism, all three share the same goal: the rendering of artificial reality and ultimately the replacement of live actors with synthetic performers.
The recent film "Avatar" took viewers on a sensually exhilarating trip towards all three possible futures, with a heavier emphasis on photorealism, through the use of advanced motion capture techniques on principle actors Sam Washington and Zoe Saldana and by employing powerful new texture and shading methods, captured in brilliant high-definition 3D.
In 2011, "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" titillated teenage movie-goers with a variety of CGI implementations of the highly photo-realistic variety, including virtual battle-bots and exploding skyscrapers so indistinguishable from reality, you could almost taste the cold steel and smell the acrid fumes of sheetrock burning within completely synthetic flames, with much, if not all, of the robotic acting originating through physically-accurate key frame animation, and Shia LaBeouf's onscreen performances.
Other film production companies have used a far more stylized-realistic route, such as Pixar, which owns an impressive list of CG films such as "Up" and their latest as-of-yet unreleased heroine film "Brave," both of which feature convincingly and realistically lit and rendered characters in otherwise heavily stylized formats and settings.
The last variant, hyper-realism, hasn't made much headway into cinema, though it could when a new generation of filmmakers in the molds of David Cronenberg and David Lynch embrace CGI as a complete means to depict a reality that is at once realistically acceptable and believable and yet dream-like in depiction and execution. The closest examples to date that have made modest American box-impacts are Christian Volckman's "Renaissance" and Richard Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly," both of which used more 2D post-production alterations than true 3D CGI.
Culture Warrior: The Importance of Honoring Motion Capture Performances
(filmschoolrejects.com) The performance was so compelling, and the digital handiwork so real, that critics believed it would be a huge oversight if the Academy didn’t find a way to recognize this historical milestone. Audiences were compelled and engrossed with a CGI creature whose features and expressions were so detailed that he seemed to integrate seamlessly with his flesh-and-blood cohorts on the silver screen, occasionally even going so far as surpassing them in terms of the quality of his performance. The character was Gollum, the film was The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and the performer was a talented but then little-known British actor named Andy Serkis. Almost a decade since, Serkis has since found his rightful place as the premier motion capture performer working in Hollywood, but he is still yet to be recognized by the Academy for his work. I imagine that the debates over his snub for Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes will surmise yet again with another standout performance, just as this year’s debate closely resembles the one contested over Gollum nine years ago.
It’s not that The Academy is slow to adapt to significant technological changes in Hollywood. The Best Cinematography (Black and White) Award, for instance, no longer exists. But more importantly, as an occasion that (almost exclusively) celebrates Hollywood, the ceremony only benefits by advertising new adaptive technologies in full force. For instance, the academy devoted a significant portion of screen time to a documentary that depicted the making of the first Toy Story during the 1996 ceremony. If cinema is a spectacle (especially through the digital saturation that has defined biggest of Hollywood’s output since the mid-90s), then the industry only benefits from selling the mechanics of that spectacle. Just as early cinema audiences fascinated by the moving image alone watched films with the projector loudly operating within the same room, we admire special effects not only because of the potential power of the illusion they create, but also the artistry of their creation: the political economy of special effects have become as much a selling point as special effects themselves.
It’s strange, then, that the Academy is still reluctant to honor motion capture performances. Perhaps they don’t know exactly who deserves the credit in this case: the actor, or the team of technicians tasked with rendering that actor unrecognizable. But such logic assumes that a similar collaboration isn’t taking place in more “conventional” cases where the sign of the actor is perfectly and clearly visible onscreen. This year, Meryl Streep is nominated for portraying Margaret Thatcher, and with the aid of makeup she ages several decades in the film. Why is it that the presence of the post-production digital artist makes the fidelity of the motion capture actor’s performance suspect, but not the makeup artist for the “conventional” performer? Actors are accompanied by a bevy of other collaborators whose influence may not be totally visible by the film’s final product, including dialect coaches, stuntmen, stand-ins, dance or fight choreographers, etc. Film is a collaborative medium, and an individual’s contribution to a larger work is never without the influence of other contributors (this may be a larger problem with the act of categorizing necessary to give out such awards in the first place).
Perhaps Academy voters see performances like Serkis’s as less of a contribution by the actor because of the heavy special effects work. After all, the technical awards are often voted on by separate voters from the major awards – perhaps the only way to truly allow motion capture performances to be recognized is to have a collaborative voting block between special effects voters and acting voters (as acting voters may be prejudiced in thinking that all such performances are only products of post-production, or that Serkis’s creative role has little to do with how Ceasar ultimately portrayed in the final film). However, such an undertaking would assume that the role of the Academy voter casts their ballot based on what they think happened behind the scenes of a set they weren’t present at, when voters can only do what they’ve always done: evaluate the film based on the final product, not inferences about its production process. After all, the Academy has regularly recognized screenplays for films that were improvised – films, in other words, for which no shooting script actually existed.
As suggested in a recent Time article, the dual “snub” of Serkis and Spielberg’s Tintin may point to the Academy’s collective reluctance to accept motion capture. But this points yet again to a larger problem: the greater blurring of the supposed line between animation and live action. The Best Animated Picture category was introduced only a few years ago, and was seen as a productive move to honor the brilliant animated work being done which, with the exceptions of Beauty and the Beast and Up, goes largely unrecognized in a top category which greatly prefers “real” actors. But who is to say that the 11-times nominated Hugo isn’t, in so many ways, an animated film? Can we really say that a movie whose effect on its audience is so indebted to post-production wizardry belongs definitively to a “live action” category? It seems that we judge whether or not a movie is live action or animated almost solely by how we perceive actors and their performances/roles in the film.
Three years ago, Brad Pitt was nominated for Best Actor for a performance in …Benjamin Button that contained significant components of motion capture. Pitt’s face, however, was always visible and recognizable, even as it was placed on another performer’s body (in a case in which at least two bodies manifest the same character, when recognizing the performer, one is honoring something quite different than recognizing the performance). Pitt’s face provided an index for who this performance belonged to, even if such an index didn’t illustrate the full picture of how that character came to be onscreen. The case is quite different for Serkis, who has been recognized more for his performance capture roles than his life action ones. But this comparison perhaps points to the greatest reason why institutions like the Academy are reluctant to recognize performances such as Serkis’s: it relents to a greater change that’s been taking place in terms of who (and thus, what content) is valued in a given film.
The acting awards have been the Academy’s greatest draw for viewers for most of its broadcast history. Stars have been manufactured by the Hollywood system for mass audience appeal, and thus it is the actor (not the director or even the movie itself) which has been the most appeal for the ceremony’s audiences. The actor provides a clear frame of reference for the viewer, even as their performance is chopped up and reassembled by the filmmaking process. The exhaustive fashion critique enacted at each year’s red carpet focuses on actors, not filmmakers. If the Academy begins recognizing performances rendered invisible by technology, then the ceremony’s economy of stardom is weakened. Yes, Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt’s faces were rendered nearly unrecognizable in Iron Lady and Benjamin Button respectively, but they still provide assurance to audiences that, beneath these layers of artifice, still lies the great actor, star, and celebrity. Such a sense is not as clear or comparably indexical with the motion capture performance. While Serkis may not have played an icon like Margaret Thatcher or a silent film star, he did what I assume very few actors can in embodying a character of a different species.
But not recognizing motion capture performances based on its potential threat to our conventional understanding of the Hollywood performance only ignores the larger problem: that the centrality of stardom in Hollywood is waning, a reality made by a Hollywood that seeks to profit off the spectacle of performances like Serkis’s and gain repeat business from franchises like the Apes films. In a year in which Rise of the Planet of the Apes made more money than two Brad Pitt Best Picture nominees and one George Clooney Best Picture nominee combined suggests that Hollywood needs to recognize the relevance of its own creation and consider thinking about motion capture performances as performances. By real actors.
Creature Designer Terryl Whitlach Offers Creature Design Course
(talesofamalthea.com) These one-of-a-kind creature design courses are focused on providing you with an in-depth arts education from industry-leader Terryl Whitlach (creature design artists for Star Wars, The Katurran Odyssey, Brother Bear). Equipped with Copic markers, you’ll venture through a continuous, interactive online saga centered on the world of Amalthea – and the creatures that dwell within. Learn to draw the fantastic inhabitants of this world, from the inside out. Discover the bones and muscle frameworks – drawn from actual current and prehistoric animals- and combine them to create your own. As the story unfolds, you’ll witness the epic struggle for dominance and survival among the inhabitants of the world of Amalthea.
Sign up today for your free lesson, use your Copic markers along with the class, and gain a creature design education like no other.
Features:
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Sign Up Today: http://talesofamalthea.com/
The VFX Trade Organization Dilemma
(vfxsoldier.wordpress.com) Last week VFX Artist Joe Harkins started a petition to end VFX subsidies and lobby for a trade organization that represents the VFX facilities. He also wrote a post on why we need to support the trade organization:
Unlike other crafts in the film business, we don’t work directly for the movie studios. We work for a 3rd party that negotiates the work, agrees to a price, and then executes the task at hand. We need the facilities we work for to be healthy.
While I agree with the conclusion that we need to end subsidies and form a trade organization, I have to respectfully disagree with the premise used to make the argument. The trade organization is a helpful but unnecessary earmark to the very prudent idea: Ending subsidies.
The Nationalist Point Of View Alienates Supporters
Throughout Joe Harkins’ post he conveys a nationalist point of view by proclaiming things like “I’m an American first, VFX artist second.”
This is a big mistake. The US VFX industry is made up of a huge number of immigrants and by making this an “American first” issue he alienates a huge group of vfx professionals who built and support the industry here and also want to see an end to subsidies.
Now to be fair, some of my international readers alienate those artists based here also by expressing that their struggle is somehow retribution for US corporate and government policy.
Since when did advocating for families, labor rights, and health insurance become a strictly American idea? If anything it’s a global idea.
The irony is that many of these struggles are symptoms derived by global subsidies offered to US studio conglomerates. You don’t hurt US corporations by giving them your local taxpayer money and you definitely don’t hurt them when you cheer the demise of the middle class in the US.
Mr. Harkins post also alienates foreign VFX facilities too. Why would a VFX facility in London join a trade organization that’s about putting Americans first?
It’s Unfair To Condemn Foreign Subsidies & Condone Local Subsidies At The Same Time
Mr. Harkins argues that we need to have a VFX trade organization that will end foreign subsidies but lobby for local subsidies too.
Again I disagree. I have been strongly against subsidies in New Mexico, Florida, Michigan and even California. Subsidies are regulated by the WTO not because of “Americans first” but because its a form of protectionism that artificializes the price of VFX.
Also again, why would a VFX facility in Vancouver want to join a trade organization that wants to take their subsidies away but lobby for subsidies in the US?
Unions Don’t Need To Wait For A Trade Organization
Mr. Harkins feels unions should wait for a trade organization because that’s how Hollywood did it. Historically speaking, that’s not correct: The MPAA was formed in 1922. The IATSE was formed 30 years before that in 1893.
He also argues that unions are for employees of studios, not subcontracting companies like the ones many of us work for. However many members of TAG and other union locals work for subcontractors.
To ask the unions to wait is a cop out. If anything, the formation of a union would coerce the facilities to jointly negotiate. Boom there’s your trade organization.
Mr. Harkins argues that forming a union is too much of a monumental task.
I disagree: They have the money, the retirement & health insurance plan, infrastructure, and representation. In fact The Animation Guild already covers many VFX artists. All they have to do to unionize is to confidentially sign a rep card.
The Trade Organization Has A Monumental Task Also
On the other hand the VFX trade organization is a monumental task: No money, no policy proposals, and most importantly, no interest from the facilities.
Asking the President and having professionals sign petitions is great but none of those have the authority to require the facilities to organize. However if vfx professionals confidentially sign union rep cards the facilities and studios are required by law to recognize the labor organization and collectively bargain.
Furthermore the trade organization has yet to even make a proposal of how they intend to ensure the financial health of its members. Is this organization going to negotiate bids for the group? Are they intending to fix prices? I’ve asked for details of what they intend to propose.
Full Article: http://vfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/the-vfx-trade-organization-dilemma/
Taking Risks for FX
(iol.co.za) SELF-TAUGHT local film school drop-out Simon Hansen has transformed into Hollywood hot property.
Now a top visual effects producer for some of the world’s most talked-about films, Hansen’s latest work, Chronicle, is getting rave reviews. The science fiction film about teenagers who discover they have superpowers, and must choose whether to use them for good or evil, opens in SA this weekend.
Hansen, 39, who lives in Cape Town, calls it a “commercial independent film”, a film that falls somewhere between indie and Hollywood blockbuster.
As a youngster, Hansen was impressed by visual effects, but never thought he would be able to learn how to do them. “I saw Star Wars and I was astounded,” he recalls. “But I also thought that kind of stuff was too far beyond reach.”
Hansen had plans to study film at university, but dropped out and used his tuition fees to buy a camera, with which he took pictures at weddings and matric dances.
“Then I just started messing around with computers, rebuilding editing programmes and such.”
Years later, he had developed so much experience in the field that he surprised even himself. “It suddenly dawned on me that I knew quite a bit about it. It was as if everything started to click together.”
But he’s quick to say he could never have got this far without the support of his friends, family and co-workers. Most of his colleagues attended Wednesday’s premiere of Chronicle.
“We are all so happy for him,” says Amira Quinlan, Hansen’s colleague and wife. “He is very talented, but he’ll never brag about it. So that’s why we’re here.”
Quinlan and fellow producer Hannah Slezacek are heavily involved with Hansen’s work. A self-proclaimed “geek”, Hansen says the two women help him to socialise and network at large events.
But what the team are most adept at is figuring out fresh ways to produce visual effects on a tight budget. “We can’t have the mindset that there is not enough money, so we’re just not going to do it,” Quinlan says. “We have to think of how we can create something without a big budget. It forces us to think creatively, outside the box.”
Audiences first saw Hansen’s work in District 9, directed by Neill Blomkamp, a collaborator who Hansen met in 1995. His own short science fiction film, Alive in Joburg – also directed by Blomkamp – was the basis for the 2009 hit.
Alive in Joburg, a film about a population of extraterrestrial refugees that alludes to themes and politics of apartheid, was shot in Joburg. “It is so great to see something really take off,” he says of District 9’s success, “because it just as easily could have flopped.”
Although he has written dozens of scripts, worked with many renowned directors, and developed the SI-2K digital cinema camera used to film Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, Hansen remains humble. He is no perfectionist, he says, and believes in the fact that many great creations happen by accident.
Referring to the original Superman movie, where producers had to think of a creative way to make actor Christopher Reeve fly, Hansen comments: “The courage and passion they needed to take on the challenge is basically the underpinning of my philosophy – taking risks is what leads to innovation.”
Seeing his own work up on a big screen is not as climactic as one would think, he says, but what he does look for is audience reaction.
“I tend to look at the audience while the movie is playing. Then I can see what works and what doesn’t, what people are reacting to and what they’re not reacting to.”
Wednesday’s audience response was positive.
“The theatre was completely full,” Quinlan says. “And I think the film really captured them.”
Hansen’s achievements have helped draw attention to SA’s film industry. He has also trained more than 200 young film talents, many of whom have gone on to top film houses all over the world.
As for his next venture, Hansen says the offers are streaming in. “It’s amazing, and I’m so grateful to be in position to choose. The fact that I am even getting recognised is so cool, because there are so many who contribute to work like this.”
A reader's comment worth a mention:
I'm afraid this information is misleading and damaging to the Vfx industry in South Africa as a whole. The distinct impression is given that Mr Hansen did or managed, or even supervised the Visual effects for the film Chronicle. Mr Hansen was a Visual effects supervisor on the set, as the film was shot in Cape Town. This is a small role, often migrated to locals for 'pick up' purposes. Mr Hansen had absolutely NO role whatsoever in the actual Visual effects of the film. Printing this article poses a risk to potential clients and to the reputation of the industry as a whole. It's a glory peice that misrepresents Mr Hansens abilitites. It's more like an advertorial, and is damaging to other Vfx practitioners who don't resort to misleading the public for work. Marketing out of control with no link or regard to the truth or fair play. A concerned worker
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/saturday-star/taking-risks-for-fx-1.1238428
Own The Light of ILM
(ebay.com) Acquired at auction when Kerner Optical (ILM Practical Division) closed its doors, this Inkie Focal Spot hails from the ILM Stage, the birthplace of the original Star Wars Series and Prequels, Indiana Jones, Starship Troopers, Jurassic Park, Men in Black, Pirates of the Caribbean and many, many more.
Equipped for 120 or 220 volt use.
* Designed to be placed in tight spaces as an accent light, or as a main light for small subjects.
* Accepts bulbs in 100, 150, 200, or 250 wattages.
* Cast aluminum construction.
* Mounts to a standard 5/8" stud.
Tested and fully functional for use. Also great as a decoration or museum piece!
View ILM's many movie credits here: IMDB
It should also be noted that all proceeds form this sale will go to fund my independent science fiction project MORAV
Bid Today: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Industrial-Light-and-Magic-ILM-Mole-Richardson-Inkie-Focal-Spot-/190640677605
"The Lone Ranger" Loses A Bad Guy
(cinemablend.com) Sooner or later, Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger will be in movie theaters, and uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer and his A-list director will be able to look back at all of the pre-production turmoil and – we hope – have a good laugh. Because trying to keep this train on its track has been a full-time job. The latest hiccup in a bumpy production schedule? Deadline says Dwight Yoakam has exited the cast due to “a scheduling conflict.”
Do they still have Johnny Depp as Tonto? Yes. Is Armie Hammer still locked in for the Lone Ranger role? So far. So in the long run, Lone Ranger’s still ready to gallop forward with a late-February start to filming so it can maintain its May 31, 2013 release date.
Deadline does say that Yoakam was set to play one of the major bad guys, which is interesting. Right now, Tom Wilkinson’s still on tap to play Latham Cole, the film’s chief villain. We weren’t sure who Yoakam was scheduled to play.
Andrew Stanton And Producers Deny ‘John Carter’ Budget Reports
(slashfilm.com) No one ever thought Disney’s John Carter was going to be a cheap movie. To create a world worthy not only of author Edgar Rice Burroughs but director Andrew Stanton and the studio behind the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, lots and lots of money was going to have to be spent on the effects, the sets and much more. But as production rolled on over several years, reports pegged John Carter as an almost runaway train with an out-of-control budget. One article even said the film would have to make $700 million to be considered for a sequel.
According to the film’s director and producer, those rumors are false.
At the film’s press junket, Stanton and producer Jim Morris both emphatically denied these allegations and, in fact, said the film came in on time and under budget in some places. Read more after the jump.
Here’s what producer Jim Morris, who has worked in different aspects on films such as Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and more, had to say to me on the subject:
One thing that is frustrating is while this is a very expensive movie, we didn’t go wildly over budget. We went a couple points over budget and all of that was… We had planned for summer shooting, but we did a little bit of additional to kind of hone stuff and tighten it up and so forth. [That wasn’t] because things needed fixing, just because we wanted to improve them. So when you’re reading this stuff it’s sort of like ‘Well, judge the movie.’ We executed the plan we came up with for this. There wasn’t anything wildly out of the box. A lot of the things, like the visual effects for example, came in under budget, which is unheard of. So that stuff is just all bullshit. I mean just to say it. I’m not saying the movie wasn’t expensive, it was very expensive. It was expensive from the day we started, but it didn’t get out of whack or out of control.
Andrew Stanton, the Oscar-winning director of Finding Nemo and Wall-E, agreed, flat out saying the film was not in anyway the out of control production it was painted by in the press:
It’s always frustrating to hear lies put out there. And it’s always frustrating to see how people are so gullible. I mean by now people should know that if you read it in print, that doesn’t mean its true. And if you read it in print on the Internet, it’s really not true. It’s easy to ignore when it’s not true.
The director expanded on that to additional outlets, such as the following over on Movieline:
I want to go completely on record that I literally was on budget and on time the entire shoot. Disney is so completely psyched that I stayed on budget and on time that they let me have a longer reshoot because I was such a good citizen, so I find it ironic that we’re getting accused of the opposite.
We’ll have much, much more on John Carter in the coming weeks before its March 9 release including one on one video interviews with Stanton, star Taylor Kitsch and more.
'How to Make a Monster, the Art & Technology of Animatronics'
(voxy.co.nz) Dramatic, exciting, imaginative, scientific and a just little bit scary - 'How to Make a Monster, the art and technology of animatronics' opens at Waikato Museum next month.
On display at Waikato Museum from 25 February until 15 July 2012, 'How to Make a Monster' gives an insight into the art and technology of animatronics.
Waikato Museum Acting Director Andy Lowe says the exhibition, on tour from Australia, is based on the various stages in the creation of monsters and creatures developed for the film industry from scripting, to creature design and mechanics.
"This world-class exhibition is exciting, imaginative and fun for all ages. It's a truly interactive exhibition and the programme of events developed for it will bring to life the world of animatronics. There are opportunities to meet animatronics experts from the film industry, experiment with stop-motion animation, competitions and an after-school programme where kids can unleash their creative side and create their own gruesome clay monster," he says.
'How to Make a Monster, the art and technology of animatronics' was created by leading Australian creature effects company, John Cox's Creature Workshop. Director John Cox has more than 35 years experience in the visual effects industry. Mr Cox received a 1995 Academy Award for Visual Effects for the movie 'Babe' and in 1999 was elected as a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He was awarded the 2006 Kinetone Award for 'significant contributions to the Queensland Film and Television Industry' and is 2007 Australian Film Industry (AFI) Awards winner for Visual Effects for the film 'Rogue'.
"This is the only New Zealand showing planned for this exhibition and we're very excited to have it here at Waikato Museum," said Mr Lowe.
'How to Make a Monster, the art and technology of animatronics' is supported with a T Shirt design competition, monster storytelling , after-school pottery classes , clay animation workshops, and live sessions with John Cox the exhibition creator and Sam Doyle from Weta Digital.
Admission applies and there are costs associated with the after-school programme and some workshops.
The full programme of events can be viewed on the Museum's website, waikatomuseum.co.nz or by contacting the Museum on 07 838 6606.
So You Want to Build Monsters For A Living?
(cubepuzzle.mblogi.com) Like any preteen boy with an overactive imagination, Chris Clark loved monsters. He preferred the blood-sucking murderous variety, but truly anything with claws or scales was acceptable.
Twenty-ish years later, Clark builds monsters for a living. As a Vancouver-based special effects artist (okay, his official title is prosthetic FX tech), he’s punched fur into monkey suits worn in the recent Planet of the Apes prequel, and splattered brains on set of the Final Destination horror franchise.Our guides provide customers with information about porcelain tiles vs.
Clark is one of roughly 2,000 Vancouverites working in the special effects trade for big Hollywood-funded productions. It’s a growing sector that’s turned many childhood fantasies into another day at the shop. Just Choose PTMS Injection Mold Is Your Best Choice!
But what sets Clark apart from other young makeup artists and prop designers vying for the next break, is that he never bothered with post-secondary. With film programs in B.C. ranging anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000 in tuition,Specializes in rapid Injection mold and molding of parts for prototypes and production. Clark says it’s too a steep price for skills that are better learned on the job.
He says this just as Capilano University has opened a $40-million facility for training the next generation of film industry workers, joining a number of other programs in the region that charge tuition with similar promises. Which raises the question: what does a young person really need to do to make a career in the movie biz?
Clark first got his taste of the makeup industry at age 12, when a family friend who worked for St. John’s Ambulance cracked open a kit used to simulate medical accidents.
“He added a little wax to my thumb to make it look like it was cut off,” recalls Clark. “It flipped me right out.”
Captivated, young Chris turned gore-making into a personal quest. “I went home and took out all of the library books I could find on makeup, props, dentistry, prosthetics of the medical industry — I just read everything I could find.”
Clark transformed his parents’ basement into a laboratory, where he crafted paper maché limbs and other corpse-like oddities. “I always had art supplies kicking around,” he says. “I saved up allowance for products — latex, a bottle of blood, or scar wax — stuff like that.”
Working as a barista in his teens, Clark caught his break from a perfect stranger. “I was working at Starbucks and saw a guy with an XFX hat. XFX was this company in the States that I knew about,” he says. Clark struck up a conversation by name-dropping the effects company’s founder, Steve Johnson.
“He was like, ‘Yeah, how’d you know?’ And I explained that I do effects too. I had this little portfolio of the things I had done in my basement.” The coffee customer seemed impressed, according to Clark, and tipped him off to higher-ups working on the X-Files series.
“He said, ‘Well, why don’t you bring your portfolio in?’”
Once he started breathing again,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, Clark soon found himself working under Tony Lindala, a household name in the sci-fi special effects biz.
“I showed up as the bucket washer guy,” Clark recalls.
But his days as a rookie were short-lived for one simple reason: extra hands never go unused on a movie set. It wasn’t long before Clark was casting molds, aging faces and ostensibly killing people all on his own.
“Like any job, as long as you’re willing to help out and you fix problems instead of causing them, people are pretty willing to take you under their wing,” he says,Sharps include syringe needle, adding that each new coworker would show him a different set of trade skills.
“They’ll teach you everything,” Clark says of the close-knit mentoring mentality. “They’ll just take you aside and say ‘Here, I’ll show you some stuff.’”
By 21, Clark was a foreman of an independent Vancouver prop shop. “I had always wanted to make effects, but I didn’t think it was actually going to happen,” he muses. “I think my parents were just stoked that I wasn’t a serial killer.”
Andy Serkis ‘Gollum’ Up for Directing a Film of his Own
(the-hobbitmovie.com) After many outstanding performances on the screen, Andy Serkis will be taking a shot behind the scenes as a director for his own movie. His roles in motion-capture have given him a potential advantage as a director while working alongside legends like Peter Jackson and Steven Speilberg, to name a few. British producer, Sam Tromans of STS productions, says the drama that Serkis will be directing is, “…a fantastic script with a great female role.” He compares it to “The English Patient up a mountain.”
Since Andy Serkis is somewhat of an apprentice to Peter Jackson these days, expectations are high for his directorial debut. Let us know what you feel about a passion/drama film brought to you by Gollum!
-H Demanding directors, like Michael Bay, use ILM “to create something impossible and make it look real." There’s a lot of fear involved. -John Bruno
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