Digital Visual Effects and Film Tribune

Worth a mention - 12/16/12

2011-12-16T14:37:00.001-08:00

Andy Serkis Omitted from SAG Awards

(smh.com.au) IF THE Screen Actors Guild award nominations are any indication, Hollywood's acting community isn't ready to honour work in the performance-capture format.

Despite a push by Fox Studios for his role as a hyper-intelligent chimp named Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Andy Serkis was omitted from the guild's supporting actor category.

Serkis has been an ad-hoc spokesman for performance capture, or motion capture, a technique in which the actions of human actors are recorded and used to animate digital character models. He appears in performance-capture roles in two films this year - as Caesar and as Captain Haddock in Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin, which opens on Boxing Day.

Fox has been running ''for your consideration'' trade advertisements in which an image of Serkis in his motion-capture suit is juxtaposed with the finished shot in Apes, where he has been rendered an ape by artists at Weta Digital. ''The Time is Now,'' the ad says in bold type, with a quote from Time magazine film critic Richard Corliss that reads: ''Serkis gives a performance so nuanced and powerful it may challenge the Academy to give an Oscar to an actor who is never seen in the film.''

The guild nominations both cleared and muddied the Oscars picture in one swoop.

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" Looks For $65M Open

(thecelebritycafe.com) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law, is expected to easily top the box office with as much as $65 million, The Associated Press predicts. However, both Entertainment Weekly and The Hollywood Reporter predict more modest numbers. Both predict between $40 and $54 million. Guy Ritchie’s first Holmes film, released in 2009, opened to the tune of $62.3 million on Christmas weekend. The film hasn’t received as much critical acclaim as the first and cost Warner Bros. $125 million to make.

Game Environments No Longer Need to be Made Out of Polygons

(blog.tekmaster.co.uk) "Euclideon" was formed in May of 2010 in Brisbane Australia. It’s Unlimited Detail method can supposedly show unlimited point cloud data in real time — meaning that game environments would no longer need to be made out of polygons, but could be made out of tiny atoms, dramatically improving the level of detail in a game. The following video, narrated by Euclideon CEO Bruce Robert Dell, describes the process rather well. We’d don’t know much more about this technology at this time. Does this really work as well as it looks like it does? Or is Euclideon putting us all on a bit? We can’t wait to find out.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://blog.tekmaster.co.uk/can-games-look-real-today-computer-graphics-identical-to-real-life-pure-midget-news/

Eureka! The Secrets of Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Joe Letteri Headshot 300x196 Eureka! The secrets of Rise of the Planet of the ApesJoe Letteri is the Senior Visual Effects Supervisor at Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital Studios in Wellington, New Zealand. The CGI big cheese. He’s been working effects magic on movies like Jurassic Park, Mission Impossible, The Lord of the Rings and more. Most recently, he was instrumental in bringing digital apes to life in the new-to-Blu-ray Rise of the Planet of the Apes, starring Andy Serkis as Caesar, the ape with souped-up intelligence. Just before the launch, in Weta’s Wellington HQ, Letteri talked exclusively to the Independent about making the movie.

Can you start by telling me how motion capture works?

The idea with motion capture is you want to take what the actor’s doing and record it in three dimensions so you can put it on to a new and unique character and have that character express the same performance, the same emotions.

For the body we have the actor wear a skintight suit and put reflective dots glued all over the suit that we’re then able to record via a number of cameras. By looking at what the dots are doing we get a sense of the movement of the actor’s body and the underlying skeleton. That gives us the performance of the body that we can then use to drive the muscles and the skin and so forth in the animation.

We also want to record the performance of the face, for dialogue and emotions and expressions, and that’s a little trickier to do and so we rely on a small video camera mounted in front of the actor’s face from a helmet. Once you understand what the muscles are doing you can understand the emotion that the actor was making.

ROA 585 300x168 Eureka! The secrets of Rise of the Planet of the ApesSo although humans’ and chimps’ faces are different shapes, the actor’s face is so closely mapped that you know what each movement means?

That’s right. So we all recognise a smile when we see another human do it – we don’t necessarily recognise a smile when we see a chimp do it. In a chimp, sometimes a smile can mean nervousness, sometimes happiness is shown with more of a grimace which might actually look threatening to us. And so we take what the actor is doing and then adjust it so that we can understand that emotion but in the context of the new character. So it’s not a one-to-one mapping of say Andy Serkis’s face to the chimp’s face but it’s a one-to-one mapping of Andy’s emotion.

There’s a bit of science that goes into it, there’s also quite a bit of artistry which in the end just comes down to a gut feeling. You look at it, you look at Andy and you say do I feel the same way, is this the same performance? And if not you go back and refine it. So the technology is a tool to help us achieve that translation, that expression.

Your animation and effects are so sophisticated now. Do you think one day you’ll be able to manage without actors in the equation at all?

People ask that all the time. In fact you can animate without actors, a lot of films do that, look at for example any of the Pixar films. They do fantastic animation without using actors other than from for the voices. But those are meant to be very different kinds of performance, those are meant to be very broad strokes performances, whereas what we are looking for is more of a nuanced performance. Especially interacting with live action actors. We rely on actors to bring that because it’s a different type of drama, it’s more the drama that you get in theatre and live action and that’s what we’re after. That kind of realism.

In Rise of Planet of the Apes you moved to a new kind of motion capture, with Andy Serkis right there in the shot all the time with the other actors. This enhances everyone’s performance. What’s the next stage?

It really depends on the story. It’s hard not to emphasise that. For example the reason it worked so well for us on this one is that we were doing a story about chimps and chimps are roughly the same size as humans so it wasn’t a big stretch to have actors in there working together and allowing us to capture that in that fashion. If the story had been about something else, an eight-foot long creature with tentacles it would have been harder for an actor to fit in in quite that same way.

In the making of this movie, were there any eureka moments, when things wonderfully, unexpectedly fell into place?

Sure, for me the moment when it all really came together was the shot when we see Caesar in his cell. It’s the morning after he’s administered the drug to the other chimps and you can just see in his eyes following the actions of the other chimps waking up and starting to understand now what he’s wrought. You see that turning point where you can tell he’s been defeated and he’s been caged and yet he’s starting to formulate a plan and he knows that he has to take control of the situation and make it his own. You see all that very clearly in one shot. And if you see Andy’s original performance for that you see that very clearly as well. And so the first time we saw Caesar perform that and got that same sense of that emotion and that realism we knew that we had got to the point where that character would work and would be able to deliver all the rest of the moments we needed for the film.

"Attack of the Puppet People" Actress Susan Gordon Dies At 62

(contactmusic.com) Former child star Susan Gordon has died at the age of 62.

The actress, also known as Susan L. Aviner, passed away on Sunday (11Dec11) in New Jersey after a long battle with cancer, according to Variety.

Gordon made her acting debut as a child in 1958 movie Attack of the Puppet People, which was directed by her father Bert I. Gordon.

She went on to land roles in 1959 film The Five Pennies and hit TV show The Twilight Zone, as well as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke and a TV version of Miracle on 34th Street.

In her later career she worked as a copywriter at an advertising agency in Japan before returning to acting to star in a 2002 Off-Broadway production of A Magic Place in a New Time.

CG Chipmunks Look for $20M Open

(thecelebritycafe.com) The third Alvin and the Chipmunks film. Fox is trying to be conservative about its predictions, believing that the film will make around $20 million, less than half of the $48.9 million that the second film made in 2009. The AP and EW are both predicting that it could make as much as $35 million, even though reviews have been horrendous.

Early Jim Henson Cut-Paper Animation Found

(washingtonpost.com) Before there were the Muppets we know and love today, there was Alexander — the little grape who longed to be a watermelon.

The little piece of fruit is the subject of a cut-paper animated short made by the late muppeteer Jim Henson that was recently unearthed by the Jim Henson Company. Alexander, the puniest grape of them all, works hard to become as big as a watermelon so he can defeat his bully. The unfinished cartoon subs in storyboard stills from Henson’s Red Book, his hand-written journal of ideas.

Take a look: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/early-jim-henson-cut-paper-animation-found/2011/12/14/gIQAONtwtO_blog.html

Real Time Motion Capture & CGI Included In Avatar Extras Download

(pcmag.com) The studio behind the blockbuster Avatar is offering an unprecedented look into digital filmmaking, with downloadable extras that will allow a viewer to watch the motion capture actors or CGI in real time.

Beginning on Dec. 20, customers can now download a total of eight hours of extras via Apple's iTunes from Twentieth Century Fox, which include the three different views of the movie, plus a number of other extras that offer a real-time look into how the movie was made. The Avatar iTunes Extras Special Edition will cost $19.99 for a high-definition version, and $14.99 for the standard version; both include the movie as well as the extras. Apple will begin accepting preorders at 11 AM PT, a Fox spokeswoman said.

Fox's motivation is to encourage consumers to get into "digital collecting" of digital movies, explained Aubrey Freeborn, senior vice president of marketing and product management for PPV, VOD and EST for Twentieth-Century Fox. The extras will be released to the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia on Dec. 20. Avatar is the top-selling Blu-ray disc of all time.

"We strive to develop compelling experiences for every screen whether it's on Blu-ray, VOD or digital download," Freeborn said. "As consumers' entertainment choices expand, it is critical that we deliver the right value proposition to enhance digital ownership and drive increased adoption." Avatar's Blu-ray disc allows users to watch either one of three versions: the theatrical version of the film, a version that tracks the motion capture actors, and the "template," or early CGI rendering. Lightstorm Entertainment, the company founded by Avatar director James Cameron, filmed the extra scenes and supplied them to Fox.
Avatar Extras Views

What the new extras add is the ability to either watch one view or all three views simultaneously, covering 120 minutes each. Users can also divide the film into multiple regions, so that the he or she can see the head and shoulders of the CGI Na'vi in the film, and the legs and torso of the actual motion-capped actor who created the scene below.

"This really allows viewers to engage with the film in a whole new way," Freeborn said.

In addition, Fox has added a "green screen X-ray" with never-seen-before footage. A viewer can mouse over a scene as it plays, and the "radar" will "expose" the part of the scene that used green-screen footage. In one scene, for example, mousing over an actor who moved "weightlessly" in space exposed the hoop harness he used. Fox isn't charging extra for the extras, although the download times and capacity may be daunting: 7 gigabytes for the SD version (4.6 Gbytes for the extras) and 12 gigabytes for the high-def version (with 7 Gbytes for the new extra material). The content includes the 2D version of the film.

"Cloud storage over time will make a lot of sense for this, over time," Freeborn said.

Customers who bought the three-disc Avatar collector's edition version of the film were able to view the theatrical, template, or mo-cap versions of the film, Freeborn explained. But the ability to blend and combine the various versions digitally is new, as is the fact that the entire film is now covered.

While the movie itself was considered a landmark for filmmaking (especially for modern 3D technology, which it helped pioneer, plus CGI) the new extras allow the users to gain an unprecedented look behind the scenes, Freeborn said.

Without the enhancements of the CGI, the sets themselves are sparse, with brooms and other props used as guides for the actors. "It gives you a fuller appreciation for what these actors go through," Freeborn said.
Avatar Extras "Green Screen" Radar

Freeborn said that Fox is taking the same approach to extras to other new releases, including dramas and comedies, but acknowledged that the rich diversity of content (a Na'vi-to-English dictionary is included, for instance) lends itself to rich worlds such as the one created by Avatar.

Apple's iTunes is the leader in the digital space, and the "elegant delivery of extras," Freeborn said. "But we're also strongly encouraging other retailers and platforms to enable this type of interface, because that will expand digital overall."

Self-similar Textures in 3D Computer Graphics

(gurneyjourney.blogspot.com) A property of many natural textures is that they retain their geometric character at various levels of magnification.

Thus, a piece of the object is similar to the whole object. For example, in this photograph, a little piece of Romanesco broccoli has the same “spiral-knobby” character as the whole broccoli.

Much more with pics & video: http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2011/11/self-similar-textures-in-3d-computer.html

Podcast Interview With 'Tintin' Visual Effects Luminary Now Online on Autodesk AREA

(cadcamnews.in) 'The Adventures of Tintin' Virtual Production and Visual Effects Q&A With Weta Digital’s Joe Letteri Available Exclusively Via Autodesk AREA Online Community Site.

Tuesday night in Los Angeles, Autodesk, Inc., presented a screening of Steven Spielberg’s latest 3D film, “The Adventures of Tintin,” followed by a question and answer (Q&A) session with Joe Letteri, senior visual effects (VFX) supervisor at Weta Digital who discussed the virtual production aspects of the new movie.

A podcast of the Q&A is now available to audiences worldwide on Autodesk Media & Entertainment Vice President Marc Petit’s blog. The blog is part of AREA, the Autodesk Media & Entertainment virtual digital entertainment community. Log in to the Q&A to gain insights into the intricate and complex virtual production, performance capture and visual effects used to help immerse viewers in the wonderful world of Tintin.

Joe Letteri is a four-time Oscar winner — for his groundbreaking visual effects work on James Cameron’s “Avatar;” the last two “The Lord of the Rings” films: “The Two Towers” and “Return of the King;” and “King Kong,” the latter three films with Peter Jackson. He was also nominated for the visual effects of “I, Robot.”

Source: http://www.cadcamnews.in/2011/12/podcast-interview-with-tintin-visual.html

iStopMotion Brings Stop Motion Animation to iOS

(tuaw.com) Boinx Software is one of my favorite Apple development companies. I use their Boinx TV app to produce TUAW TV Live every week, and all of our onsite video from Macworld Expo 2011 went through Boinx TV. Their Fotomagico software has been a slideshow favorite for years, and their You Gotta See This! iOS app does a cool job of creating photo collages on the iPhone. Now the company is moving the powerful iStopMotion Mac app to the iPad, and has created a new iPhone app (iStopCamera) to act as a remote camera for iStopMotion for iPad.

iStopMotion for iPad (US$4.99) is an app that is designed to get younger iPad users into the thrill of making animated movies through the magic of stop motion animation. When the app is launched, a pair of clay figures are animated to show you how to use iStopMotion. The "star" of the tutorial, a little yellow figure with spiky hair, will be named in a user contest coming up shortly. The app itself is available on Thursday, December 15 -- TUAW was given a preview of both iStopMotion for iPad and the companion iStopCamera app.

Full Article & Video: http://www.tuaw.com/2011/12/13/daily-ipad-app-boinx-istopmotion-brings-stop-motion-animation-t/

Does Mission: Impossible Prove IMAX Is The Future Of Moviegoing?

(cinemablend.com) For years we've been promised that 3D, the clunky, expensive method of jazzing up images that are usually pretty impressive on their own, was the future of moviegoing. Movie theaters have been suffering declining audiences since the invention of television, but lately things seemed to be getting much worse, with a million other things competing for the attention of people just looking for something to do on a Friday night. For a while, or at least when Avatar came out, 3D seemed like a win for everybody-- moviegoers got to see something spectacular, exhibitors and filmmakers made more money from premium tickets.

As we all know, that hasn't lasted-- 3D has been used badly more often than not, and at a certain point the novelty wears off, leaving you wearing glasses to see something that would probably look great anyway. Studios have clung to 3D as a liferaft of cash in an era of declining audiences, but this week a new contender might have presented itself as the future of moves-- a contender that's more than 40 years old.

If you see even a frame of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol on the largest screen possible, you'll know what I mean-- and if you see it on IMAX, you might be too busy scraping yourself up off the floor to read this. The new film from Pixar veteran Brad Bird, which opens today on IMAX screens and everywhere next Wednesday, is the most spectacular narrative use of the large-screen format maybe ever, and has a power to thrill audiences that comes directly from its enormous screen. The movie isn't shot entirely in IMAX-- we're a long way off from that being a reality thanks to the clunky cameras-- but it switches seamlessly from 35 mm to the IMAX 70 mm for the sake of giant action sequences, and every single one of them pays off. The already famous scene in which Tom Cruise scales Dubai's Burj Khalifa is the pinnacle of the IMAX grandeur, but there's more where that came from, all of them adding up to a moviegoing experience that'd be absolutely impossible to recreate at home.

That's the holy grail that studios and exhibitors have been searching for, and though they may not yet be admitting that 3D isn't it, the very existence of 3D TVs proves it's no longer a "see it exclusively at the movies" kind of experience. But I'm not aware of any TVs claiming to be IMAX, and even if they were they couldn't match the experience of, say, the IMAX theater at Lincoln Square in New York, where I saw Ghost Protocol. A middle seat in that theater, which may be the very best in New York, perches you in the middle of the 8-story screen; when the camera flies over the top of the Burj Khalifa tower, you may instinctively grab the bottom of your seat to keep from pitching into the empty sky. Try getting that effect while wearing 3D glasses.

Obviously not every movie is going to be made in IMAX, and few filmmakers are likely to match the vertiginous effects that Brad Bird accomplished (and in his first live-action film!) But Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is the first non-3D movie in a long, long time that I absolutely insist everyone I know needs to see, on the biggest screen possible (and preferably not on those bullshit fake IMAX screen that practically ruin my argument). IMAX has been around for so long that it's not hard to imagine it outliving the 3D trend, and if anyone puts as much thought and effort into the format as Bird, or Christopher Nolan with The Dark Knight, we might really be able to preserve the age-old tradition of going to the movies to see something spectacular that absolutely cannot be replicated at home.

Motion Capture Kool-Aid For The Uncanny Valley

.(ology.com) As I sat in a conference room on the thirty-somethingth floor of New York's Mandarin Oriental Hotel with Central Park splayed out beneath me, a persistent question plagued my mind.

What the hell is Steven Spielberg talking about?

We had gathered on that crisp December day for the Adventures of Tintin press conference. Before us sat producer Kathleen Kennedy, visual effects artist Joe Letteri, actors Jamie Bell and Nick Frost, and Spielberg himself. To be in the presence of greatness was extremely humbling, until greatness started talking. Almost immediately, Spielberg was asked (essentially) just why the hell he made a movie using that dreaded motion capture technology.

Well, we didn’t even try to avoid [ the uncanny valley] because it wasn’t an issue for any of us. I don’t think that all animation needs to be squashed and stretched. Animation has a thousand defining fathers and this just happens to be the right medium for the proper message. In order to honor the artwork, I didn’t want to shoot a live action movie and have Jamie come in with a big red coiffe and extraordinarily strange clothing, and have to get Andy Serkis to wear a prosthetic nose, chin and ears. Everybody else would have had to have the Dick Tracy, NeverEnding Story, Baron Von Munchausen-type makeup if I really wanted to honor Hergé. The only way to tell the story and still honor the origins of Tintin was to do the whole picture in the medium of digital animation and the pursuit of that, which we call performance capture techniques.

Hold up. I can understand not wanting to bury everyone in makeup, but what on Earth is wrong with traditional 2D animation? Isn't that the perfect method for bringing Hergé's characters to life?

Hell, why not go the Pixar route? You could even release it in 3D and all! I just don't see a single benefit of using performance capture for human characters. Sure, it works great with apes and goblins and such, but people are a whole different ball game. It will never not look weird to me.

We couldn’t have made this movie at all without Joe’s team at Weta Digital. They had just come off of Avatar, where they had taken motion capture animation to its highest form of success and artistic achievement that had ever been achieved, ever since Robert Zemeckis, the Thomas Edison of this art form, invented motion capture to make Polar Express.

Excuse me? Calling Bob Zemeckis the Thomas Edison of motion capture is like calling Arthur Galston the Nikola Tesla of Agent Orange. In the words of Dr. Stanley Goodspeed, "It's one of those things we wish we could disinvent." Poor Zemeckis, that wonderful man who gave us Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, he hasn't made a real movie since 2000's Cast Away. It's like he's determined to make mocap work, come hell or high water. I still have nightmares of the dead-eyed tykes who populate The Polar Express.

Spielberg went on to describe the look he was going for as "impossibly inhuman and yet human like," before admitting that he was so moved by Avatar that he shed actual physical tears. I guess that settles it. Someone get Steven another pitcher of mocap kool-aid. He's parched.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Looking For $10M IMAX-Only Open

(thecelebritycafe.com) Tom Cruise’s fourth Mission: Impossible film, which is also the live-action directorial debut for The Incredibles director Brad Bird, only opens in 300 IMAX theaters across the country and 125 large format screens. It could make $10 million, enough to put it in third place. In 42 of those locations, Batman fans can see the Dark Knight Rises prologue before the film.

Death of Beloved Hungarian Puppeteer Cruelly Overshadowed by Death of More Beloved Czech Cartoonist

(pestiside.hu) In other current events involving Hungary and its regional frenemies, the death of a famous and beloved Hungarian puppeteer yesterday was cruelly overshadowed by the passing on the same day of a far more famous and beloved Czech cartoonist.

Henrik Kemény, who continued the century-plus tradition of his family by designing and carving marionettes for small audiences of restless Hungarian children at traveling puppet shows, died at the age of 87 within hours of the death of Zdeněk Miler, the 90-year-old creator of the cartoon character loved by generations of Hungarians of all ages as "Kisvakond," or "little mole," and millions more around the world, and even beyond, as a stuffed "Krtek" was brought along by an American astronaut on the second to last U.S. space shuttle fight apparently on the urging of his no-doubt-blonde Czech-American wife. Oh, and isn't Prague just soooo much more lovely than Budapest? Grrrr!

-H The monster was the best friend I ever had. -Boris Karloff

Worth a mention - 12/15/11

2011-12-15T14:59:00.000-08:00

Digital Domain Joint Venture to Build Visual Effects Studio in China

(tcpalm.com) Digital Domain Media Group has announced a joint venture with Beijing Galloping Horse Film Co., LTD with plans to build a visual effects studio in China.

Digital Domain will provide technology and expertise in running a visual effects operation as well as design the facility and train personnel, while Beijing Galloping Horse Film Co. will provide the land and build the facility, according to a company news release.

The new partnership will have a different focus than the original content animation studio in Port St. Lucie, though the two could work in concert on various projects and be a step closer to the idea of 24-hour filmmaking, Digital Domain Chief Executive Officer John Textor said Wednesday.

Textor said the company still is committed to North American filmmaking. The goal of this joint venture is to expand into the Chinese market, which has seen increased demand for high-end, American-driven film productions.

"Their economy is exploding," Textor said. "Their box office grew 60 percent last year, something like that."

The agreement is a culmination of several trips to China with many members of the management team, he said. Representatives with Beijing Galloping Horse Film Co. also came to Port St. Lucie.

"This was a real personal connection," Textor said.

He did not have an estimate as to when the new facility will be up and running, given items such as land acquisition still must be addressed. "It's a long time off."

Digital Domain is building a $40 million, 120,000-square-foot animation studio on 19 acres in Tradition. In 2009, the company received cash grants totaling about $70 million from Port St. Lucie and Florida in exchange for agreeing to hire up to 500 employees with an average salary of $65,000 by 2014.

According to the news release, the Chinese facility is expected to be comparable in scale to the Port St. Lucie facility.

The company's Tradition Studios' first feature animation film, "The Legend of Tembo," is slated to be released in the fall of 2014.

The company also announced it received a license from the Florida Department of Education for its West Palm Beach-based Digital Domain Institute, which is a collaboration with Florida State University.

Can Peter Jackson's Weta Studios Allow Anyone to Play a Gorilla?

(independent.co.uk) In the breezy but temperate streets of Wellington, New Zealand, between one anonymous warehouse and another, sits a piece of Hollywood. Weta Digital, the special-effects house created by Sir Peter Jackson, has its headquarters in a sumptuous but understated mansion with spacious rooms and an elegant terrace. There's also a stunningly equipped screening room with flickering starlit sky above and super-comfy seats.

Weta was set up in 1993 and is responsible for the special effects on movies from Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong as well as the recent Adventures of Tintin and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It's earned them five Oscars, most recently for Best Visual Effects on James Cameron's Avatar.

In one of the rooms, I'm talking to Andy Serkis, supremely relaxed and affable, leaning comfortably into a voluminous leather sofa. Serkis rose to Hollywood prominence for his digitally enhanced performance as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, a role he's reprising now in The Hobbit movies, filming now in New Zealand.

Right now, industry gossip is turning to next year's Oscar nominees and a campaign is under way on Twitter and elsewhere to get Andy Serkis nominated for his performance in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. He played Caesar, an ape with artificially enhanced intelligence, a central character in the movie. It's an arresting, detailed, utterly convincing performance. If the nomination happens, it will be a first for a motion-captured role.

Mocap, as it's abbreviated, is that process where an actor is poured into a form-fitting suit with tiny white balls attached and has his every movement digitally captured. Usually this is filmed separately to the main action, in a special studio called the Volume. However, Rise of the Planet of the Apes broke new ground by shooting mocap action outdoors, and with Serkis on location with the other actors, instead of being added in post-production.

Before speaking to Serkis, I tried on a mocap suit myself. My body was scanned as I performed basic movements and then my actions were recorded in the Weta Digital volume. It's a big, brightly-lit room with banks of desks creaking under the weight of computers, a carefully marked floor and scores of special cameras on the walls to register the mocap balls which were Velcroed to my every joint.

The new techniques used on Rise of the Planet of the Apes mean there's much more interaction between the actors than previously, as Serkis explains. He differentiates between motion capture and the latest techniques, called performance capture.

"At first with Gollum it wasn't even performance capture, it was motion capture and then the facial performance was shot on 35mm film. Then the animators rotoscoped – basically painted frame by frame over my expressions, matchframing every facial expression I made.

"The main difference now is this. I still filmed Gollum on location, I was in every single location and with the actors on real sets but the performance capture then had to be created months down the line in the Volume separately. So my performance was filmed on 35mm as Gollum. Then I repeated some of it for the motion capture. But with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, there's no disconnect. You're filming the live action actors and you're filming the performance captured performances in one hit. So it's all absolutely in the moment, everything happens on location, all in one beat and then we never have to go back and reshoot. And the same with Gollum this time."

The effects are so sophisticated and realistic now – there's not a real ape in the entire movie – does he think Hollywood will one day be able to manage without actors?

"That's entirely nonsense. Who is going to provide the emotional content to those scenes, who's going to drive that digital puppet if it's not an actor? Performance capture lends itself to live-action film-making.

"You can always tell the difference if you see a computer-generated character in a live action movie because it never has the right weight, it never feels its connected to the environment, there's never any messiness about it, it's too perfect."

So should a performance capture role be nominated for an Oscar? Serkis is too modest to suggest his own candidacy, but says: "For me as an actor there isn't any difference between playing a performance capture role or a live action role. I don't approach them any differently.

"For anyone who has been through the process of doing performance capture, it's just no more than acting. If I was wearing prosthetic make-up you wouldn't even be asking this. There are different ways of approaching performance capture but it's just digital make-up, basically."

"I tried to convince myself and the actors that I was an ape. It's a complicated and intense process, involving a curious square-hipped walk, rolling shoulders and heavy leaning on crutch-like extensions to replicate ape dimensions. I did it for less than 15 minutes and was exhausted."

"When [director] Rupert Wyatt cuts the movie he's just editing for all the emotional content, for the pace of the scene, the drama. It doesn't really matter what the make-up's like, is the emotional content there?"

Dressed in a grey tight-fitting suit, Serkis's face is covered with 51 dots for the mocap camera. "Head-mounted cameras are used to capture the face. So now you can go anywhere without worrying about occluding the cameras. You can get into all sorts of positions that the previous system didn't allow. So you have a lot more freedom to move."

"Caesar is based on a chimp called Oliver from the 1970s who walked upright. His expressions were almost human. And he'd sit down in a chair, pick up a glass and drink, have a cigar. He was believed to be progeny of man and ape, and when they discovered he wasn't, he was thrown into a sanctuary. They found him 30 years later, screwed up and broken."

"You don't actually get to see the visual effects until months down the line when they all start to come in and the visual effects shots begin to replace the actual thing, well after the final edit. And the animators can calibrate the character on the computer: you can dial the curvature of the spine, so you'll notice by the end of the movie Caesar's absolutely upright. He's more human in his movements."

ILM's Mike Jutan - TED Talk: The Power of Enthusiasm

(youtube.com) At age 10, Mike Jutan envisioned his future at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), George Lucas's groundbreaking visual effects film studio. His passion for computer graphics led him to earn his B.Math (Honours Computer Science Co-Op) degree at the University of Waterloo. He now lives his childhood dream every single day as a Research & Development Engineer at ILM in San Francisco, California. Mike is always busy planning his next adventure, to explore the globe and to make a difference to the world around him. Using his mentoring skills and extremely contagious enthusiasm, he is determined to share his joie de vivre with the world and inspire the next generation through a blend of art and science.

Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I5J4P0XaPA

Next "Tintin" To Be "The Calculus Affair"?

(darkhorizons.com) Herge penned just twenty four Tintin stories, and Steven Spielberg's new CG animated "The Adventures of Tintin" makes use of parts of three of them.

With sequel plans already in development thanks to strong reviews and even stronger international box-office, it seems one thing we expected looks to have already changed - which books will be adapted.

Over a year ago Peter Jackson, who is helming the second film, said that the plan was to adapt "The Seven Crystal Balls"/"Prisoners of the Sun" two-parter as the basis of the film. A few months ago however he indicated his desire had changed but he hadn't made a decision yet. Even so it was thought 'Prisoners' could end up being the theoretical third film.

Now producer Kathleen Kennedy tells The Playlist that that particular story is out altogether - "'Prisoners of the Sun' was a very, very early discussion, and it isn't under discussion anymore. We've still got Anthony Horowitz working on the second movie, and we don't know what we're doing with the third movie yet."

The stories used in the first movie were employed because they introduced Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock and their interpersonal relationship. So now Kennedy says "what we're thinking [for the second film] is what new characters do we want to introduce? Well, we'll probably introduce Calculus and bring him into the fold."

Professor Cuthbert Calculus was introduced in "Red Rackham's Treasure", a book unlikely to be adapted as the ending of it makes up the last few minutes of the recent film. The absent-minded inventive genius however figured in numerous other stories where he would often drive Haddock to angry outbursts.

One such story is also one of Jackson's personal favourites - "The Calculus Affair", a kidnap thriller meets East European espionage story which has Tintin and Haddock racing across Europe to rescue him. Asked if that would be the basis, Kennedy says "We haven't decided yet, but that's the direction we're headed."

Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects Tax Credit

Most television and film companies incorporate some sort of computer animation or special effects technology within their productions. Keeping up-to-date on these software programs and hardware that can run them can be costly and take financial resources away from required wage expenses.

The Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) is offering a tax incentive program to help Ontario production companies with wages related to computer animation and special effects, allowing your company to free financial resources to keep your special effects cutting edge. The program is known as the Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects (OCASE) Tax Credit and can cover 20% of eligible Ontario labour expenses related to your special effects and animation activities. The program can also be stacked with the previously mentioned Ontario Production Services Tax Credit (OPSTC).
Eligibility Factors for this Ontario Tax Credit

Corporations eligible for the OCASE Tax Credit can be either Canadian or foreign-owned, but need to have a permanent establishment within Ontario that files Ontario corporate taxes. The company can be an animation or visual effects house, post-production house, and/or film and television production company.

Eligible activities include:

* Designing
* Modelling
* Rendering
* Lighting
* Painting
* Animating
* Compositing

Activities that are not eligible under the OCASE tax incentive are audio effects, in-camera effects, credit rolls, subtitles, animation or visual effects used in promotional materials, or activities that are scientific research and experimental development.
Ontario Tax Incentive Amount

The OCASE covers 20% of eligible labour costs with no maximum amount. Eligible labour costs carried out in Ontario are split up into the following:

* Salaries and wages (i.e., amounts paid to employees) directly attributable to eligible activities carried on by the qualifying corporation, that are paid to Ontario residents (individuals resident in Ontario at the end of the previous calendar year) who report to a permanent establishment of the qualifying corporation in Ontario at which the eligible activities are carried out;
* 50% of remuneration paid to freelancers who are individuals or partnerships for qualifying expenditures incurred before March 27, 2009; and
* 100% of remuneration paid to freelancers who are individuals, partnerships, or arm’s-length incorporated individuals (such as personal services corporations), for qualifying expenditures incurred after March 26, 2009.

Apply for the Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects Tax Credit

Interested parties should review the downloadable OCASE Tax Credit Guidelines. If you are in compliance with all outlined eligibility requirements, feel free to continue to the OMDC Online Application Portal or contact Mentor Works

Can Pixar Continue its Golden Globes Winning Streak with 'Cars 2'?

(latimesblogs.latimes.com) "Arthur Christmas," "Cars 2," "Puss in Boots," "Rango" and "The Adventures of Tintin" are the Golden Globe nominees for best animated feature
Every year since the Golden Globes added an animated feature film category in 2007, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. has picked a Pixar movie for the prize. Will the streak continue in 2012 with "Cars 2?"

The sequel is going up against "Arthur Christmas," "Puss in Boots," "Rango" and "The Adventures of Tintin." The original "Cars" won the Golden Globe back in 2007.

This time, the race is more wide open, and reflects the emergence of live-action filmmakers in the genre, including Steven Spielberg ("Tintin"), Gore Verbinski ("Rango") and Guillermo del Toro (executive producer, "Puss in Boots"), as well as a diversity of studios.

If "Cars 2" director John Lasseter is sweating it, he wasn't showing it Thursday morning. "I'm really excited that the animation industry is so healthy," said Lasseter, chief creative officer of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios, in a phone call from his home in Glen Ellen, Calif. "People ask me about competition. I'm so glad that so many great films are being made by lots of different studios."

Notable animated films excluded from the list include the critical and commercial successes "Kung Fu Panda 2" and "Rio."

Sarah Smith, director of "Arthur Christmas," reacted to news of her film's nomination while pushing a baby carriage down a London street.

"I'm absolutely delighted on behalf of all the people who made it," said Smith, whose movie was a joint production of the Britain-based Aardman Animations and Culver City-based Sony Pictures Animation. "We had Europeans and Russians, as well as the team from Sony in the States. When they came to Bristol, we made everybody drink tea and warm beer. ... When we came to the States, they introduced us to more civilized forms of entertainment."

A Great Look at Practical Effects Created For ‘The Thing’

(slashfilm.com) When The Thing was released earlier this year, there were some viewers who weren’t thrilled with the degree to which CGI was used to bring the movie’s alien creature to life. John Carpenter’s 1982 movie of the same name, for which this year’s film is a prequel, is a landmark in the use of practical effects. Early in the development of the ’11 movie, we’d heard that it would feature a good mix of practical and CGI effects work. The final release edit countered that assertion; at the very least, it seemed to have a lot of CGI painted over the practical effects.

Now a video posted by Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc., the company that did the film’s practical effects, shows a lot of the unvarnished work done for the movie. It looks great, and features a good look at what may be the alien’s ‘original’ form — or at least the form that landed on Earth. Check it out below.

Slight spoilers for The Thing follow, but this video has such great stuff that I’d say check it out anyway. Not like there’s any doubt that almost everyone in The Thing dies, anyway.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.slashfilm.com/votd-great-practical-effects-created-the-thing/

Oscar Hopefuls’ Campaign Strategies

(nytimes.com) Q. What’s the difference between the regular movie-promotion circuit and the awards circuit?

GORE VERBINSKI The likely front-runner in the Oscar animation race, “Rango,” the story of a chameleon (voiced by Johnny Depp) is full of film references and adult jokes. It was a joint first venture into feature-length animation, for Mr. Verbinski and the effects wizards at Industrial Light & Magic. They began the process by holing up in a house in Pasadena, Calif., drafting the characters and the story line. Mr. Verbinski said a nomination for “Rango” would be equal to one for a live-action movie; he doesn’t judge animation differently. “It’s just a technique for telling a story,” he said.

Full Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/movies/awardsseason/possible-nominees-look-toward-oscars.html

New 3D Technology Projects Images Onto Thin Air

(wireframe.com) Remember watching the holographic Princess Leia in Star Wars with wonder struck eyes. 3D holograms were something that sparked popular curiosity back in the 1970s. And ever since then, researchers and scientists have been trying to create similar 3D holograms in their labs all over the planet. However, Japanese company Burton has cracked the mystery code to project real 3D images in mid-air without using any kind of screen.

Burton has been working hard on its Aerial 3D technology for the past five years and uses a unique technology that excites the air where the holographic images are projected. The 3D images are created by high-powered lasers, which ionize the atoms of oyxgen and nitrogen in the air, creating plasma and a colored light emission. When these lasers move rapidly, they create a 3D image in mid-air. Currently it can create 50,000 points of light per second, which gives it a frame rate of 10-15 fps. Efforts are on at Burton to improve that to 24-30 fps, which will make it comparable to basic video. And the next thing you know is a 3D image that is almost as good as the Princess Leia hologram from your favorite Star Wars episode.

And who knows, it just might become a reality that you can watch whole movies with 3D holographic images in the luxury of your living room. What’s more, it can pave the way for future holographic teleconferences, entertainment, 3D advertisements, and telemedicine. May the Force be with you.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.wwwireframe.com/drool/tech-toys/new-3d-technology-projects-images-onto-thin-air.html

Digital Domain Media Group Announces 3D Conversion Technology Licensing Program

(reuters.com) Digital Domain Media Group (NYSE: DDMG), a leading digital production company focused on visual effects, original content animation and major studio co-productions, today announced its 3D conversion technology licensing program. Digital Domain Media Group's wholly owned subsidiary, Digital Domain Stereo Group ("DDSG"), formerly In-Three, owns the six U.S. patents that represent the original commercially feasible computerized process for converting 2-dimensional filmed imagery into 3-dimensional stereoscopic imagery. These patents, developed by In Three, relate to methods for employing basic visual effects tools and processes in the performance of 3D conversions and the subsequent distribution of the converted images. The DDSG patents provide fundamental coverage of any modern conversion process that involves rotoscoping (i.e., computerized, semi-automatic and semi-automatic conversion with roto), and relate to any conversion process that includes horizontal image displacement / transform.

DDMG is now embarking on a program to license these patents to the various media and entertainment industry companies that may benefit from access to the technology embodied in DDMG's patents. The company has not previously offered access to these patents to the media and entertainment industry through a comprehensive licensing program. However, given the growth of the 3D market in theaters, home entertainment and other platforms, DDMG has elected to make its patent portfolio available now to select companies the broader industry through a studio-friendly program.

The first such agreement was recently signed with the South Korean consumer electronics company Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. This agreement provides a non-exclusive, non-transferable license for Samsung to use DDMG's patented technology for 3D conversion for a term that ends with the expiration of the last licensed patent. The agreement allows Samsung to use the licensed technology in any kind of consumer electronics, components, services and software of Samsung and its affiliates. However, Samsung has no right to sublicense the technology and cannot transfer its rights to a third party without the approval of DDMG. In addition, Samsung agrees to notify DDMG of any suspected infringement of these patents and to cooperate with DDMG in prosecuting such infringement.

DDMG will continue to offer 3D stereoscopic conversion services to film studios through its DDSG subsidiary, and will include select competing 3D conversion companies in this licensing program. DDMG's focus will be to actively negotiate licenses with its competitors while allowing them to continue to provide 3D conversion services to their studio customers so as not to disrupt current 3D conversion projects. Where negotiations are unsuccessful, DDMG will seek to enforce its patent rights, as is the case with DDMG's patent infringement lawsuit against Prime Focus North America, Inc. and Prime Focus VFX USA, Inc.

Irish Animation Company Kavaleer to Create 30 New Jobs

(siliconrepublic.com) Irish animation company Kavaleer will create 30 new animation jobs over the course of 2012 and it celebrated its tenth anniversary.

“It’s amazing to think that what started out in 1998 as a hobby has developed into something this big over the past decade,” said Kavaleer’s CEO and founder Andrew Kavanagh.

“Ten years ago, we got our first commission and took a risk by starting a business in the midst of a recession. I’m so glad we did because now this gets to be my day job.

“We’re delighted to announce that we will be taking on additional staff in 2012 as we work on exciting international projects,” he said.

The animation production company has been twice nominated for an IFTA, a British Animation Award and has won four Digital Media Awards. It has worked with Sesame Street, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Disney and its productions have been selected by over 100 international festivals over the past ten years.

It first co-produced a pre-school series called Lifeboat Luke with Straandlooper Productions set in the fictional seaside community of Donaghadoo. It then launched its own series called Garth and Bev on RTE Junior, which has since been sold to the UK, China, Portugal, America and Australia. Its most recent collaboration was with Dinamo Productions on a new series called Abadas.

Along with a co-production of a pre-school series, the company intends to extend its interactive games and e-learning production to a €1m turnover by April 2012.

11 Actors Who’ve Debased Themselves Alongside CGI Co-Stars

(pajiba.com) A list like this needs very little introduction, particularly in this venue where kiddie flicks are generally viewed as, well, total dog crap. Yes, there are a few exceptions to that rule, but we’re not here to talk about those lofty examples. Instead, I’m referring to those children’s CGI-action movies that feature sellout actors, who usually try to justify their behavior by saying they only wanted to be in a movie that their kids could watch. Even though they really did it for the money.

Take a look: http://www.pajiba.com/seriously_random_lists/11-actors-whove-debased-themselves-alongside-cgi-costars.php

Worth a mention - 12/12/11

2011-12-12T14:03:00.001-08:00

"Hobbit," "Twilight" Top Most Anticipated List

(darkhorizons.com) Fandango has conducted a poll amongst their user base for the most anticipated movies of next year, splitting the results by both gender and separating both remakes and films overall.

The results prove a tad surprising, especially the higher than expected placements of Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby", Len Wiseman's "Total Recall" remake and Tarsem Singh's "Mirror Mirror":

THE MOST ANTICIPATED BLOCKBUSTER IN 2012:

According to Men:

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros)
2. The Avengers (Marvel/Disney)
3. The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros)
4. The Bourne Legacy (Universal)
5. Men in Black III (Sony)

According to Women:

1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 (Summit)
2. The Hunger Games (Lionsgate)
3. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros)
4. Dark Shadows (Warner Bros)
5. The Avengers (Marvel/Disney)

THE MOST ANTICIPATED REMAKE IN 2012:

According to Men:

1. Total Recall (Sony)
2. The Amazing Spider-Man (Sony)
3. The Great Gatsby (Warner Bros)
4. Snow White And The Huntsman (Universal)
5. Mirror Mirror (Relativity)

According to Women:

1. Snow White And The Huntsman (Universal)
2. The Great Gatsby (Warner Bros)
3. Mirror Mirror (Relativity)
4. Total Recall (Sony)
5. The Amazing Spider-Man (Sony)

15 Features Selected For VFX Oscar Long List

(blogs.sites.post-gazette.com) The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that 15 films have been selected for consideration for Achievement in Visual Effects for the 84th Academy Awards. They are, in alphabetical order:

"Captain America: The First Avenger"
"Cowboys & Aliens"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"
"Real Steel"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (left)
"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"
"Sucker Punch"
"Super 8"
"Thor"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"The Tree of Life"
"X-Men: First Class"

In early January, the members of the Academy's Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee, who selected the 15 films, will narrow the list to 10.

All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films on Thursday, Jan. 19. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Steven Spielberg on the Next Jurassic Park

(comingsoon.net) it's been over ten years since Jurassic Park 3 hit theaters and with rumblings of them finally getting around to doing Jurassic Park 4, something hinted at by original director and producer Steven Spielberg at this year's Comic-Con, fans of the successful franchise and dinosaur enthusiasts have been itching for any good news that it really was going to happen this time.

At today's junket for The Adventures of Tintin, ComingSoon.net sat down with Spielberg for four glorious minutes of questions about his adaptation of Hergé's globe-trotting adventurer and we tried to quickly get in a question about their progress on Jurassic Park 4.

"I haven't been active in the last year because I've been so busy obviously on 'War Horse,' 'Tintin' and now I'm currently shooting 'Lincoln,' but right now, it's on the schedule to bring out another 'Jurassic Park.'"

Unfortunately, when we attempted to find out if it will continue on from the last movie or reboot and start from scratch, he couldn't tell us. "It's just another boring secret," he chuckled.

So yeah, sorry to say that we don't have much to add, although if Spielberg has it on his radar, that's certainly a good sign that maybe we'll see it sometime in the next few years? Fingers crossed!

Hot Sci-Fi Movie Project 'Rosa' Lands at Fox

(hollywoodreporter.com) 20th Century Fox is in final negotiations to pick up Rosa, a sci-fi project based on an animated short from Jesus Orellana, a comic book artist who not only created the short but will direct the live-action feature movie.

The pick-up shows the level of heat Spain-based Orellan has generated with his short, which hit the web the second week of Nov. By the end of the month, he had agency representation with Verve and last week was pitching the project to studios.

STORY: Ben Kingsley In Talks to Join Sci-Fi Thriller 'Ender's Game' (Exclusive)

What is noteworthy is that the short, made from his home computer in Barcelona on a next-to-nothing budget, is the only thing that Orellana has directed. It was made to show his vision for a live-action project he hoped to direct. Consider the impending deal mission accomplished.

Fox-based Simon Kinberg and his Genre Films banner will produce with Scott Glassgold and Raymond Brothers of I Am Entertainment, which also reps Orellan. A scribe will be hired to write the script, which will build on the storyline and the characters of the short. Orellana had a roadmap for the feature story as part of his pitch presentation.

MSN Goes Ape at WETA in New Zealand

(movies.uk.msn.com) It's the blockbuster of the year. And we've travelled far to find out how they did it. 'Breaking Motion Capture Boundaries' is one of the documentaries on the new Blu-Ray for Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and, having witnessed the technology at the Weta workshop in Miramar, New Zealand, I can attest to the revolutionary work that these special effects wizards are achieving.

Andy Serkis is modest in his discussion of motion capture performance. But having attempted this first hand, I can only begin to describe the difficulty of the artform that he's mastered. He's absolutely comfortable in these conditions. The end result, the unique CGI character of Caesar in ROTPOTA, could only have been achieved by Serkis.

Andy Serkis performing on the set of Rise OF The Planet Of The Apes (© Twentieth Century Fox)

Twentieth Century Fox

My experience with the motion capture suits, in which I was trained to ape about like the actors in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, was mindblowing. It's eerie to watch yourself in ape form immediately after running through these basic performances. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I put my back out and flew home on a cocktail of painkillers. But that's another story...

VIDEO - Take a look: http://movies.uk.msn.com/msn-goes-ape-at-weta-in-new-zealand

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Hits $1 Billion in 16 Days

(Activision) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has broken Avatar's record for hitting the $1 billion mark in 17 days. The game has reached the mark in just 16 days:

Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc., announced today that Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare™ 3 crossed the $1 billion mark in sales since its launch on November 8, 2011, according to Charttrack and retail customer sell-through information. Highlighting the trend of interactive entertainment gaining a greater hold of audiences worldwide, the game achieved this milestone in just 16 days, eclipsing the record set in 2009 by the feature film "Avatar," which reached the $1 billion milestone in 17 days.

THQ Lays Off 30

(venturebeat.com) uDraw GameTablet for WiiTHQ has laid off 30 people from its Play THQ development team, including executive of kids-family-casual games Martin Good.

Play THQ is the team behind the uDraw GameTablet (pictured above). The system was viewed as an innovative addition to the Wii game console that could bring out the artistic side of younger players. But sales during the season of huge blockbusters were weak.

VentureBeat first heard of the layoffs on Twitter and contacted THQ to confirm the story. In a statement, THQ said that lower-than-expected sales of the device have led the company to take the difficult, but important, step of reducing the number of employees that support the brand. The company adds this will allow them to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and increase the focus of the organization.

“WWE ’12 and Saints Row the Third are two of the top games this holiday season and we also have another huge hit coming up in February with the launch of UFC 3,” THQ said. ”We want to make sure that we are focused on maximizing the sales and profitability of these titles as well as the broader pipeline of titles that matter most to our future.”

Earlier this week, THQ updated its outlook for its fiscal 2012 third quarter, which ends on December 31. Due to uDraw’s weak sales, the company says it now expects to report net sales for the third quarter approximately 25 percent below its previously announced guidance of $510 million to $550 million.

THQ expects to announce fiscal 2012 third quarter results in early February 2012 and will provide an update to its fiscal 2012 fourth quarter and full year guidance at that time.

Oscar Winning Special Effects Studio “Amalgamated Dynamics Inc.”

(bzfilm.com) Here it is – an exclusive interview from Alec Gillis, one of the founders of Amalgamated Dynamics Inc. In the interview Alec talks about how ADI started off, shares his thoughts on today’s special effects, and more.

I’d like us to stop by the “Thing”, one of ADI’s latest works. Obviously, you’re aware of the 1982 original film, and the SFX work done there. I’ve seen both films, and though the effects in the 2011 film were top notch, the still looked somewhat less real than those of 1982 film. How much of computer graphic effects were used in the 2011 film? Why didn’t ADI go heavier on the traditional old-school effects?

I really want the fans to know that ADI does not have the final word on what the ultimate FX approach is. We are sometimes as surprised as anybody when we see the final results on screen. I read a lot of comments online that reflect a basic lack of understanding of how corporate film making works these days. In 1982 it was different. Before studios realized that genre FX films were the goldmine that they are today, they paid less attention to the filmmakers making genre films. Nowadays there is much more scrutiny of the process, much more studio input, and much less freedom for directors to take chances. Everyone who we worked shoulder-to-shoulder with on “THE THING”, from the director to Image Engine to the producers to Strike Entertainment is top-notch, talented and conscientious. The folks at Universal are as well. Everyone wanted that movie to succeed. But there is a different process in place in 2011 that there was in 1982. I promise you and the fans that we always try to encourage the use of practical effects, but it isn’t often solely our call.

Full Article: http://bzfilm.com/talks-interviews/exclusive-interview-with-oscar-winning-special-effects-studio-amalgamated-dynamics-inc/

Weta Digital Alum Finish Shoot For "The Cure"

(voxy.co.nz) The action thriller The Cure, starring Antonia Prebble (Outrageous Fortune, Power Rangers, The Tribe) and Australian Daniel Lissing (Packed to the Rafters, Crownies) wrapped this week following a phenomenal five week shoot in and around Wellington.

The film is written, produced and directed by David Gould previously of Weta Digital where he handled visual effects on features such as The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Adventures of TinTin. In between these features he returned to Australia to make the short films Awaken and Inseparable Coil. This week, after wrapping THE CURE, he attended the AUSTRALIAN SCREEN INDUSTRY AWARDS in Brisbane, winning the BEST DIRECTOR AWARD. He also won the BEST NEW FILM AWARD for AWAKEN.

He comments: "The award winners are chosen by members of the wider film industry rather than a select few individuals, so it's great to know that you have the support and respect of your fellow industry peers. Having just wrapped the shoot of my first feature film a mere 48 hours earlier made it all the more satisfying. What an amazing year!"

Team Will Show Can't-tell Photo Inserts at Siggraph

(physorg.com) Visitors to this month's Siggraph Asia conference on computer graphics from December 12 to 15 will witness a presentation from a team at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign on how to tweak photos by adding in something that was not there before. They will present their study, Rendering Synthetic Objects into Legacy Photographs, which details their approach.

So what? What could possibly be new about this? Their method has more going for it than older techniques used by the Kremlin or budding Photoshop enthusiasts. The team, Kevin Karsch, Varsha Hedau, David Forsyth, Derek Hoiem, can simulate lighting conditions so that the object looks realistic.

Humans can quickly detect photo fraud, maintains Karsch. They can do so in spotting lighting inconsistencies in a doctored photograph.

In contrast, the university team’s method, he says, is successfully confusable even for people who pride themselves in spotting differences.

If you don’t know the perspective, if you don’t know the geometry of an object, then you are just manipulating pixels, he commented, with unconvincing results.

In their computer program, a user is asked to select light sources in the picture. An algorithm recreates the 3-D geometry and lighting of the scene and the artificial object is inserted into its new environment. The program adds shadows and highlights to the object before converting it back to 2-D.

The weakness in existing photo editing programs, they say, is that they simply insert a 2-D object. Karsch, a computer science doctoral student whose advisor is David Forsyth, explains that image editing software that only allows 2-D manipulations does not account for high-level spatial information that is present in a given scene, yet 3-D modeling tools may be complex and tedious for novice users.

The team set out to extract the 3-D scene information from single images, to allow for seamless object insertion, removal, and relocation.

The process involves three phases: luminaire inference, perspective estimation (depth, occlusion, camera parameters), and texture replacement. The team, in their paper, says their method can realistically insert synthetic objects into existing photographs without requiring access to the scene or any additional scene measurements.

“With a single image and a small amount of annotation, our method creates a physical model of the scene that is suitable for realistically rendering synthetic objects with diffuse, specular, and even glowing materials while accounting for lighting interactions between the objects and the scene.”

Potentially useful applications include interior design, where decorators might take a photo of a room and experiment with different furniture and object insertions. Other possibilities include entertainment and gaming.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-uiuc-team-cant-tell-photo-inserts.html

ILM Vs. Henson

(madartlab.com) Inspired by the No Right Answer concept at The Escapist, I give you an impossible question:

Which is better: Industrial Light and Magic or the Jim Henson Company?

Industrial Light and Magic was founded by George Lucas in order to make the first Star Wars movies possible. They have remained an FX studio on the cutting edge of technology ever since and are responsible for the visual effects in such films as Willow, Jurassic Park, Terminator, Avatar and the NeverEnding Story.

The Jim Henson Company is, unsurprisingly, the company created by Jim Henson and is responsible for not only the Muppets and Sesame street, but also Labyrinth, the Dark Crystal, and Farscape amongst others.

Which is the better FX house: Industrial Light and Magic or the Jim Henson Company?

Chime in with your answer: http://madartlab.com/2011/12/05/ai-ilm-vs-henson/

The Culture of Dissent at Pixar Animation Studios

(bigthink.com) What's the Big Idea?

Pixar Animation Studios, the company Steve Jobs acquired in 1986, has won a total of 26 Academy Awards and made over $6.3 billion worldwide. The studio's incredible run of success includes Toy Story 3, the highest-grossing animated film of all time. In fact, with the exception of Cars 2, every feature film Pixar has produced has been both a critical and commercial success, grossing on average $602 million, the highest in the industry. Talk about the Midas touch! With a track record like that, Pixar must be immune from making mistakes.

Not true at all, points out the economist Tim Harford in his book Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure. According to Harford, instead of preventing errors, Pixar is really good at with fixing them quickly. To put it another way, Pixar's President Ed Catmull embraces a process of rigorous critique in which the studio ensures that films go "from suck to nonsuck." Films are scrutinized right up to the last stage of production.

According to Harford, what Pixar has done so well is the studio has established a positive environment for dissent. In the video below, Harford argues that all organizations are bound to make mistakes. The key is for these mistakes to be "revealed, exposed and then corrected as soon as possible." The culture has to be right for this to work. After all, people hate criticism. On the other hand, dissent must be listened to if you don't want your product to "suck."

VIDEO - Take a look: http://bigthink.com/ideas/41463

'Green Lantern' Fails to Make the Long List for Visual-Effects Oscar

(nola.com) Given the critical bashing it suffered upon its release this past summer, few expected the New Orleans-shot "Green Lantern" to be an Oscar powerhouse, exactly. But it wouldn't have been unwarranted to see it nominated in a couple or three technical categories.

'Green Lantern'An image from Warner Bros.' New Orleans-shot superhero film 'Green Lantern.'

Now it appears that's not going to happen.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released its long list of those films still in the running for the visual effects Oscar - likely the best chance of "Green Lantern" to grab a nomination. Alas, it didn't make the cut, making its chance of Oscar-night gold that much slimmer.

Unused Motion Capture Previs Action Scene For X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Revealed

(comicbookmovie.com) Hit the jump to check out this cool deleted motion capture previs sequence for Matthew Vaughn's critically acclaimed film X-Men: First Class, featuring Azazel battling the X-Men inside the Blackbird...

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS unveils the epic beginning of the X-Men saga – and a secret history of the Cold War and our world at the brink of nuclear Armageddon. As the first class discovers, harnesses, and comes to terms with their formidable powers, alliances are formed that will shape the eternal war between the heroes and villains of the X-Men universe.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/Wolvie09/news/?a=51096

Filmmakers Recreate Awesome Star-Wars-Era Special Effects

(fastcodesign.com) New cameras allow indie filmmakers to use old-time special effects on a cut-rate budget.

Watching the stylish trailer for C, you could be forgiven for failing to realize that you're looking at a set made of cardboard and milk crates. But that's exactly what it is. Derek Van Gorder and Otto Stockmeier's science fiction film about an idealistic flight officer gone rogue is being shot on a shoestring budget, so they make up for a shortage of materials by being long on craftsmanship.

"The cameras allowed us to take a new approach to studio shooting."

The ultra-low budget means no money for CGI. Instead, they've turned to older effects techniques, working with miniatures for the exterior shots, and exploiting tricks of light and depth of field to create the darkened interiors of the spaceship. Though CGI is not involved, none of this would be possible without the latest digital technology.

Thanks to the improved low-light sensitivity of contemporary digital cameras, the team is able to exploit techniques that would have once required massive lighting rigs, with the attendant massive budgets. "[It] allowed us to take a new approach to studio shooting," says Van Gorder.

For model shots, the improved sensitivity means they can narrow the aperture, which keeps more of the ship in focus, so that it looks less like a miniature. This kind of setup used to require so much lighting that models melting on set was an occasional hazard. For the interior shots, their lighting fixtures use inexpensive gear like regular fluorescent tubes, flashlights, Christmas bulbs, and home video projectors, all light sources that would have been too dim to film with in the past. The result is the ability to create highly controlled lighting on set at almost no cost.

Beyond budget, the big appeal of these effects is that they evoke the signature look of science fiction films from the '60s, '70s, and '80s, says Van Gorder. While much contemporary science fiction has turned inward and gone gritty, C is intended to be a movie that returns to the excitement of space exploration and an enthusiasm for the future. Van Gorder says that both digital and analog tools have a place in modern filmmaking and that, for indie filmmakers, the exciting thing is that CGI is no longer the only option.

"I think this fits with the theme of our film, which is all about appropriating the technology around us and putting it to work for progress," says Van Gorder, "Ultimately, the tools are a means to an end--they're not important in and of themselves, what matters is how you use them."

They've passed their funding goal on Kickstarter, but you can still pre-order the film and support the project. They've already worked out a budget for turning that extra money into higher productions values--but not too high, of course.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665604/filmmakers-recreate-awesome-star-wars-era-special-effects

-H There is an undeniable truth, that what you see really exists, even it if is posed by hand, 24 times a second. This truth is what I find most attractive about stop-motion animation. -Henry Selick

Worth a mention - 12/08/11

2011-12-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

Andrew Stanton Already Working On John Carter 2 And 3

(giantfreakinrobot.com) John Carter isn’t even arriving in theaters until March 9th, 2012, but like many a high-profile would-be blockbuster before it, they’re already got their eyes on the franchise. Bleeding Cool was in London to see John Carter director Andrew Stanton premiering some clips from the film, and they’re reporting that Stanton is already working on the potential second and third movies. Think that’s optimistic? If Stanton has his way, he’ll “go to all eleven stories and make more.”

Stanton said that they bought the rights for the first three of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter books at the outset. (That includes A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, and The Warlord of Mars.) While he is working on planning out the second and third movies, he’s not exactly counting pre-hatched chickens just yet. Here’s what he said:

I never expected anyone to say we’d definitely do more than one. It’s a huge risk for them… and it’s a huge chunk of change to make any of these movies, something this big. So it made complete sense to me, from their side of the fence, to wait until the movie’s out.

So if the worst is that it was just a writing exercise for me to plan the others and then I never get to do them, I don’t think I’ll have any regrets. So we’ve been planning out all three all along, just on the chance that they do go ahead.

Even if the movie isn’t the kind of success it needs to be and we only get one John Carter movie, fans will still get to see bits of the later books. While the movie is mostly based on A Princess of Mars, the script also draws in elements from the rest of the series, including a villain in the form of Matai Shang (played in the film by Mark Strong):

There was no main villain in Princess of Mars, and the villain would change every few chapters. There’s that axiom “You’re only as good as your villain” and I don’t know if that’s true but I didn’t want to find out the hard way. I went to later books and found a villain that did scope over multiple stories, and I brought him in earlier.

He had an agenda that was equal to the scope of Carter, and that’s how I’d want to balance it out anyway with any antagonistic situation even if I was making an original film. We were just using good old school storytelling techniques.

In the books by Burroughs, Matai Shang was a leader of a Martian cult called the Holy Therns, who practiced slavery and human (Martian?) sacrifices. Does that mean we’ll see John Carter going up against the Holy Therns onscreen next March? Either way, it’s cool to know that Stanton is thinking big and planning for John Carter’s future. Fingers crossed that we get to see it.

Will Jurassic Park Return in 3D?

(tgdaily.com) It's still a few years away from the 20th anniversary of Jurassic Park, but apparently there are waves of nostalgia flooding back for the classic film.

  While movies can certainly feel CGI'd to death these days, and there were obviously computer effects before Jurassic Park, it was Steven Spielberg's dinosaur epic that really let the genie out of the bottle for the technology, and it's changed the world of film forever.

Will Jurassic Park return in 3D?Now Collider reports the first Jurassic Park may be converted to 3D, and yes, there is still talk about another Jurassic Park film on the horizon.  

The publication interviewed long time Spielberg producer Kathleen Kennedy, whose industry credits include E.T., The Sixth Sense, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, along with Tintin and War Horse. (Kennedy also executive produced Goonies and Back the Future, among many others).

First, on whether the original Jurassic will be converted to 3D, Kennedy said they've been approached by Universal to do it, but the question is whether Spielberg can pencil it into his always hectic schedule.

"I'm not a huge proponent of post-conversion, but I think if the filmmakers gets intricately involved in the post-conversion – I think it can be really, really good and I think Jurassic Park is a perfect example of a movie that could work really, really well as a 3D picture," she said.

Kennedy added, "I also think it's tricky because unless you framed the movie with [3D] in mind, not all those shots - it's not necessarily going to translate, and so that's what you've go to have the DP and you've got to have the director frame-by-frame involved in the process of that conversion."

As for whether there will be a Jurassic 4 depends on the script, although Kennedy mentioned there's already plans for a Tintin sequel for Christmas 2014 or Summer 2015.

For Jurassic 4, Kennedy told writer Adam Chitwood, "We have a very high bar for ourselves because we're just like the audience, we don't want to make the movie if there's not a reason to make the movie... We're in the midst of working on that right now."

Tom Cruise Flying High On Top Gun 2

(MTV) Tom Cruise confirmed to MTV that he is involved in Top Gun 2 saying "We're working on it.".

Christopher McQuarrie was previously hired to write the script for the sequel, but it doesn't sound like he will have time. "I don't think Chris [McQuarrie] is going to write it. Chris is directing 'One Shot' right now, which I'm acting in. We've got to go back in January and finish it," he said.

About reuniting with director Tony Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer for the possible sequel, Cruise said that "Tony and I and Jerry, we never thought that we would do it again. Then they started to come to us with these ideas of where it is now. I thought, 'Wow, that would be ... what we could do now.'"

Cruise added: "If we can find a story that we all want to do, we all want to make a film that is in the same kind of tone as the other one and shoot it in the same way as we shot 'Top Gun.'"

Eye on the Oscars: Animation - 'Rango'

(variety.com) The western boasts several firsts, including an unlikely bug-eyed chameleon hero starring in the first animation film for both "Pirates of the Caribbean" helmer Gore Verbinski and industry vfx powerhouse ILM.

"Doing an animated film was completely new for so many of us, so there were a lot of challenges," reports production designer Crash McCreery. "Gore and I are huge Western fans, especially the classic Westerns with the dense, gritty atmosphere, so our approach from the start was to make a Western first, then an animated film second."

The team began by focusing on the characters and a photo-real style "that I don't think had been done to this extent before," McCreery says. "We kept telling ILM, 'Put more fuzz on it,' meaning we wanted to get away from that typical, hard-edged shiny CG look. We wanted frayed edges on the costumes and a blurry line between characters in the foreground and background, so that it all felt far more filmic than the usual animation."

To achieve this look, the team broke time-honored toon rules of texture and palette, even going so far as to use desaturated colors. "It probably helped (that we hadn't made an animated film before) as we just kept pushing to get what we wanted," he says. "We didn't set any limits as far as rendering capabilities, and ILM was with us the whole way. People have asked us, 'Where did you shoot it?' but it's all animated. Now that we have the pipeline worked out, we're discussing other possible projects as we all loved the animation process."

Holographic "The Time Is Now" Oscar Ad For Andy Serkis

(firstshowing.net) I guess the time really IS now. I received an email with a link to a video of the cover of an upcoming issue of The Hollywood Reporter, the print edition (they still have one?). The cover is unique because, not only is it an Oscar ad supporting Andy Serkis for Best Supporting Actor in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but it's a holographic ad, the video shows as you move it the face morphs from Andy to Caesar and back. It's pretty damn cool. I'd actually love one of these (hey THR!) to see in real life. We just wrote about the launch of Fox's "The Time is Now" Oscar campaign for Serkis, which is getting a bigger push coming up, it seems.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNv3QwTZweg&feature=player_embedded

Digital Reshapes Prod'n Budgeting, Billing

“Hugo” shows how digital has changed the production process.

“Hugo” shows how digital has changed the production process.
Holdouts and traditionalists may be sticking with 35mm film, but the digital revolution has triumphed.

You probably knew that, even if you don't like it. What you may not have fully grasped yet, though, is that this revolution means more than doing the same things you've always done but now with digital gear. It means changing the way you think about your work, the way you do your work, and, in many cases, the way your work is billed and paid for.

Consider Martin Scorsese's 3D pic "Hugo" and visual effects company Pixomondo.

In the analog world, f/x were "post." The editor and director locked their cut and handed it over to visual effects, hoping they'd have no regrets when they saw the result. Changes late in the game were difficult and expensive. Most visual effects studios still charge on a flat-bid model left over from those days, based on cost per shot.

Digital editing is more fluid, though. It starts earlier -- on some pics rough cutting starts before a scene is done shooting -- and continues later. That shift thrown the vfx business model for a loop. Since the cut isn't locked early, vfx studios are coping with continuous adds and changes that weren't in their flat bid.

Scorsese and longtime film editor Thelma Schoonmaker like to experiment with their cut almost up to the pic's delivery date. On "Hugo," they had a short post-production period by their standards -- about 38 weeks instead of the 58-68 weeks they prefer -- and a vast number of 3D visual effects to be completed. Adds and changes were inevitable.

Full article: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118047168

Fantastic Four & Daredevil Get The Reboot

(comingsoon.net) Fox is still developing its reboots of the "Daredevil" and "Fantastic Four" franchises. Rothman says “Daredevil is still with David Slade. It’s in development now. We’re working on it and Fantastic Four. I think for all of us, the bar has been raised, so we’ve got to aim high now. Marvel’s done a terrific job with their films. Where our Marvel movies are concerned or other movies like that. It’s like what we had with Planet of the Apes this summer. I think it’s important for us to really aim high and deliver an A-level experience to the audience.”

MAAC and VFX to Host Eighth 24 FPS Awards 2011

Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC) – leader in 3D Animation and VFX training has announced to host the eighth 24 FPS Awards 2011 in association with United Nations Information Centre (UNIC). India’s most coveted animation awards are to be held at The Leela in Andheri, Mumbai on 9th December 2011. This time around, MAAC has joined hands with UNIC to promote the 8 Millennium Goals through 24FPS where the movies based on the set theme will be used to drive and accomplish the 8 Millennium Development Goals.

With over 1000 entries from countries like China, France, Germany and the US and over 5000 animation enthusiasts expected to attend, this larger than life event is getting bigger by every passing year and will have more professionals than ever before. The jury of 24FPS 2011 consists of more than 38 industry stalwarts from across the world.

Over the last eight years, this event has gained momentous support from the global animation fraternity and has been a key driver and promoter of fresh animation talent in the country.

Animation Techniques Create Oscar Quandary

(theenvelope.latimes.com) After losing an Oscar, Walt Disney once remarked, "Disney has never actually been part of Hollywood ... I think they refer to us as being in the cornfield in Burbank."

Consider this the year Hollywood invaded the animation cornfield. The animated feature Oscar field is crowded with traditionally live-action Hollywood filmmakers, including Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson ("The Adventures of Tintin"), Gore Verbinski ("Rango"), George Miller ("Happy Feet Two") and Guillermo del Toro (executive producer of "Puss in Boots" and "Kung Fu Panda 2"). At the same time, two high-profile filmmakers from Pixar Animation Studios are now directing big-budget live action films: Brad Bird ("Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol") and Andrew Stanton ("John Carter").

It's no coincidence that more filmmakers are moving between the genres of animation and live action: Once rigidly distinct art forms, the two have become more and more alike. Live-action movies rely increasingly on digital effects, often created using the same techniques as those in computer-generated animation films. Meanwhile, animated films are depending more on motion capture, a filmmaking method in which the performances of human actors are used to animate digital character models.

There are financial reasons too for the genre migration, according to Bill Damaschke, co-president of production at DreamWorks Animation, where Del Toro serves as a creative consultant and where "The Squid and the Whale" director Noah Baumbach is currently writing the animated "Madagascar 3."

"Every year there are three to five animated films in the top 10" at the box office, said Damaschke. "Live action is a business that's contracted a bit. Fewer films get made, and many of them are branded properties. Working in animation, a medium that's breaking boundaries technology-wise, doing incredibly high-quality work for a wide audience is very attractive for the live-action filmmakers I've spoken to. The attention to story and detail, the control, being able to finesse and direct every aspect in such a slow and thoughtful process is something many of them have come to love."

"The Adventures of Tintin," which Spielberg directed and Jackson produced, is stretching the very definition of animation. The story of a boy adventurer created by the Belgian artist Hergé, "Tintin" makes the leap to the big screen via motion capture, with Jamie Bell as Tintin and Andy Serkis as his sidekick Capt. Haddock. Snowy, Tintin's canine companion, is a wholly animated character.

The tools Spielberg used to make Tintin are in many cases identical to ones James Cameron relied on for "Avatar," a movie treated by critics and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as live action.

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"We used the same technology for both. The difference is the director's intention," said Jamie Beard, animation supervisor at Weta Digital, Jackson's visual effects house, which worked on "Tintin" and "Avatar." "Jim [Cameron] wanted a real world for Pandora. He wanted it to feel real. With 'Tintin,' we wanted to bring the world of Hergé, we wanted it to be unto itself. You wouldn't walk into Hergé's world. It was a mind shift."

In both cases, animators and visual effects artists did pivotal work placing those human performances in fantastical worlds, a factor crucial for the academy to consider a film animated. Academy rules added in 2010 stipulate that "motion capture by itself is not an animation technique. In addition, a significant number of the major characters must be animated, and animation must figure in no less than 75% of the picture's running time."

In many ways, motion capture is the latest iteration of the constantly evolving art form of animation, according to "Happy Feet Two" director Miller. "Happy Feet," which Miller also directed, used motion-capture footage of dancers, such as Savion Glover, to help create the film's key effect: its dancing penguins. That film won the animated feature Oscar for 2006.

"In the old days, every raindrop was animated in 'Bambi,' every bit of water that ripples across a pool was animated," Miller said. "But now that's done as a simulation based on some algorithm. Motion capture … is yet another tool. As the filmmaking advances, the tools are used in better and better ways."

In motion capture, once an actor's movement is recorded, animators and visual effects artists begin their digital artistry on the image — turning a human dancer into a penguin, or an actor like Bell into a stylized character like Tintin.

"Happy Feet Two" is 94% animated, Miller said, with the rest of the film relying on motion capture and live-action filmmaking. As with the first film, the motion capture was used selectively, just for the scenes of penguins dancing.

"To be a great dancer, to be a Savion Glover, you're born with an innate gift, and you're dancing from the moment you're on your feet," Miller said, explaining why he used the technique. "An animator sitting at a desk drawing is a lifetime skill as well. To have those two skills combined [in one person] is unlikely. And to have that in many people — which you need for scenes with lots of characters — is even more unlikely."

The rapidly changing technology creates a dilemma come award season, however. Is that kind of on-screen magic the work of an actor or an animator? Is it a visual effect, which should be honored by the visual effects branch? What about the sweeping cinematography in this year's animated films — should it be considered by the cinematographer's branch?

Consider the opening sequence in "Cars 2," a James Bond-esque action sequence that takes place on the open sea. The technique used to create the digital waves helped earn a visual effects nomination for the 2000 live-action film "The Perfect Storm."

"Because of motion capture and CG animation, there's a whole lot of new stuff in terms of how we make these films," said Jim Morris, general manager and executive vice president of production at Pixar. "Some of it gets down to how you want to define it and how you want to recognize it. But it brings up a lot of questions. The beautiful camera work that Steven Spielberg does in 'Tintin' or Gore Verbinski does in 'Rango,' that stuff hasn't been traditionally recognized by the cinematography branch. None of it's been recognized much by the production design branch. There is as much artistry in the cinematography and the production design of those movies as there is in any live-action film. We're confronted with changing times and changing technologies, and it always takes time for people to recognize that and honor it."

CGI Studio Files for Chapter 11

(maxwelllegal.com) Bacon fanatics will be disappointed to know that the glistening strips of meat pictured in certain television commercials can’t be reproduced at their local fast food chain.

And sorry, sweet lovers, but that mouth-watering creamy caramel which forms a gooey chain in the latest Mars candy bar commercial isn’t edible either.

California-based Sway Studio is behind that visual food seduction. The firm, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, creates computer-generated enhancements for recognizable commercials. Remember the one where a pack of sharks swim alongside the fish filet-nibbling aquarium employee as she walks past their tank? What about the dancing champagne twists of Chandon bubbly?

Firm designers lined up a crowd of fake people to form numbers in a Cheerios commercial, appealing to directors who don’t like to fuss with human extras. In another project that Sway Studio claimed was a computer-generated first for Burger King, the firm enhanced the look of the sandwich that a hungry bystander held as he reported the chain’s mischievous mascot to police.

“Not only did our wraps move with a smooth, natural motion, the agency thought our CG food looked better than the real thing,” the firm’s website said.

The firm boasts a webpage where it compares real food to fake food it created, challenging viewers to pick out which one is computer-generated. (Hint: Look for the dab of bright yellow mustard that seems to ooze too perfectly from the burger’s folds.)

The company said it also created a software program that allows cars to virtually, and safely, traverse fake rocky hillsides and weave through obstacle courses.

But Sway Studio doesn’t get paid for its work until they deliver a new project. Without the money to finish up $324,586-worth of projects it has taken on for advertising studios, it sought to reassign the unfinished work to contracts to Big Block Inc., according to court documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles. Big Block has agreed to hire two Sway Studio employees to finish the work.

Disney’s Bob Iger To Chair Academy Film Museum

(deadline.com) Beverly Hills, CA – Academy President Tom Sherak announced today that Walt Disney Co. President and CEO Bob Iger will serve as chairman of the capital campaign for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Actress Annette Bening and actor-producer Tom Hanks will join as co-chairs. “With Bob, Annette, and Tom’s leadership, our dream of finally opening a world-class film museum in Los Angeles will become a reality,” Sherak said.

As Academy CEO Dawn Hudson noted, “The momentum has been building for a long time, and with the enthusiasm Bob, Annette, and Tom all bring—and the respect they are accorded throughout the industry—we have marked the beginning of a new chapter for this project.”

Earlier this fall, the Academy and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced their intention to work together in establishing the Academy-run museum in the historic May Co. building, currently known as LACMA West. With permanent and rotating exhibitions, the museum is intended to provide an interactive experience that will explore how motion pictures have evolved and how they continue to change.

“The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures represents a bold new way of saving and presenting film history,” said Iger. “It will innovate not only the museum experience, but also the public’s relationship to the art form.”

“I am thrilled to be part of this crucial phase in what will be an extraordinary landmark,” Bening remarked. “It will give so much to our city, to historians, and to visitors from all over the world, who love movies.”

Animated Pics Boost Property Values

(variety.com) While Pixar director John Lasseter was promoting "Cars" around the world in 2006, he began envisioning a sequel with sports-car star Lightning McQueen and tow truck Mater on the international Grand Prix circuit. Five years later, those familiar characters finally arrived on the world stage, and got snared in a spy caper to boot.

But "Cars 2" is just one of several 2011 toon releases that owe their existence to popular predecessors. DreamWorks delivered "Kung Fu Panda 2" and the "Shrek" spin-off "Puss in Boots," while Walt Disney Animation released a new "Winnie the Pooh" in the classic handdrawn style. Beloved comicbook characters also got star turns this year, with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson transforming Belgian cartoonist Herge's globe-trotting reporter into "The Adventures of Tintin," while another Belgian comics property -- Peyo's blue-skinned, ankle-high Schtroumpfs -- was animated by Sony in the CG/live-action hybrid "The Smurfs," which was so successful that it's already spawning a sequel. Clearly, franchise property values are staying high in this corner of Hollywood.

Full article: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118047072/

"X-Men" Sequel Evolves Into Greenlight

With this past Summer's successful reboot of the "X-Men" franchise, questions have now arisen as to when can we expect a sequel and/or where the franchise will go next.

20th Century Fox chairman Tom Rothman tells MTV News that a sequel to director Matthew Vaughn's "X-Men: First Class" is a go, it's just a question of timing - “It’s ‘go’ in the sense that we’re trying like hell. We’re trying as hard as we can. We really want to do it. We’re planning to do it. But the reason, in addition to [Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy] and Matthew Vaughn, that it was as good as it was that the script was really good. The key to making a great continuing franchise is to have a great script, so we’re working hard on it.”

Will Vaughn return? “I know he’d like to. We certainly would like him to. But it’s a matter of, as I said, getting a script that’s really worthy.”

422 to Animate Britain

(broadcastnow.co.uk) Bristol-based animation and VFX company 422 South has been commissioned by BBC Scotland to produce CGI and graphics for Britain Beneath Our Feet.

Each of the four episodes will include images of the present day, which resolve into a photo-real construction of how the landscape used to look.

Fourth "Transformers" To Shoot Next Year?

(darkhorizons.com) No surprise here, Michael Bay is in final negotiations to direct a new "Transformers" film for Paramount Pictures reports Vulture.

Bay has recently been developing his long-gestating personal project, the black comedy "Pain and Gain" about two dimwitted Miami bodybuilders who kidnap a businessman. However he has been having issues finding a studio and financing for the film.

As a result it looks like the deal being discussed will allow Bay to do both at Paramount - the helmer getting a green light on 'Pain' in exchange for a commitment to a fourth outing with the Autobots.

In fact if the deal closes, then the helmer is expected to shoot 'Pain' starting in the early Spring while prepping a fourth 'Transformers' at the same time. This would allow him to segue from principal photography on 'Pain' to shooting 'Transformers 4' in the second half of next year.

"Spielberg does this all the time where you’re doing art development and visual effects tests on your next movie while you’re still shooting the current one. The beauty of Michael doing Pain and Gain is that there’s no [technical] complexity to it compared to Transformers" an insider tells the paper.

An official announcement is expected as early as next week.

Star Wars Camera Sells For $625,000

(tgdaily.com) Movie buffs everywhere, myself included, are somewhat freaked out that film cameras will no longer be manufactured, as everything in Hollywood is going digital.

  In fact, the last celluloid camera just rolled off the assembly line, and for one fan with a lot of money, that makes his purchase of the camera that filmed Star Wars an even greater collector’s item.

Star Wars camera sells for $625,000Yes, the camera that shot the original 1977 Star Wars went for a record $625,000 at auction to a private buyer. It breaks the record for Star Wars memorabilia, and is the most anyone’s paid for a film camera at an auction.

Interestingly enough, Charlie Chaplin’s handcrank camera didn’t sell at this auction. (It went for a minimum price of $200,000.)  

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the camera is a Panavision PSR 35mm, and Star Wars was also blown up to 70mm in its initial run.

The Star Wars cinematographer was Gilbert Taylor, who had previously shot A Hard Day’s Night, and Dr. Strangelove, among many other titles. As director Richard Donner recalled on The Omen’s DVD commentary, he brought Taylor out of retirement to shoot The Omen, then some reels of his work were shown to Lucas, who hired Taylor to film Star Wars.

The previous record for Star Wars memorabilia was $402,500 for an original model TIE-fighter, sold at auction in 2008, and a Darth Vader helmet from Empire, which went for $70,000 at auction in 2003.

Source: http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-features/60073-star-wars-camera-sells-for-625000

-H Audiences are experiencing VFX on the same timeline that filmmakers are creating them. Audiences don't want to go back to what’s been done before. -Joe Johnston

Worth a Mention - 12/05/11

2011-12-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

Spielberg Wants Bay For "Transformers 4"

(darkhorizons.com) While Michael Bay has previously said he won't be coming back for a fourth "Transformers" film, series producer Steven Spielberg tells EW (via /Film that he hopes he will.

"I hope so, because I think he made the best of the three with this last one. I certainly can't imagine anybody other than Michael being equipped to make another 'Transformers.' He's invented a genre and he's got the secret formula" said Spielberg.

Bay has previously said he'd consider it but wants to make his small budget feature "Pain and Gain" first - "I'm going to do a tiny movie first, then we'll talk about it, if I potentially do it."

Spielberg was also quickly asked about a fifth "Indiana Jones". The filmmaker said “It’s up to George. We have already agreed on the genre of the fifth movie, we already have a concept in mind. I don’t know where George is with the story. There is no Indy 5 until George says there is.”

"Tintin" Sequel Dates Already Planned

(darkhorizons.com) A sequel to this year's "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" could hit by late 2014 or Summer 2015 according to producer Kathleen Kennedy.

With the well-reviewed first film already soaring past $200 million overseas in its first month and with the film still to open in several markets, including the United States, a sequel now seems a certainty at this point.

Kennedy and Peter Jackson produced the Steven Spielberg-directed first film and Jackson has already been slated to direct the second. The question hasn't really been if it would happen but rather more about scheduling - when would they shoot the motion capture elements for the film and when would it be out?

“It is being moved forward, in fact Steven and I were talking about it this morning. We’re working on a script right now, we’ll see a script probably February or March. If we can do some camera capture this summer, which I think we could do, then we would be on track to have the movie either Christmas 2014 or summer 2015, and so that’s what we’re looking at right now" Kennedy tells Collider.

The main mo-cap shoot for the first 'Tintin' took just under five weeks. Best guess would be Jackson would conduct that late next Summer once he wraps shooting on "The Hobbit" films and during a period when post-production requires the least amount of his involvement.

Annie Award Nominations Announced

(hollywoodreporter.com) Nominations for the 39th Annual Annie Awards were announced on Monday by the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood. Recognizing the year's best in the field of animation, the Annie Awards cover 28 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Special Production, Commercials, Short Subjects and Outstanding Individual Achievements.

This year, DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda 2 leads the pack with 12 nods. Dreamworks Animation also picked up nine nominations for their Puss in Boots and Paramount's Rango also took nine nods. Pixar's Cars 2 received seven nominations and Disney's Winnie the Pooh grabbed eight.

Winnie the Pooh, however, did not receive a nomination for the night’s top award, Best Animated Feature, while the other top nominees did. (See the complete list of nominees for Best Animated Feature below.) DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon took home the top prize at the 2011 event.

"We are really excited about the expanded list of nominations this year…in all 28 categories," said Frank Gladstone, president, ASIFA-Hollywood. "All of the major animation studios are represented, as are some of the independent productions from Europe and South America. This certainly is a testament to the wide reach and appeal of animation and the people who create it."

The 2011 Annie Award winners will be announced at the 39th Annual Annie Awards ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, at UCLA's Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, CA.

The Nominees for Best Animated Feature:

A Cat in Paris – Folimage
Arrugas (Wrinkles) - Perro Verde Films, S.L.
Arthur Christmas – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations
Cars 2 – Pixar Animation Studios
Chico & Rita – Chico & Rita Distribution Limited
Kung Fu Panda 2 – DreamWorks Animation
Puss In Boots – DreamWorks Animation
Rango – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production
Rio – Blue Sky Studios
Tintin – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshal

CGI Made Filming Man Of Steel Easier

(contactmusic.com) Michael Shannon is delighted he can rely on CGI in the new 'Superman' movie.

The Oscar-nominated actor plays General Zod in director Zack Snyder's upcoming comic book adaptation 'Man of Steel' and revealed he is thrilled he doesn't have to undertake all of the dangerous stunts himself thanks to the magic of computer generated imagery.

Speaking about Terence Stamp, who previously played the villain in 'Superman' in 1978, he told The Province.com: "Unfortunately for Mr. Stamp, they didn't have CGI back then. I'm being spared a lot of drudgery that he had to endure. From time to time I'm in a harness, but I don't think anywhere near as much as he was. It's no secret that a lot of the film is going to be assisted by computer designed animation."

While he is a fan of CGI, Michael admitted it can be "frustrating" to work with a green screen.

He said: "I guess it can be frustrating not having those tactile elements around you, being surrounded by the green but you're always trying to tell a story and be honest and you use your imagination regardless of whether there's a set or not."

Walt Disney Pictures ‘Lone Ranger’ Open Casting Call for Extras

(leadcastingcall.com) Walt Disney Pictures along with Jerry Bruckheimer, and Johnny Depp is back in production for the film remake of TV classic The Lone Ranger. The set is currently being built in Grant County after being put on hold for several months.

Filming will take place in New Mexico starting in February through July 2012. Most of the film has been cast in Los Angeles. Supporting roles, smaller speaking roles, as well as extras and photo doubles are being cast in New Mexico.

The extras casting director is seeking the following types:

*Males with no facial hair,

*Males with lots of facial hair.

*Females of all sizes with long hair

*Native Americans

*Asians

*Hoseback Riders

Time & Date: Sunday December 11, 2011 9am til 4pm

Where: Far Horizon Studio 300 Washington SE Suite 304 Alburquerque, NM 87108

Come dressed in your best western look. Bring proper ID!

**Additional casting calls will be scheduled throughout filming.

Chris Columbus Ensures a Safer Science Fiction Universe

(latinoreview.com) Chris Columbus Ensures a Safer Science Fiction Universe Chris Columbus' production company, 1492 Pictures, has won the rights to Charles Yu's 2010 debut novel, "How to Live Safely in a Science Fiction Universe."

The novel won several science fiction awards and sounds kind of awesome. The Hollywood Reporter offers this brief description of the plot:

"The novel centers on a time travel machine repairman -- also named Charles Yu -- who has spent the past 10 years traveling back and forth in time in search of his father, who has disappeared. When the fictional Yu falls into a time loop he must find a way to change the future."

Columbus is only producing this one. Directing duties will fall to first timer Brendan Bellomo whose only real credit to date is an ambitious short called, "Bohemibot," which you have to admit is a catchy title. Hopefully this one turns out as promising as it looks.

RoboCop Joins the Star Trek Sequel

(Variety) Peter Weller ("RoboCop" films) has joined the cast of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek sequel in an unknown role, reports Variety.

The film recently cast Benicio Del Toro as the villain and Alice Eve as reportedly a new character. John Cho, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban and Anton Yelchin are set to return for the follow-up.

Abrams will direct from a script by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof. Abrams, Kurtzman, Orci, Lindelof, Bryan Burk and David Ellison will produce through Bad Robot and Skydance Productions.

Paramount will start filming in early 2012 for a May 17, 2013 release.

James Cameron's TED Talk

(alexandrosmaragos.com)
James Cameron's big-budget (and even bigger-grossing) films create unreal worlds all their own. In this personal TED Talk, he reveals his childhood fascination with the fantastic -- from reading science fiction to deep-sea diving -- and how it ultimately drove the success of his blockbuster hits "Aliens," "The Terminator," "Titanic" and "Avatar.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.alexandrosmaragos.com/2011/11/james-cameron-ted-talk.html

Jerry Bruckheimer Breaks His Silence on Disney's $215 Million 'Lone Ranger' Compromise

(hollywoodreporter.com) The producer tells THR how he slashed a $260 million megabudget to get Disney's green light on the Johnny Depp film, why the negotiations took so long and how he feels about the new release date.

Jerry Bruckheimer says he never had any doubt that The Lone Ranger would get made with star Johnny Depp. But the project proved to be the most difficult negotiation of his career after Disney halted production in August as the budget reportedly spiraled beyond $260 million. Disney CEO Robert Iger set a hard number -- $215 million, according to a knowledgeable source -- and agreed to go forward with Lone Ranger only if the filmmakers hit the target. In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bruckheimer explains how they got there.

THR: How did negotiations get to the point where Disney shut down the movie?

Bruckheimer: We had a script that we kept working on. It was evolving. You start looking at locations, you look at the menu and say: "I like all these desserts. I want 'em all." And you hit a number and they say, "We can't afford that." Then you start cutting it back. Disney wanted to stop the spending unless they felt the budget corresponded to the number that the boss [Iger] wanted. They had set a deadline [Aug. 12] for us to submit a budget, and we didn't hit their number. They said, "Can you hit it?" We didn't have enough time to really vet the budget, and we said we couldn't hit it right away. And they said, "We have to stop the bleeding." We understood what they were doing, but we wanted to keep working.

PHOTOS: Johnny Depp's Most Memorable Career Moments

THR: Were you shocked that they shut it down?

Bruckheimer: It's always a shock when they actually do it. But I was still very confident that we could get the picture made. It took us about four to six weeks to figure out how to make the movie more economically.

THR: How did you do it?

Bruckheimer: We redid the production plan. We originally laid it out to avoid winter. Every single location we had, there was winter -- 30s at night, 50s during the day, best-case scenario. We were jumping around. California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah. If we had a big crowd scene and then the next day we were shooting just Tonto and the Lone Ranger, we still had the crew "on" because you have them weekly. So we bunched the sequences that were big together, and for the smaller scenes [we] laid off the extras, the effects people, the makeup people. It costs an enormous amount with 150 extras on the set. It's not the extras, it's the people that support the extras. You're still carrying all the wardrobe, makeup and hair people. We bunched together scenes with Tonto and the Lone Ranger, so we had a much smaller crew. We saved about $10 million just by doing that.

PHOTOS: Inside 'Pirates of the Caribbean'

Then we looked for the best break in tax incentives. We found that Louisiana gave us a better tax incentive than New Mexico -- that was another $8 million. We're still shooting in New Mexico, and we might [also] go to Louisiana. We're asking New Mexico to come closer to the Louisiana incentive.

We dropped our California location not because they didn't offer a tax break but because it was another production office that we had to open. Every time you have a new location, you have to use crew time setting it up for you. There are a lot of expenses.

THR: And there were deferments on fees?

Bruckheimer: Disney held back fees, and I put up some of my development money. I've done that before. [Director] Gore [Verbinski] and myself and Johnny and some vendors and creative people agreed to deferments. They will get paid at a certain point that Disney negotiated with them, as I will. It's a "favored nation" deal, so we all get paid at the same point when Disney recoups. That took a month or more. Then [on Oct. 13] we could finally start spending again. Some below-the-line people gave us reductions.

STORY: 'The Lone Ranger': A Timeline
Disney would have much preferred us cutting stuff out of the script. But the competition is fierce. You can't compete with The Hobbit, you can't compete with Transformers if you do that. The audience will stay home.

THR: Did you have to lose sequences from the script? There was talk that some train sequences were cut back.

Bruckheimer: We cut a sequence involving a coyote attack -- supernatural coyotes -- and a small animated segment. The train [scenes] are intact. We trimmed it a little bit. Gore made some sacrifices creatively, but nothing that would hurt the film. We had to work it out. The studio set a number, and it was always our responsibility to get to the number.

THR: What if the picture still goes over budget?

Bruckheimer: We are all sharing the burden on overages, including Disney.

STORY: Official: Disney's 'Lone Ranger' Sets May 31, 2013 Release Date

THR: Because you missed your original start date, how do you feel about Disney moving the release from December 2012 to May 31, 2013?

It's a better date. Before, we were up against The Hobbit and World War Z. Now we're a week after Fast and Furious and a couple weeks before Superman. The competition is not as bad. There are a lot of movies jammed in at Christmas. In the summer, you have a longer run. You're cut off after the first of the year on a Christmas release.

THR: Was this your most difficult negotiation ever?

Bruckheimer: It's been very hard. It's just the times. It's tough out there. The studios lost a real source of revenue in DVDs. It's much tougher, much harder. The studios are making fewer movies. In the past, there's always been something else [to make up lost revenue] that's jumped in there. There will be something, but it hasn't happened yet.

STORY: Disney's 'Lone Ranger' Close to Riding Again After Johnny Depp, Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski Reduce Fees

But I've had so many movies shut down. The first Pirates was shut down. Pearl Harbor was stopped. So was Armageddon. For me, this is normal. This is: "Get real. Let's get the budget where we can make it."

THR: How important is this movie to Verbinski?

Bruckheimer: He's certainly motivated to bring the picture in on budget.

THR: Where are you with Pirates 5?

Bruckheimer: We're in the outline phase. We will lay out a story. We have a script, but we decided we could do better.

THR: How are things going with Disney overall?

Bruckheimer: I'm there until 2014 or 2015. I'm happy with them, and I think they're happy with me.

THE CHANGING BUDGET FOR THE LONE RANGER

* Original: $260 million
* Revised: $215 million
* Savings: $45 million

‘Rango’: On the Trail of Animation’s Outlaw Future?

(herocomplex.latimes.com) Will “Rango” ride off into the sunset with an Academy Award? The Envelope is the awards insider for the Los Angeles Times and features the work of our Hero Complex writers. Here’s a look at one story from the upcoming animation issue of The Envelope; this one looks at the Gore Verbinski western that won over critics and should be a contender in the now-underway Oscar season.

"Rango" (Paramount Pictures)

When you think of Johnny Depp it’s hard not to think of Tim Burton — the movie star and director tandem have worked on seven feature films together — but with the success of “Rango” it may be time to more carefully consider the collaboration of Depp and Gore Verbinski, the soft-spoken popcorn auteur who has now made four movies with the actor since 2003 and is now preparing a fifth.

Depp says the two directors will never be mistaken for each other, but that they do share a certain skill for making the real world feel especially animated and making animated worlds reach for an unexpected reality. Depp made three “Pirates of the Caribbean” films with Verbinski and the two will reunite (after considerable turbulence in the corner offices of Disney) for the 2013 revival of “The Lone Ranger,” but the actor said working with the filmmaker on the animated “Rango” was especially enlightening, just like working with Burton on 2005′s “The Corpse Bride.”

“Gore and Tim are very, very different but there is a similar thing in the incredible arena that they build and that they allow the actors to go into, a place where the actors can feel free to go ape,” Depp said. “They rein it in, hone it and make it special and pay close attention to the details. So there’s this freedom they both create and an organic approach. Gore amazed me right away with his technical ability … he knows cinema backwards and forward and he’s completely unafraid. When I saw ‘Rango’ I was pretty stupefied – it was unlike anything I had ever seen before.”

Johnny Depp at premiere of "Rango" on Feb. 14, 2011. (Gus Ruelas/Reuters)

Verbinski’s knowledge of cinema was on full display in “Rango,” the first animated feature film from Paramount Pictures and the first created by Industrial Light & Magic, the esteemed visual effects house. In the film, Depp gives voice to a thespian chameleon who ends up in a savage town called Dirt where a six-shooter drama unfolds with nods to “High Noon,” “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” ”Destry Rides Again” and a dozen other saddlebag classics. With especially scabby characters (like a chicken with an arrow through its eye) and existential subplots, ”Rango” was defiantly “un-cute” in this era of animation blockbusters defined by heartfelt appeal and a tidy, toy-driven aesthetic.

More than that, Verbinksi went against the conventional approach of animation today — instead of recording voices from voice actors who worked alone in the studio, he put his ensemble together on a soundstage with a 40-foot-long wooden saloon bar, whiskey glasses and swinging doors and even brought in a chuck wagon to help the cast ground their performance in the dusty territories of their imagination.

More than that, Verbinski sees a new frontier in animation where audacious outlaws may finally win. He said R-rated animation projects (such as David Fincher’s discussed adaptation of “The Goon“) may be pioneer projects to watch.

“There’s so much you can do in animation, and maybe what’s interesting is a movie where you don’t bring your 6-year-old,” Verbinksi said, adding that the the animation legacy of Ralph Bakshi and “Heavy Metal” may be a compass point for Hollywood as far as mature audience ambitions. “You can tell so many stories. I think where it’s going is very interesting if we let it be.”

Filmmakers Reviving Sci-fi With Lights, Miniatures, & Imagination

(techzwn.com) When it comes to special effects, nothing looks more realistic than reality itself, and filmmakers Derek Van Gorder and Otto Stockmeier hope to show this with their upcoming film, “C.”

The short sci-fi film begins in an interplanetary cold war, and follows the story of an idealistic flight officer who hijacks her own ship to search for other habitable worlds, and a better future. Gorder and Stockmeier are breaking the mould with this film—abandoning computer graphics and green screens for model ships, lights, and whole lot of creativity.

They elaborated on this via e-mail, noting while “CGI can be really beautiful and it’s an incredibly powerful tool,” science fiction films and others that are filled with special effects tend to move too far from principles of basic photography.”

“Light and the physical world plays such an important role in a filmmaker’s decisions, and through all those decisions nature is meeting you halfway,” Gorder and Stockmeier said.

The film’s trailer shows this concept in action. A ship soars through space, lights shining forward through the darkness. There is depth and shadow, and an that uncanny feel that sci-fi films once had.

The ship, after all, is a miniature model with real lights, and the shadows are not rendered by a computer—they’re real.

“When you create elements of a shot entirely in a computer, you have to generate everything that physics and the natural world offers you from scratch,” they said, noting that while having these tools on hand can be empowering to filmmakers, it’s still just animation, and “throwing it into the same frame as a real live human being or natural landscape is a bold choice, it’s mixing mediums.”

“I like the Pixar approach better, full CGI movies that just are what they are—you accept it, it feels natural within the world of the film,” Gorder said. “I’m looking forward to more CGI-based science fiction that accepts the medium for what it is rather than copy & pasting big scary monsters or ridiculous landscapes into an otherwise live-action movie.”

They also have a love for the old way of doing effect. “There’s a richness and texture when you’re working with lenses and light that can’t be replicated. The goal of special effects shouldn’t necessarily be to look realistic, they should be works of art themselves and help create a mood or tell a story,” they said.

Gorder and Stockmeier used the “Stargate” sequence from 2001 as an example—which they describe as neither realistic nor recognizable—yet still “communicates an enormous science fiction concept effectively.” The add the great sci-fi films that still hold a spot in the hearts of many-a-good-geek took their places by creating “unforgettable visions that remain timeless because they told great stories, and their effects blended seamlessly into that vision.”

Trying to do everything with CGI and green screens sets what they describe as a trap that promises an audience photorealism. Yet for filmmakers, “all of a sudden you’re lighting for chromakeying instead of lighting for a mood, and you risk missing storytelling opportunities.” The end product often gives CGI-heavy movies what they describe as a “plastic” feel.

Full article with pics & video: http://techzwn.com/2011/12/filmmakers-reviving-sci-fi-with-lights-miniatures-and-imagination/

‘Tron’ Vs ‘Tron: Legacy’ in a CGI Battle

(uponregistration.com) Twenty-eight years is a very long time to wait for a sequel, but loyal followers of “Tron” didn’t thoughts within the least. The 1982 movie was groundbreaking in its use of laptop graphics which opened up a brand new world of potentialities when it got here to laptop-generated imagery in a movie. Likewise, followers of “Tron” knew that the sequel would have to do one thing to push the envelope on CGI. Followers acquired simply that and extra as “Tron: Legacy” delivered CGI graphics not like any other movie has to date.

“Tron” gave us a unique look at the power computes had when it got here to movie making. When the characters have been derezzed, it was actually as though somebody pulled a plug out they usually vanished by giant laptop pixelation. Whereas the disks they used for the game grid and carried of their fits have been actually only a disk, they still did nothing special. The light cycles, which constructed partitions wherever they went and derezzed characters, have been additionally largely pixilated, but still effective. Although the surveillance programs have been clearly CGI, they have been no more than what appeared like a child’s building block toy collection that was put together to make a menacing wanting program. The CGI in “Tron” appeared nice for its time, but it can not examine to the CGI of “Tron: Legacy”

Since Programs do not age as Users do, writers and the CGI team needed to deal with this matter and make it believable. Flynn proven as a young father was an surprising surprise since the actor enjoying him, Jeff Bridges, shouldn’t be in his 30′s anymore, but appeared as though he were. It appeared so actual that it is sure to inspire different movies to use this method the place applicable.

Whereas the sunshine cycles have been a staple picture in “Tron” it is no wonder that they’d come back for use in “Tron: Legacy.” The wall that the cycles used appeared extra like a ribbon of sunshine than it did within the first film. The light cycle arena had additionally changed from a easy enjoying discipline space to a much more complicated recreation simulation that’s generally used in racing video games. The cycles themselves additionally received an upgrade from a easy wanting motorbike to a much more complicated motorbike that materialized when a easy wanting black baton was pulled aside while operating which materialized a bike to ride on.

The discs in “Tron: Legacy” additionally acquired an upgrade from being only a easy disc to turn out to be a extra excessive tech donut-shaped disc. Not only did these discs mild up, but they also acted as computers that could possibly be used to heal a Program if they’d been injured by simulated pictures of the proprietor, which appeared out of the center of the disc. When a Program was derezzed, they turned what actually appeared like small laptop chips breaking apart from every other. Although the CGI in “Tron” can not start to check with the complexity that “Tron: Legacy” was in a position to ship and bring to new heights, both movies have been equally groundbreaking the place CGI is concerned. Just as “Tron” changed the way a whole lot of movies after it have been being made, “Tron: Legacy” is sure to do the same.

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Pixar Premiere Animators' Occasion

(stuff.co.nz) Cameras set to roll on NZ's largest production lot McKenzie Muppet song gets Oscar tip Sione's cast prays pirates steer clear Love child of Gable, Young dies Streep tipped for Oscar glory Stuff's big entertainment quiz: December 1 The cat finally gets the cream No Conchords movie planned - HBO Kingdom Come film's deadline passes Creditors put squeeze on failed film

A small group of Kiwi animators and special effects artists have had a sneak peak at Pixar's latest film, as the industry gathers in Wellington for its annual conference.

The southern hemisphere premiere of short film La Luna was held at animation conference Animfx yesterday at Te Papa.

The film follows a working-class boy who sweeps up fallen stars on the moon with his father and grandfather, and is being considered for an Academy Award.

Pixar director Enrico Casarosa, who was a storyboard artist for the United States giant on films Ratatouille, Cars and Up, afterwards gave an insight into his directorial debut.

Despite lasting only seven minutes, La Luna took nine months to make, using 50 to 60 people at its peak, which is a "small team" for Pixar.

At first the characters appear to be fishermen as they row out to the moon – a throwback to Casarosa's childhood in Italy.

"I grew up with the sea right by. A lot of fishermen. At home we lived with my grandfather, but my dad and my grandfather never got along. I was always the little kid stuck in between these two guys.

"One would ask me a question, and the other would ask me a question, but they would never talk to each other."

There has been a strong turn-out at the conference in Wellington, underlining the importance of the industry to the capital.

Weta Digital was well-known overseas, said Casarosa, who is based in California.

"People are getting excited about The Hobbit again. It feels like there is a little bit of recapturing of some of that magic that was there a few years back during the Lord of the Rings. I think people are very curious about Tintin as well."

There have been claims that Weta Digital is now the world's second-largest special effects workshop after Pixar.

Graham Mitchell, chief executive of ultrafast broadband company Crown Fibre Holdings, said he had heard anecdotally that Weta had achieved the No2 spot.

"I don't think people realise how successful they are."

But Weta spokeswoman Amy Minty said the claim was not easy to quantify.

Although Weta was certainly one of the largest, it would be reluctant "to describe ourselves in such a definitive way". A Technology Investment Network report estimated Weta's revenues climbed by $10 million to $110m this year.

A tour of Weta Digital tomorrow promises to be one of the highlights at Animfx, which has attracted about 400 people in the conference's sixth year.

Andy Serkis Makes The Case For An Expanded Definition Of Acting

(thinkprogress.org) We’ve talked about this a bit before, but Andy Serkis makes the case for why he should be eligible for acting awards — which I agree with, I just don’t know that we can nominate him alone:

There is no difference. Acting is acting. Performance capture is a technology, not a genre; it’s just another way of recording an actor’s performance. It’s very interesting being in two movies this year that are manifested completely differently but use the same process. The same visual effects company, Weta Digital, produced apes that look entirely real and a palette and a style that honors the source material of Tintin. What Steven was trying to do was to have the best of both worlds, where you can create the look and the feel and the sensibility of Herge [Tintin's cartoonist creator] but have emotionally truthful performances. The technology allows the actors to enter into those worlds…The technology has come to the point where we could shoot Gollum and the Hobbits in the same moment, as we did in Apes. In the original, I’d have to shoot against empty plates that were shot on the day, then repeat the process on the performance-capture stage, sometimes months later. Now we get it in one hit, so it’s much more actor- and director-friendly.

Obviously post-production and effects work exist on a continuum. But there’s a difference between technological alteration without which a performance could not exist, and post-production work that tweaks or modifies a performance or a set but that does not constitute the core of the work. Our current awards categories don’t provide appropriate recognition to the first category of technological and post-production work. I want Serkis to get piles of statues. I just think we have to find a way to acknowledge the interactive nature of the work. The fact that visual effects artists often don’t get properly credited is part and parcel of a system that involves visual effects studios giving up not just credit but profits in order to keep work, even though the industry increasingly relies on their work to satisfy audience expectations.

Maybe if Serkis gets a nomination or an award for a role where his face isn’t actually on-screen, it could trigger a special citation for the visual effects folks who translated his performance. I don’t know that it’s a perfect solution. But I think we need to reconsider the awards categories themselves, not just who fits into them.

-H Ironically, the reason we were able to do "Star Wars" was because of solid-state circuitry. Space Race technology made "Star Wars" possible. -Richard Edlund

Worth a mention - 12/01/11

2011-12-01T12:34:00.001-08:00

Guillermo del Toro Shooting "Pacific Rim" Robot Shop

(comingsoon.net) After Guillermo del Toro’s dream project — At the Mountains of Madness — was cancelled unceremoniously, he has thrown himself into a number of new projects. Currently, he’s directing Pacific Rim, starring Idris Elba and Charlie Day.

On how Pacific Rim is coming along, courtesy of io9, Guillermo del Toro said:

“Very good, we’re at the end of our second week. We are shooting everything for the main complex in the movie, which is a huge complex in Hong Kong where the robots are maintained. We are doing that, while building downtown Hong Kong streets.”

Pacific Rim, in short, is about people in the future piloting giant robots to fend off an alien threat in the form of massive, ghastly monsters.

Full John Carter Trailer is Visual Effects Spectacle

(thehdroom.com) John Carter Trailer is Visual Effects SpectacleDisney has released the first full trailer for John Carter and its a visual effects showpiece not unlike the first trailer for Avatar, only replacing the lush forests of Pandora with the barren deserts of Mars.

It's not hard to draw comparisons between Avatar and John Carter based on this new trailer. The tall, lanky Martians, caught up in war, are similar in stature to the Na'vi of Pandora. A human fighting amongst them and huge effects sequences are also shared traits.

You could also draw comparisons of Carter taking on a giant blind white ape while in chains to the arena sequence in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones in which Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padme were faced with battling large exotic alien beasts while chained up. I was a little surprised to see the end of the ape sequence appear in the trailer.

John Carter is based on the science fiction book series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It stars Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Mark Strong, Bryan Cranston, Willem Dafoe and Thomas Haden Church in the story of a Civil War veteran who ends up on the surface of Mars and caught up in a massive war between races.

Directing John Carter is Pixar vet Andrew Stanton in what is his first live-action feature film. The inhabitants of Mars and much of the landscape is computer generated, so Stanton is still working in familiar territory. With a resume that includes WALL·E and Finding Nemo, there are great expectations that Stanton will deliver with John Carter when it hits theaters on March 9.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4jfd3mW9B0&feature=player_embedded

DWA CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg to Receive CinemaCon Honor

(comingsoon.net) The 2nd Annual CinemaCon exhibitors convention, to be held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, is roughly five months away, but they're already starting to announce the honorees with the first of them being DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, who is being presented with the 2012 "Pioneer of the Year" by the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. ComingSoon.net should have full coverage of the show, but receiving this award is pretty major for Katzenberg, who has been a regular fixture at the show each year, often showing early footage or works-in-progress from DreamWorks Animation's slate.

You can read the full press release below:

The Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation will present its 2012 "Pioneer of the Year" Award to Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., it was announced by Ted Cooper, President of the industry�s foremost charitable organization. Katzenberg will be honored on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at CinemaCon, the industry's largest and most important gathering of cinema owners and operators from around the world. CinemaCon 2012 will be held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

"We are honored in our own right to be able to single out someone like Jeffrey Katzenberg," noted Ted Cooper. "When it comes to passion for our industry and compassion for those in our industry who need help, Jeffrey has no equals. He is most deserving of this prestigious accolade. As well we thank our friends at NATO for their continued support as we could not imagine a better forum at which to honor Jeffrey than at CinemaCon 2012."

'G.I. Joe' Sequel Crew Member Dies After Accident On Set

(tmz.com) A crew member working on the set of the movie "G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation" died yesterday after an accident on the New Orleans set ... TMZ has learned.

Officials at Paramount Pictures confirm ... the crew member was working on tearing down the set, when something went terribly wrong.

Sources connected to the production tell us ... the man was working on a high-powered scissor lift, when the machine tipped over and the man sustained fatal injuries.

Paramount released a statement saying, "Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the [crew member's] family at this time."

The statement continues, "The safety of our cast and crew is our top priority and the studio is fully cooperating with all investigating agencies as they examine the circumstances surrounding this unusual accident.”

A Look at the Lucas Empire

(Marin Independent Journal) George Lucas' global filmmaking empire includes 6,100 acres at the Skywalker, Big Rock and Grady ranches in Lucas Valley, with development on less than 5 percent of the land.

• Skywalker Ranch. It's for pre- and post-production work, and home to Skywalker Sound and Skywalker Properties, as well as agricultural ranch facilities. Most of its 2,500 acres are preserved through the Marin Agricultural Land Trust. An on-site fire department provides the county with mutual aid response at no cost to taxpayers.

• Big Rock Ranch. It's a multimedia office for Lucasfilm Animation and the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Some 2,483 acres were set aside as agricultural preserve through MALT. Some 120 acres were fenced off to protect Marin dwarf flax, a threatened plant.

• Grady Ranch. Planned is a digital media production facility for movies and television, complete with costume storage, makeup and dressing rooms, production suites, guest suites, office suites, stages, screening rooms, a fitness center and café. Some 800 acres of the 1,039-acre ranch were donated to the county as open space, while another 187 will be private open space.

• Letterman Digital Arts Center. Based at the Presidio in San Francisco, this facility accommodates Lucasfilm's corporate operation, Industrial Light & Magic, LucasArts and
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video teams. The 23-acre campus includes four buildings and 17 acres of public park.

• Lucasfilm Singapore. Lucasfilm's first overseas production facility is under construction in Singapore. It features a production building with eight floors of office space, a data center, production facilities, a 100-seat theater, retail shopping and a public park and gardens.

MARI 1.4 Announced

(3dworldmag.com) The Foundry continues to shake-up 3D Paint with the release of MARI 1.4

MARI has been widely adopted across the industry at leading film studios and post-production houses including Sony Picture Imageworks, DreamWorks, ILM, Pixar and Digital Domain to name a few.

Leading visual effects software developer The Foundry announces the release of MARI 1.4.

Designed from the ground up to meet the needs of the most demanding VFX texture and matte painting artists, MARI is a 3D digital paint tool that simplifies artist workflow.

Capable of handling vast numbers of pixels, MARI eclipses other 3D paint tools in speed, flexibility and processing capabilities. MARI allows artists to concentrate on painting detailed, multi-layered textures directly onto 3D models in a fluid and natural way.

Introducing Adobe Photoshop layered PSD import and export, industry standard colour management with OpenColorIO and triplanar projection, MARI 1.4 speeds up and simplifies workflow.

With MARI 1.4 artists can paint detailed, multi-layered textures directly onto 3D models, solve commonplace VFX problems, save time, and work in ways never thought possible before.

Hayden Jones, VFX Supervisor at Rushes said: “Using MARI to paint was a revelation! It’s immensely quick and intuitive. MARI allowed me to concentrate on the getting the artistic look right, without having to get bogged down in technicalities.”

Rob Bredow, Chief Technology Officer at Sony Picture Imageworks adds: “MARI streamlines our artist workflows on our most complicated assets. It is the latest addition to our pipeline as we provide artists with the right, innovative tools to meet any creative challenge.”

MARI 1.4 is available immediately and runs on Windows and Linux. It supports Ptex, Python OpenEXR, and C API.

MARI 1.4 is priced at $1,980/ £1,200 with maintenance costing $330/£200.

For more information and for video demos of MARI 1.4 go to www.thefoundry.co.uk

It’s High Time For a Best Video Game Motion Capture Actor Award

(kotaku.com) It's High Time For a Best Video Game Motion Capture Actor Award In today's lifelike edition of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter MarcianTobay says it's time to honor the motion capture actors, without whom our professionally-voiced video game characters would be nothing more than well-spoken robots.

Let's discuss Motion Capture. This will involve minor spoilers from a side-plot in Arkham City, so helmets on.

Watch this clip. Skip to 1:55 and watch the projection of The Riddler. I just got to this scene last night and I can't get it out of my head. Now, I love The Riddler more than any sane person should, so this entire clip was candy to me. One thing stood out, though; His movement.

It's High Time For a Best Video Game Motion Capture Actor Award Please watch the clip with the sound off. Skip ahead to that, and turn off your speakers. Even without the sound, you're still experiencing the Riddler. How he casually waves his cane around. The sarcastic way he dismisses the "unimportant" cops' lives. Even how he loses his gusto and flair whenever Batman calls him insane. There's no wasted gesture. There's no idle face in the corner looping the same non-synched lips for two minutes.

What fascinates me about this is how much we've advanced as an art form. Remember how we used to get still sketches of characters while beeps and boops signaled that they were talking? And now we have this. It's truly incredible. In fact, I dare say there is more acting in this brief clip than some star Hollywood beauties put on, but that's a different discussion.

My core question is: Why aren't we talking motion capture more? Why isn't the man or woman who played The Riddler getting acknowledgment? Yes, Mark Hamill VOICED The Joker, but who was the person that pantomimed that melodramatic gasp when Batman first says "Protocol Ten"? Who actually held the cigar and contemptuously sneered when Penguin first thought he killed Batman?

Yes, yes, everyone posts clips with confusion and surprise when we found out a man played Harley Quinn, but I advise things go further. Let's start recognizing the great motion capture artists. Let's have nominations for "Best Physical Actor" that go alongside "Best Voice Actor". Let's start getting them the respect they deserve.

Why is it that when Andy Serkis plays Gollum in Lord of the Rings, everyone talks about it for years to come, yet when video games have similar feats of immersion, people ignore it.

I'll start by asking YOU:

-What is your favorite physical performance in a video game?

Animation Catagory Snubbed by NY Film Critics

(nj.com) The New York Film Critics Circle announced their annual prizes on Tuesday, marking the start of the end of the movie year, and the beginning of the Oscar-focused awards season.

The entire year’s slate of cartoons which so disappointed many voters (not me – I liked “Rango”) they voted not to give a best animation prize at all.

Full article: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/movies/index.ssf/2011/11/ny_film_critics_choose_the_artist_as_best_picture.html

A 24/7 Global VFX Pipeline For "HUGO"

(broadcastnewsroom.com) DMN Newswire--2011-11-30--International visual effects company Pixomondo completed over 800 shots as the primary visual effects vendor on Martin Scorseses 3D epic adventure, Hugo. Independently produced by GK Films and distributed in the U.S. by Paramount Pictures, the film features shots contributed by ten of Pixomondo's eleven facilities across Germany, the US, Canada, China and the UK. Pixomondo's 24/7 global pipeline was instrumental in completing the project on time and budget while keeping up with the highly inventive creative vision of director Martin Scorsese and visual effects supervisor Rob Legato.

Employing stereo 3D as a narrative device driving an immersive audience experience, Scorsese was intent on pushing the capabilities of 3D filmmaking to extremes. With this mandate as the driving force, Pixomondo developed custom workflows not only to handle complex challenges in VFX, but also to capture in painstaking detail all of the live action production data required to accommodate the rigorous effects and post production demands of this project. Pixomondo began working on Hugo in July of 2010 and was integrated into the production from the outset with Pixomondo VFX Supervisor Ben Grossmann and Digital Effects Supervisor Alex Henning on set in England and France working alongside Legato and Scorsese.

"Marty and I worked with Ben on Shutter Island so we already knew he was our first choice for Hugo," said Legato. "For this film, Pixomondo's ability to tap internal teams around the world was invaluable. It simplified everything from both a creative and logistical standpoint. This was a project with many moving parts, and Ben, Alex and the entire Pixomondo team worked tirelessly to cater to the demands of this show."

Bringing to Life 70,000 Parts For Transformers: Dark of the Moon's "Driller"

(heyuguys.co.uk) A glimpse into the creative process of those big, effects-heavy Hollywood blockbusters always offers a fun and fascinating prospect, and that’s precisely what happened when one of the industry big-hitters, Oscar-winning Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar, recently took the stage to chat about his experiences working on Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

An employee of ILM for thirty years now (he worked on ‘Jedi’, and before that, the early Star Trek films), Farrar has lent his considerable talents to Michael Bay for over six years, and the third of the Transformers films presented the biggest challenge and most ambitious undertaking in his career so far. As well as a huge leap in digital effects this time around (giving ILM more than 200,000 hours of rendering power a day), Farrar and his team had to create a cityscape ravaged by a Decepticon onslaught, and unleash the awe-inspiring, building-devouring juggernaut referred to as the “Driller”, a giant snake-like creature with spinning rotator blades, knives and teeth (and comprised of over 70,000 parts!) All this was achieved while also factoring in the inclusion of 3D.

Full article: http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2011/11/29/bringing-to-life-those-robots-in-disguise-the-vfx-of-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/

Evil Dead Remake Scares Up Distribution Team

(Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions) Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) and FilmDistrict have partnered with Ghost House Pictures on a worldwide deal--excluding U.K. and France--for Sony Pictures to distribute the remake of Evil Dead. The announcement was made by Steven Bersch, SPWA President, and Peter Schlessel, CEO of FilmDistrict. Lia Buman, FilmDistrict's EVP of Acquisitions, will oversee the project.

Original producing partners Rob Tapert, Bruce Campbell (who also starred in the original franchise) and Sam Raimi will produce. Ghost House Pictures partners Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane will executive produce. Nicole Brown and J.R. Young will oversee the project for Ghost House.

Men In Black 3 Actress Beams Aboard Trek Sequel

(Variety) J.J. Abrams' untitled Star Trek sequel appears to have added Alice Eve to the cast. Variety has the word, suggesting that Eve will play an all-new character and not one previously established in Star Trek canon.

Eve is best known for her role in 2010's She's Out of My League and will appear next year in The Raven and Men in Black 3.

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho and Anton Yelchin are expected to all reprise their roles as members of the Enterprise crew with Abrams back in the director's chair and a script again from Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.

Benicio Del Toro has been named as Abrams' top choice for the film's lead villain, but nothing official has, as of yet, been announced.

Variety's article goes on to suggest that Del Toro's role is likely a familiar Trek character and that he'll be accompanied by another, older supporting villain that has yet to be cast.

The Star Trek sequel is expected to begin production in January, shooting in 3D, and will see a release on May 17, 2013.

Darren Aronofsky's "Noah" Looks For Character Ark

(Variety) Though Christian Bale's name was originally associated with Darren Aronofsky's upcoming biblical epic, Noah, Variety reports that the star has passed on the project and that Michael Fassbender is now being eyed to play the ark-builder.

"Since I was a kid, I have been moved and inspired by the story of Noah and his family's journey," Aronofsky recently announced when Paramount Pictures and New Regency Productions stepped in to jointly fund the feature. "The imaginations of countless generations have sparked to this epic story of faith. It's my hope that I can present a window into Noah's passion and perseverance for the silver screen."

Fassbender appeared this year in Jane Eyre, X-Men: First Class and A Dangerous Method with his next, Shame, opening this Friday. Next year, he'll appear in Steven Soderbergh's Haywire and Ridley Scott's Prometheus. After that's, he's set to re-team with Shame and Hunger director Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave and will likely return at some point for an as-of-yet-untitled X-Men: First Class sequel.

Glendale to Get 'Animated' in Image Makeover

(lacanadaonline.com) Glendale is boring. Or at least that’s what more than a year of market research indicates.

Consultants hired to develop a new brand strategy for the city unveiled their findings Tuesday at City Hall, saying most people think of Glendale as the boring city between Burbank and Pasadena.

To combat that image, Nashville-based North Star Destination Strategies suggested a new marketing strategy centered on the tagline, “Your Life. Animated.”

With a nod toward Glendale-based animation studios such as DreamWorks Animation and Disney’s creative campus, the phrase comes with a new logo that includes the city’s name in lowercase letters surrounded by five multicolored curlicues.

“Glendale has long been content to be a quiet, productive, safe community, but now it’s time to let the secret out,” said Alison Maxwell, the city’s deputy director of economic development. “The dynamism, animation and creativity [here], it’s not something that’s presented and marketed to the world.”

The City Council approved the branding elements Tuesday on a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Dave Weaver dissenting. He called the rebranding project — with a budget of $1 million in redevelopment money — a waste of money.

The city has spent $139,000 on the project so far.

“I feel like Uncle Scrooge. I just don’t get it,” Weaver said after Maxwell clicked through a PowerPoint presentation outlining how the new logo and tagline can be used on city stationery, the municipal website, permits and street banners.

But Mayor Laura Friedman said the branding strategy is an important element in attracting good-paying jobs.

“We need to attract companies, and this branding will help us do that,” she said.

Maxwell said the tagline can be molded to fit different activities, such as using “Work. Animated” on business brochures. Local businesses could incorporate the tagline into their own advertising, pointing to an image of a Porto’s Bakery bus stop advertisement that said “Your Appetite. Animated.”

Acura of Glendale owner Jeanne Brewer said she could envision the Brand Boulevard of Cars dealerships dropping car emblems into the logo’s multiple curlicues in advertising ventures.

“We believe nothing is more important than a brand. We live it every day,” said Caruso Affiliated executive and past president of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce Rick Lemmo, adding that he liked where Glendale was going with its tagline.

Maxwell said the logo’s curlicues could also be used in other ways, such as creating a bicycle rack out of colorful swirls.

The point is to “help the logo get into people’s consciousness without being literal about it,” she said.

However, Maxwell added that a branding campaign doesn’t stop with a logo.

“The brand is the way that service, that agency, expresses itself to its customers, to its clients, to consumers,” Maxwell said.

Kickstarter Project: SPACE OUT from High School to Outer Space

(kickstarter.com) Space Out is a short film that brings together a real-world high school experience with a science fiction space fantasy.

The film was created in collaboration with high school students from Envision Academy in Oakland, CA.

Please help us finish this film and make this dream a reality!

Check it out: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/797589661/space-out-from-high-school-to-outer-space

Twilight Zone Heads Into Rewrites

(Variety) Invictus and Sherlock Holmes writer Anthony Peckham is in final negotiations to write The Twilight Zone for Warner Bros. Pictures and Appian Way.

Peckham will rewrite the original draft by Jason Rothenberg. Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) is set to direct.

Appian Way partners Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran will produce with Michael Ireland, while Matt Cherniss will executive produce.

Based on the classic Rod Serling TV series, the movie is expected to start filming in the summer of 2012.

-H I don't do special effects. I do characters. I do creatures. -Stan Winston

Worth a mention - 11/30/11

2011-11-30T09:47:00.001-08:00

"John Carter" To Have More Digital Animation Than A Pixar Film

(denofgeek.com) On Monday, we shared our thoughts on the 20-minute preview we caught of John Carter, Disney’s forthcoming sci-fi fantasy based on the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. What we saw left us clamouring to see the finished movie, but we were similarly impressed at just how passionate and forthright its director Andrew Stanton was in the fifteen-minute question and answer session that followed.

Hosted by film critic James King, it was among the most entertaining Q&As we’ve ever had the fortune to sit through, with Stanton talking openly about the process of shooting John Carter, its 3D, what it’s like to make a movie in Hollywood, and most intriguingly, why Pixar’s method of making films should be more widely adopted…

The film’s out in March, and I understand you’re well into post-production now, so what have you got left to do?

I’ve got three or four weeks of visual effects left, and then half the movie’s scored, so I score the other half next week, and then it’s just mix, mix, mix all through December.

And then there’s the 3D element as well…

The 3D element will be in the can a couple of weeks after that, more or less.

We all know you as a Pixar legend, as someone who’s had incredible success with animation. Looking at that footage, there are obviously so many challenges. Was it a different experience from animation?

Yes and no. It was way more similar than I expected it to be. Except for the heat outside. That was the huge difference, the sheer physicality of it. I knew that it would be spontaneous, which is the opposite of animation, but that was part of the thrill. But the whole decision making process, it’s all about what’s going to be on that rectangle on the screen, and that, I feel, is no different. You’re just planning what you’re going to do, even if the terminology’s different, or whatever.

To be fair, it was like making two movies – it was making a live-action movie, through most of 2010, and ever since then until here, it’s been making an animated movie, and putting those halves together. There are more shots in here that are digitally animated than there are in a Pixar movie – it’s just this huge thing. It really is like making two movies in tandem and putting them together.

Martin Scorsese Warns Against the Rise of FX-Laden “Theme-Park Films”

(radiotimes.com) Director Martin Scorsese says effects-laden blockbusters have “taken away serious film-going and serious film consideration.”

"We have to react against the theme park film, as well made as they are, and as enjoyable as some of them are," he told the BBC.

Scorsese is best known for gritty crime dramas such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Gangs of New York but his latest movie is animated family film Hugo, the director’s first foray into 3D.

The film’s royal premiere on Monday was attended by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as actors including Sir Ben Kingsley.

Kingsley said he understood Scorsese’s worries about the continued rise of "popcorn" films. "I think there's a reaction against these movies," he said.

"There are six or seven myths around which all our literature is based. I think there is an anxiety amongst certain film-makers that the thread that connects what we do to these ancient, life-affirming myths is going to snap.

"Once that disconnect happens, the film is drifting. It's just a series of noises and effects."

George Miller Might Make a Whole New ‘Mad Max’ Trilogy

(slashfilm.com) The expanding universe of Mad Max keeps on expanding. There was a point a couple years ago when it was surprising to learn that series creator/director George Miller had written a new Mad Max movie and would be bringing it to screens. That project, Mad Max: Fury Road, is set to star Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron and will hopefully shoot sometime in the first half of 2012.

Shortly after we learned of the existence of Fury Road, we found that it was actually the first of two new films, with the second potentially called Mad Max: Furiosa. And now Miller says that he’s actually got three scripts. So if Fury Road ever gets off the ground, we might end up with a whole new Mad Max trilogy.

In a deep and excellent interview with the Financial Times, in which Miller talks about the financial prospects of his Australian studio space, and the possibility of making a Mad Max video game with L.A. Noire studio Team Bondi, there is this detail about the Mad Max series:

We started with [Fury Road], but we then started to do a second story and a third. We’ve written the script for the second and almost finished the third. We never intended to, they were part of the exploration of the characters.

There aren’t any details on the second and third scripts, but one has to assume that a great deal will depend upon the financial fortunes of Fury Road. That movie is slated to shoot in Namibia next April, after rains and a subsequent explosion of decidedly non-post-apocalyptic foliage in planned Australian locations delayed the shoot.

Miller says,

We were out at Broken Hill with a huge number of massive vehicles – they were built and parked for almost a year there. Some of them are back here, in secret locations not far from here. A full?Australian crew picks up and goes there to shoot the desert scenes, and comes back here to?do other scenes, then all the post-production and digital work is done here.

And producer Doug Mitchell calls the budget of Fury Road ‘massive.’ He elaborates,

If it’s above $100 million it’s a big budget. This is a bigger budget. People have speculated around $200 million [which] I’d neither deny nor confirm. It’s a massive film.

Finally, in the wake of Happy Feet 2 (which has underperformed, which hopefully won’t put too much additional pressure on the budget of Fury Road) Miller is working on another animated film, this time featuring bears. The movie is called Fur Brigade, and Miller calls it “the most ambitious thing we’ve done.”

"Batman 3" IMAX Prologue Goes 70mm Film Only

Paul Franklin dropped new,important Batman 3 first 6 minute viewing info. Recently,director Christopher Nolan’s VFX guy Paul Franklin hopped on Twitter to reveal new details about the recently announced 6 minute prologue for the Dark Knight Rises next month because,apparently,you just can’t see it in any theater.

He wrote, “The Dark Knight Rises IMAX prologue will be released on Dec 21st with M:14,but only in theaters with a proper film projector,no digital!” So, you guys will have to head to an IMAX theater that has a 70mm,15-perf screen to check this thing out. Actually, the prologue is going to be released,here, in the United States on December 16th. That 21st date is for the worldwide release.

We’ll also be seeing the first,full,movie trailer on December 16th with the showing of “Sherlock Holmes 2: Game of Shadows.” So,mark your calenders because I imagine that will be a big weekend,or week,whatever day that lands on. Follow us on Facebook by Clicking Here.

Q&A: How Digital Effects Gave 'The Muppets' New Freedom

(pcworld.com) Rest assured, Muppet purists: You won't see any computer-generated Kermits, Gonzos, or Fozzies in The Muppets, which opened in theaters last week. Every time the Muppets appear on screen in the movie, they're the real deal: fuzz, felt, and fur creatures given their voices, movements, and expressions by human puppeteers.

But you also won't see any visual evidence of those puppeteers in the film, despite the fact that some scenes required several puppeteers to be in full view of the camera. This is where the film's extensive visual effects make their mark.

For the most part, the Muppets appear as autonomous, stand-alone beings in the film, free of their strings, rods, wires, and puppeteer operators. Unlike most effects-heavy movies, The Muppets uses most of its digital trickery to conceal what's actually there instead of adding things to the scene.

To get a behind-the-scenes look at what was involved in giving the Muppets their on-screen autonomy, I spoke with Max Ivins, visual effects supervisor for Look Effects, whose team worked on hundreds of scenes in the film.

PCWorld: When working on the digital effects for The Muppets, did you feel a lot of pressure to make the effects conform to viewers' expectations and to the legacy of the show and the previous films?

Max Ivins: I didn't feel a lot of added pressure. At the beginning of the project, when we were talking about doing the effects for the movie, I was like, "Really? What are we going to do? Put legs on them? Are we doing CG Muppets? I don't get it." But that's not what they wanted to do.

The biggest factor, in terms of what we were used for, was to give the puppeteers more freedom to do the puppeteering. There were a lot of characters shot on a blue stage with blue props, and puppeteers dressed head-to-toe in blue standing behind the puppets. We removed the puppeteers later, so it gave the puppeteers a lot more freedom in that they didn't have to hide from the camera to do everything.

[Click to enlarge] How Digital Effects Gave 'The Muppets' New FreedomAnd the best thing about the movie is that it's about the Muppets--it's not about these spectacular effects. In a way, our job was to make it seem as if we were never present. There was sort of a conscious effort to remove the digital look from things. All of it needed to feel tangible, even if it was obviously not "real." It's a puppet. But they didn't want it to seem as if there was an extraordinary leap in technology, even though we definitely used that.

PCW: Did the digital-effects team have to follow any sort of rules as to what you could and could not do to enhance some of the things the Muppets were doing? For example, adding digital effects to their eye movements or expressions or anything like that?

[Click to enlarge] How Digital Effects Gave 'The Muppets' New FreedomIvins: We didn't do any expressions or change any of the puppeteering. There was one shot involving a reflection in a mirror, and they shot the action from a camera that was just off to the side of the mirror. In that scene, the mirror wasn't as distorted as they wanted--it was like a fun-house mirror. So we took the reverse angle and put [the character] into that and ended up changing the eye line to make it work as a reflection. That was the sole thing we ever did to any Muppet's face.

Otherwise, it was pretty much just rod removal--the only times we ever retouched any of the Muppets was to take out a rod that was in front of them. We didn't add any limbs or arms. If we did use something to repair where a rod had been or anything, we just took the actual photography of that limb or whatever, and cloned it over into the right place.

We didn't really go back and reference any of the movies--we referenced more the television shows, following what the director gave us as a reference. That was mostly about reproducing the "arches" shot, which was the opening for the TV show.

Full article with pics: http://www.pcworld.com/article/244984/qanda_how_digital_effects_gave_the_muppets_new_freedom.html

"Amazing Spider-Man" Lizard Concept Art

(darkhorizons.com) Yesterday there was a lot of buzz via photos of a Pez dispenser mock-up that seemed to show the design of Rhys Ifans' post-transformed The Lizard, the villain in the upcoming "The Amazing Spider-Man" reboot.

Today however comes something much clearer - what is said to be leaked concept art of what the character could look like from Spidermedia.Ru (via Coming Soon). The art looks like the character did in the Comic-Con clip, though the scale is a little different.

Take a look: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/spidermedia/MOVIE_news/lizard3.jpg

"Ouija" Scares Up Rewrites

(darkhorizons.com) "Fright Night" scribe Marti Noxon has been hired to work on the script for Hasbro and Platinum Dunes' "Ouija" film adaptation reports Heat Vision.

Despite Universal Pictures dropping out back in August, the "Jumanji"-esque family fantasy tentpole adaptation of the board game remains active at the production company. Noxon, who got her start working on the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV series, will do a new pass on the script which was last worked on by Simon Kinberg.

A ZBrush Christmas

(forums.cgsociety.org) Pixologic Announced that will release an update patch allowing users to take full advantage of the powerful features in Z4R2 as soon as possible, without having to wait until Z5 is released. A few extra goodies may also be included with that update.

ZBrush4 R2b is planned to be released in the second half of December 2011 as a free-of-charge upgrade to all registered users.

Contender – Visual Effects Supervisor Christopher Townsend, Captain America

(btlnews.com) In an era where costumed superhero properties are sought after by studios as franchises, their seamless transfer from four-color comics pages to the big screen is taken for granted in the digital era. Whether the crusader is from Marvel or DC’s line, or somewhere else, the costumes, explosions, supervillain gear, et al are all expected to be rendered with complete suspension-of-disbelief believability. So how is it in another year full of superhero offerings, Captain America managed to stand out?

In part, according to VFX supervisor Christopher Townsend – who’d worked on a Wolverine film in the X-Men franchise, and is currently supervising the third Iron Man installment – it’s because the production was treated as a “World War Two buddy film which happened to have a superhero in it.”

“It was a really fascinating project,” he continues, as much a period piece as anything else. And if those period pieces fit together particularly well – a walk through a World’s Fair, a chase through Brooklyn, a dangerous night flight in a military prop plane, and more, Townsend is quick to credit the other personnel and vendors he worked with.

He credits post-house The Senate with doing great work in converting parts of industrial Manchester (England) to a believable 40’s-era Brooklyn, Rick Heinrichs’ production design with help in converting so many facades for period use, Santa Monica-based Lola FX for the head replacement and body shrinking that allows Chris Evans’ “Captain” to morph from the proverbial Charles Atlas-esque “weakling” to the inevitably hail n’ buff superdude he becomes, Double Negative for their CG environments, and Framestore for the look of uber-Nazi Red Skull.

He also credits prosthetic deisgner David White, for the look of Hugo Weaving’s villain, but notes that much of the “skull” was also done in Photoshop, as a “manipulated image,” to make it even “more scary.” The prosthetic was the base off which the digits riffed, as it were, to give the character an even more other-worldly look, the face being “altered in nearly every shot.”

Lola also helped with the Red Skull work, as well as a the aforementioned night flight, wherein the Captain, gal pal Peggy Carter, and the Howard Hughes-like Howard Stark, take a Stark plane over the Swiss Alps, to Red Skull’s lair, which was shot on a greenscreen gimbal, and later finished with as many period artillery explosions harrying the plane, as research and time would allow.

One of his biggest challenges, understandably, was coordinating everyone – including director Joe Johnston. Most everything came in QT files (though there were DPX’s and other formats as well), which was in turn managed using cineSync. Townsend describes it as a “tool of choice,” especially as it “allows you to interact on screen.”

There were additional vendors in San Francisco, Australia, and other places. But Townsend found himself mostly in L.A., posting and reviewing work on the Avid as it came in.

Speaking of the year in effects in general, Townsend recently commented that “when the visual effects become the main event, and really the sole reason to go and see a movie, the work itself has to be outstanding so audiences still care about what it is they are looking at.”

How much better then, for a project like Captain America, where the effects can take a back seat to the story, and the period in which in it takes place.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 Surpasses $500M Worldwide

(Summit Entertainment) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 has grossed $508 million in global box office in only 12 days since the film's release on November 18, 2011.

Summit's Co-Chairmen Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger stated: "We couldn't be more pleased with the success of this film and a franchise that the fans have continued to support over the past several years. Thank you to all involved with the films from the actors, filmmakers and Stephenie Meyer to the most important group of all, the global fan base that continues to drive a desire for more Edward, Jacob and Bella."

In addition to the film's success on a global basis, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 also reached an additional milestone domestically, having generated $223 million and putting it in the top 12 films to reach $220 million in 10 days.

The next chapter in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 will come to theatres on November 16, 2012. Academy Award® winner Bill Condon directed both the first and second part of the two-part finale starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. The project, based on the fourth novel in author Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series, was written by Melissa Rosenberg with Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt and Stephenie Meyer producing.

Why Robots Will Never be Replaced With CGI

(bostonfilmstudent.com) We’ve all been wondering what would become of the modern day robots, we see the theories in movies all the time.

With robots that can walk, dance, play tennis, and vacuum the floor, we’re not far off from the world in which Hollywood portrays everyday.

And it seems every day, the movies create monsters, beings, and robots with the help of real life robots.

Personally as a filmmaker, I prefer a physical creature in front of the camera in real time, than perhaps pulling a James Cameron, and digitally enhancing everything.

Avatar was a film that marked the death of anamatronics. In which mechanical puppets were used to create living beings on the screen before us.

With films like Alien, The Thing, Jurassic Park, King Kong, Iron Man, Terminator, Gremlins, it seems that some of the better movies have always had a magical physical presence to a CGI being.

John Carpenters ‘Thing’ and even the new film both used the technique of physical machines to create the horrifying monsters in the film. The new film even goes as far to create a hybrid technique of CGI and physical puppetry to create the monsters.

Scientists have even found ways to create machines that express emotion, which have been used in films frequently throughout the years. Now, with mo-cap rooms, the little white dots on the faces of actors can easily be tracked and placed onto a new animated body.

Many filmmakers and actors that often express their love for a physical object to react to, makes me question the value that CGI has.

I think we must look back to the time before CGI and what made the films with puppets and animatronics so fluid and real.

And with the technology of creating robots that can work and react independently on their own, who knows what could become of the next revolution in special effects wizardry.

Old Republic a Win for George Lucas, Not EA

(mcvuk.com) Well, if nothing else EA can at least take this as proof that Activision is nervous about Star Wars: The Old Republic.

EA’s upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic is seen by some as the first real contender to World of Warcraft’s subscription MMO crown. Not that Bobby Kotick agrees.

In fact, the Activision Blizzard chief executive devoted a fair amount of his Reuters Media Summit talk yesterday to attacking his big corporate rival, and in particular its new MMO.

"[George] Lucas is going to be the principal beneficiary of the success of Star Wars," Kotick stated. "We've been in business with Lucas for a long time and the economics will always accrue to the benefit of Lucas, so I don't really understand how the economics work for Electronic Arts.

"If you look at the history of the people investing in an MMO and achieving success, it's a small number."

EA has previously stated that it needs just 500k subscribers for the game to turn a profit – a claim questioned by analysts, who estimate that EA has spent upwards of $100m on developing the title.

They also believe the game will attract at least 2m players, with some even suggesting that it could steal 1m players from World of Warcraft.

Indeed, EA has predicted that the game could enjoy a lifespan of ten years on the market.

That’s not a uniform opinion, though. Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz told LGC earlier this month that he didn’t think Old Republic would ever be profitable.

Another obstacle may be EA’s decision to stick with the subscription model for the game. This comes at a time when nearly every other major MMO – though notably not WoW – has switched to the free-to-play model, leading to big success for some.

Bryan Singer to Direct, Executive Produce Munsters Reboot

(The Hollywood Reporter) Bryan Singer ("X-Men" films, Superman Returns) will direct and executive produce a reimagining of 1960s sitcom "The Munsters" at NBC from "Pushing Daisies" creator Bryan Fuller, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The project is "billed as an imaginative reinvention of the classic comedy series as a visually spectacular one-hour drama."

Singer will executive produce alongside Bryan Fuller ("Dead Like Me," "Pushing Daisies"), who also is writing the Universal Television-produced project.

Fuller and NBC make an attempt at the project last year, but the network passed. This newer version is said to be "an edgier and slightly darker take exploring origins of Herman and Lily Munster (originally played by Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo) and how they arrived at the famed 1313 Mockingbird Lane address."

The original series ran from 1964 to 1966 on CBS.

Singer's new movie, Jack the Giant Killer, is scheduled to hit theaters on June 15, 2012.

Tron and On

(tgdaily.com) Having recently revisited Tron, I was very surprised by how much I still enjoyed it, because there's nothing worse than when a childhood favorite doesn't hold up in your adult years.   

I didn't even realize Tron was a flop until years after the fact. For a kid who spent his whole summer at the movies and at the video arcade, it was a perfect blend of video game fun, and blockbuster thrills. Other movies have tried to bring the thrill of video games to the big screen, and Tron was the only movie that actually succeeded at doing it.
Tron and on
I was also surprised at how well the special effects held up, and Tron was state of the art for the time.

Harrison Ellenshaw was the visual effects artist of the film, and as he told me, "Tron was the first extensive use of computer graphics in a motion picture, almost fifteen minutes worth. Up until that time, it was maybe up to a minute at most in Westworld."   

The fact that the effects were done in nine months was "an insane accomplishment," Ellenshaw continues. "80% of the rotoscoping, ink and paint was done overseas in a four month period. Just sending half a million animation cells to Taiwan and back and not losing anything was a monumental task!"

Right before the film's release on July 8, 1982, Disney thought it had the next Star Wars, so how could a movie that was right on the cutting edge like this lose? Not to mention 1982 was an insane summer for genre films with E.T., Star Trek II, The Road Warrior, Poltergeist, The Thing, and Blade Runner.

Tron creator Steve Lisberg felt, "Graphically and visually a lot of people can't handle that much art. It was like we put LSD in the punchbowl at the school prom, and it was just way more than they could handle. I thought Tron was gonna blow people's minds, but people don't want their minds blown by Disney, they want to be reassured by them. And the idea that Disney was gonna mess with your head was almost incomprehensible to the vast majority."

Ellenshaw also felt, "The effects overwhelmed the story. Once you got inside the computer, you didn't get back into the outside world until the very end. You never saw what the real world was doing while these guys were inside the computer trying to save the earth. I think that made the film less relatable to a lot of people."   According to the book Disney War, the company, who has always been notoriously cheap, wouldn't put up more bucks for the advertising campaign, thinking word of mouth would carry the film. (It didn't.

Of course, Tron's current following is strong enough that the film warranted a sequel last year. Back in the day, Tron was a major pioneer in digital effects, even inspiring John Lassater of Pixar to dive headfirst into computer animation.   "I'm more pleased with what's happened with the film now," Lisberger says. "It's had this life, and now I don't think it's ever going away."

Ang Lee Wanted Hulk to Look Like Tree of Life

(nymag.comz) At last night's Gotham Awards, Ang Lee confessed to Vulture that he still needs to catch up on this year's movies, but he just watched Terrence Malick's metaphysical epic The Tree of Life. "Most of it blew me away," he said, although he confessed to a little bit of professional envy over the film's trippy special-effects interlude connecting the main story, set in the fifties, with the birth of the universe. "I had those thoughts in The Hulk, about the macro/micro stuff," said Lee, referring to his experimental 2003 comic book flick. "There are some locations [in Tree of Life] I even scouted before, so I see a lot of the elements I was thinking about in The Hulk. Some I put in, some I didn't. The non-drama part of Tree of Life was stuff I was thinking about when I was doing The Hulk. So I've been there. That's why that part didn't take my breath away, because I'd been thinking about similar things. I like to be surprised."

Next up for Lee is his adaptation of Yann Martel's Life of Pi, which he just completed principal photography on; still, don't expect to see it for another year. "It's a mixture of live action and animation," he told us. "Takes a long time to shoot, takes a long time to get it off the ground, takes a long time to write a script, scout, prep, and then it will take a year to finish the post-production, so it's a long project."

-H “The 'Lord of the Rings' films are not made for Oscars, they are made for the audience.” -Peter Jackson

Worth a mention - 11/29/11

2011-11-29T13:44:00.000-08:00

Harrison Ford To Reprise Indiana Jones Role At 70

(news.sky.com) Harrison Ford is set to play Indiana Jones for the fifth time - at the age of 70.

The adventurous archaeologist is set for his fifth action-packed outing with director Stephen Spielberg on board and George Lucas writing the story for the new film.

It is due to start shooting in late 2012.

Spielberg told Entertainment Tonight: "George is working on Indy V. We haven't gone to screenplay, he’s working on the story."

Indiana was last on the big screen in 2008's Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.

Ford first played Indy in Raiders Of The Lost Ark in 1981.

Thirty-one years later the actor has said he would like to dust off his whip and don that fedora once again.

"I have strong ambition to do it while I'm still alive," he told ExtraTV.

"I'm available. I'm not cheap, but I'm available!"

"Riddick" Finds Its Cash, Resumes Filming

(comingsoon.net) Filming on "Riddick", the third film featuring Vin Diesel's anti-hero, looks to be starting again shortly after being postponed due to financial issues last month.

TMZ reports that the Montreal studio, whom shut out the cast and crew after studio owner Michel Trudel complained he hadn't gotten paid, has now received their due funds.

As a result Trudel is willing to allow the film to pick up production where it left off. Several members of the crew however still require pay checks, but those are expected to be delivered shortly. Filming on the project will resume on December 28th.

"Lord of the Rings" Trilogy Goes 3D

(darkhorizons.com) Elijah Wood has hinted that "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy may be converted to 3D for a re-release sometime in the near future.

"I think it would be cool to see. There's talk of releasing a dimensionalised trilogy eventually. I'm okay with doing post-process 3D, as long as someone takes the time. What I'm upset about is when a movie doesn't have the budget and the time to devote to it and they're not fine-tuning the detail of that, because it can look really bad and cheap. But I know that they wouldn't dimensionalise it unless it was a super meticulous process" Wood tells Den of Geek.

He went on about his frustrations with the films that are getting the conversion - "I mean, Titanic's coming out in 3D now, and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, which means we have to wait three movies to get to the fucking good shit, it's unbelievable, I'm like, we have to wait three years for that? You're doing Episode I first? [frustrated squeal], what a bummer!"

VES Awards Submissions Deadline Approaches

(nimationmagazine.net) This Wednesday (Nov. 30) is the deadline for submissions for the 10th Annual VES Awards. Signed submission forms and payment must have been received by the VES, and viewing materials uploaded to by the deadline.

The 10th Annual VES Awards includes numerous categories involving visual effects and animation in features, TV and gaming. To submit your work, you can go to http://vesawards.sohonet.co.uk/accounts/login/

Apes & X-Men Sequels To Continue

(comingsoon.net) This year's IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards just wrapped and we should have a full report and recap in the next 24 hours, but one of the people presented with a special tribute at this year's awards was 20th Century Fox Chairman and CEO of Filmed Entertainment Tom Rothman, not one most would normally associate with independent film, although Ang Lee and Jim Jarmusch, the two filmmakers who presented Rothman's tribute, reminded the audience they all worked together earlier in their respective careers.

After the presentation, ComingSoon.net had a chance to speak with Rothman, and eventually we got around to talking about Fox's two successful franchise reboots this year, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and X-Men: First Class.

Rothman confirmed to us that they plan on continuing on from both movies and they're going to try to get both Rupert Wyatt and Matthew Vaughn back to direct once they get the scripts together. "Both of them were really great scripts and so we have to be sure to get great scripts again," Rothman said. "We're working hard on the scripts for both of them, but we have every hope of moving forward with them."

ILM Alum Masi Oka Enters Video Game Development

(complex.com) How has your programming background from ILM helped you with your new videogame projects?

Without a doubt, it’s been a huge help because it allows me to talk to designers. Coming from a programming background, I have a good sense of what’s feasible and what’s not feasible in a game. I wasn’t the best UI programmer, but I know to use the interface and that stuff. It’s definitely given me a leg up in terms of being able to talk to the people in the games industry.

Literally, I don’t have that many ideas that I want to push, but the one that I do push, I’ve had people react very favorably to. It’s just everything moves slower in the gaming world and the digital world.

When will people be able to see your first game?

We’re still working on a couple of things. There are a couple of new ideas that are being worked on, as well.

Full Interview: http://www.complex.com/video-games/2011/11/interview-masi-oka-enters-video-game-development

A Stunning Mutant Short Film So Lovely, it Could be Splice 2

(quietearth.us) A stunning mutant short film so lovely, it could be Splice 2 Stop whatever it is you're doing right now and plug into this amazing new short film The Gate. The CG creatures are horrifying, mesmerizing, and should really be the high water mark for all computer-animated beasties. Plus, fairy genocide!

The Gate

Quiet Earth has the exclusive look at a gorgeous parade of freaks in The Gate, which is written and directed by Matt Westrup and produced by Spencer Friend. This is the real deal my friends. Watch the mutant-meat-sack party now, now, NOW!

Take a look: http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2011/11/10/EXCLUSIVE-Dazzling-DNA-mutation-short-THE-GATE

Harry Potter Wins Big at BAFTA Children's Awards

(guardian.co.uk) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two was one of a host of double winners at the Bafta children's awards on Sunday night.

The movie adaptation of the boy wizard's final adventure scooped the feature film prize, beating the likes of Kung Fu Panda 2, Tangled and its own predecessor, Deathly Hallows Part 1.

The blockbusting release also triumphed in the film category of the Bafta kids' vote, chosen by more than 400,000 7- to 14-year-olds in an online poll.

"Harry Potter is part of popular culture," said Warwick Davis, who played the role of Professor Filius Flitwick in the films, and who accepted the award.

"The series is going to leave a legacy for generations of children to enjoy. Look at Star Wars; the original movies are 30 years old, but we talk about them as though they were released recently. The Harry Potter films will be the same."

Fox to Push for Supporting Actor Oscar Nomination for Andy Serkis

(hollywoodreporter.com) NEW YORK - Fox will push to create momentum for a possible best supporting actor Oscar nomination for Andy Serkis for his performance as ape Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairman and CEO Tom Rothman said here Monday night.

"I think we may be at the place where we will see a first-ever in Hollywood this year, which is to see Andy Serkis get nominated for a best supporting actor for Planet of the Apes, even though his face never actually appears," he told The Hollywood Reporter at the Gotham Independent Film Awards at Cipriani Wall Street when asked about Fox's contenders for awards season. "But his performance appears, so we are going to push that hard."

Will the Academy really recognize his acting work this time? The issue of what makes an actor an actor first surfaced when Serkis played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings.

Though Avatar beat box office records and earned nine Academy Award nominations, director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau were frustrated that the movie's actors were ignored by Oscar voters.

"Who knows, but I give the Academy much more credit than most people do," Rothman said. "I don't think they are old and stodgy. I think they are smart and with it, and I'd like to think they are going to get it."

Part of the challenge is to make people understand the motion capture technology involved. "I think part of what we have to do is help educate people to understand that that is 100 percent his performance," Rothman argued. "It is great emotional acting. Tom Hanks didn't have to say any dialogue in Castaway for it to be a great performance."

Further discussing Serkis' work Rothman said: "The emotionality - what you see and what you feel - he did it. I saw him. I watched him. Then they digitally overlaid - you can think of it as a costume - the skin and the hair of an ape. But I tell you the thing that people felt – and a lot of people where moved when they saw the movie - is because of his performance."

Rothman also noted that Fox Searchlight Pictures has The Descendants and Martha Marcy May Marlene, which were key contenders at the Gothams, as well as Shame and The Tree of Life among its awards season titles this year.

"Face Off" Unveils 14 Rising Special Effect Make-Up Artists

(tvpressfeed.com) SYFY’S FACE OFF UNVEILS FOURTEEN RISING SPECIAL EFFECTS MAKE-UP ARTISTS WITH ITS SEASON TWO PREMIERE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11 AT 10 P.M. ET/PT

Actress McKenzie Westmore Returns as Series Host; Academy Award Winner Ve Neill, Famed Special Effects Artist Glenn Hetrick and Creature Designer Patrick Tatopoulos Back as Series Judges

NEW YORK – November 28, 2011 – One of the most imaginative aspects of science fiction is the creation of special effects from the genre’s wealth of fantastical possibilities. Making it to the top of this creative world requires a rare mix of exceptional qualities, most importantly an ingenious spirit that Syfy celebrates with the second season premiere of its acclaimed reality competition series Face Off on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 (10:00 – 11:00 PM ET/PT).

Face Off is an authentic depiction of the high creative standards necessary for a special effects make-up artist to succeed in their craft. The series debuted in January 2011 as a new reality competition program to critical and ratings success, earning the title of Syfy’s best unscripted franchise series launch ever among Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.

In its second season, Syfy introduces a new crop of the country’s most impressive rising special effects make-up artists, all wanting to follow in the footsteps of season one winner, Conor McCullagh, who recently wrapped work on the anticipated Lionsgate film The Hunger Games.

The aspiring artists have come all across the country and from all walks of life – a film and science high school teacher, a tattoo artist, a toy designer, and traditional sculptors and makeup effects artists, some with years of professional experience and others self-taught. The contestants are pitted against each other in a series of hands-on challenges that will test the limits of their imaginations.

The contestants are tasked with elaborate feature challenges, and for season two the creative expectations are even greater. This season, contestants will re-imagine iconic characters from the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, create a waterproof sea creature, bring terrifying phobias to life, and design and build dinosaur human hybrids, among many other visually stunning creatures. There will also be the favorite genre-themed challenges that will showcase the incredible imaginations and skill of these special effects artists.

Each special effects make-up artist will do whatever it takes to prove that they have the right aesthetics to win. Competing against one another in a series of rigorous challenges, the show captures the inspiring creativity and high emotion typical in the atmosphere of a working special effects lab, while also exploring the relationship dynamics and rankings that are common in the tight-knit, collaborative world.

To view photos and complete bios of the cast of Face Off, visit www.syfy.com/faceoff. The Face Off season two contestants are:

Athena Zhe – 25 – Resides in New York, NY; From Ukraine
Beki Ingram – 30 – Resides in Crestline, OH; Hometown Phoenix, AZ
Brea Joseph – 32 – San Diego, CA
Gerald “Jerry” Macaluso – 43 – Resides in Northridge, CA; Hometown is Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Greg Lightner – 35 – Resides in Pittsburgh, PA; Hometown is Coral Gables, Florida
Heather Henry – 33 – Dallas, TX
Ian Cromer – 22 – Resides in Staten Island, NY; Tampa, FL
Matt Valentine – 33 – Austin, TX
Miranda Jory – 21 – Resides in Los Angeles; Hometowns are Louisville, KY and Seattle, WA
Nicholas “Nix” Herrera – 31 – Orlando, FL
Rayce Bird – 29 – Shelley, Idaho
Sue Lee – 26 – Resides in Jersey City, NJ; Hometown is Long Island, NY
Tara Lang – 27 – Hometown is Littleton, CO; Resides West Hollywood, CA

This season Syfy let fans make the selection for the competition’s 14th special effects make-up artist. At the 2011 Comic Con in San Diego, Syfy staged a live make-up challenge in which imaginatively competed for a single spot on the second season, and viewers voted for their favorite via www.syfy.com. The Viewer’s Choice winner will be revealed on the second season premiere episode of Face Off.

The fourteen make-up artists will be whittled down to the three finalists who will face-off in the grand finale. The winning make up artist will receive $100,000 in seed money to help encourage their special effects career, a year’s supply of Alcone make up products, a Reinvented 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid and the coveted exposure to help launch a career.

As a member of the multi-generational family dynasty whose name is synonymous with the make-up effects field, actress McKenzie Westmore brings expertise to her role as host of the series, introducing the Foundation and Spotlight challenges to the contestants each week. Some of SFX world’s most celebrated figures return to judge the competition — multiple Academy-Award winner Ve Neill (The Hunger Games, Pirates of the Caribbean), industry veteran Glenn Hetrick (Heroes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and renowned creature artist Patrick Tatopoulos (Underworld, Independence Day).

The season also features a number of guest appearances including actor LeVar Burton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), renowned makeup artist Greg Cannom (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), actress Vivica Fox (Independence Day), actress Catherine O’Hara (Waiting for Guffman, Nightmare Before Christmas), musical artist Asher Roth and noted horror makeup artist Tom Savini. Michael Westmore (Star Trek) also appears in an episode to serve as a mentor to the working contestants.

Face Off is a production of Mission Control Media with Michael Agbabian and Dwight D. Smith serving as executive producers.

Test Shots for Ray Harryhausen's Evolution, Ray Harryhausen, 1938-1940

VIDEO - Take a look: http://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/2011/11/test-shots-for-ray-harryhausens.html

Turning the Weta Digital VFX Tent into the American Embassy

(ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com) Welcome back to Middle Earth! Let’s see who my featured Hobbit crew member is this report. Why it’s Weta Digital’s Eric Saindon!

I knew early on that I’d feature Eric because he figures into my daily set routine at least a dozen times. I’m not used to there being other Erics around, so when somebody says my name I automatically assume they’re addressing me.

So, what’s Eric doing in that picture above? That’s the inside of an abandoned farmhouse which will feature in the next report and what Saindon and his super hip team (comprised of Seb Abante, Kevin Sherwood, Brian McMillin and Adam Harriman) do is essentially get as much detail and info about a location/set/prop as possible.

Above, Eric is taking photos of the entire set, piece by piece, area by area, so he can build a digital replica of the environment if he needs to. Sometimes he knows he has to recreate a prop or section of a wall or rock or whatever, sometimes he doesn’t, but wants to keep the info anyway.

It’s usually Eric, Seb or Adam doing this work with Brian manning a 3D scanning device called a Leica. When you see those little orange strips of tape on a greenscreen or on a rock it’s for this scanning device.

Brian or Adam typically use these strips as tracking markers, noting their location in the Leica and doing a full scan of the set. What they end up with is a ton of data, 1s and 0s that represent a detailed 3-D representation of the entire scanning area.

Eric told me that he can take these high res photos he takes and basically lay them over this framework and have a near photoreal recreation of the shooting area, which makes it easier to roll with digital additions, subtractions and CGI creatures (like Wargs, for instance).

That also helps him digitally recreate props to be as close to the physical prop should he be required to.

Since most of the Weta Digital team on the ground at main unit is American we’ve kind of turned the VFX tent into the American Embassy on the set, with discussions of how we’re going to celebrate Thanksgiving and how we miss simple things, like 24 hour stores, free refills, actual Mexican food, unlimited internet and other such American topics.

So, I’m going to cheat a little bit and also include a couple shots of the guys so while this is really Eric’s feature I’m gonna throw some love on his team, a group of awesome guys. I’ve only left out Brian but that’s because I have a good shot of him sharing a helicopter ride with me in a future report.

Full article with pics - take a look: http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/64674136.html

"Massive Layoffs" at Canadian Studio Silicon Knights

(1up.com) 11/1 UPDATE: Speaking to Kotaku, a Silicon Knights spokesperson said the layoffs consisted of 43 people, with more than 43 remaining at the company. "Last week Silicon Knights experienced layoffs due to extended contract negotiations falling through with a potential partner," they said. "We are currently in discussions with other potential partners. The recent Ontario government funding is tied to future performance targets, spread out over the next 5 years, which we will meet... The company is currently refocusing and returning to its roots, working on one of its most requested titles for the next generation."

11/1 UPDATE #2: Speaking to Financial Post, Silicon Knights' chief financial officer Mike Mays says the company laid off 45 employees, with "just under 40" remaining employed.

ORIGINAL STORY: All but 25 staff at the Canadian video game development studio Silicon Knights have been laid off, according to sources close to the company.

Silicon Knights has not officially confirmed the cuts, but two credible independent sources contacted us with the information over the weekend. One wrote that "Silicon Knights has had massive layoffs. They are now down to a core staff of 25 people." The other said, "It may interest you to note that SK laid off all but 25 employees today."

This outcome follows the St. Catharines, Ontario-based studio receiving three recent funding grants, totaling CDN $8 million: $1 million in 2008, invested by the Ontario Media Development Corporation, $4 million in 2010 via the federal government, and most recently, $3 million in July 2011 via the Ontario government.

Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack stated in July 2011 that the CDN $3 million investment would allow the company to improve its technology, hire 80 new people while keeping 97 current jobs and allow the company to become "self sustaining." We do not know at this stage what went wrong, nor how the studio's payroll has shrunk from 97 to 25 in three months. A source says, "I heard they laid off all of HR including Denis' wife," in reference to Joanne Dyack, SK's director of human resources.

Oil Company Renames Itself Pixar

(thedisneyblog.com) After reading a strange press release found by Big Screen Animation blog, I had to double-check the calendar to make sure it wasn’t already April Fools day. A Canadian oil company has renamed itself after Pixar Animation Studios, perhaps in hopes of capitalizing on the success and goodwill of the popular brand and white-washing its own dirty industry image.

Previously known as Paramount Resources, I guess the executives got tired of being named after one of Hollywood’s has-been brands.

As far as I can tell, this is not a joke, there’s even a serious sounding press release composed without a hint of irony. It’s being reported in the wider media as well.

Mike B., who owns Big Screen Animation (and writes non-animation related material for The Disney Blog) broke the story. I bet he was surprised when that press release got picked up in his keyword dragnet.

I’m no trademark expert, but this seems like shameless hijacking of a well known brand by an industry in desperate need of good publicity—the Alberta tar sands are an environmental disaster.

Coincidentally, Leslie Iwerks, director of The Pixar Story and A Day in the Life of John Lasseter, made a series of documentaries about the issue. You can watch one of them, Downstream, here.

Unfortunately, I doubt Pixar has a trademark claim here. The industries are diverse enough there shouldn’t be any real confusion among the pubic that they’re the same company. That is why we can have Dove soap and Dove ice cream bars. The trademark name can be the same, but the trademark logo must be sufficiently different.

"Anything you notice as technology reminds you that you're in a movie theater. Even if you're trying to portray something fantastical and otherworldly, it's always about trying to achieve invisible manipulation. -Christopher Nolan

Worth a mention - 11/22/11

2011-11-22T10:17:00.001-08:00

3-D Film Production To Drop By At Least 25%

(houmatoday.com) LOS ANGELES — The skies may be darkening in the third dimension.

Once hailed as a technology that would revolutionize filmmaking the way sound and color did, 3-D has become as much an albatross for some films as a lure. And studios are noticing.

According to a study by Exhibitor Relations, which tracks trends among theater owners, the number of big-studio 3-D films will drop by at least 25 percent a year through 2013. There were 40 new 3-D movies this year. Next year, 30 releases are slated for the big screen. That number dips to 15 in 2013, though that schedule remains incomplete, and studios shuffle release dates. The study also found that some high-profile 3-D conversions are planned for classic films, including Finding Nemo and Beauty and the Beast.

” We might see a few more 3-D movies in 2013, but I’d be surprised if the number was more than 20,” says Jeff Bock, box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. ” People are feeling burned, the studios are feeling burned. Everyone is pulling back.”

The technology has been under fire after some high-profile flops like this summer’s Conan the Barbarian ($21 million at the box office) and Fright Night ($18 million) prompted critics to question whether 3-D was already on the way out.

Will This Be the Last Year for Best Animated Feature at Oscars?

(goldderby.com) The Academy's Best Animated Feature category started with noble intentions, but 2011 could easily be its final year as animated films make stronger showings in the top categories.

The initial reasoning for the category was that animated films weren't taken seriously enough to break into major races. In the Oscars' first 74 years, only "Beauty and the Beast" (1991) ever broke into the Best Picture race and only "Toy Story" (1995) had been nodded for its screenplay. In the first year of the Animated Feature category, the winner "Shrek" (2001) was also nominated for screenplay. The scripts for Animated Feature winners "Finding Nemo" (2003), "The Incredibles" (2004), "Ratatouille" (2007), "Wall-E" (2008), "Up" (2009), and "Toy Story 3" (2010) all followed suit.

This year, only 18 films qualify for Best Animated Feature, yet those can yield five nominations (a success rate of 28%) if they score at least 7.5/10 with a screening committee. Compare that to the Best Picture category where 248 films fought for ten slots last year (a success rate of 4%). One of those Best Picture nominees was "Toy Story 3." The year before that, "Up" contended for Best Picture.

A solid third of this year's 18 qualifying titles are direct sequels including Pixar's critical disappointment "Cars 2," Happy Feet Two," and "Kung Fu Panda 2." While each film's first installments reaped Oscar nominations, none of these sequels are sure things for the final ballot.

The only original titles that are truly in the mix are the upcoming "Arthur Christmas" and well-received releases "Rio" and "Rango." Other films with buzz include "Shrek" spin-off "Puss in Boots," which clawed its way to the top of the box office for a couple weeks. A charming feature-length version of "Winnie the Pooh" would be a pleasant nominee, but has only an outside shot. And Steven Spielberg's forthcoming adaptation "The Adventures of Tintin" seems more and more like a sure thing.

Fortunately, no one is talking about other qualifying titles like “Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil,” Razzie contender "The Smurfs," and “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.”

A vocal minority on the board has pushed for the elimination of this award in recent years. A specialized category may not be needed as animated films are now viewed by Academy members as a more serious medium. The Best Animated Feature award becomes a consolation prize when these films might have otherwise won for their screenplays or even Best Picture. And with scores of animators admitted into the Academy in recent years, it is certain their genre will continue to contend in the top category.

The Academy would be wise to follow the Grammys' lead after they recently cut and condensed dozens of categories. An actual competition between quality nominees is more respectable and engaging.

Useful iPhone Apps for VFX & Film Makers

(buzz-videos.eu) Here is a quick overview of useful iPhone Apps for vfx and guerilla film makers. The list could be extended to remote login tools and the like but this is my overview.
I am sure there are similar Apps for windows and android phones.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://buzz-videos.eu/video-film-useful-iphone-apps-for-vfx-and-film-makers/

The Special Effects in Chinese Films

(wildgrounds.com) People usually complains a lot about the quality of special effects in Chinese blockbusters. Take Tsui Hark’s Detective Dee for example, some said special effects were “blatantly noticeable“, looked “a little cheap” – of course, some others described them as “flawless” or “nifty“. In fact, the film even took the Best Special Effects award at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards. It’s not perfect, but they did good. Wait! Who are “they”? Chinese companies? Nope, and that’s the interesting part.

What do these films share in common; John Woo’s Red Cliff, Tsui Hark’s Flying Swords, Peter Chan’s Wu Xia, Daniel Lee’s White Vengeance or Feng Xiageng’s Aftershock…?

Their special effects were made-supervised by South Korean companie! This insightful article brings some answers about this (surprising) reality. If Chinese productions work with Korean companies, it’s mostly because they can provide “Hollywood-level quality at competitive prices” compared to Chinese companies, who lack know-how & experience in this field. There’s a simple explanation to that, “Chinese film technicians are only used to doing historical dramas“, so they can only provide limited options and don’t know (yet) how to deal with explosions for example.

To give you a better idea about all that, here’s the VFX demo reel from Korean company Digital Idea, showing you lots of before/after footage. It really covers many type of visual effects; from the most visible things – 3D models – to the smallest & almost unnoticeable details – visual corrections, matte paintings. And you may be quite surprised to see examples taken from Kim Jee-woon’s I Saw The Devil – the taxi cab scene! Anyway, this should help you understand how VFX works;

With all that in mind, watch also this VFX video for Detective Dee – it was made by another Korean company named AZ Works. It focuses on the most important & visible things like the giant Buddha, how it was created, and other interesting stuff – the fight against the talking deer. Quite informative, even though it doesn’t answer why some of the effects in the film look “cheap”. One can guess, the overall quality of VFX depends on many factors; time, money, know-how, what directors want, shooting preparations, schedule constraints… But as Tsui Hark said, “special effects as a tool are quite convenient as an ability to enhance the story when they are necessary“.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://wildgrounds.com/2011/11/22/the-special-effects-in-chinese-films/

Here’s The Future for Disney’s Digital Strategy

(wallstcheatsheet.com) Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is making a splash in the apps game with “Where’s My Water” — a mobile game that stars Swampy the alligator living in a sewer. Sound slimy? Apparently not to app gamers. The app launched on Sep 22 and raced to the top of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) top paid apps chart – displacing permanent resident Angry Birds for three weeks.

The app was produced by a crew of just seven people in seven-and-a-half months. Contrast this with a newly released movie that takes three to five years to make and hundreds of millions of dollars.

Investing Insights: Salesforce Shares Return from the Clouds.

Disney’s (NYSE:DIS) strategy to create million-dollar franchises in the app world may be working. “This is a very, very cost-effective way to develop characters,” said Tim Nollen, an analyst at Macquarie Capital USA Inc. in New York. “It’s a new way of doing things.”

Swampy will also be aired on Disney.com and on YouTube (NASDAQ:GOOG) in a 12-part series in 2012. A book and a movie may follow. Welcome to the future for Disney.

Kristen Stewart's Extreme 'Twilight' Transformation

(latimesblogs.latimes.com) Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1"

The fans who lined up over the weekend to see "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1" — and there were a lot of them, considering that the fourth installment in the franchise adapted from Stephenie Meyer's bestselling young-adult novels raked in an estimated $139.5 million — witnessed some pretty radical upheaval in the lives of young Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire beau Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson).

The couple marries, and during a romantic honeymoon getaway, they finally consummate their relationship. But Bella unexpectedly becomes pregnant and fights to carry the child to term, though the fetus is seemingly incompatible with her body.

To depict the great physical toll the pregnancy takes on Bella's body — she's unable to eat and essentially is withering away as her stomach swells — the "Breaking Dawn" filmmakers looked to Lola Visual Effects, the company responsible for downsizing muscular Chris Evans to a pre-transformation weakling in this summer's comic book superhero film "Captain America." The results are certainly eyebrow-raising, with Bella becoming increasingly pale and extremely gaunt.

"The idea was to leave you with a question mark about how they did it," said the film's director, Bill Condon. "We wanted you to think it was possible that Kristen actually lost a lot of weight for it."

The visual-effects team added prosthetics to Stewart's face (a process that took three hours of application) to make her eyes look more sunken and her ears larger. Stewart likened wearing the prosthetics to having a "big, skinny head" for the scenes. Still, the 21-year old actress was game for the transformation.

"I'm so happy that they were not afraid of it — to have your main character look so awful for half of the movie is a bold choice for a huge film," Stewart said. "It was the one thing I wasn't fully responsible for concerning Bella and it made me really nervous. I didn't know what it would look like until I saw the movie."

Animated Features; Stop Mo vs CG

(kimemsonanimates.wordpress.com) Think stop motion, think Aardman, they are the top of stop motion. It is interesting that they are one of few studios that have tackled both stop motion and CGI for animated features. An AWN interview with Peter Lord explains: The decision was certainly not a question of cost, he declares. “Flushed Away is way more expensive than any previous feature we’ve done.” Flushed Away may have been CG, however had the charm and feel of stop motion (through texture, animation techniques, etc) and was very well received. Is money king again or is it more practical reasons related to story? Is the reputation of which medium is more expensive prevailing? What we also need to examine is profit margins- that is more relevant than the actual expense. Which medium really is more expensive? This is part 3 of this discussion, part 1 examined film effects and part 2 examined children’s series.

Profitability

For now, lets compare some films of differing mediums in simple terms: I got this information from IMDB, wikipedia and the-numbers.com it is not clear if the budget is the real cost or just the initial forecast of what they thought the project would cost, there is not a consistent way that these figures are collected or presented. I think companies will try and hide some of the true figures so I can’t be certain these websites offer accurate data, but I think this is all we have for a comparison.

See the results: http://kimemsonanimates.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/animated-features-stop-mo-vs-cg/

Prometheus Creature Concept Designer Neville Page Interview

(ShockTillYouDrop.com) Even if you don't know his name, you've seen his work and in an exclusive interview with ComingSoon.net's ShockTillYouDrop.com, Concept Designer Neville Page discusses his world-building past, present and future.

The artist is responsible for sundry movie monsters, and other creations, such as the giant beast that rampages through New York City in Cloverfield, the hungry fish of Piranha 3D, the otherworldly creatures of Avatar, Star Trek and Green Lantern, or, the alien visitor of this summer's Super 8. Thanks to the latter's forthcoming DVD and Blu-ray release, the opportunity sprung up to be able to speak to Page about the film and his career. Being such a fan of the concept design process myself, Shock jumped at the chance to pick the man's brain about his previous works and the directors he has worked with, including Ridley Scott. Yes, Page contributed to the super-secret Alien prequel, Prometheus.

Full Interview: http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/interviewsnews.php?id=22006

I Cannot Own A Company Burning Through This Much Cash. Period, End of Story.

(seekingalpha.com) Digital Domain plans to use IPO monies to begin producing their own large scale live-action films. I'm never a proponent of investing in start-up motion picture production companies. The risk reward is rarely favorable to outside investors. DDMG's first co-production (with Oddlot Entertainment) is for a film to be titled 'Ender's Game'. DDMG will be a primary investor in the film and will lead the digital production.

2011 - Really shaky 3rd quarter. Bad enough that the company noted outright in the prospectus it was a light quarter. Full year revenues should be in the $105 million range. Gross margins here are ultra-slim. Much too slim for a company that has been around for nearly 20 years. Even back in 2008(before embarking on new lines of business), gross margins were weak. Gross margins should be in the 15%-20% range. Losses staggering as 1) gross margins eat most of the revenues and 2) DDMG has been spending heavily on their primary production and education plans. Losses should be in the $1.50+ range. I cannot own a company burning through this much cash. Period, end of story.

2012 - Losses should continue to be staggering. DDMG will need a major hit with their first film to make this IPO look even average in range.

This is a successful visual effects company that is un-investable due to ugly earnings statements. By all accounts DDMG is quite good at what they do: visual effects for the motion picture industry and advertising. Lot of risk here as DDMG embarks on feature film primary production responsibilities (with the implied financial risks) as well as a for-profit educational center. DDMG couldn't put money on the bottom line for years before embarking on these plans. Now? Losses of $1.50+ per share. Not interested.

Full Article: http://seekingalpha.com/article/309496-digital-domain-media-group-ipo-beware-of-ugly-earnings-statements

DreamWorks Animation Outsources Animation To India

(articles.latimes.com) 'Puss in Boots' marks the first time DreamWorks has relied on Indian animators to help produce a full-length feature film. The Bangalore, India, animation studio has become an increasingly important piece of DreamWorks' production pipeline.

* For Puss in Boots, a new feature film about a cat bandit, a team of about 100 animators in Bangalore spent six months animating three major scenes.

For Puss in Boots, a new feature film about a cat bandit, a team of about 100… (DreamWorks Animation)
October 29, 2011|By Richard Verrier, Los Angeles Times

When the cat bandit "Puss in Boots" strides onto the big screen this weekend, Vanitha Rangaraju and her colleagues in Bangalore, India, will take special pride in the feline's starring role on the global stage.

A spinoff of the hit "Shrek" movies, "Puss in Boots" represents a milestone for DreamWorks Animation and for the fledgling animation industry in the world's second most populous nation.

The film, starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, marks the first time that the Glendale studio has relied on a crew of Indian animators to help produce a full-length feature film. Until now, DreamWorks Animation had used the studio it operates in Bangalore to produce mainly TV specials and DVD bonus material. But after investing more than $10 million over the last three years, DreamWorks has turned the Bangalore studio into an increasingly important piece of its production pipeline.

The investment underscores how Hollywood is increasingly farming out animation and visual effects work to India, both to capitalize on the country's low labor costs and to tap into a large pool of English-speaking workers with sought-after computer skills. The pace of production also is accelerated because of the 24-hour cycle that can be maintained by pairing the Bangalore workers with their counterparts in Hollywood.

"We're very excited because we've been working toward this for three years,'' said Rangaraju, head of lighting for the India animation unit. "This is the first time this has happened in India, and it's going to encourage a lot of people to move into the industry."

DreamWorks is among several studios tapping into the labor pool in India. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Rhythm & Hues, the Los Angeles animation and visual effects house, each have facilities in India that have done work on such feature films as "Yogi Bear" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks." Walt Disney Studios partnered with Mumbai-based Prana Studios to produce its 2008 computer-animated movie "Tinker Bell." Additionally, several large Indian companies, such as Reliance Group, Tata Elxsi and Prime Focus, have established beachheads in Hollywood to do visual effects and 3-D conversion work on films such as "Spider-Man 3" and "Clash of the Titans."

Traditionally, much of the film and TV work Hollywood has outsourced to India has involved low-skill, labor-intensive tasks such as wire removal — the tedious process of digitally erasing wires used to suspend stunt people and stars in action movies. The animation work has been confined mostly to TV series or made-for-DVD movies. But that's beginning to change, as evidenced by "Puss in Boots."

A team of about 100 animators in Bangalore spent six months animating three major scenes in the feature film — including one complex sequence in which Puss, Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and Kitty Softpaws (Hayek) enter a giant's castle surrounded by a lush jungle in the clouds. "Except for the story boarding, we did everything from start to finish," said Philippe Gluckman, creative director for the DreamWorks India unit, housed on the eleventh floor of a building in a high-tech park in a suburb of Bangalore. "I would hope nobody would be able to tell which sequences came from India."

DreamWorks launched the India studio in early 2008 as part of a partnership with Technicolor, which acquired the Indian animation company Paprika Animation Studios. Technicolor owns the facility but has tapped DreamWorks to hire and train 220 illustrators who work there. DreamWorks sent staff members to India to train the crews and hold master classes on topics such as how to properly shape mouths.

Before embarking on a full-length feature film, the DreamWorks India unit started with smaller projects, such as holiday TV specials including "Merry Madagascar" and "Scared Shrekless" (a separate unit with the Technicolor studio animated the successful Nickelodeon TV series "The Penguins of Madagascar"). Currently, the group is working on its next film projects, including "Madagascar 3," due out next summer, and is expected to have a role in the upcoming Bollywood-style musical "Monkeys of Mumbai."

"It has been a very steep learning curve for all of them," Gluckman said.

"Puss in Boots" Director Chris Miller said he was impressed with the quality of the work from India. "The work that came out of it was terrific and stands up to anything that was done here," said Miller, who also directed "Shrek the Third."

The ability to farm out even a small portion of the work to India has obvious financial advantages to DreamWorks, given the substantially lower labor costs — about 40% less than in the U.S. — and the increasingly competitive market in the U.S. The typical DreamWorks film costs about $130 million to produce.

If You're in New Mexico, 'The Lone Ranger' Wants You

(latinoreview.com) If You're in New Mexico, 'The Lone Ranger' Wants You "The Lone Ranger" may have gotten in trouble over its budget, but they still have the spare cash to hire the neccessary extras. The production is currently hiring Native American actors (men and women!) in New Mexico, with preference given to anyone who can ride a horse. (A neccessary thing for a Western.)

They're also looking for a young Native American boy, aged 9-11, for a speaking role. If you have a little brother or a cousin that fits the requirements, haul him in! He'll thank you.

If you do happen to be in New Mexico over the coming months, it seems the production is filming under the code name "Silver Bullet." Some have taken this as an indication the script is still hiding its werewolves under a lower budget, but as Lone Ranger devotees know, the white-hatted crusader uses silver bullets as his trademark. I think we can see where the scriptwriters got the idea, though -- they thought he needed something other than bandits and corrupt railroad tycoons to aim them at!

The 10 Best Special Effects Movies Ever

(furiousfanboys.com) Ask any fanboy and they’ll tell you that one of the big reasons they go see a science fiction or genre movie is to have their face melted off by awesome special effects. Over the years there have been some amazingly convincing effects created, and we’ve compiled a list of the 10 movies that pulled off their special effects so well that they still hold up years after the original release.

Take a look: http://furiousfanboys.com/2011/11/the-10-best-special-effects-movies-ever/

VFX Artist Stuck Abroad Tweets: #fuckYouSubsidies

(animationguildblog.blogspot.com) The latest news from the realm of entertainment tax breaks is that London and Michigan have reaffirmed their commitment to tax incentives designed to lure production to their corners of the world. Entertainment tax incentives are all the rage these days. People are convinced that without them, Hollywood will find more "lucrative" pastures to host production work.

What astounds me is how little tax payers understand where the incentive money is going and how much they believe those incentives are actually helping their cities.

The basic premise of the tax credits sounds logical: incentivize Hollywood conglomerates making the films to come to your locale, and seed an industry that wasn't previously there. Films are made all the time. Bringing the production work to your constituents means more employment, more local revenue, and happier voters.

Right?

But, once one region benefits from paying Hollywood to play inside its borders, other regions take notice. They initiate incentives that offer more than their neighbor to win the next contract. Then, the other state takes notice and does the same.

.. and so on, and so on.

Every state in our nation now has some kind of incentive. Each state is vying for the same piece of the hollywood pie and by working against each other. Who is really benefiting in the race to be the place with the biggest kick-back? More importantly, who is paying the studio to be there?

Another important factor? The labor force that is brought in to do the work. Production companies regularly bring workers from other states when they make their movie in IncentiveLand. This is prevalent in the visual effects industry. VFX shops have opened satellite locations in areas that offer tax incentives so they can be awarded jobs that pay the hollywood studio a tax credit for having the work done at that location. These satellite locations are staffed mostly by artists from elsewhere as the demand for work done exceeds the amount of local talent available.

Los Angeles born visual effects artist David Stripinis tweeted on the anniversary of his working in London:

Two years ago today I left Los Angeles for what I thought would be one year. Now I don't think I'll ever get back. #fuckYouSubsidies

Regional tax incentives, paid by the local population, don't kick-start a local entertainment industry. Instead, these incentives drain municipal coffers to lure Hollywood studios in to temporarily squat in their provinces and make with the Movie Magic. Artists and craftspeople are flown in by production companies eager to be paid by the local population to do their work.

Then, when the work is done, they fly back to their lives and families in lands across the globe.

I'm reminded of the movie line from a supercomputer who tried to figure out the best way to win a Global Thermonuclear War

The Countries Most Threatened By VFX Outsourcing Are India And China

(vfxsoldier.wordpress.com) When I first started this blog, I asked a rhetorical question:

when I look at the evidence and get asked which countries are most threatened by outsourcing of vfx work you know what my answer is?

India and China

Most would think the US is at most risk but much of that is due to government film subsidies used as a lure to artificialize the price of VFX.

For India and China, their bread and butter is having the cheapest labor. However the double edged sword is in the reality that wages are rising in both countries, the quality is stagnant, and other cheaper labor pools are joining the market to compete as bottom feeders.

Still Don’t Believe Me? Look At Indian Animation

I wrote another post linking to an Indian article about the demise of it’s animation industry. The hope was that a new film called Delhi Safari would turn things around. It was supposed to be released last month but then nothing. No mention of when it will be actually released. You’d figure the claim that this was India’s best animated film to date would at least have a release date. No show radio!

If you still believe that India will soon catch up and dominate the VFX and animation industry then do me a favor: Put your money where your mouth is.

Last week Digital Domain was lampooned for trying to become a publicly traded stock. It turns out India’s Crest Animation which made last year’s Alpha & Omega has been a publicly traded stock in India for the last 12 years. Take a look at their historical stock price which was $US 23 a share at one point. It’s now hovering at around 55 cents a share.

Would you put your money in an Indian animation company? Given the return on investment, you might be better off outsourcing that decision to a table in Las Vegas.

Full Article: http://vfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/is-it-over-for-indias-outsourcing-model/

Worth a mention - 11/21/11

2011-11-21T12:23:00.001-08:00

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 Earns $283.5M Worldwide

(ComingSoon.net) Summit Entertainment's The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 has earned a massive $283.5 million worldwide since opening internationally on Wednesday. Based on the Stephenie Meyer book, "Breaking Dawn - Part 1" grossed $139.5 million domestically from 4,061 theaters this weekend and added another $144 million overseas for the five days in 54 markets. The $139.5 million domestic opening is the fifth-best ever, trailing just The Twilight Saga: New Moon's $142.8 million, Spider-Man 3's $151.1 million, The Dark Knight's $158.4 million and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2's $169.2 million. The $283.5 million worldwide opening is the 10th largest ever and a franchise best, passing up "New Moon's" $274.9 million launch.

Directed by Bill Condon from a Melissa Rosenberg script, the $110 million-budgeted "Breaking Dawn --- Part 1" stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Peter Facinelli, Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz, Jackson Rathbone, Elizabeth Reaser, Nikki Reed and Billy Burke. "Part 2" will hit theaters on November 16, 2012.

Transformers The Ride - Unveiling the Preshow Video Preview

Thanks to Resorts World Sentosa blog we have some new looks at The Ride via a new video previde that transports us into the Transformers universe when you step into the NEST facility.

Transformers The Ride will be opening first at Universal Studios in Singapore on December 3rd, 2011.

The storytelling starts from the queue lines at TRANSFORMERS The Ride. Get transported into the TRANSFORMERS universe when you step into the NEST facility at Universal Studios Singapore. If you have not seen a the blockbuster movie franchise, fret not, the preshow segment of the queue lines will prepare you for the ultimate 3D battle.

The ride is in undergoing technical rehearsal now, so if you happen to be one of the lucky ones who took the ride, share your experience with us on this blog, twitter or our Facebook page!

Even if you have never owned a TRANSFORMERS action figure, or watched a single installment of the TRANSFORMERS films, don't fret! The queue lines are built to transport you into the world of TRANSFORMERS and immerse you into the story from the moment you step in. That's why we call it the Pre-Show!

The world's first TRANSFORMERS ride will open at Universal Studios Singapore on 3 December 2011.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://tformers.com/transformers-the-ride-unveiling-the/16798/news.html

Special Effects Master Phil Tippett Comments on Commercial Film Industry

(dailycal.org) Northern California during the 1970s served as a bastion of cinema with such enduring filmmakers as Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Philip Kaufman basing their projects in the San Francisco Bay Area. Seen as a practical alternative to the established hierarchy of Los Angeles, Northern California attracted a multitude of technical talent disillusioned with the business of Hollywood, from writers to film editors to sound mixers.

Of course, the ’70s were an era long past. Now, only the remnants of the period remain in the form of LucasArts and Industrial Light & Magic in San Francisco’s Presidio District as well as Coppola’s relatively meager American Zoetrope (not to mention his multitude of restaurants, cafes and wine estates all over the North Bay).

However, nestled only a few blocks away from Berkeley’s San Pablo Park stands special effects wizard Phil Tippett’s very own Tippett Studios. Established in the 1980s after the runaway success of the original “Star Wars” trilogy, Tippett Studios is at once a relic of the past as well as evidence of an industry that has experienced tremendous change in its last 30 years.

In his recent presentation as a part of the Pacific Film Archive’s “Behind the Scenes: The Art and Craft of Cinema” series, Tippett focused on his early memories of movies, his involvement with the “Star Wars” films, and the massive changes that have taken place in the special effects business in the last 20 years. Disillusioned yet surprisingly funny in a blunt manner, the joy he infuses in his work translated to his lecture as a packed audience burst into laughter with every story.

Citing the works of Willis O’Brien (“King Kong”), and especially Ray Harryhausen (“The 7th Voyage of Sinbad,” “Jason and the Argonauts,” “Clash of the Titans”) as direct influences, Tippett stressed the importance of mentors in his life, while recalling the day he had a beer with Harryhausen as one of the greatest moments of his life. Childhood experiences continued to play a major role in his life, leading to one of his major goals of wanting to work on a dinosaur movie. “Every boy is either into dinosaurs or trucks,” said Tippett. “I was into dinosaurs.”

It was once Tippett met George Lucas and Steven Spielberg that his career really took off. “These guys understood how to get people to come back to theaters. They knew the importance of spectacle in movies, and we had similar influences,” said Tippett.

Although Tippett wouldn’t work with Spielberg until the early ’90s, his involvement with the “Star Wars” films would rewrite the possibilities of films heavy on the special effects in the future. “There weren’t a lot of people working in the field at the time, very different from today,” he explained. As technology progressed, so did the filmmaking process with more and more directors relying on special effects. Tippett alone worked on such box office hits as “Dragonslayer,” “Robocop” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” through the ‘80s.

1993 marked another turning point in the history of the spectacle (or now considered the blockbuster) movie with the release of Spielberg’s seminal film, “Jurassic Park.” The picture marked the end of physical special effects through models and stop-motion and the start of the CGI revolution. “Spielberg decided all his movies would be done this way [with CGI]. I didn’t get depressed, but I got sick,” said Tippett. So began what Tippett called the “corporatization” of the film industry, something he blames the lack of quality blockbusters coming out of Hollywood on. “Even the layperson asks, ‘Why is everything so bad after Jurassic Park?’ It’s because it’s all been corporatized.”

Since then, Tippett Studios has been responsible for the special effects on some of the biggest box office and critical bombs of the CGI-era, including “Evolution,” “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” and the “Twilight” franchise. While admitting the shortcomings of these films and the industry in general, Tippett ended his program with a glimmer of hope by showcasing an animated trailer he’s been working on for the last 20 years entitled “Mad God.” As usual, it all depends on financial backing and marketability, but the passion Tippett exudes for this long-gestating project further illustrates the immense level of joy a disillusioned master can still hold for his work.

Red Digital Cinema Releases Scarlet-X

(dpreview.com) Red Digital Cinema has released the Scarlet-X professional video camera with Canon EF or PL mount. With 4K video from 1-30 fps and burst modes up to 12 fps at 5K resolution, it enables users to capture motion footage and still content simultaneously. Available for pre-orders, the basic kit (which is primarily the body, or as Red calls it "The Brain") is priced at $9750 while the Scarlet-X AL Canon Mount Package is priced at $14,015 and includes such essentials as a power adaptor, 5" touch LCD, and hand grip.

Launched the same day as Canon's new EOS C300 Digital Cinema Camera, the Scarlet-X appears competitively specified and priced. Whether an amateur or professional film-maker should use the Scarlet-X or the lower resolution Canon C300 (or perhaps Canon's forthcoming 4K DSLR) will become an interesting debate in the coming year.

Dwayne Johnson Takes The Monster Hunter's Survival Guide

(Deadline) Dwayne Johnson has just signed on to headline The Monster Hunter's Survival Guide, Deadline reports. It will be based on the comic book series by John Paul Russ (and published by Zenescope), officially described as follows:

Monsters surround us. They're everywhere; on TV, in movies, they haunt our nightmares... But are they real? Do Vampires, Werewolves and Zombies really exist? And if so how can we survive against them? At last here is the comprehensive guide every Monster Hunter must have! Whether youre a weekend Bigfoot hunter or a hardcore Vampire slayer you simply cant afford not to own this book.

Johnson, who earlier this year starred in Fast Five, will appear in 2012 in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Snitch.

Digital Domain Declines 15.9% Post-IPO

(online.wsj.com) Digital movie production company Digital Domain Media Group Inc. (DDMG) declined nearly 16% on its first day as a public company Friday.

The company's stock closed at $7.15 a share on the New York Stock Exchange, down 15.9% from its initial public offering price of $8.50. It sold 5.5 million shares at a price below its expected $10 to $12 range.

The company's debut was the worst first-day performance since dating site operator FriendFinder Networks Inc. (FFN) lost 21.5% of its value during its May IPO launch.

Based in Port St. Lucie, Fla., Digital Domain Media provides computer-generated animation and digital effects for movie studios and advertisers, and converts two-dimensional imagery into 3-D effects, which generates substantially all its revenue. The company is also establishing an animation feature film business to develop original animated films, and a for-profit post-secondary training school with Florida State University.

Since it began in 1993, the company says it has established relationships with major Hollywood studios, working with each of the six major studios, and many of the industry's leading directors and producers. It has won three Academy Awards for best visual effects and four awards for scientific and technical achievement. Movies it has worked on include "TRON: Legacy," the "Transformers" trilogy, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Apollo 13" and "Titanic."

The company says it is benefitting from increased demand for digital visual effects, including 3D content, in Hollywood films and advertising.

Digital Domain Media is the parent to Digital Domain, which it acquired in 2009. That subsidiary attempted to go public in 2008 before throwing in the towel during a difficult period for IPOs amid the global economic crisis.

In the first half of 2011, total revenue rose 39% to $61 million; it booked a net loss of $11 million compared to a loss of $6.4 million in the same period of 2010.

The company warns that it has a history of losses, and that the visual effects industry is highly competitive with rivals located in low-cost countries such as South Korea, China and India having access to a lower-cost pool of labor. A substantial part of its business relies on the success of films made in 3D, so it is dependent on that area of entertainment growing.

Happy Feet 2 Stumbles

(sfgate.com) "Happy Feet 2" stumbled, pulling in just $22 million over opening weekend. That's barely half what the first film did in its 2006 opening.

The comparison is even worse considering the original did not have the sequel's price advantage for 3-D screenings, which cost a few dollars more than 2-D shows.

Cronenberg: No "Fly 2"

(darkhorizons.com) A little while back "A History of Violence" and "A Dangerous Method" director David Cronenberg revealed that he has working on a script for a part remake/mostly sequel to his 1986 body horror classic "The Fly".

The original followed a scientist (Jeff Goldblum) who accidently crosses his DNA with a humble housefly. The results are disturbing, disgusting and twisted in a way you'd expect from the director of "Dead Ringers," "Videodrome," "Naked Lunch" and "Scanners". Yet it was also one of his biggest crossover hits.

Cut to this week and Cronenberg tells The Playlist that he completed said script and submitted it to Fox but they are "not wanting to do the project" presently.

Motherlode of Dark Crystal and Labyrinth Art Comes to New York

(io9.com) Faerie artist Brian Froud is one of our favorite illustrators of the weird and fantastical — but we're especially fascinated by his design work on The Dark Crystal. Now a new exhibition is opening in New York that showcases the work of Brian, Wendy and Toby Froud, plus some "lost" Labyrinth concept art.

Check out an exclusive gallery of some amazing Dark Crystal and Labyrinth art from the exhibition!

The exhibition Brian Froud: Visions for Film & Faerie opens Dec. 2 at the Animazing Gallery in SoHo, New York. In addition to all the Dark Crystal art, there's a site-specific installation — and Wendy Froud has recreated Kira, Dark Crystal's Gelfling, for the exhibition. Kira stands 33 inches tall and was sculpted using hair and beading from the original film production.

with a signing featuring the Frouds on Dec. 3, with some proceeds going to the Jim Henson Foundation. There's also a screening of The Dark Crystal, introduced by Brian and Wendy Froud, on November 20, and a special talk at the American Society of Illustrators on Dec. 2.

Here's the complete press release:

This December, Animazing Gallery will be presenting the first U.S. exhibition of Brian Froud's paintings and drawings, including original artworks from his published, international best-selling books and all of his concept drawings from Jim Henson's film Labyrinth. The exhibition will be open to the public daily. Animazing Gallery is located at 54 Greene Street (at Broome) in SoHo. For more information: 212-226-7374 or visit www.animazing.com

Brian Froud is regarded as the pre-eminent fairy artist of today and has redefined the image of Faeries in the 21st century. Froud is part of a long lineage of faerie painters and illustrators including Arthur Rackham, Richard Dadd, Walter Crane and Edmund Dulac and his work has hung alongside these exceptional artists - the greats of the genre - in museum exhibitions throughout the U.K. Froud's imagery; sensual, humorous and at times frightening, has rescued fairies from the Victorian nursery, to which they were relegated for so many years, and returned them to the dark, elusive and mysterious world of Faerie where they belong.

In November, 1998, Sotheby's "Realm of the Mind: Fantasy Art and Illustration" featured the work of such artists as; Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Bell Scott, Richard Doyle, John Anster Fitzgerald, Walter Crane, Simeon Solomon and George Cruikshank. Brian Froud's painting from Good Faeries/Bad Faeries was chosen for the auction catalogue cover.

With over 30 books in publication and over 8 million books sold to date, Brian Froud's best sellers include Good Faeries/Bad Faeries (Hugo and Chesley Awards), Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book (Hugo Award), the Faeries' Oracle and Lady Cottington's Fairy Album. His international best-selling book, Faeries with fantasy and Tolkien illustrator Alan Lee, published in 1978 and reissued in 2002 and again in 2010, is considered a modern classic and has sold more than 3 million copies.

Brian Froud has influenced a whole new generation of magical painters, book illustrators and filmmakers. Froud's landmark work with Jim Henson as conceptual designer on feature films The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1987), set new standards for design, puppeteering and animatronics in film and are, today, considered landmarks in the evolution of modern day special effects. Both films have achieved an international cult following.

The Animazing Gallery, NY exhibition entitled, BRIAN FROUD: VISIONS FOR FILM & FAERIE, will be comprised of original paintings of creatures from Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal, concept drawings from Jim Henson's Labyrinth and original material from the published Faerie books: How to See Faeries, Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book and Good Faeries/Bad Faeries.

BRIAN FROUD: VISIONS FOR FILM & FAERIE will be in collaboration with a site-specific installation by Wendy Froud and their son, Toby Froud; both renowned doll and puppet-makers. Toby was the baby "Toby" in Labyrinth and is presently a puppet fabricator and sculptor at Laika Entertainment, the celebrated studio specializing in stop motion/animation film and television.

Wendy is the fabricator of "Yoda" from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. She sculpted and fabricated "Kira" & "Jen" from The Dark Crystal as well as some of the Pod People, and sculpted and fabricated some of the goblins in Labyrinth. For this inaugural exhibition, Wendy Froud has recreated the Gelfling, Kira from The Dark Crystal. Kira stands 33" tall, and was sculpted using original hair and beading from original The Dark Crystal production.

Mentor of the Day: Chris Alzmann

(motivarti.org) If you’ve ever watched a major block-buster summer hit, you’ve probably seen the work of Christian (Chris) Alzmann at some point. (Be sure to check out his extensive list of credits at the bottom.) After graduating from Art Center College of Design, Chris began working for the Academy Award-winning motion picture visual effects company, founded by George Lucas, Industrial Light Magic (ILM) For over twelve years, he’s worked his way through the ranks and currently sits as a Senior Art Director.

In an interview with The Gnomon Workshop, Chris spoke a little bit about being an Art Director compared to a concept artist- “Well now [as an art director] it’s about designing for the whole picture. So you have to keep an eye on the production designer’s vision. For every design you have to art direct someone building that asset. Also depending on the size of the production you might have a crew of artists working with you that will need direction and schedules for their time. All of that and you have to produce a bunch of artwork.”

In both interviews with the SFGate and Gnomon, Chris expressed the need for young artists to develop strong “foundation skills like drawing, sculpting, perspective, anatomy, life drawing and painting. Learning software is great but there will always be new and better software to learn. It will always be changing. The basics will always be the same. Also, look at the world around you for inspiration and ways to set your design sensibilites apart. It’s sad and true, but a lot of great designs can get ovelooked if they are executed poorly. A portfolio or reel always stands out when the foundation in it is strong.”

Currently, Chris Alzmann is willing to take up to 2 mentees for our SPRING 2012 mentorship program and open to mentoring internationally. Chris is looking to help his mentee advance to the next level in their work, whether that’s improving foundation skills, design skills or just organizing a better portfolio. So if you’re looking to give general career advice for those looking to get into concept design for live action film or animation Chris Alzmann is your man!

'Immortals' Director To Commit A 'Killing On Carnival Row'

(latinoreview.com) 'Immortals' Director To Commit A 'Killing On Carnival Row' Despite telling THR that he wants to tackle something different because "all everyone wants to think is that I want to do visual films," Deadline reports that director Tarsem Singh has signed on for something that sounds to be in line with his previous work, a film titled 'Killing On Carnival Row.'

Scripted by Travis Beacham, ('Dog Days of Summer,' 'Clash of the Titans' 'Pacific Rim') the film is said to take place in the futuristic city of Burgue that is very remincent of 18th century London. The inhabitants are a combination of creatures and humans. As the title implies, among them is a serial killer.

Of Singh taking the position, producers working on the film, Arnold and Anne Kopelson
said:

"I am thrilled that Tarsem will direct Carnival Row, which we’ve been developing over the past six years. His extraordinary visual sense and use of light and color can be compared to that of the great 16th Century Italian painter Michelangelo Caravaggio."

Big Screen Backs Tax Breaks for Game Developers

(theaustralian.com.au) IF Happy Feet 2 the movie is eligible for tax breaks then Happy Feet 2 the computer game should be eligible for something similar.

This is the thinking behind a campaign by the $100 million computer game development industry that yesterday received an endorsement from Screen Australia chief executive Ruth Harley.

Ms Harley told an audience at the Game Connect Asia-Pacific conference in Melbourne that the sector was being constrained by lack of investment that could be overcome with federal assistance.

A new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers says: "Over a five-year period from the introduction of the offset there would be an additional investment in the interactive entertainment industry of $146 million, of which $100m would come from foreign sources."

This would add $76m to the GDP and create 383 jobs.
Free trial

The Interactive Entertainment (Games) Offset report says: "Modelling indicates games developers deserves access to funding offsets, such as those available to film and television makers."

Ms Harley told The Australian the new data reinforces Screen Australia's support for game developers, as outlined in its submissions to both the Convergence Review and the National Cultural Policy. As a statutory body fully funded by the federal government, Screen Australia cannot lobby government but does offer advice.

Ms Harley said one way that game developers could be helped was by making them eligible for the tax offsets available to foreign film and television makers where the game was considered part of the budget.

If the game was not related to a film, the developer could be eligible for offsets in the same way post-production and digital effects work is eligible regardless of whether physical filmmaking takes place in Australia.

Film and television funding in Australia has always been justified by virtue of its economic and cultural impact.

Tom Crago, chief executive of games developer Tantalus Media, said there was no cultural imperative to game-making.

"Certainly there are games that feature Australian content and stories but we're trying to make games that resonate around the world," he said.

FX Tentpoles Exposed by Software Bugs

(zdnet.com.au) Hollywood studios could be exposed to serious intellectual property theft via basic vulnerabilities in the software used by the likes of director James Cameron and CGI house Lucasfilm to produce blockbuster hits such as Iron Man 2, Avatar and Star Trek.

A security consultant at Security-Assessment.com, Nick Freeman, was interested in exploring the holes that exist in the production process of his favoured form of entertainment, including software used to perform a range of tasks such as script writing, story boarding, CGI, rendering and editing.

In a simulated demonstration at the Ruxcon conference in Melbourne yesterday, Freeman showed how an end-to-end attack could provide access to a post-production film file.

"I took a wide sample, cast the net really wide to see how easy it is to find bugs in [the] film-making process," Freeman told ZDNet Australia. "And it was really easy."

"The bugs I've shown, if you chain them together to exploit different people with access to different parts of the network, you could be able to get to the end point."

After downloading software he identified bugs and found most could be easily exploited by corrupting the application's memory and forcing it to run code.

"A rudimentary bug like memory corruption vulnerability has been around forever and is well documented since the early mid-90s. It's definitely not new attacks, there's no mad ninja skills, pretty basic stuff.

"I took on this project as a way to broaden my skills in exploiting memory test applications and to learn something new, but everything I found here is at a beginner's level of exploitation.

"I can understand not having security awareness, but it shouldn't be this easy."

Full Story: http://www.zdnet.com.au/hollywood-exposed-by-software-bugs-339326524.htm

Motion Capture Perfs Under Review

(variety.com) British actor Andy Serkis, a previous SAG Award winner, has cemented a reputation for bringing emotion to his technology-enhanced roles.

When actor Andy Serkis approaches the security gate on a studio lot, he probably should have his photo ID ready.

Serkis may be the most famous film actor people don't recognize. He played Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, the namesake gorilla of "King Kong" and, most recently, the chimpanzee Caesar in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."

All of which should make Serkis the poster boy for motion capture -- the technique of digitally capturing actors' movements that become the basis for animated characters.

This year it will be hard to ignore what Serkis has achieved: His poignant performance as Caesar was pivotal in "Apes," and he plays a major role in "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn," for which Steven Spielberg used motion capture to transform the drawings of Herge into stylized animation. These two uses of motion capture couldn't be more different.

Now the question is whether voters will consider motion capture performances worthy of awards attention.

"It's very gratifying," Serkis says about those who believe his work should be noted during kudos season. "People were emotionally engaged with Caesar as a character; he just happened to be an ape."

The actor admits, though, that "from an acting perspective, it's taking a while. For 'Avatar,' Jim Cameron wanted support for his actors, and I think that opened people's eyes. The biggest block at the moment is convincing the acting community that performance capture is just acting."

The Screen Actors Guild has embraced this view, honoring Serkis' Gollum along with the rest of the cast in its 2004 film ensemble nod for "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." SAG now has a performance capture committee, chaired by Woody Schultz, whose credits include "Avatar" and "Tintin."

"I understand the confusion on the part of some actors about honoring these kinds of performances," says Schultz. "Especially when a character isn't human, it's difficult for people to recognize the acting."

Schultz notes capture technology was used in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and Brad Pitt landed a lead actor Oscar nom.

Serkis sees signs of growing awareness. "People used to say, 'Andy Serkis lent his movements to Gollum,' and now they say 'Andy Serkis played Caesar.' That's a significant leap," he says. But greater acceptance among actors voting on acting honors may ultimately depend upon more of them getting comfortable with the process, especially as motion capture becomes physically less cumbersome.

On "Apes," the actors were captured by motion capture cameras right alongside film cameras, which Serkis thinks makes the process easier.

"Every single moment was crafted by actors on a live-action set, so we could capture the intensity of a scene," he recalls. "That's becoming more of an industry standard now. I'm currently doing 'The Hobbit,' and actors are coming on set and knocking performances out of the park."

When it comes to parsing eligibility for awards, there will be continued debates about what part of a character's performance is actor-driven and what part is "authored" by animators.

"It's a slippery slope," says Richard Edlund, longtime member of the AMPAS board of governors and of its VFX branch. "Motion capture is always tweaked by animators, sometimes to a great extent, but if it's a character performance, it's acting."

Stealing Demo Reels?

(vfxsoldier.wordpress.com) Apparently that’s what happened to a compositor/roto artist based in California after he found out an Indian VFX Crew was using his demo reel (which has been taken down) to market VFX services with the following message:

hi….

am thilak working as a compositor in inida and I have 25 person team in india.Am strong in rotoscopy and chroma keying and cleanups ,
and i do have an experiance of 5 years in roto and touch up .i have attached my demoreel and resume with this mail .so kindly have a look at this, contact me if u have any freelancing jobs…like roto or cleanup, looking forwrd for your reply

my contact number +919789855744

This is my online Demoreel link

http://vimeo.com/24981689

regards

I find this impossible to believe. Afterall as we all know VFX has left California to all go to India and why would anyone have to resort to stealing another artist’s reel when the work they do there is just as good and it’s cheaper too! ;)

But seriously, if you read the thread there are others who claim to have the same thing done to them by some artists in India and I’m not surprised. I once was going through demo reels where many of them came from India and found some of the claims of work performed to be flat out ridiculous.

Just a few weeks ago I did a post on a video that was marketing Technicolor India’s work for DreamWorks Animation. I questioned the claim of some of the work they did after some comments at the TAG blog about the inability to finish work in India. Now even that promotional video was taken down.

What sucks about this is that is taints the work of legitimately good VFX artists in India.

Also what’s funny is that I’ve heard of a similar story of US artists stealing shots that they did not work on. An acquaintanceship applied for a job at a very large facility and it turned out he was using shots on his reel that belonged to one of the supervisors reviewing the demo reel! What’s crazy is he still got hired! I couldn’t believe it.

Worth a mention - 10/14/11

2011-10-14T10:48:00.001-07:00

‘Pacific Rim’ Shortens Release Date By Two Months

(latinoreview.com) Rawr!!!

Warner Brothers Pictures announced the studio will move the release date for the 3D monster movie “Pacific Rim” to May 10th, 2013. It was originally set for July 12th in the same year.

It allows “Pacific Rim” to be one of the first action films released for the summer lineup.

The film is about a large monsters destroying the earth and everyone unites together to save humankind by using giant robots.

The production will begin shooting next month.

Pixar Pulls Back the Curtain on Vancouver Studio

(vancouversun.com) VANCOUVER — As the debut looms for the first locally produced Cars ‘toon, Pixar’s new Vancouver studio is shifting into high gear.

The world’s leading animation studio on Thursday threw back the curtain on the 30,000 square foot facility it is creating inside the brick shell of an old office building in Gastown.

It also gave a preview of the 75-person studio’s first piece of entertainment, a five-minute cartoon entry in Pixar’s Tall Tales series featuring folksy tow truck Mater from its 2006 movie Cars.

Pixar Canada will specialize in short films featuring iconic characters such as Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Mater.

The definitive review on the first cartoon, Air Mater, won’t be public until its intended audience gets its youthful eyes onto it when it’s released Nov. 1 as part of the DVD and Blue Ray packages for Cars 2.

The Pixar Canada studio, on the other hand, warrants immediate raves. The location, barely a block from the Downtown Eastside, is grittier than a Northern California suburb, but it’s potentially a high-tech hub that could be the next Yaletown.

It has expansive views of the Vancouver waterfront, Burrard Inlet and the North Shore mountains, an outdoor patio, an open, inclusive floor plan, a huge lunchroom and lounge with bar stools and long wooden counters, plump couches, a gas fireplace, indirect lighting and plenty of B.C. cedar accents to soften the look of the walls and work stations.

The computer server room, linking the Vancouver satellite studio to Pixar’s primary campus in Emeryville, Calif., just north of Oakland, is big enough that Pixar needed BC Hydro to install a dedicated transformer to service the power load.

Eighteen months ago, the Vancouver studio had less than 20 staff in 7,000 square feet on one floor of a four storey building on Water Street, but was able to negotiate for two more floors.

They essentially gutted the building down to its shell, pillars and floors — and were surprised to find walled-in staircases, decommissioned elevator shafts, and other unexpected relics including horsehair insulation in the walls.

Pixar is tight-lipped about the cost of the redevelopment project, and wouldn’t allow reporters to use video recording equipment inside the studio.

But staff and studio executives were otherwise open to questions.

“What you are seeing is the result of nearly two years of looking for space and building it up,” chief technology officer Darwyn Peachey said in an interview.

Putting the team together, finding “the right people” was the biggest challenge, Peachey recalled, with Vancouver’s international reputation as a livable city giving the recruiters a distinct edge.

“We knew that Pixar as a brand would be a powerful tool in recruiting good people. What we found is that Vancouver is also a very powerful draw.

“We hired a lot of our people here in Vancouver, but some came in from New Zealand, Australia, the Far East, the U.K., and getting those people here in Vancouver was pretty easy.”

Amir Nasrabadi, vice-president and general manager of Pixar Canada, said the studio arose from the company’s desire to have a “dedicated, high quality team” to focus on production of animated shorts — a feature of less than six minutes can take seven to nine months to complete.

“We felt like Vancouver had a very mature, very good talent pool. It’s not the biggest but it is a very good pool.”

Having a studio in the same time zone as Emeryville was also a priority, one that ruled out Eastern Canada.

“The last thing was [that] the tax credits are really quite helpful for us,” Nasrabadi said.

The convergence of building renovations and production deadlines was challenging as well “but we took the long term approach, which is [to] find a place that we really love, that we think we can call a home for a long time and then really just take a little bit of pain early on to make this the right place for us,” he added.

Creative director Dylan Brown said the open floor plan reflects an aspect of Pixar’s conviction that collaboration breeds creativity.

“Great ideas can come from anywhere,” Brown said, who laughed at himself for paraphrasing one of Pixar’s own characters, aspiring chef Ratatouille.

“If everything has to run up some kind of rigid chain, people at the bottom of the chain may have great ideas that never see the light of day,” Brown said.

“It can be an intern that started yesterday that’s got the right idea that makes that thing better or funnier or more heartwarming.”

"Lone Ranger" Date Set, Delays "Thor 2"

(darkhorizons.com) Disney's big-budget "The Lone Ranger" project looks to be a go, but it's coming at a price - a delayed return trip to Asgard.

THR reports that fees for the principal players involved in the production have been reduced 20%, including certain payments deferered until the box office results start coming in.

Bruckheimer Films is also agreeing to pony up for any cost overruns on the now $215 million-budgeted Western epic. In fact the filmmakers will reportedly sacrifice much of their back-end participation if the film comes in over budget.

Two important dates have now been set - shooting on the Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer-led project will now commence in February in New Mexico. More pertinent however, it has pushed back its release date five months from next December to May 31st 2013.

Partly as a result of that, and also likely give it more time to get itself together, Marvel's "Thor 2" has been kicked from the same May '13 slot to a mid-Fall bow on November 15th 2013. Disney has also slotted in the "Phineas and Ferb" movie for July 26th 2013.

Cop Meets Space Opera In "Hyperdrive"

(darkhorizons.com) Paramount Pictures has acquired Morgan Jurgenson and David Daniels' sci-fi spec script "Hyperdrive" says Heat Vision.

The story follows a tough cop who recruits a geeky sci-fi author to help him track down a mysterious murder witness. While on their search, they find themselves in the middle of a space opera playing out on Earth.

The film is described as a hybrid of "The Fifth Element" and "48 Hrs". Mary Parent will produce.

"Avatar" Is The Most Pirated Movie Ever

(darkhorizons.com) "Avatar" is not only the biggest selling movie of all time, it's also the most pirated film in Hollywood history according to TorrentFreak (via THR Esq.).

A list of the "most pirated movies" of all time on the site show that the most pirated films are not just the most geek friendly but amongst the biggest grossers too with only one, "Kick Ass", failing to crack the $100 million mark. "Avatar" took the top spot with 21 million downloads since its release in 2009.

The Top 10 are:

1. Avatar (21 million downloads)
2. The Dark Knight (19 million)
3. Transformers (19 million)
4. Inception (18 million)
5. The Hangover (17 million)
6. Star Trek (16 million)
7. Kick-Ass (15 million)
8. The Departed (14 million)
9. The Incredible Hulk (14 million)
10. Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End (14 million)

Unix Developer Dies at 70

(latimes.com) Dennis Ritchie, a computer scientist who wrote the popular C programming language and helped develop the Unix operating system, has died. He was 70.

Ritchie died a month after his birthday, according to his biography on a Web page of Alcatel-Lucent's Bell Labs. Ritchie joined Bell Labs in the late 1960s.

The company announced his death Thursday but did not give the cause or say when Ritchie died.

Ritchie is best known for his contributions to computer programming and software. The C programming language, which he developed in the early 1970s, is still popular. It has gone through a number of upgrades, and it is commonly used for website development and other computer tasks. The Unix operating software also surged in popularity. It and its offshoots, including the open-source Linux, are widely used today, in corporate servers and even cellphones.

Ritchie was born Sept. 9, 1941, in Bronxville, N.Y. His father, Alistair, was a systems engineer at Bell Labs and his mother, Jean, was a homemaker. After studying physics and math at Harvard University, Ritchie joined Bell Labs.

"My undergraduate experience convinced me that I was not smart enough to be a physicist, and that computers were quite neat," Ritchie wrote. "My graduate school experience convinced me that I was not smart enough to be an expert in the theory of algorithms and also that I liked procedural languages better than functional ones."

At Bell, Ritchie and colleague Kenneth Thompson worked closely to create Unix. In writing the C language, Ritchie built on Thompson's earlier B language. Their collaborations were intended to simplify operating systems and make the software portable and easy to move from existing hardware to new computers, resulting in the open-source movement of sharing ideas.

"I wanted to find out what things a program or operating system could make possible that you couldn't do before," Ritchie told Investors Business Daily in 2003.

Bell Labs' emphasis on research provided opportunities for Ritchie and Thompson to develop pioneering innovations.

"There are features in C that everyone takes for granted now," Doug McIlroy, a Bell colleague, told Investors Business Daily. "But when Dennis created them, they were new to the world."

Watch Live-Action 'Voltron' Short 'The End'

(latinoreview.com) Watch Live-Action 'Voltron' Short 'The End' It came out at this past San Diego Comic-Con that Relativity Media and Atlas Entertainment are teaming up to bring the popular animated television show, 'Voltron: Defenders of the Universe' to the big screen as a live-action film. Since the announcement, things have been quiet. According to the New York Times, World Event Productions is at the New York Comic-Con, which runs from October 13-16. The organization is there to promote the television series, presumably sculptures, box sets and the like. Perhaps a blurb about the movie will come out.

In the meantime while fans wait, you can view a short film based on the television series. Called 'Voltron: The End,' it comes from director Alex Albrecht. Actor Timothy Omundson stars. He had a minor role in 'Starship Troopers.' Was that enough to earn him his lion licence?

Here's the brief synopsis of the short:

"When a man regains consciousness in a Voltron battle lion after an 'accident' he has to decide does he live a few more minutes or try to tell the world what happened... the end is only the beginning."

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.latinoreview.com/news/watch-live-action-voltron-short-the-end-15070

Importance of Visual Effects Schools

(royalvisuals.com) If you are a fan of video games, special effects, mind blowing art and have a passion for animation you should study or consider a career in visual effects. Visual effects can be described as a subcategory of special effects where images are manipulated. VFX adds imagery to movies that would be too dangerous, difficult, or expensive to capture with live footage, like explosions, the destruction of national monuments, flying objects and so on. With the growth of movie budgets the demand for VFX has grown drastically.

Some of the best visual effects schools found worldwide are: full sail university, the Gnomon School of Visual Effects, the academy of art and arts institutes. They are considered the best because they prepare students for a booming career in visual effects. Some of the courses, which are being taught in these animation schools, are geared toward helping students become visual effects artist.

When you watch the news or the latest blockbuster movie what you are watching is the work of a visual effects specialist. Visual effects can be described as the application of computer generated imagery into live footage movie. For example if you place an image next to the news anchor and she is reporting on a story or creating an illusion of a giant flood like in the movie 2012. These types of effects help generate blockbuster films like: titanic, Lord of the rings, star wars and Independence Day.

In order to achieve success in visual effects a comprehensive education is essential. Technology keeps on changing daily and you need to update your skills daily. Some of the programs that visual effects students should take are: composting, video editing, modeling, masks, storyboards, digital painting, animation, business and marketing. After learn these skills and having a great portfolio you should be ready for a career in visual effects.

A strong portfolio is what most prospective employers find most important when look to hire there next visual effects specialist. A lot of money is at stake for filmmaker and movie studios so they are always looking for visual effects artist with great work experience and great portfolios to create the mind-blowing effects that bring movie goers into the theaters.

You can also learn VFX by taking courses online but you must have a Macintosh or Pc and have your own VFX software. Animationschool.net talks about the best schools that offer degrees in visual effects in detail they also have features on 3D animation schools and schools that offer degrees in video game design. Remember visual effects are not just for the movies it can also be used in banners, videos, video games, phone apps and more.

So with a degree in visual effects you will have flexibility in which direction you want to take your career in.

To know more about the Visual Effects and Video Game Design Schools, visit the website: www.animationschool.net

‘Thing’ Filmmakers: ‘Hybrid’ Special Effects Build a Better Monster

“The Thing” may be director Matthijs Van Heijningen Jr.’s first feature film, but he wasn’t shy about giving the studio his demands when he signed on to the prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 classic horror film, famously inspired by 1951′s “The Thing from Another World.” He told Universal he would direct the film on a couple of conditions. One was that film’s eponymous creature had to be created using practical effects.

“For a director, it’s great. You have something really running around screaming, and you see actors reacting to it,” Heijningen told Hero Complex at the premiere of “The Thing” on Monday.

To reveal what happens to the Norwegian base found destroyed in the 1982 film, Heijningen’s crew blended the use of CGI and practical effects like puppets and animatronics, much to the appreciation of the cast, including star Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

“I’ve been on a lot of sets where there’s a lot of CGI work, and so you’re doing a lot of acting to absolutely nothing, and it can get really confusing,” Winstead said at the premiere at Universal CityWalk. “When you have something to really react to, and something that feels really real and textured and tangible and there, it changes so much.”

With the weighty task of living up to the groundbreaking effects in the 1982 film, Heijningen hired Amalgamated Dynamics Inc., the effects company behind such films as “Alien 3” and “Spider-Man.”

Tom Woodruff Jr. of Amalgamated explained that “there’s a lot of great hybrid technology” that brings together practical and digital effects. They went that route not just for the benefit of the actors’ performances but also to better scare modern movie-watchers.

“Audiences are really savvy today. They’re more technically savvy I think than you give them credit for. They can tell the difference,” Woodruff said.

“The Thing” hits theaters today.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/10/12/%E2%80%98thing%E2%80%99-filmmakers-hybrid-special-effects-build-a-better-monster/

A VFX Shop Owner Will Never See the Upside of Going Union. Why?

(vfxtalk.com) ... what I was looking for is what does it cost a studio to be union. I have worked at both union and non union and have enjoyed both. I do enjoy union more for the health benefits and the IAP but have enjoyed myself at non union shops as well as far as work goes. ...

In a nutshell, it costs union employers the wage rates in the TAG collective bargaining agreement, plus the cost of benefits. (Seven bucks an hour, give or take.)

Below, I expound on what union employers get in return, but first ...

... Here's a reality you might find surprising coming from a grizzled Business Agent: In the time I've done this, I've seen (some) pretty bad union studios and (some) pretty good non-union studios. One good non-union example:

Film Roman, in the first few years Phil Roman ran it.

Back in studio's early years, Phil's cartoon factory was located in Toluca Lake and producing Garfield. It offered nice benefits, good pay, and fairly relaxed working conditions. TAG attempted to organize the facility in 1991 and failed. (Phil ran the joint much the same way his long-time boss Bill Melendez -- of Bill Melendez Productions -- ran his union shop in Hollywood.)

Over time, however, Phil's studio got bigger, Phil took the FR stock public and then lost control of the place. And working conditions, pay and benefits got crappier. Ultimately, Film Roman employees had enough of the deteriorating workplace conditions and organized the studio under an Animation Guild contract.

I've seen non-union studios that paid as well (and sometimes better) than non-union studios. Generally their benefits packages were comparable or only slightly worse than union places. Occasionally non-union shops offered a generous array of benefits to "permanent staff," while production hires got a minimalist health care package and little to no retirement benefits. (This was true of Sony Pictures Imageworks in its heyday.)

Now to answer the other part of the commenter's question, "What's the point of a union for the studio?" Here's a few:

1) Efficiencies of scale. The Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plan has $5 billion and over 100,000 participants. On the Health Plan side, its size and money enable it to negotiate highly competitive health care rates for participants, something that a studio of 50 or 150 employees has no way of doing. And because it has billions in plan assets, it's able to hire the best financial advisors and legal talent available.

2) Access to a large, well-trained workforce. When Imagi set up shop in Sherman Oaks, it tried to recruit story artists from various big, union studios, but had few takers. One of their execs said to me: "We have to sign a contract with you, because we can't get the people we need without it ..." (This, frankly, is the strength of a lot of entertainment guilds. An employer wants to hire a SAG actor or WGA writer or DGA director, the need to sign a contract with the appropriate labor organization.)

3) Training programs. The Contract Services Administration Trust Fund provides block grants for training to employees of union shops, which offers skill boosts to union members in dozens of guilds every year. And a while back, TAG partnered with Disney to offer computer training to animation artists that went on for over two years. Today, the Animation Guild offers classes in various related crafts at its building in Burbank, as well as providing training DVDs from its growing library to any TAG member who needs them.

It's easy to forget in this corporatist age that the United States wasn't originally set up for the exclusive benefit of conglomerates and international corporations the size of France. The Wagner Act, also known as the Fair Labor Standards Act, was enacted seven decades ago to protect workers from corporate over-reach and give them an independent voice in the workplace. The Act has been muffled and subverted over the years, but I still think it's a commendable piece of legislation that continues to have meaning. It's also the reason TAG and other unions and guilds exist.

Ray Harryhausen Does War of the Worlds?

(axiomsedge-scifi.com) Ray Harryhausen is widely known as the master of stop motion whose “Dynamation” came to life in such classic genre films as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, and Clash of the Titans. But did you know that Harryhausen tried to interest Hollywood in a movie based on H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds several years before the George Pal version hit the screens in 1953, and that some test footage of that endeavor still exists?

War of the Worlds had been a favorite book of Harryhausen’s and early in his career, just after working on Mighty Joe Young, he drafted and outline for a film adaptation. Like the Pal’s 1953 movie, Harryhausen decided to set the movie in contemporary America (inspired in part by Orson Wells’ infamous radio version). He planned to have the action of the film take place in and around the New York/New Jersey area and it would involve the destruction of several well-known landmarks there with the obliteration of the Statue of Liberty “symbolically heralding the end of man’s freedom”.

He sketched several key scenes for his proposed movie (if you have never seen his work Harryhausen is a fantastic artist, as the drawing here proves) and then began work on test footage to prove the concept. He produced a short clip (which you can see below) of a Martian emerging from its cylinder and succumbing to Earth’s atmosphere. He took his proposal, drawings, and test-reel to several studios and even tried to contact Orson Wells to get his support, but nothing came of it. He then talked with legendary director Frank Capra whom he had met through his early work in film, and Capra pointed him to George Pal. Harryhausen presented his work to Pal, who as it turns out had already been working on making a War of the Worlds movie. Ultimately, Pal went in a different direction with his film, but we can only wonder at this point how it would have looked with Harryhausen animating the Martians and their fighting machines. The clip below at least gives us a glimpse of how the Martians would look, though Harryhausen later decided they appeared too cartoonish and he feared audiences would have laughed at them.

As an additional note, Harryhausen considered adapting two other H.G. Wells books. He and his mentor Willis O’Brien (King Kong) toyed with a movie version of Food of the Gods shortly after completing Mighty Joe Young and Harryhausen continued to try and revive the project over the years with no success. One sketch that he did with giant chickens menacing a village still survives. He also considered adapting The Island of Dr. Moreau, figuring that the creations of the titular scientist would be a perfect fit for his “Dynamation”, but nothing ever came of this one either.

FX Makeup Artist Tom Savini Joins Django Unchained

(themortonreport.com) Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more ridiculous casting announcements in store for Quentin Tarantino’s slavery Western Django Unchained, the fast talking director has gone and made another eccentric casting choice. It appears that horror icon Tom Savini, who created the pioneering gore makeup for horror films like Dawn Of The Dead and Friday The 13th, will now be playing a role in the film.
savinimakeup.gif

Savini moonlights as an actor when he isn’t tearing limbs apart, with his most famous role probably being the character Sex Machine in the Tarantino-penned From Dusk Till Dawn. It’s unclear who Savini will play in the movie just yet, but we can assume he’ll be responsible for some disgusting act of violence as a reference to his makeup effects career. I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but Tarantino does love to reference other movies. That’s kind of his thing.

Worth a mention - 10/11/11

2011-10-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

'Jurassic Park IV' Is Alive

(latinoreview.com) Laura Dern Still On For 'Jurassic Park IV' As Far As She Knows 'Jurassic Park IV' has been on-and-off for years. Director Steven Spielberg directed the first two, then handed the reigns to Joe Johnston for the third. That may not have been a great idea as the third is widely believed to be the weakest of the series. Spinosaurus vs Tyrannosaurus Rex is a bitter dispute to get into. Everyone knows the Giganotosaurus would destroy them both, anyway. The source on that one is 'Dino Crisis 2.'

Johnston was to helm the fourth film as well, but that hasn't been the plan since about 2007. Who knows, Speilberg may take the helm. The last update he gave was at this past San Diego Comic-Con when he said:

"We have a story, I can happily announce right now. We have a writer... Hopefully, we'll be making 'Jurassic Park 4' in the near future. In the next two or three years."

Although she's not the most familiar name, Laura Dern is a recognizable lady. She's perhaps known best for her role in the original 'Jurassic Park' in which she played Dr. Ellie Sattler. She reprised the role to a lesser degree in the third film.

In an interview with Slate that focused predominantly on her television show, 'Enlightened,' she was asked about the status of 'Jurassic Park IV.' She replied:

"I hear it’s happening. I think it’s got a ways to go. Steven is about to immerse himself in Lincoln, which is really exciting and something he’s poured his heart and soul into for a long time. I’m so excited because Daniel Day-Lewis is playing Lincoln. Once that’s finished, there’s always been talk that my character is deeply involved in [Jurassic Park 4] somehow, but I haven’t heard yet."

It would be a shame and a loss for the forth film to never happen. Even the one said to be the weakest, 'Jurassic Park III' nearly doubled its cost to make at the domestic box office with $181 million on its $93 million budget. People love the right kind of nostalgia. Maybe throw about $150 million into 'Jurassic Park IV' to send the series out on a high note.

VFX Shops Beware: You Live by the Subsidy, You Die by the Subsidy

(vfxsoldier.wordpress.com) If you read my blog you know I tend to repeat this saying:

You live by the subsidy, you die by the subsidy

That theme seems to have played itself out in Michigan as former VFX artist and Variety writer Karen Idelson broke a big story over the weekend concerning unpaid VFX artists at Maxsar Studios:

The Michigan experience stands as a cautionary tale for anyone involved in incentives. States need to be aware that not every film company will be able to deliver on all its expectations. And film companies, their employees and local businesses need to be aware that politics is a volatile area, and a shift in administrations can mean a drastic shift for everyone involved.

Steve Hulett has his post on the issue at The Animation Guild Blog.

US Studios can basically bill the government of Michigan 42% of their production costs of work done in the state. For the VFX industry the real reason producers move jobs to various regions is so they can be awarded subisidy money or what others call Welfare for Hollywood.

My problem is facilities market subsidized regions as the answer to the VFX industry’s volatility. Back 2007 I remember colleagues at Sony Imageworks being pitched it’s new Albuquerque facility as a more stable and affordable environment. Fast forward today and you’ll find that the subsidy is capped and the focus by Imageworks and other facilities on Vancouver and it’s more aggressive subsidy.

Of course in order for this to work, you need VFX artists willing to move. As hot as things are in Vancouver, it’s been very difficult for studios to find workers to move there. If what I’m hearing is correct, one very large Vancouver facility may lose a huge show because of the inability to find workers.

Variety’s David Cohen tweeted what sums up the situation best:

Problems at Maxsar Digital & Kerner Optical point up a #vfx management practice that must stop: using new deals to pay past obligations.

The common #vfx practice of using new deals to pay old bills is why some refer to the entire vfx business as a Ponzi scheme.

Remember that tweet. Tattoo it to your arm if you can because if you think these Ponzi-like schemes are limited to just small facilities, wait until you get a load of what some of the bigger facilities are trying to do to get subsidy money.

RANGO & SUPER 8 Launch First Ever Visual Effects Society "For Your Consideration" Online Screeners

(marketwatch.com) Paramount Teams with Deluxe to Debut Pilot Program Providing "For Your Consideration" Online Screeners to the Visual Effects Society

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Paramount Pictures announced today that it has teamed with Deluxe Entertainment Services Group to provide "For Your Consideration" online screeners for the 2011-2012 awards season, making it the first major studio to stream its awards films online. The studio will present its awards contenders, including RANGO, SUPER 8 and LIKE CRAZY, and potentially additional titles later this season, via Deluxe's proprietary platform. The Visual Effects Society (VES) will be the first recipient of the online screeners, receiving them as early as October 14th.

The Deluxe solution allows Paramount to securely stream films backed by unique watermarking of the content tied to the individual recipients with DVD quality picture and a controlled window of availability. Content can be played back on a variety of PC and Mac devices, including the iPad and iPad2, as well as home entertainment systems with compatible HDMI cable connection.

"We are excited to present these films for online streaming and are hopeful that this will be a quality experience allowing us to offer more opportunities for our filmmaker partners to reach appreciative viewers," said Paramount's President of Domestic Marketing & Distribution Megan Colligan.

"We are delighted Paramount chose Deluxe's digital screener platform. By continually expanding and customizing our services we are able to best support the rapidly changing needs of our entertainment industry clients," said Michael Alvarez, President Deluxe Media Management.

"As the leading technology artists in the entertainment industry, we at VES are pleased that Paramount thought to come to us first to inaugurate this process," said VES Executive Director Eric Roth.

Both Paramount and VES highly encourage films to be seen in the best possible environment - a theatre. Understanding this is not always possible; using Deluxe's service provides members with an additional method to screen films in a secure and timely manner.

Disney CEO Bob Iger Signs New Five-Year Contract

(Los Angeles Times) Bob Iger has signed a new five-year contract with the Walt Disney Co. that will keep him at the helm until 2015, when he will step down as chief executive and leave the entertainment giant the following year at age 65.

In March, Iger will assume the additional role of chairman with the retirement of Disney's current board chairman, John E. Pepper Jr. Iger will serve in the dual capacity as chairman and chief executive for three years, until a successor is named CEO. At that time, Iger will become executive chairman and serve until June 2016.

Under his new contract, Iger will receive an annual base salary of no less than $2.5 million — a raise of $500,000 from his previous employment agreement. For the three years in which he will hold both titles, Iger's annual incentive bonus could increase to $12 million, based on the company's performance — operating income, free cash flow, earnings per share and return on invested capital.

In that same period, he will also be eligible for $15.5 million in stock and options that vest over several years. Both his incentive bonus and stock and options package goes to $6 million when he serves in the sole capacity as executive chairman.

Last year, Iger's total compensation package, including salary, bonus and equity awards, reached $28 million, according to the company's proxy filing.

Disney has already taken steps to groom potential successors to Iger.

Brad Pitt "Furious" Over 'World War Z'

(latinoreview.com) Aside from the worrying likelihood that a zombie film is to be rated PG-13, things appeared to be going well for the film adaptation of 'World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War' from author Max Brooks. Some cool set videos came out, and Brooks himself voiced his contentment with what he had seen on set. He even seemed fine with the changes that had to be made in the novel-to-film transition.

According to US Weekly, all is not well, however. A source has told them that lead of the film, Brad Pitt is absolutely "furious" because "the film is already over budget and over schedule." To make matters worse, there has been a horrible mix-up concerning the props being used as weapons to presumably fight off the horde. If these weapons would have actually been used, the actors on the wrong end wouldn't have to try very hard to pose as the dead. The walking corpse bit may have taken some real effort, though.

Today, a SWAT team stormed a warehouse in Budapest which were holding supposed props for the film. 85 fully-functional guns were seized, most of which were automatic. The paperwork that had gone along with them had them labelled as being non-functional, but they most definitely were upon inspection. Hajdu Janos of Hungary's Anti-Terrorism Unit said:

"We are interrogating witnesses now, getting closer to solving the firearms story."

It's a strange occurrence for the biggest budget zombie film of all time with it estimated at $125 million. It must be higher than that now. Assuming that everything goes on as planned, director Marc Forster's 'World War Z' is set to hit theaters on December 21, 2012.

Weta Workshop Sculptor Goes Live in Auckland

(scoop.co.nz) A one point five metre high ‘Showgirl on A Dragon’ will begin to appear in the SKYCITY Atrium tomorrow as Weta Workshop sculptor Craig Campbell gets to work on the masterpiece which will take him ten days to complete.

From 12-16 October and 19-23 October NZ, the American artist with fifteen years practice in his craft will create the sculpture as the public look on. Based in the heart of SKYCITY, at the top of the stairs the lead to the Sky Tower lifts, the live demonstration will give locals and the many tourists in town the chance to chat to Craig about his creation and the work of Weta Workshop.

Tim Launder from Weta Workshop says: “This is the thrilling sequel to the opening of the Weta Cave at the end of August. We’ve had such a great response from the Auckland public to the shop; it’s special to be able to add that little bit more magic.”

Former Disney Features Exec Stainton To Run Paramount's New Ani Arm

(awn.com) Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA and VIA.B), has appointed veteran animation executive David Stainton as President of its new in-house animation division.

Stainton joins Paramount after a 17-year run at Disney, where he served as President of Walt Disney Feature Animation. During his studio tenure, he oversaw several dozen releases across various platforms that brought in $3.5 billion in worldwide revenue. He spearheaded Disney’s transition from its hand-drawn roots to fully digital animation production, led the successful Disney Video Premieres division, and oversaw the studio’s 150-person animation facility in Paris. More recently, Stainton served as Chief Executive Officer of family entertainment producer Henry’s World Media, which he founded in 2007.

In his new role, which takes effect this week, Stainton will report to Adam Goodman, President of the Paramount Motion Picture Group.

Paramount Animation aims to focus on high-quality animation with budgets per picture of up to $100 million, with an initial target of one release per year. The division’s mandate will be the development of the broadest range of family CGI animated films, with a key piece being titles under the label of Viacom’s Nickelodeon, the No. 1 entertainment brand for kids worldwide. Paramount will also build on Viacom’s already thriving global consumer products business by seeking to capitalize on merchandising opportunities tied to all Paramount Animation releases.

“The success of Rango this year helped us recognize our potential and ability to create wonderfully imaginative animated pictures with global appeal,” said Brad Grey, Chairman & CEO of Paramount Pictures. “David is a proven leader with a broad portfolio of experience in animation and family entertainment. He will be a welcome addition to Adam’s highly talented team.”

“David’s accomplishments speak for themselves, and I am glad to welcome him to the lot as we start this exciting new chapter,” Adam Goodman added. “With David’s leadership, we will look to build on what has been a very strong year for our studio in animation, with Rango and the upcoming Adventures of Tintin pointing to the kind of artist-driven, broad-appeal films we intend to make at Paramount Animation.”

“Today’s marketplace affords terrific flexibility as we set out to create fresh, new and different films and seek to attract great talent to Paramount,” Stainton said. “It is a great honor to be joining a company as storied and successful as Paramount and to be able to shape its future in animation. I look forward to helping usher in this new era.”

While Paramount has released an array of successful animated films in its history, the company’s first fully owned CGI animated property was Rango, released to great acclaim in March 2011. The Western, directed by Gore Verbinski and featuring the voice of Johnny Depp in the title role, has grossed more than $240 million worldwide and is the best reviewed animated movie so far this year. Due for release in December by Paramount is The Aventures of Tintin, an animated film from director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson.

New Compositing Technique for Inserting Objects into Photographs

(motionographer.com) We propose a method to realistically insert synthetic objects into existing photographs without requiring access to the scene or any additional scene measurements. With a single image and a small amount of annotation, our method creates a physical model of the scene that is suitable for realistically rendering synthetic objects with diffuse, specular, and even glowing materials while accounting for lighting interactions between the objects and the scene. We demonstrate in a user study that synthetic images produced by our method are confusable with real scenes, even for people who believe they are good at telling the difference. Further, our study shows that our method is competitive with other insertion methods while requiring less scene information. We also collected new illumination and reflectance datasets; renderings produced by our system compare well to ground truth. Our system has applications in the movie and gaming industry, as well as home decorating and user content creation, among others.

Take a look: http://kevinkarsch.com/publications/sa11.html

Digital Domain. Company Demo Reel

VIDEO - Take a look: http://atlantismarketingsystems.com/advertisement-website/digital-domain-company-demo-reel/

Variety's Creative Leadership Award: John Lasseter

(variety.com) When it comes to studio heads, there are suits, and then there's John Lasseter, for whom the Hawaiian shirts say it all: Yes, his job entails juggling big-picture business tasks with his duties as a creative artist, which involves finding a seemingly impossible balance between right- and left-brain skills, but as the man himself explains, "The creative wins out every time."

It's been more than a quarter century since Lasseter ankled his post-CalArts stint at Disney and took up shop at what was then considered the Graphics Group of Lucasfilm. (Lasseter joined in 1984; the company became Pixar two years later, after Steve Jobs acquired Lucas' CG division for $10 million.) In that time, Lasseter rose through the ranks from lowly "interface designer," responsible for directing computer-animated Listerine and LifeSavers commercials, to Oscar-winning co-head of the multibillion-dollar Disney/Pixar animation empire, a responsibility he shares with Ed Catmull, the computer graphics visionary who originally brought him aboard.

"I don't really think of myself as a businessman at all. That's why I have the 'chief creative officer' role," Lasseter explains. "Pixar is a filmmaker-led studio, not an executive-led studio. It's not about the box office; it's about people so deeply loving the movie and the characters. For me, that's smart business. It means people will want to watch the movies again and again. That's what generates the desire to visit a theme-park attraction. That's where the continued sales of consumer products come from -- you don't keep selling the products for a movie no one likes years later. It's really what Walt Disney founded, and it's so vitally important for the success of a company as a whole."

Disney detractors may criticize the degree to which merchandising and other ancillary streams support the company's bottom line, but that doesn't faze Lasseter. "It all started with a mouse," quips Lasseter, who believes the animation and characters are the core of Disney's business, while the other elements are healthy extensions of that creative endeavor.

Take "Cars 2," the eighth Pixar feature to earn more than half a billion dollars worldwide. Somehow, among all his other duties, Lasseter found time to direct the film himself. When he sees a child holding a Buzz Lightyear toy or wearing a Lightning McQueen T-shirt, he knows audiences are connecting with the characters so strongly that they want to be part of their world.

"We are not a non-profit organization," says Lasseter, who understands his role in the film industry. Still, he insists, "Everybody's here because something moved them early in their life. We love going to the movies and being blown away. I want to fuel that passion inside of everybody. I tell them, 'You are the audience you're making things for.' I think of the audience every day and in every meeting."

Make it great

Nearly all of the principles that govern Lasseter's management style can be explained by one of two things. First, there is the wisdom instilled by working closely with mentors like Jobs and Catmull at Pixar. And second, there is the direct experience gained from having suffered under bad bosses, which translates to a determination not to repeat their mistakes.

"A good part of my leadership skills is crafted from learning from experiences early in my career that were not positive experiences. For me, it was learning what not to do when you are put in that position," Lasseter candidly admits.

"Back when I first started working at Disney -- this was 1979 -- only a handful of the greats were still animating, and they became our mentors," he says. "The ones who were creatively in charge, the producers and directors, were so scared of all this young talent coming in, they kept us under their thumb. We just wanted to make filmmaking better."

While the golden age of Disney animation was well on the wane, Lasseter had seen "Star Wars" during his sophomore year at CalArts, and the experience had energized him about the medium's potential.

"The way this movie entertained me, I was shaking at the end of it. We wanted to take animation to that place," he says. "We were so passionate back then that we were labeled as troublemakers. I remember once, I was just trying to give notes on the project I was working on, and I was told, 'We don't want to hear your ideas. Just do what you're told, and if you're not interested in that, there's a line of people outside the studio that would be ready to take your place.' How many words is that? But it made me not care about the movie or the studio. I walked away from that thinking, 'If ever I'm in charge, I'm never going to say that to a young, energetic, passionate person.' "

Quality control

Rather than discouraging input from underlings, Lasseter champions just the opposite approach at Pixar. From Jobs, who resisted focus testing before launching Apple products, he adopted the mantra, "Quality is the best business plan."

Still, because Lasseter views feedback as an essential part of the creative process, Pixar features are shown internally every three or four months, with employees from all corners of the studio invited to provide fresh eyes and give notes, allowing the filmmakers to evaluate how the story's developing.

"There's no hierarchy of notes," Lasseter says. "My notes aren't any more important than an animator's notes or a receptionist's notes. As a director, it's very difficult to get tons and tons of criticism on what you're working on, but what's nice is that you know everyone in the room is there to make the movie the best than it can be."

Pixar's feedback strategy works in part because of a principle baked into the studio's design. "Ed Catmull always says he tries to hire people he thinks are smarter than himself, which is so different from what I was experiencing in Hollywood," Lasseter explains. "It's simple: Hire great people, and let them shine."

As Lasseter's responsibilies have grown over the years, he's had to delegate more and more to his colleagues. By hiring talented artists and empowering them to do work of which they can take personal ownership, Lasseter has created a system in which every member of the team has reason to have pride in the result.

Another defining moment came from an encounter Lasseter had with a family who beamed as they told him their grandmother had served as a cel painter on Disney's first animated feature. "She had one of the lowliest jobs on 'Snow White,' but the pride will live with her grandkids long after she's gone," Lasseter recalls. "That's the way I want everybody to feel, not just those who worked at Pixar, but their entire families -- to be deeply, creatively satisfied."

How Tintin & CGI Could Change Comic-Book Movies Forever

(guardian.co.uk) If Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson pull it off, this animated marvel could change the face of comic-book movies for good.

I'm desperately hoping that Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's great Tintin adventure turns out to be a success. It's not just because the movie – for which the latest trailer has just hit the web – apparently offers an opportunity for the director to make nice with those of us who hated the anodyne Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls. And it's not only because I'd love to see the rest of Hergé's wonderfully imaginative series of stories on the big screen. It's because if Jackson and Spielberg can truly bring the comic books to life via the use of innovative Avatar-style motion capture, and if the movie is a hit at the box office, it's going to completely transform the way fantasy films (and I use the term in the wider sense) are considered by studios from now on.

But first to the new trailer for The Adventures of Tintin: the Secret of the Unicorn. This time we get our first proper look at the Unicorn itself, as well as an extended glimpse of a north African city where Tintin and Captain Haddock travel in their search for the famous ship. Intriguingly, Spielberg has already come in for criticism for portraying gun battles in what some see as a children's film. Haddock even fires a bazooka – but we're hardly talking The Expendables levels of violence. Besides, I can't imagine not allowing a child to watch an Indiana Jones film (the heart extraction bit in Temple of Doom aside), and anyway, surely Spielberg includes a protective layer in his film to keep kids from getting too upset, or deciding to join the National Rifle Association.

So why is Tintin so important? I've written before on this blog about how comic book films' natural form really ought to be CGI-based animation. Ditto (to a lesser extent) science-fiction and swords-and-sorcery fantasy movies. All require the sort of suspension of disbelief which comes naturally for animation. It's possible to render these genres via live action, but this requires a far greater effort on the part of the film-maker to balance realism and fantasy.

With comic-book adaptations in particular, dialogue that appears charmingly brazen on the printed page can become hokey on the big screen, especially when mouthed by an actor whose face we probably know more intricately than those of most of our own friends. It's why Superman is always played by a virtual unknown. If he'd been portrayed by Nicolas Cage, as was once posited, no one would have been able to suspend disbelief. But put Nicolas Cage in a motion capture studio and the world might easily believe him as the Man of Steel in an animated take. Animation may just offer us a half-way house: we get to enjoy great actors without having to ignore the fact that they are real people. It's a brand new tool, one which dramatically obviates the requirement for us to use our imagination to mentally touch up a given moving image.

If Tintin works, then we might just see a new sub-genre of film emerge in which great comic-book movies maintain the style of the original artwork while adding cinematic verve. Imagine Watchmen, Judge Dredd or The Crow shot using the same techniques, perhaps with the original comic-book artists on board to ensure their vision translated to film. It's a tantalising prospect, and one whose future right now seems to depend on the fortunes of a young Belgian reporter and his trusty pooch.

Five New Tintin clips: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/2011/10/11/watch_5_fantastic_clips_from_the_adventures_of_tintin/#

Pixar's Goodbye

Take a look http://www.macsparky.com/blog/2011/10/8/pixars-goodbye.html

Puppetry Keeps Plling Her Strings: Bringing Bits of Fabric, Clay & Latex to Life

(theprovince.com) Jeny Cassady could tell you that puppets aren't just for kids. The Vancouver actor has spent nearly two decades giving life to sundry bits of fabric, clay or latex, and while her work includes a kids' TV series and a Muppet movie, she has also given animatronic life to the creatures in horror and sci-fi movies - including the classic alien that bursts out of a human chest.

"It was an accident," says Cassady of a career that started at the suggestion of her Calgary high school drama teacher, who told the teenage aspiring actor that she should audition for a puppet company that was touring schools in Canada and the U.S. She did, and got the job that had her performing for kids for the next two years.

"I thought I could save money and go to university," says Cassady. She was right, but once she got to the University of Victoria's theatre program, she quickly built a reputation among students and faculty as the go-to person for anything puppet-related - building them, using them, creating shows around them.

At UVic she created a pint-sized articulated puppet in the Japanese Bunraku style - with movable legs and arms - to play the little boy Max in a stage adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are.

She looked for regular acting work when she moved to Vancouver after graduating, but puppetry kept pulling her strings.

"I was working part-time at some joe-job waiting for the acting jobs to come in, and there was an audition for a children's TV series called Don't Eat the Neighbours, a sixmonth gig."

She had no experience working with puppets on TV, but she was cast on the show anyway, alongside some of Canada's best puppeteers, including veterans of Fraggle Rock and Sesame Street. Cassady went on to join the Muppets for one movie, 2005's Muppets Wizard of Oz.

The aliens came as well, including a years-long stint as one of the operators of a recurring character on the long-running TV series Stargate SG-1 and its spinoffs. The character was the classic big-headed, cat-eyed alien of supermarket tabloid stories. "He took four puppeteers to operate, he was a lot of fun."

It seems puppets show up in the oddest places. Cassady worked talking animals in the 2010 children's feature Marmaduke, and she has animated an unborn baby under a prosthetic belly for TV's Fringe.

"A woman was giving birth. From the chest up, it's the actor, from the chest down we had her stomach bubbling. There were two of us underneath."

Aliens come in various sizes and dispositions. The 2008 Keanu Reeves feature The Day the Earth Stood Still had nice ones, while the horror comedy Slither had nasty ones.

Few are as nasty as the recurring characters in the 2007 sequel AVP: Aliens Vs. Predator - Requiem.

"We did a pregnant one, where two little guys were popping through her belly, which was very fun," she says. "Animatronics too, lots of mouths of aliens."

Cassady works regularly now with the model makers at Vancouver effects shop Masters FX, the Emmywinning crew who help craft the looks for TV's Fringe, The Haunting Hour and Falling Skies.

"I consult with them because they will build a lot of this stuff as well," she says. "I talk with them about how can we most effectively make this work from the puppet end of things."

But live puppet work still has an appeal. Cassady worked with Vancouver's creative non-profit group Public Dreams to build a six-metrehigh blue heron, allowing members of the public to take part as one of 12 operators in an interactive public art experience.

The Vancouver International Film Festival this year has the low-budget mock documentary Sunflower Hours, about misfit puppeteers angling for a spot on a dodgy kids show. Cassady taught the cast how to look credible as puppeteers, and helped put together the look of the fictional show for director Aaron Houston.

Source with pic: http://www.theprovince.com/entertainment/Puppetry+keeps+pulling+strings/5490483/story.html

'The Host' Makes Monster Comeback

(hollywoodreporter.com) Filmmakers promise 3D conversion will enhance chills without being a distraction.

BUSAN, South Korea -- The Host has returned with an extra dimension, but the makers of the new 3D version say it remains true to the 2006 South Korean monster thriller.
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The Host 3D is the country’s first conversion project that adds 3D effects to the original 2D film. The original Bong Joon-ho film remains the top-grossing local film of all-time, having drawn over 13 million viewers in a country of 48 million people.

Bong, who had a preview of the 3D version, called it “an amazing experience” despite his fears as an old-fashioned filmmaker who shies away from new technology.

“It was interesting to watch something that I directed in a different format. I had wanted to reinterpret the Han River, a familiar space for Koreans, in an exotic way, and the 3D effects do highlight the sense of space that I had wanted

to capture. The visuals also brought back memories of what I felt myself while shoot- ing by the river,” the director said Monday ahead of BIFF’s gala presentation of the film later that night.

“The 3D conversion doesn’t alter scenes or the storyline in any way,” added Choi Yong-bae, CEO of Chungeorahm Film, the production-distribution com- pany that handles both versions of the film. He said he decided to execute the 150 million won ($129,000) endeavor — as conversion costs 10 million won per minute — because he thought The Host would look great in 3D and it would be meaningful to spearhead the domestic 3D conversion market.

Kim Moon-ki, CEO of Studio Raon, which is overseeing the project, considers The Host 3D a “realizing,” rather than “3D conversion” initiative.

“I focused on transferring the 2D experience to 3D, to stay faithful to director Bong’s intentions and not let the effects distract the viewer. I approached it from a visual rather than technical perspec- tive,” he said.

Meanwhile, The Host 2, the sequel that is also being pro- duced and distributed by Chungeorahm, will open in theaters in 2013, according to Choi. Bong is currently working on his first English-language film, and an adaptation of the French sci-fi graphic comic Le Transperceneige.

VFX Fight Sequences Studio Showcase

(blogs.aftrs.edu.au) An event highlighting the collaborative and practical nature of the creation of VFX will be held at AFTRS on Saturday 15th October, 2011 from 10am – 1pm. It will be moderated by AFTRS Visual Effects lecturer Ian Brown.

The rundown of speakers for the day include: Kyle Rowling and Blake Wells who will perform a pirate duel. Kyle is a seasoned fight coordinator and worked on Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Attack of the Clones as well as Troy, Spartacus and many otherhigh profile projects. Kyle willtalk about staging techniques for fight sequences with particular emphasis on working with VFX. Stunt legend Grant Page is also set to make an appearance.

Production Designer Igor Nay will give a presentation on his craft and prop maker extraordinaire Lewis Morley will give a presentation on creating miniatures for VFX.

16 Zombie Actors Injured on 'Resident Evil' Set

TORONTO (AP) — Sixteen actors dressed as zombies were injured Tuesday when they fell from a platform during filming of a new movie in the "Resident Evil" series, officials said.

Toronto emergency medical spokesman Peter Macintyre said the victims' costumes made it more difficult for crews to assess the severity of their injuries.

Paramedics responded to the call from Cinespace Film Studios around 8 a.m. to find what appeared — thanks to Hollywood special effects makeup — to be people who had suffered some untold catastrophe.

"I could see the look on the first paramedic, saying 'Oh my God,'" Toronto emergency medical services Commander David Ralph said with a laugh.

As it turned out, the victims had suffered leg, back and arm injuries. Twelve were taken to a hospital. Officials said none of the injuries are considered life-threatening.

Police Constable Tony Vella said the actors had been filming a scene on a high wheeled platform. The platform moved as they were going to another platform, leaving a gap into which the zombies fell.

Cinespace Film Studios did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Resident Evil: Retribution" is the fifth installment of a franchise based on the popular video game series and will be distributed by Screen Gems and Sony Pictures.

Lead actress Milla Jovovich was not on set at the time of the accident, according to her representative Christine Tripicchio.

Vella said the incident is classified as an industrial accident. Canada's Ministry of Labor is investigating.

Late 1970's Super 8 Special Effects

(io9.com) Back in the time of Star Wars and Close Encounters, Space 1999 and BattleStar Galactica, and Mr. Bill, my buddy Rick Pool and I made movies and used brother Jeff as an extra and stunt-man. There was stop-motion, models on wires, and lasers that were hand-scratched into the Super 8 film-stock. Summer fun...

VIDEO - Take a look: http://vimeo.com/30109874

Worth a mention - 10/10/11

2011-10-11T15:13:00.001-07:00

For VFX Artists, A Cautionary Tale of Unpaid Wages

(variety.com) Chris Winters thought he'd landed a sweet gig when he went to work last November for a startup visual effects and production company in Michigan, Maxsar Digital Studios.

He'd grown up in the Wolverine State, and the new job was close to his parents' home. "I was excited about it," he says. "It seemed too good to be true -- and it was too good to be true."

In less than a year, Winters and at least a half-dozen other artists were chasing a producer for $50,000 in unpaid wages, while Maxsar Digital was forced to close. Production incentive programs can lure legitimate productions and bring a lot of money into the state. But they can also attracts bottom-feeders who can tap into the state's allotted funds. The Maxsar tale occurred at the same time that a shift in state government meant a sudden lack of support for the program, followed by a crash in the filming industry in the state.

The Michigan experience stands as a cautionary tale for anyone involved in incentives. States need to be aware that not every film company will be able to deliver on all its expectations. And film companies, their employees and local businesses need to be aware that politics is a volatile area, and a shift in administrations can mean a drastic shift for everyone involved.

Winters, along with as many as 15 other freelance vfx artists, went to work for Maxsar Digital on a sci-fier called "Scar 23," produced by Philippe Martinez, who was CEO of Maxsar, though Maxsar wasn't the production company on the pic. The new Maxsar artists didn't know Martinez, but they soon learned that the French-born exec had served jail time in France after investors complained to authorities about his former company, Ulysse, which had been forced into receivership in Los Angeles.

Martinez's business dealings in 2006-2007 with helmer Amy Heckerling and filmmaker David Ayer on separate projects left both complaining publicly that Martinez was trying to renegotiate terms of already-completed deals or deliver less support for their films than he'd promised.

After winning rights to Ayer's "Harsh Times" with a $4 million bid, Martinez later asked him to slash the price by $1 million. In a 2008 Entertainment Weekly interview, Heckerling alleged that Martinez botched deals for "I Could Never Be Your Woman" by signing away DVD rights, killing its chances for theatrical release and relegating it to the straight-to-DVD bin.

At first, production seemed to be going as planned on "Scar 23," and one supervisor told the team that Maxsar planned to ramp up its slate with more films each year for the next several years. But by early 2011, the company began to fall behind in paying many of its freelance artists.

When the artists began asking what was happening, says Winters, "we were told a lot of things. They kept saying that they were going to find more investors and that we would get our money, so when they asked me to keep working even though I wasn't being paid, I did it."

They were also told that Maxsar could be affected because newly elected Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, said shortly after taking office he believed the film incentives program in Michigan needed to be changed or abolished. Maxsar general counsel Franklin Walker (who is among those still owed money by the company) says "I told (the vfx artists) we would pay them, but that we were having problems because of investors being scared off by the governor's statements about the incentives program."

The Michigan Film Office, however, says that since "Scar 23" had been approved for the incentives program in 2010, it would be grandfathered in, regardless of what the new governor or state legislature did in 2011.

Potential investors were brought into the Maxsar facility to view vfx work on "Scar 23," according to editor Nick Hoban, a former Maxsar staffer who was paid in full for his work there. Hoban believes the failure to attract more investment wasn't just a matter of worries about the incentive program.

"They were constantly rewriting the script for 'Scar 23' and asking the vfx artists for ideas about how to fix the problems in the script," Hoban says. "It was not a good story, so I don't think the incentives would have made a difference either way."

But since Snyder began moving to eliminate the Michigan film credit and replace it with a grant program capped at $25 million, the entire film industry there has cratered.

"I was working on 'Avengers' earlier this year, and the minute the governor started talking about changing the incentives program, they pulled out of Michigan and went to Cleveland," says David Rumble, a Michigan-based location manager. "So I've spent the last seven months in Ohio along with a lot of other Michigan crew people who had to follow the work."

Rumble thinks Michigan's film business collapsed as soon as Snyder began his anti-incentives statements. With fierce competition from neighboring states like Ohio, it was all too easy for producers to find financially greener pastures nearby. Michigan also recently lost "Iron Man 3" to a more attractive incentives program in North Carolina.

"It's the big productions that fill up hotels, restaurants and hire a lot of local crew and then pay them union day rates," says Rumble. "Little films will always cut corners and try to pay you less."

The Michigan Film Office admits there's less film production this year than in 2010, but emphasizes it is still able to approve incentives for 21 projects.

Of the lost "Iron Man 3" deal, the film office says, "We put a competitive offer on the table to Marvel and Disney, and they, like every project, had to make a business decision."

Michigan's incentive program has a dim future at best. As of now, SB 569 -- the legislation that would introduce a cap of $25 million and spell out how that money would be awarded -- sits in committee in the state legislature. Since it hasn't moved, the Michigan Film Office decided on Sept. 30 that it will no longer take incentive applications for fiscal year 2012.

Maxsar workers were made well aware that incentives played a part in the company's financial crisis. Moreover, even as the studio was falling weeks behind paying its freelancers in early 2011, management started to tell the vfx artists that they needed to complete certain parts of the vfx for "Scar 23" quickly. According to several artists interviewed for this story, supervisors said they needed the shots for an audit by the Michigan Film Office. The audit, they said, would show that Maxsar was doing the work that would qualify them for 2010 incentives funds.

However, Michigan's film office says it doesn't examine the vfx on a project during any kind of audit. The Film Office and the Dept. of Treasury only perform an audit in order to determine the actual amount spent in the state during a production, since that number is used to calculate the size of the incentive check a production will receive.

Maxsar shuttered in April, leaving "Scar 23" unfinished and some of its freelancers, including at least six digital artists, unpaid for as much as three weeks' work. Some tried to contact Walker or Martinez to find out if there were any plans to pay them. Some artists managed to get through and were promised they would get their money. Others found themselves dialing disconnected phone numbers.

Vfx artist Adam Skutt says he was told by Martinez in July that the producer was about to cut a deal for a different project, and that if the deal went through, some of the funds would be used to pay him the more than $4,000 he was owed. After that phone call, he never heard from the producer again, and Martinez has since stopped taking his calls, he says. Skutt never received his payment.

Still others were told that once "Scar 23" passed through its incentive audit, Martinez would settle all debts for Maxsar. Walker, who confirms that the artists' claims are legitimate, says there are records of all Maxsar's outstanding debts, including contact information for all creditors, including the artists. None of the vfx artists interviewed for this story say they had heard from Maxsar or had been asked for their current contact information.

"If anything, it seems like they've been avoiding us, because a phone number for Franklin (Walker) was changed and then I couldn't get in contact with him," says Winters, who has been working with an attorney to try to get the $9,000 still due him.

The incentive check for "Scar 23" could go a long way toward settling those debts. Though the Michigan Film Office can't comment on specific aspects of the audit for the project, they confirmed "Scar 23" was approved for the incentives program and that their audit is in progress. The office also stated that if the film qualifies for the entire amount specified in its original paperwork, an incentive check for $4.28 million could be issued, although neither Maxsar nor Martinez would be the recipient. Instead, payment would be made to a company called Teddy 23, registered in Michigan with Luc Campeau listed as "resident agent."

While it may seem strange, it is possible to receive an incentive check on a project that has not been completed. For this to happen, though, the producer must demonstrate through an audit that the money for the project has been spent in Michigan. Also, projects must be pre-approved for the incentives program, and before they begin work, they must usually show a concrete plan for completion and distribution. However, any wages paid out to those who are still owed money will not be eligible for the incentive program since those wages will have been paid after the final incentive paperwork has been filed.

Having helped complete Maxsar's "audit" footage at a breakneck pace, Joan DiSalvo, a vfx producer who is owed more than $5,000 by Maxsar, says, "In the end, I couldn't get any answers about payment, so now I'm pursuing options through the (Michigan) Dept. of Labor." Hiring an attorney would eat up too much of what DiSalvo is owed, she says, and a small-claims court victory would mean little, since Maxsar is no longer in business.

Adds Winters: "These amounts, $3,000 or $5,000, might sound small, but when you're freelance, it's a lot of money. People forget we still have to buy health insurance on our own, which costs a huge amount when you don't buy it as part of a company, and you also have to save for the times when you're out of work."

Variety reached Martinez by phone via his office at Bauer Martinez Studios in Florida. When asked about the money he still owed the "Scar 23," crew, he became upset.

"I spent a lot of money in Michigan, and I don't want to talk about it anymore," Martinez said in late August. "We're going to pay them in September, I think. I'm tired, and if you want to write a story about $50,000, then go ahead."

Then he hung up. Walker followed up about 30 minutes later to answer questions on his client's behalf, contributing much of the information for this story. In their last conversations with Variety, both Martinez and Walker confirmed that money was still owed to people who had worked on "Scar 23."

In the meantime, Winters and the others can only wait and hope for payment.

"I'd like to think it will happen," says Winters. "But we've been told so many things at so many different points that I'm not sure what to believe anymore."

As of Oct. 6, Adam Skutt, Chris Winters and Joan DiSalvo had not been paid.

Real Steel is the Worldwide Champ This Weekend

(Box Office Mojo) The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films and then check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.

DreamWorks Pictures' Real Steel opened in first place at both the domestic and international box office this weekend. Domestically, the Shawn Levy-directed action drama earned an estimated $27.3 million from 3,440 theaters, an average of $4,729 per location. Internationally, the Hugh Jackman-starrer added $22.1 million from 19 markets for a worldwide total of $49.4 million after one weekend. The film, distributed by Disney, cost about $110 million to make.

Rebooted RoboCop And ED-209 To Be Redesigned

(latinoreview.com) José Padilha Talks Redesign Of RoboCop And ED-209 Now that director José Padilha has established himself further as a more than competent director with 'Elite Squad 2,' it's safe to look forward to his take on 'RoboCop.' It doesn't look to be shaping up as one of those cases in which some random hack gets a chance to horribly mess with your nostalgia.

The director has already addressed casting rumors, if he has used anything from Darren Aronofsky's script, and one of the filming locations. Speaking with Crave Online, Padilha added a couple of things to the list. He's asked if he wants to redesign RoboCop and the thorn in the character's side, the ED-209. At first Padilha acts like he's pulling a Christopher Nolan, but ends up essentially confirming a redesign for the both of them -- that is unless he's using Paul Verhoeven's script. He said:

"That I can’t tell otherwise I’m going to give the movie away. We are already doing that, working on the designs so I do already know stuff. Listen, the design has to match the script. You don’t design something out of the blue. You design something that makes sense inside the dramatic universe that you are exploring. So that’s what we’re doing."

Real Steel: CGI Indistinguishable From the Practical Robots

(digitalgypsy.com) Oh my goodness.. It's been about two months or so since I last did a big update, and several things have been happening on my front in the digital world.. After the wrap of Real Steel, which officially was near the beginning of summer, we had been working on some marketing stills and sequences for the show which you may have seen here and there. Finally it's out! I've been working on the film since July 2010, so this has been a pretty long road to finally see this film in the theaters. We had a cast and crew screening last week, and it was good! Mind you, I'm a little biased and jaded since I worked on it, but if you have a son in the right age range, they will love this film, and they'll want a robot of their own.

Since the movie is now out, I can kind of talk about the sequences I was responsible for! Some of you may have read in the past that this was my first official lead compositing position at Digital Domain. I was a comp lead with three other compers, with two comp supervisors over us. I had a number of compositors under me, close to ten, working for the sequences I was in charge with, and we had a blast, the sequences came together pretty flawlessly. The big set sequences I was primarily responsible for include; the bull and Ambush fight in the beginning, the Metal Valley junk scrap sequence, the Metro fight in the zoo, and pick up shots of Atom as he works his way through various robots at underground venues. Overall, I had to manage about 130-140 shots. In the near future, I'm sure you'll hear about some of the techniques we used to create the visual effects on the film.

One of the amazing parts of the film, after seeing it twice, is that our hero robot, Atom, is indistinguishable from the practical robot they built for the film.. After working with Atom and Ambush on certain sequences, and then seeing them in the final product, it was just way cool to see how animatronics and visual effects just blended together, and you almost forget that what you see before you is all built in the machine. Pretty much all the robots are hard to tell from their practical counterparts in the ring, and I'm curious to see if any review site out there can distinguish between the two!

List Of Special Effects Companies For Marvel's The Avengers; WETA Also Joins

(comicbookmovie.com) Joss Whedon and Marvel's comic book adaptation The Avengers is currently in post-production stages. While there was a report that Industrial Light & Magic will be doing VFX, another big company will work on some major scenes...

The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, finished shooting early this month. Now, the film is in big post-production stages where companies are working on visual effects. It was previosly reported that Industrial Light & Magic will be doing VFX, but now it seems that WETA Digital has joined ILM to make the film's effects even better. Below is a list of the special effects companies, some of the movies they've worked on, including who've worked on practical effects and previsualization. Also, I heard that WETA may work on visual effects for The Hulk or the mysterious aliens that'll appear in the movie. So, if it's true, it will look amazing.

VFX:
WETA DIGITAL:

- X-Men: First Class

- Avatar

- District 9

- King Kong

- Lord of the Rings - Trilogy

INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC:

- Transformers - Trilogy

- Iron Man

- Star Trek (2009)

- Pirates of the Caribbean - Trilogy

- Super 8

LUMA PICTURES:

- Captain America: The First Avenger

- X-Men: First Class

- Thor

- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

- The Green Hornet

LIVE ACTION SUIT & PRACTICAL EFFECTS:
LEGACY EFFECTS:

- Thor

- Iron Man

- Iron Man 2

- Cowboys & Aliens

- Avatar

PREVISUALIZATION:
THE THIRD FLOOR:

- X-Men: First Class

- Thor

- Let Me In

- Star Trek (2009)

- War of the Worlds

There you go. There could be more companies working on, but for now this is it. Seeing all that above, I think we can expect some cool stuff in the film.

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Cobie Smulders, The Avengers is set to hit theatres on May 4, 2012!

How Pixar Gave Steve Jobs His Mojo Back

(thedailybeast.com) Computers didn’t make Steve Jobs a billionaire—toys did.

On Nov. 22, 1995, Toy Story—the world’s first fully computer-animated film—opened to critical acclaim and $29 million in box-office receipts. One week later, Pixar, the studio that created the movie and that many had written off just months before, went public. It was the biggest IPO of the year and meant a billion-dollar windfall for Jobs.

More than that, it gave Jobs back his mojo.

A decade earlier, he had been ousted from Apple. Wounded and restless, he paid $5 million to filmmaker George Lucas for the rights to his small but intriguing animation division and put up another $5 million for capital. Jobs took a 70 percent stake. The new company was called Pixar—and it would take another nine years before it came into its own, in the process reconfirming Jobs’s genius and turning the prince of Silicon Valley into a Hollywood hero.

While most of Jobs’s products and businesses—Apple and the Macintosh; NeXT Inc.; the iPod, iPhone, and iPad—bore their father’s DNA, Pixar was always different. Like Jobs himself, Pixar was adopted; he bought the company when it was seven years old, when its own culture had already begun to jell. Over the years, Jobs would infuse Pixar with many qualities, but the company was never quite his, culturally, making his influence there a sort of nature-vs.-nurture case study of what it means to be a Steve Jobs project.
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Though Pixar and Apple were were different animals entirely—the former was “Hawaiian shirts and hugs,” the latter “minimalism and screaming”—Jobs ultimately created a billion-dollar company., Louie Psihoyos / Corbis

Pixar was born in 1979 as Graphics Group, a division of Lucasfilm, after Lucas sensed the potential of 3-D computer animation and lured several of the new medium’s visionaries from the New York Institute of Technology. In Lucas, the group found a colorful but patient sponsor, one who prepared them well for the arrival of Jobs in 1986.

Full article: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/10/09/how-pixar-gave-steve-jobs-his-mojo-back.html

In Los Angeles, Scaled-Back Plan for Film Museum

(nytimes.com) LOS ANGELES — The movies may finally get their museum, but it won’t be as flashy as originally planned.

Scaling back a proposal to build a landmark building in this city’s Hollywood district, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said on Tuesday night that it would join with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to develop a museum of the movies that may inhabit part of that art museum’s existing complex in the mid-Wilshire area.

In a joint statement the Academy and the county museum described a plan to negotiate contracts and begin fund-raising to open the museum in Lacma West, a former department store that currently houses office space and occasional exhibitions.

They did not disclose the expected cost of the new museum, or the amount of the Academy’s expected contribution. But on Wednesday, Tom Sherak, the Academy’s president; Dawn Hudson, its chief executive; and Michael Govan, the art museum’s chief executive, described a site that would require much less than the anticipated $400 million cost of the Hollywood project, though it would have more exhibition space.

“It’s actually bigger,” Mr. Sherak said of a museum that will be housed in a 300,000-square-foot space that a May Company department store once occupied.

The new museum could be open in three to five years, if negotiations and fund-raising remain on track, he said.

The new plan follows the collapse of an ambitious effort by the Academy, which has about 6,000 members drawn from Hollywood’s professional ranks, to build a huge, free-standing museum as a showcase for the history and craftsmanship of film. That structure was to have been adjoined to its existing Mary Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study, where the Academy preserves and stores film prints, on Vine Street, near Sunset Boulevard.

In 2007 the Academy hired the French architect Christian de Portzamparc, a winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, to design a grandiose center that was described by some Academy officials as being comparable in scope to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles, designed by Frank Gehry. Like the Disney Hall, the museum was intended to help revive the neighborhood in which it would have been nested.

But that plan fell apart, as a long writers strike in 2007 and then the 2008 financial crisis diminished fund-raising prospects. And the pullback left the Academy holding several blocks of land that have been estimated to cost $45 million, though much of that value was almost immediately lost in the real estate downturn.

Under the arrangement agreed to on Tuesday, the county museum will lease space and provide guidance for the movie museum, but the Academy will own and control the project and will establish an endowment for its support.

“I think everybody realizes that the great art of the 20th century is film,” Mr. Govan said of his institution’s interest in becoming associated with a museum that reaches beyond the fine arts into popular culture. Recently the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has hosted an exhibition of artwork by the film director Tim Burton, and, he said, will build an exhibition around the work of another director, Stanley Kubrick, next year.

Ms. Hudson said the proposed museum would include newly gathered collections and material drawn from 42,000 movie posters and 10 million movie photographs that are mostly locked away in the Academy’s archives.

As of June 30, 2010, the Academy’s last published annual report showed that it had about $258.6 million in net assets and investments of about $187 million.

Almost all of the group’s income comes from its Oscar show that takes in about $80 million annually and in recent years has cost about $33 million to produce. Structured as a nonprofit, the Academy finances various archives and a library devoted to the movie world, and it has scattered grants among film festivals and education programs.

But it has long been building a nest egg, much of which was earmarked years ago for the development of a museum that has been intended as a focal point of not just Hollywood culture but also world film.

Puppeteers, CG Meet to Create 'Real Steel' Robots

LOS ANGELES--Big-budget sci-fi movies and computer-generated visual-effects are inseparable and probably will be for years to come. That doesn't mean there isn't still something magical about using engineering and craftsmanship to make lifelike, "in the flesh" versions of the other-worldly or futuristic characters these movies bring us onscreen.

That's part of the reason director Shawn Levy decided to build huge, gadget-rich "puppet" versions of the boxing robots from the new Hugh Jackman action movie "Real Steel," which opened in theaters yesterday. The Dreamworks film takes place in the near future when human fighters have been replaced by mechanized pugilists.

There are plenty of CG shots of the automaton ring warriors training and going at it round by round. But Levy had Legacy Effects construct working "real life" versions of the creatures via animatronics to interact with Jackson and the other actors on-set.

During a recent press event for the flick, Levy said he was amazed at how well the robots worked and how easily his cast rubbed elbows with them.

Legacy Effects built 24 robot puppet in total, including versions of the main "stars" Atom, Noisy Boy, and Ambush. According to Legacy's statistics, each puppet contained more than 350 individual machine parts, making for a final creation that weighed more than 250 pounds. Each limb joint could be adjusted to let operators take control of the bots with puppet articulation rods. Legacy used digital design and sculpting software in house to turn around all of final creations in four months.
"It's hard to believe, but the truth is when you're in the presence of these robots and they're moving, you think of them as real."
--Shawn Levy, "Real Steel" director

"We had remarkably few mishaps," Levy said. "These robots and the puppeteers who operate with their remote controls were incredibly reliable. We had one scary moment early on in the first work where Ambush was fighting that bull in the opening of the movie. He was standing on the lift gate, and in the middle of the take, I guess his hydraulics system went haywire and his chin started lowering and it lowered all the way down as such that he crushed his own collarbone. And his chin got stuck in his chest plate, and it was scary."

"It's hard to believe, but the truth is when you're in the presence of these robots and they're moving, you think of them as real," Levy continued. "To see [Ambush] kind of destroy himself was a little sad. So we had a 25-minute break and we fixed him right up. And from that moment on, we did not have any mishaps. I'm very, very thrilled with the results of going practical with the effects, which is a rarity increasingly."

Levy said he wanted to build working versions of the robots so his cast could have more to play to than a green screen.

"If you're asking [actors] to fake it with a tennis ball, that's tough," he said. "But if you're asking an actor to play a scene with a real 8.5-foot-tall robot, you get something different altogether. And so you get an acting reality and also you get a visual reality. I just think there's a difference. And I knew that I wanted the movie because the premise is so kind of out there. I actually wanted the aesthetics and the style of the movie to be quite realistic."

CG obviously rendered the faster, action-packed robot sequences requiring more movement. The Legacy team also used computers to "touch up" the puppet sequences with some additional detailing, enhancements, and animated damage.

Special Effects Artists Return For Potter Studio Tour

(monstersandcritics.com) London - Student wizard Harry Potter and his best friend Ron Weasley accidentally land their flying car in the Whomping Willow, whose flailing branches thrash the vintage 1960s rust bucket.

No fewer than 15 cars were used and demolished in the filming of this scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - although the audiences did not know this, of course.

The movie was the second of eight in the record-breaking Potter series, based on the novels by British author JK Rowling.

Many Harry Potter fans believe that scenes such as the one involving the Whomping Willow were the product of computer-generated imagery.

Yet that was rarely the case, as fans will be able to find out when the Warner Brothers film studios, just north of London, open for tours in spring 2012.

This is where the Harry Potter series was shot. Two giant stages contain original sets, costumes and props.

'The entire studio was full of Harry Potter for 10 years,' says Michael Finney, the US designer of the tour.

Finney, whose previous work includes the lighting design for a Star Trek tour in Las Vegas, marvels at how much of the Potter sets have been preserved.

'Film sets are normally thrown away quickly to make room in the studios for new ones,' he said. 'But these remained here for 10 years. That is quite unusual.'

Warner Brothers has built replica stage sets next to the original ones for the tour, which the Hollywood studio anticipates will be one of London's top new attractions in summer 2012, when the city hosts the Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, the studio is renovating the original sets - which are damaged beyond use - even patching holes in the roof that sometimes let in rain or snow during the Harry Potter shoots.

'The point is that people see how the set looked during filming,' Finney says.

Many of the Potter movies' original designers, costume makers and special effects people have returned to set up the tour.

One of them is John Richardson, who was also responsible for special effects in nine James Bond movies. He later worked on the Harry Potter sets, creating countless special effects with the help of up to 40 people.

Many of the effects were more mechanical than one might expect in the era of computer simulation.

'We built everything from scratch,' Richardson says, pointing to a magical door with a serpent lock, a cart for a trip into the vaults of the goblin-run Gringotts Wizarding Bank, and abundant screws and tools.

'People always think, 'That was definitely done on a computer!' But it's not true.'

Richardson is building a replica of the Weasley family kitchen, so that tour participants can perform a bit of magic themselves.

At the push of a button, a pot washes itself, needles begin to knit as though guided by invisible hands, and a knife hacks automatically on a cutting board.

The tour will also include the complicated technique of broomstick riding, which developed into a phenomenon of its own during the Potter series.

Visitors who walk through the Great Hall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will also see scaffolding on the outside - a reminder that it is only a film set.

They will become acquainted with all the intricate details in the office of Hogwarts' headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. But when they turn around, the illusion vanishes as they realize the room has no back wall and is full of technical equipment.

This, Finney says, will make the tour interesting not only for Potter fans, but for anyone who would like to learn more about film techniques in general.

Daniel Radcliffe played Harry Potter in all eight films, starting when he was 11 years old. It is not yet clear whether he will be on hand for the opening of the tour.

When the filming came to an end last year, Radcliffe said he would miss it, describing the Potter set as 'such a magical place to grow up.'

"The Thing" Reunion Screening, October 13th

(dreadcentral.co) So you're stoked for the prequel to The Thing, which comes out on October 14. Of course you are; who wouldn't be? Another tango with a hideous intergalactic horror…Hell yeah, I'm in. But to make the dish even sweeter, Creature Features has the perfect appetizer for those of you in the Hollywood area.

On Thursday, October 13, Creature Features will present John Carpenter's 1982 version of The Thing, complete with special guests and displays. I can't think of a better way to get into the mood for the new film. Read on for the details.

From the Press Release
Mayday…mayday…can anyone hear me?…We found something in the ice…

In 1982 director John Carpenter unleashed a motion picture that shocked audiences and set new standards in terror and special effects. Now, nearly 30 years later, Creature Features proudly presents an unprecedented reunion screening of The Thing at the Arclight Cinema in Hollywood on Thursday, October 13th, at 7:30pm.

This special event showcases Carpenter’s vision in its vivid, widescreen glory for one last big-screen viewing before Universal Pictures premieres its chilling new prequel the following day.

Admission includes:
Cast and crew members recount their personal insights and recollections with host Drew McWeeny of Hitfix.com. Confirmed guests include producer David Foster, matte photographer Bill Taylor, renowned movie poster artist Drew Struzan, who will be displaying his original one-sheet artwork from The Thing, and many more to be announced.

A spectacular display of original props, production artwork and memorabilia from both the 1951 version and the 1982 remake, gathered exclusively for this event.

Commemorative program book created especially for this event with photos and commentary…and much more!

Tickets are $20 per person and are available exclusively through creaturefeatures.com via Ticketbud. Seating is limited so reserve your seat now!

Popular Mechanics Names James Cameron Most Innovative Leader of 2011

(mnn.com) James Cameron, director of "Avatar" and "Titanic," was among the winners of the seventh annual Breakthrough Awards announced this week by Popular Mechanics magazine. The awards recognize innovators and innovative products that "dramatically advanced the fields of technology, medicine, space exploration, automotive design, environmental engineering and more."

Cameron received this year's Leadership Award for the revolutionary CGI and 3-D techniques he helped develop for his films, and well as the part he played building a new class of submersibles to help explore the deepest reaches of the Earth's oceans. "Exploring is, in many ways, my first love," Cameron told the magazine.

Cameron's 3-D cameras did more than just shoot the movie "Avatar": they will also be used on NASA's next Mars rover. The team from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory that developed the previous rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, received this year's Mechanical Lifetime Achievement Award.

"From off-the-shelf blood vessels to a cellphone tower the size of a Rubik’s Cube, our Breakthrough Award winners not only capture the imagination, but hold the potential to improve and save lives," Popular Mechanics Editor-in-Chief James B. Meigs said in a prepared statement.

Other winners include the team that developed the Hybrid X electric car; Paul Edmiston, who developed a method of cleaning toxic water, including waste from natural gas fracking sites; the software development kit that allows hacking of the Microsoft Kinect; The Square iPhone credit-card readers; and Ford Motors' inflatable rear seat belts.

An awards ceremony will honor the Breakthrough Award winners next week. The November issue of Popular Mechanics (available Oct. 11) will include detailed descriptions of all of the winners' associated projects.

This year's other winning innovators and innovative products include:

Take a look: http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/popular-mechanics-names-james-cameron-most-innovative-leader

Happy Birthday Guillermo del Toro

(theonering.net) Guillermo del Toro was born October 9, in Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico. He dreamed of being a filmmaker and went on to create a formidable catalog of movies that includes Cronos (1993), The Devil’s Backbone(2001), two Hellboy films (2004 and 2008) and Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). He is a co-writer of the two forthcoming films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. He also became part of TheOneRing.net community so we wish our friend and the talented director, producer, writer a happy birthday and many happy returns!

Worth a mention - 09/23/11

2011-09-23T13:18:00.001-07:00

"Star Wars: The Complete Saga" Sales Reach $84 Million Worldwide

(Lucasfilm) Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have announced that "Star Wars: The Complete Saga" broke the global Blu-ray sales record with one million units sold and $84 million in consumer spend:

Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced today that STAR WARS is the bestselling catalog Blu-ray Disc of all time with worldwide sales totaling one million units, including 515,000 units sold in North America in its first week alone. This represents $84 million in worldwide consumer spend including $38 million in North America - unprecedented for a nine-disc Blu-ray collection at a premium price.

The thirteen-month campaign to launch the SAGA Blu-ray and engage consumers around the globe began in August 2010. From Darth Vader at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), a first look at San Diego Comic Con, a first-of-its-kind partnership with eBay, to creating the world�s largest lightsaber in the UK, the power of the Force continued to resonate around the world as fans came out in droves to have fun with that galaxy far, far away.

"Once again our fan�s enthusiasm to celebrate Stars Wars continues to amaze us,� said Kayleen Walters, Senior Director, Marketing, Lucasfilm. �Our goal was to deliver a premium product that they could enjoy with their family and friends and we are thrilled that they are enjoying it as much as we hoped they would.

Avatar Cameras For Rent… For $1600 Per Day

(geek.com) If you’ve been following the video camera market for the past few years then you’ve almost certainly heard of the RED Epic camera. The Epic handles both digital video and still images and is one of the most respected cameras in the business. Unfortunately this kind of quality costs a pretty penny, or, more accurately, 5.8 million pretty pennies. Yep, the RED Epic-M package — complete with the Epic-M brain, Bomb EVF, 5-inch LCD, and more — sells for $58,000.

James Cameron has purchased 50 RED EPIC-M cameras for $2.9 million (I wonder if he got a discount because he bought in bulk).

Presumably Cameron bought the cameras for Avatar 2 (which is set for release in 2014), but maybe he just wants to give them out as party favors.

Of course, you don’t necessarily need to buy the RED Epic to get your hands on it, you can always rent. Borrow Lenses, purveyors of all sorts of fine camera equipment, are offering up the Epic-M kit at $1600 a day. Or you can rent it out for up to a month for $17500, if you have an extended project that needs to be tackled.

Speaking of projects, check out the video below. That’s the sort of thing the Epic is capable of, which is to say “extremely impressive”. Of course you won’t be able to shoot video just because you laid out the cash to rent the kit, but you can’t exactly shoot video like that without it either.

The Epic-M shoots video at up to 5K resolution, with high speeds shooting ranging up to 200 fps at 2K or 150 fps at 5K. The rental package for this impressive rig doesn’t just include the camera body and the odd lens, you also get gear like a 1.8-inch 128GB SSD storage device and a proprietary camera remote, plus you get a case to put it all in. Ultimately it’s a lot of money, but you get some very cool toys to play with.

Borrow Lenses also has a number of compatible lenses you can rent to use with the Epic kit. Any of the PL mount Zeiss lenses they have in stock should work, such as the Zeiss Compact Prime CP.2 25mm cinema lens. And some good news: these go for only $99 a day.

Twentieth Century Fox to Adapt Isaac Asimov’s ‘The Caves of Steel’

(latinoreview.com) Twentieth Century Fox plans to adapt the Isaac Asimov’s science fiction mystery novel “The Caves of Steel” on to the big screen.

The studio has hired director Henry Hobson to helm the project. It will be Hobson’s directorial debut. His previous work mainly involved designing main and end titles for several films including “The Help,” “Bad Teacher,” “The Hangover Part II,” and “Sherlock Holmes.”

John A. Scott III is brought to the project as the adaptive screenwriter.

Here is the overview of the novel:

In the future you will walk down the crowded streets of New York City not knowing if the bodies brushing past you are humans or androids. With tensions already mounting between humans and robots, the murder of a Spacer must be handled in a politically-correct fashion so Detective Elijah Baley is assigned a robot partner.

“The Caves of Steel” is the first novel in Asimov’s Robot series that also included “The Naked Sun” and “The Robots of Dawn.”

“The Caves of Steel” was adapted for a BBC broadcast as part of an anthology strand called “Story Parade” in 1964. The television adaptation starred Peter Cushing and John Carson.

A Day In The Life at Aardman VFX

(jaa-editing.com) Here's a sample day to show what I presently do at Aardman as the editor in the VFX department on Pirates. My job has evolved a lot since I first started and basically loaded and exported shots, and after 6 months I gained an assistant of my own - which helped a great deal.

Of course, there's no such thing as a typical day in a job like this. Some days are packed full to bursting, others more relaxed. On some days nothing breaks, on others.... well, yes. It changes around a lot. And of course it's all much less segregated than this.

0830 - arrive at work. Switch computers on, and head to the canteen with my cafetiere mug for the first hit of the day.

0835 - load floor plates from the previous day onto the Baselight in the Black Hole. The Black Hole is our windowless room with all surfaces painted black. Some say that all sense of time and space can disappear in there. Our VFX supervisor lives there, and checks outputs from the VFX department for technical issues and flaws - and briefs the artists or supervisors on the necessary changes.

0900 - sit down at my desk, check emails for any urgent tasks and requests, flag the non-urgent ones to follow up later. I use post-its for my To Do list, as they can be easily re-organised as the day progresses and priorities change. As a non-linear editor, it's the only way that really makes sense.

0930 - my assistant arrives, as do other non-floor personnel. The working day begins. My assistant begins negotiations with the floor to make sure that VFX get our 10am time in the viewing theatre for our shot approvals. I update some spreadsheets on the network to reflect the shots which I loaded into the Baselight earlier, with any notes which came through from the floor at the time they were published about take choices (sometimes they film options to decide on at a later date, sometimes two versions are needed for international purposes, action can be split across several plates on greenscreen - there are many possibilities).

1015 - shot approval session in the Viewing Theatre. I used to run this, now my assistant takes care of it owing to the haggling required to get the time and the setup logistical requirements. Our VFX supervisor views the shots which have been submitted for approval, and gives notes on the shots which need further work or fixing. Two 2D passes are made for each stereoscopic eye, and then they are all viewed in stereo to check for issues.

1030 - receive a previz timeline from edit department from yesterday's director review session. This needs to be compared to the previous timeline which we sent to them so that we can tell what the changes are and which slates need to be re-worked to account for timing changes - or where a previous version of a slate has been used instead of the most recent. After conforming, several of the old track layers are added to a copy of the new timeline, to give us easy access to the versions during director reviews. If a slate has been reframed or retimed then it needs to be exported and published (via a linux script) for the artist to use in Maya so that they can match the new version.

1050 - enquiry from VFX coordinator about an edit change previously notified. I check it against the cutting copy timeline and verify/ expand on the note.

1100 - the previz artist is briefed by the VFX Producer on which changes need to be worked up as a result of the editorial director review session. My notes are added to these notes, and the artist who is working on that section of the sequence goes away to make their amendments.

1130 - import shots recently exported by previz/ anim, and place on the timeline. Our VFX anim timelines are for sequences which have been already approved in previz, and are kept separate. If the change is minor or technical in nature, the previous version is pasted over. If there are major changes in positioning, camera angle, or other elements then the new version is added on a higher track. Sometimes alternative (alt) versions are output - either at a director request or because it's something that the artist wanted to try out, so yet another video track (or more) is added for the alts in a sequence.

1230 - pop through to the edit department for a quick catch-up/ chat/ situation report on how they're doing with our requests and vice versa. Email the relevant people in VFX to make sure they are aware of current or forthcoming changes discussed.

1245 - lunch. We have a canteen in the building for the crew to use (at staggered intervals, since there are quite a lot of us now), there are options in the Aztec West business park where we're based, people bring food from home, and there's the option of heading out further afield to the nearby shopping centre to get some chores done at the same time.

1345 - load some more previz/ anim shots into my timelines for the review

1400 - director review. We'll go through a sequence (or part of one) and discuss the things which aren't quite working and how to fix them. Often we'll look at previous versions to see if the suggested change has already been worked up (and possibly rejected because of the surrounding slates at the time), and if not then I'll do some quick tweaking in the Avid to reframe or retime the slate to give everyone an idea of what it may look like when worked up. In certain circumstances the floor will want to shoot a certain shot before the previz is approved, so we'll bung in that shot for the directors and/or HoDs where applicable to view and make any last minute changes in context with the surrounding shots, and then send it off for techviz to translate the Maya scene into technical information for the floor to use and programme into their MoCo rigs to shoot.

1500 - tea break. An absolutely vital part of the day. We have some rather nice cakes available in the canteen from time to time.

1515 - sorting through the emails which have accumulated during the review and responding to them/ relaying information. Most of it tends to be VFX or anim asking for information about the floor plates or current edit, or edit passing on changes which may affect VFX - every shot in the film has VFX, but certain types of shots (e.g. those containing VFX-generated fluids) will be affected more by the types of changes that edit can make than others. I add all of these requests to a list on the network, and make a note of the EDL and reference versions output.

1530 - checking through the recent VFX outputs for shots which should be sent to edit as work-in-progress. There are various stages at which edit are interested in receiving updated versions from VFX for reasons of workflow or aesthetic, and of course once a shot's approved. I cross-reference the cutting copy and a still frame of the latest output to see if the update is worth sending across, and compile a list for my assistant to deal with. There are also several shots which I'll import into my own Avid project - if I need to check that an output's corrected a change requested by edit, or if it's a rendered update of a shot which anim are still working on, which may be requested for reference during an anim review. If the correction looks good, I'll tick it off my edit request list.

1615 - a request for further information from one of the VFX houses we're outsourcing some of our work to. Often this requires cross-referencing cutting copies, notes, EDLs, and several other sources of information to be sure that the answer is as thorough as necessary. It took a while to get used to the linguistic differences between VFX and edity people, and even longer to get precise terms across the boundary - and communicating some requests or requirements without being able to point at a screen and draw squiggly lines underneath certain numbers which link to other squiggly lines... but it's something of a necessity when they're based in other cities.

1645 - a director or HoD comes in to sit with a previz artist and work up a difficult shot. This often requires reference to floor shots and other versions of previz - sometimes a shot from an entirely different sequence can be loaded to help visualise the characters on the real set rather than the previz sets. Our previz sets and characters are significantly more detailed than you may expect, but there can be some discrepancies when dealing with the beautifully intricate Aardman sets which can affect a read on distances and timing.

1730 - gather the last previz outputs for anything which is going to edit. On a duplicated timeline I then condense all of the previz tracks that we keep for options onto one track to make it easier for the editor to use. I drag the sequence into our !!FROM PREVIZ bin which will be picked up by edit across the Unity.

1800 - collect info on what's been shot over the day to load into the Baselight first thing the following morning. Check for any emails which haven't been dealt with or forwarded on to someone better placed to respond. Tidy the Avid bins up a bit.

1830 - end of day. Unless there's a nearby deadline or too many shots have come through or there's an ongoing crisis... you get the idea.

Genuinely though, we do usually leave at a reasonable hour. Part of that seems to be the Aardman way - it's out of London, and there are a lot of employees who have young families who they want to get back to. Plus, the floor stop shooting at 6 and we do like to keep things fair....

I'd love to see others in the post community do posts of this nature and help us all get an insight into the type of work everyone's currently in... but this has also been a good exercise in writing down some of my main tasks to help explain what I've been doing when I'm next looking for work.

Digital Domain IPO: A Game Changer?

(ia4thefuture.blogspot.com) With all of the recent discussion about the flawed business model which is the basis for the "race to the bottom" and the abysmal economics of our vfx industry; it seems that DD's IPO offers all of us a real opportunity to take a big step towards fixing that model. According to documents filed with the SEC, DD intends to get into the business of creating (and retaining ownership of)content.

Indeed, we've heard rumblings about other illustrious effects companies negotiating in the past, for a piece of the ownership pie. While rolling the dice in the hopes of recouping one's investment in this risky business is always a doubtful proposition, sharing in the upside might just make fx companies turn a profit!! And, when that happens, we all benefit. Even the compositor. :)

IATSE is waiting patiently and hopefully, on the sidelines. We are prepared to participate in a meaningful way in ensuring that artists are protected and share in any upside of this development. It's worth a try.

Academy Award-Winning Special Effects Expert Vetts Raiders Props

(californiarumor.com) Movie fans are being offered a whip-cracking good chance of owning a piece of cinematic history – with a new auction of Indiana Jones props. Props from the hit movie Raiders Of The Lost Ark are going under the hammer on 26 June – to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the film's release in 1981. Items set to be auctioned off include one of Indiana Jones' iconic bullwhips [pictured], which has an estimated price of $50,000-$70,000, and a prop golden idol that was also used during filming, which is expected to fetch between $20,000 and $30,000. The props – which are being sold off as part of a larger entertainment memorabilia auction being held at Bonhams & Butterfields, in LA – are accompanied by a letter of provenance from Academy Award-winning special effects expert, Kit West, who was the mechanical effects supervisor on Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

I’m Here to Judge the CGI on "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"

(ktr89.wordpress.com) The mileage on Rise of the Planet of the Apes will vary. I’m here to judge the CGI of the monkeys/apes of the movie, which has been praised as realistic and groundbreaking. Ever since Avatar, the CGI has been set to a new standard and just so coincidentally, Weta Studios, the co-partners of the CGI behind Avatar, is behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes as well. It’s unfair to compare Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ CGI to Avatar since Avatar had a $300+ million budget, so I’m not going to. I’m here to see how well the CGI was done in the movie and how much it adds to the movie and like I Am Legend, how it takes away from the movie.

Full article: http://ktr89.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/rise-of-the-planet-of-the-really-bad-cgi/

Making Realistic Dinosaurs on a TV Timetable

(studiodaily.com) When executive producer Brannon Braga was hired for Fox’s new series Terra Nova, he was the second person brought onboard. The third, before any other writing or producing staff or cast, was visual-effects supervisor Kevin Blank. “That shows you how important we knew he would be to the success of this series,” says Braga. “Because if we couldn’t pull off this world, there would be no show.”

Terra Nova actually comprises two worlds. In an overcrowded, filthy Chicago of 2149 – where humans require rebreather devices just to stay alive – an accidental discovery of access to a wormhole to the past allows settlement of the Cretaceous period, to give man a second chance. That’s the 85-million-years-ago Cretaceous period, when deadly dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. “They’re two very different worlds, and they’re completely separate,” Blank says.

The issue was not so much whether these worlds could be created on a television budget, but whether they could be created on a television schedule. “The issue here wasn’t the money,” Braga explains. “It comes down to time – that’s the bigger issue.”

There was plenty of time to develop the effects for the two-hour pilot. “But we didn’t want to see a dramatic downturn in the amount of visual effects the audience would see week to week,” Braga says. “So Kevin discovered that he wasn’t going to be able to do things in any way that had been done before.”

No problem for the Emmy-winning visual effects supervisor of series/films such as Fringe (pilot), Alias, Cloverfield and Lost. Deconstructing existing pipelines and giving them a redux is one of his favorite hobbies. “‘This is how this is done here, and this is how long and how much it takes to do that.’ Okay, how do I find efficiencies to make it go faster and cost less?’ That’s kind of my specialty,” he says.

The Difference Between TV and Features

With experience in both the television and feature worlds, Blank began looking at what worked and didn’t work in both production pipelines, to see what could be applied to the Terra Nova universe. Quoting John Parenteau at Pixomondo, the visual effects vendor chosen to produce the show’s animation and effects, he notes, “In feature films, it takes three people to do one shot. And in television, one person does three shots.”

He explains. “In feature film, the visual effects disciplines get compartmentalized. One team does rotoscoping, one team does tracking, another does modeling, another animation. It’s just an assembly line. And moving those things in and out of those departments is something that can take time.”

Full article: http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/headlines/Making-Realistic-Dinosaurs-on-a-TV-Timetable_13470.html

Framestore Adopts New MoCap Tech

(PRWEB) Bringing a new age of motion capture processing to the industry, IKinema™ LTD announced today that the leading VFX house in London, Framestore, has incorporated IKinema technology into its motion capture production pipeline. Chosen for its powerful, fast and remarkably controllable design, IKinema's inverse kinematics (IK) solver is now the key motion capture solving and retargeting tool that Framestore uses to create special effects and animation for both its broadcast and VFX projects.

"The IKinema solver is a fantastic solution for a wide range of skeleton control issues," said Nicolas Scapel, head of rigging at Framestore. "By using IKinema's advanced solver settings and its extremely flexible constraint system, we have been able to iteratively improve our solving solution and accuracy. With the ability to easily reproduce this same setup script on many shots, we will be shaving days and weeks off our production time."

Once Framestore integrated IKinema into its core motion capture pipeline, the results they had been hoping for began to appear. It is now possible to take tracked and filtered point cloud data from mocap software and easily animate a high-resolution skeleton by assigning their data to a linked set of joints. This process can be scripted via IKinema SDK and reused on every future take, which saves time by producing high-quality results.

Current Film projects include: "War Horse," "Gravity," "Johnny English Reborn," "Captain America: The First Avenger," "Clash of the Titans 2," "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy."

Romancing the Oscar - Academy Issues New Screening Rules

(bts.backstage.com) The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences set some new rules concerning campaigning today.

The New Rules: http://bts.backstage.com/2011/09/new-rules-oscar-version.html

Pirates of the Caribbean Upgrade Cancelled: No Jack Sparrow Animatronic for Paris?

(dlrptoday.com) Never trust a pirate, eh. For months it has seemed a sure-fire certainty: Jack Sparrow audio animatronics to finally join Pirates of the Caribbean for 20th Anniversary! But now it looks like the big Pirates of the Caribbean refurbishment planned for early next year has been curtailed and the addition of Jack Sparrow animatronics cancelled — at least for 2012. According to several sources on the French Disney Central Plaza forum, including La Rouquine, the originally planned closure of 3 months early next year to account for the changes has now been cut back to just 2 weeks. Moderator Dash adds that he learnt last week the new additions were cancelled again due to budgetary reasons.

The movie overlay, which was given to the US versions as long ago as 2006, was never publicly announced by Disneyland Paris, only confirmed internally, so we should note that for us the resort is not technically “cancelling” anything. It was first strongly rumoured for the Paris version of the attraction during the 15th Anniversary, before again appearing to be on the cards for the New Generation Festival in 2010, and then again for the current Magical Moments Festival to tie in with the fourth film, “On Stranger Tides”. This year’s 20th Anniversary plans were the closest the make-over — which could include up to three Jack Sparrow audio-animatronics, Barbossa as captain of the marauding ship, a Davy Jones mist-screen projection and other technical upgrades — ever got to reality.

While Pirates purists might raise a bottle of rum to the news that the Disneyland Paris version of the attraction will remain (for at least a little while longer) in its own world, untouched by the movies’ characters, consider what you’re drinking up to, me ‘hearties. Is the cancellation of a three-month spruce-up for this 20-year old masterpiece really a good thing? Couldn’t it stand to benefit from new technology, from improved lighting, effects and music? A robotic Johnny Depp might be a price to pay for that, but it’s probably the only (marketable) way such an upgrade would happen right now.

However, continuing the annual almost-but-not-quite game, DynastyGo reports the refurbishment is not cancelled but simply postponed, to the next financial year. But what do you think — has Disneyland Paris already missed its “opportune moment” to capitalise on the success of Captain Jack?

Worth a mention - 08/11/11

2011-08-14T17:50:00.000-07:00

Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic Exploring Opening Project-Based Facility in Vancouver

(hollywoodreporter.com) ILM, based in San Francisco, declined to comment because details are not yet finalized, but word of the new ILM outpost was spreading this week at the CG confab Siggraph, taking place in Vancouver, where favorable tax incentives have turned the city into one of the hottest destinations for the visual effects and animation community.

Should ILM head to Vancouver, it will be the latest in a string of leading companies that in recent years have set up shop in the production hub -- including Digital Domain, Pixar Animation Studios, MPC and Sony Picture Imageworks.

In addition to its San Francisco headquarters, ILM also operates out of Lucasfilm Singapore, which opened in 2005 and is already running out of space.

Lucasfilm Singapore plans to move into a new building -- which is currently under construction -- by 2013.

ILM’s recent work includes Rango, as well as VFX work on Super 8, Transformers: Dark of the Moonand Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Upcoming working includes the visual effects on Red Tails, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Battleshipand The Avengers.

In related news this week at Siggraph, Lucasfilm and Imageworks released Alembic, an open source system aimed at helping VFX companies easily store and share complex animated scenes across facilities, regardless of what software is being used.

New ‘Riddick’ Film Begins Casting

(latinoreview.com) It looks like “Riddick” is finally moving forward with a casting call. And, that’s a good sign.

Moviehole reported casting Anne McCarthy is bringing in actors to test for various supporting roles. She handled the casting for “Pitch Black” and “Chronicles of Riddick” in the past.

The announced roles include Boss Johns, Santana, the sexy female merc Dahl and the smug commander Krone.

David Twohy, who directed and written both previous films, will be back at the helm for the third film.

Why CGI is Now the Moral Choice

(whatculture.com) Ever since Jurassic Park almost twenty years ago – and reaching its zenith at the time of the effects reliant Star Wars prequels – Hollywood’s blanket use of CGI has engendered strong opinions and heated discussion. Many critics routinely choose to harp on about the evils of using computer graphics and wax lyrical about the good old days of practical effects. For instance, the quaint, seventies-inspired model-work of Duncan Jones’ Moon was enthusiastically received by reviewers, whilst many have already expressed doubts about whether the upcoming The Thing prequel will be anything like as unsettling as the original without the tangible prosthetics, gore and make-up.

But whilst pre-existing arguments have tended to focus mainly on aesthetics (through a lens of nostalgia) and the question of realism, the release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes this week has brought a new aspect of the debate into play: the question of ethics.

Until now whether or not a film used CGI has never been a moral concern, at least not in the popular consciousness, yet animal activist organisation PETA have heralded 20th Century Fox’s franchise prequel – which takes the point of view of an intelligent ape (a motion captured Andy Serkis as Caesar) starting a revolution against humanity – for its lack of real primate actors. Indeed, every ape in Rupert Wyatt’s film is digitally created and based on human performances. Literally: no apes were harmed in the making of this picture – and it’s something of which the young British director (who saw off competition from Oliver Stone to land the gig) is justifiably proud:

“Certainly, from a moral point of view, the idea of using live apes was wrong. There’re many animals in entertainment that live happy, fulfilled lives: we had a dog on set that was a very happy dog. But I think the difference between that and an animal that is essentially alpha, is that to get an ape to do what you want it to do you have to dominate it and manipulate it basically. So, for example, what we think to be a chimpanzee’s smile is actually it showing fear. They’re such different creatures, so [morality] certainly played into our decision: we didn’t want to [use real apes].”

And there is a very real danger inherent in using live chimps, and also a potential risk of harming the animal, with Wyatt telling a sobering story about an incident on the set of an otherwise cheery family movie:

“I remember Andrew Lesnie, our DP who worked on Babe: Pig in the City, [said] there was an orangutan in the film and there was a moment where the orangutan essentially attacked his handler and they both rolled off the back of a chair and rolled down the stairs and the handler just starting beating him to get him to stop… basically just beating him into submission. Then one of the crew walked up and chucked some water in his face and said “how could you do that?” and the handler had to call everyone together and say “look, the only way there is safety on this set is to dominate this animal. I’m his alpha and if he thinks for a second that I’m not he will attack me and all our lives are in danger.” And you get that and it makes sense. But then the very idea of putting an animal in that situation… that’s the questionable thing about it.”

So could Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and the incredibly vocal backing it’s received from PETA (who held banners aloft at the US premier thanking the filmmakers), be enough to put an end to the use of real apes, at least in the American film industry? “I hope so. They’re an endangered species,” was Wyatt’s optimistic, no-nonsense reply. Though there are also practical reasons why the film’s demonstration of a viable alternative might lead to lasting change, as WETA effects supervisor Dan Lemmon explained, “there’s really no way to use a chimpanzee after the age of about four or five, they’re just too strong… so if you’re making a story about a large animal it’s just not practical to use a live animal.” A point Wyatt expanded upon:

“The things that we were doing would be very hard [with animal performers]. There’s a very limited gene pool in North America with performing apes: the majority are young, female chimps because they’re the least aggressive. They all look a bit alike and for us we wanted to personalise these apes, so the real challenge when I first started working on the film was “can performance capture actually achieve this?” But because of Dan, when he came on board – and WETA would say to us “we can do this and trust us because you won’t see anything for six months!” – that’s what set us on the road of performance capture.”

The decision to go the CGI route also allowed the team at WETA to subtly differ the film’s chimps from their real-world counterparts, giving them more human eyes by making the whites larger (a change accounted for in the film as a side-effect of James Franco’s intelligence increasing drug). This change was intended to make a human audience empathise better with Serkis’ Caesar in particular, a crucial aspect of the film as it is from the point of view of this chimpanzee that the story is told. It goes without saying that Gollum and King Kong motion capture specialist Serkis brings a range of expression and a degree of acting talent to the screen not found in real apes. Actors, Lemmon was keen to point out, still make the choices we see on the screen, even with digital characters:

“In terms of the performance we’re letting what happens on the set drive what we end up putting into our characters… and essentially working as a digital make-up company in a way, applying pixels on the top to give them the look of a chimpanzee. All the performances are being driven by the decisions [the actors] are making on set and the reaction they’re having with James Franco or Freida Pinto.”

Wyatt and Fox were also keenly aware of the grand act of hipocracy using real apes would have represented, bearing in mind the moral of the movie itself: basically that people should treat animals better, with irresponsible animal testing and Tom Felton’s cruel animal shelter worker the villains of the piece. Caesar’s wife, as they say, should be above reproach. Wyatt sees the film as very much about exploitation and oppression and, he agrees, “to use live apes to do that would have been a mistake.”

However, if technology is nature’s saviour in this instance, what are we to make of the film’s seemingly anti-science message, with Pinto’s character chastising Franco for his attempts to cure Alzheimer’s? Well apparently the movie’s moral position on science is not supposed to be taken as so clear cut:

“I don’t think it is anti-science. I hate stories and films that have that slightly moralistic tone – “be careful what you wish for” or “don’t open that box” – and I think the beauty of our civilization and our species is what we can invent and how we evolve. Look at the jet airplane and see that came about through the First World War and see that we’re a very complicated civilization and through conflict invariably we progress. So, medicine and modern science, in many ways, are one of the better aspects of who we are. I think we can very safely say it’d be wonderful to find cures for certain diseases and I think it’s more to do with the responsibility lying in the hands of the individual – Dr. Frankenstein is a great example of that pathology: the idea that mankind’s hubris can sometimes get the better of him.”

In any case, with the film’s terrific opening weekend performance in the US, no one could accuse Wyatt of hubris for already fielding questions on the probable sequels. He and Serkis are already attached to direct and star respectively, and revealed that they have discussed the future of the series over the past few days. And the director wasn’t shy about suggesting where he might take the franchise in the future as he bridges the gap between his film and the Charlton Heston original. “Any future stories, we’d be dealing with a level playing field in terms of the human population and these rising apes… There’s still opportunity in terms of a nuclear explosion in New York and we could go down that road certainly.”

In the meantime though, the director can enjoy his accession to a place among the Hollywood A-list safe in the knowledge that, even if he never makes another film as good as Rise, he’s possibly helped to make Hollywood a more ethical place in terms of its use of animals. And in bringing such realistic and compelling ape characters to life, Wyatt, Serkis and Lemmon at WETA have struck a major blow for the art of CGI in the face of the critics. CGI is now the moral option: just ask PETA.

Digital Special Effect Makeup vs Physical Makeup in Movies

(watchuwant.tv) The special effects work of John Knoll’s special effects team has certainly raised the bar in believability of a fictitious character. His Industrial Light and Magic team created Davy Jones for Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest. In this sequel, Bill Nighy is the actor who portrays Davy Jones’ movements and voice. He wears a dark grey motion capture suit, and two motion capture cameras were used as opposed to the 16 needed in the past. The process of Computer Generated Imaging (CGI) then morphed the actor into a convincing depiction of a cursed pirated who because he lives underwater, he literally becomes a creature of the sea.

This special effects “makeup” of this film was fascinating to watch and it really does trick your eye into thinking Jones’ is “real”. But does this mean that special effects artists need to trade in their brushes for a computer mouse any time soon? The answer is thankfully…no!

There will always be a need for makeup artist to apply their special skills to film, television, or theatre. There is one “living” character on the Flying Dutchman, actor Stellan Skarsgård, who plays Bootstrap Bill…he had wonderful “live” barnacles protruding from his face.

By the other side of the coin Michael Chiklis was transformed into Fantastic Four super hero “The Thing” through a time consuming and detailed process.

“Sixty pounds (27 kg) of latex, it was hellish.” said Chiklis. But he did the project because of the potential the movie had to being a franchise. “It’s employment potentially for 10 years. It gets your name out there in an international context that puts you on all those lists that you must be on as an actor in order to get movies green lit. That’s why he was willing to go through the “hellish” process of being the hulking Thing for the film.

Then on the other hand, I understand that Bill Nighy was disappointed that he didn’t have to wear the pirate costume for any of the film shooting. Just the grey motion capture suit…so he didn’t have to endure the heavy makeup appliances or masks required in the past…but it didn’t let him “play” act in costume as if he were Davy Jones either. This is testament to Nighy’s acting abilities, because he gives a terrific performance as the character.

Although Industrial Light and Magic will always strive to “wow” audiences with the newest visual effects, the basic need for the “human” factor helps ground the movie experience. E.g. the whole last three Star Wars movies were visually incredible but fell far short of the first three films that had “real” characters, actors in suits and makeup interacting with each other. Otherwise we have a movie that is not much more than a video game, lacking our own ability to control the plot.

I think makeup special effects wizard Rick Baker put it best when he said “I still think a marriage between the two techniques is the best way to go. They each have their strong points.” Baker is absolutely right! It’s important to move forward and push techniques to new limits and respect the place that both technologies have in this field. So as with most professions the integration of computer knowledge creates advantages with a mixture of honing in on physical skills of makeup effects. Baker also says “…I do all my design work on the computer now. It’s like my favorite tool. I can do so much more and it frees me up so much more because I can save it anywhere down the line, so I’m not afraid to screw it up.” Perfecting bloods, latex appliances, and skin blends will have a place within the movie making world. Thank goodness there are many movie makers who simply can’t afford expensive visual effects in the first place.

That fact harkens makeup artists back to the days when makeup artists have to use their problem solving skills and creativity to create physically realistic effects. This is the fun in special effect making. Creating something that audiences say to themselves “wow!” or “gross!” or just smile.

Industrial Light & Magic, The Gathering

(blog.vfs.com) Vancouver- “If you do have interests they can expand in the industry. Your first job may not define you.”

Last night at the VFS Main Theatre, students were treated to a masterclass in finding work at the most recognized visual effects company in the world, Industrial Light & Magic. Senior Recruiter Sarah Alvarado and University Relations Manager Anita Stokes were joined by 3D Animation & Visual Effects grads Scott Jones and Simeon Bassett for an eye-opening look inside ILM and its hiring processes.

Anita described ILM’s internship programs — Jedi Academy for students, Jedi Masters for graduates — which are both paid positions with real work experience. Scott, who is currently a Creature TD Supervisor, stressed that while a keen aesthetic eye and personality fit are important, the key to finding employment at ILM is work ethic. “VFS, being a compressed program versus a four-year school, puts you in that production scenario. The best classes that come through VFS are the ones that are helping each other the most. You’re at work, now.”

Simeon, now a Lighting Supervisor, echoed Scott’s comments. “VFS excelled at instilling a brutal hardcore worth ethic. That, plus technical skills, allows you to get to the artistic part.” Sarah provided tips for application packages: have a working, online portfolio (no “in-progress” pages); explain what you did in the reel and the software you used; provide a traditional portfolio to show other interests and your sense of aesthetics; include personal projects, not just class assignments. All four agreed that being able to trouble-shoot rates high on managers’ lists of desirable skills. As Scott said, “If you’re a good trouble shooter, you’re going to crank our more stuff.”

Also joining us last night was Jun Watanabe from Rhythm & Hues, showing his recent work and discussing the soon-to-be in Vancouver effects studio.

Walt Disney Studio Celebrates Pixar At D23 EXPO

(latinoreview.com) Exclusively at Disney’s D23 Expo August 19-21 at the Anaheim Convention Center, Disney film fans will go behind the scenes to explore the exciting roster of projects on the horizon at The Walt Disney Studios, with a variety of panel discussions, sneak peeks and exhibits.

In celebration of 25 years of moviemaking magic, five sessions will be devoted to the artistry and technical wizardry of Pixar:

* A Conversation with the Pixar Creative Team – Enjoy a rare opportunity to spend some time with the key figures responsible for Pixar’s unprecedented success, including John Lasseter (chief creative officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios), Jim Morris (general manager, Pixar Animation Studios), Pete Docter (director, Monsters, Inc., Up), Andrew Stanton (director, Finding Nemo, WALL-E), Bob Peterson (co-director, Up), Lee Unkrich (director, Toy Story 3), Mark Andrews (director, Brave) and Dan Scanlon (director, Monsters University).

* The Characters of Monsters University – Director Dan Scanlon and Production Designer Ricky Nierva discuss how they combine hair, horns and a lot of heart to bring the wonderful Monsters University characters to life.

* Michael Giacchino’s Music of Pixar – In this musical presentation, award-winning composer Michael Giacchino explores his early influences through the creation of modern-day classic scores from Ratatouille, Up and Cars 2.

* The Art of Brave – Production Designer Steve Pilcher and Shading Art Director Tia Kratter show how they and their team put paint to canvas and fingers to computer keys to create the stunning visuals of Scotland for Disney•Pixar’s upcoming film Brave.

* Pixar Shorts – This retrospective screening of the animation studio’s legendary short films will be followed by a panel discussion with several of the filmmakers, including Ralph Eggleston (director, For the Birds), Andy Jimenez (director, One Man Band), Angus MacLane (director, BURN-E), Pete Sohn (director, Partly Cloudy), Teddy Newton (director, Day & Night), and Enrico Casarosa (director, La Luna).

Expo attendees will also have access to advance screenings of an all-new 3D version of The Lion King, presented by RealD 3D, coming to theaters and homes this fall, and the upcoming ABC holiday special Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice from Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Out on the Expo floor, fans can explore the world of The Walt Disney Studios at their leisure with comprehensive exhibits, including:

* Walt Disney Studios Animation Pavilion – Experience the art, technology, culture and legacy of Walt Disney Animation Studios with filmmaker demonstrations, drawing classes, book signings, meet-and-greets and art exhibits.

* Walt Disney Studios In-Home Entertainment Pavilion – Dive into cutting-edge home entertainment technology and learn what the future holds for Disney movie fans, with sneak peeks of upcoming films in breathtaking high-definition Blu-ray 3D™ and more.
* Inside Tides: Pirates of the Caribbean Film Prop Collection – Get an up-close look at an exclusive collection of detailed set pieces, props and costumes from the billion-dollar blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Eddie Murphy to Voice Hong Kong Phooey

(Alcon Entertainment) Eddie Murphy will give voice to the animated lead character in Alcon Entertainment's live action/animated big screen adaptation of the of the 1970s Hanna-Barbera animated TV series Hong Kong Phooey, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO's Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove.

In addition to voicing the character of Donkey in the box-office hit "Shrek" franchise, Murphy was also the voice of Mushu, the Dragon, in the successful animated epic Mulan. Murphy will next be seen in the comedies Tower Heist, co-starring Ben Stiller from Universal Studios and A Thousand Words, from DreamWorks.

Alex Zamm (Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts, Tooth Fairy 2) will direct. Kosove and Johnson will produce with Jay Stern and Brett Ratner. Steven P. Wegner will executive produce.

Stated Johnson and Kosove: "We could not be happier that Eddie Murphy will star as Phooey. There is no overstating his contributions to cinema, and to such enduring stars of family entertainments such as 'Shrek' and 'Dr. Dolittle.' We look forward to watching him re-imagine yet another classic character."

Based on the 70's cult classic Hanna Barbera animated TV series, a mild-mannered dog named Penry (Murphy) stumbles into a mystic ceremony and is accidentally granted mystic powers, including the ability to walk, talk, and do kung fu. Under the tutelage of his kung fu master, Penry dons a costume and becomes Hong Kong Phooey, and with the help of his trusting sidekick Spot the cat cleans up a rogues gallery of wacky criminals.

ILM Builds Mars Behind Dress Factory (1977)

(heatlantic.com) News of possible liquid salt water on Mars this week has inspired renewed speculation about the Red Planet.

The creator of Star Wars' special effects at Industrial Light and Magic created this educational film about our solar system in 1977. It's an amazing work of modeling, mattes, and moving camerawork. Below, he describes the making of the film.

"I made that film in 1976 with Richard Basehard as narrator and a classical music score recorded in the Soviet Union... this was the film that turned my career toward visual effects. We shot it in a large rented space in the back of a West Los Angeles dress factory. We hung large black curtains to keep out light out from the factory but we could still hear the sewing machine whirring away behind the curtain. They were making bathrobes at the time, out of luffy material.

It took months of preparation before we could shoot our first frame of film. We laid down a forty foot stretch of track of parallel plumbing pipes and put down a camera support whose movements were on a geared guide so every increment of movement could be controlled with the turn of a wheel. Nearly all of the shots involved a moving camera. It was like animation with three dimensional model planets instead of cell images. We found the best material for the planets was hard wood. So we hired a Hollywood cabinet shop to make nine spheres for us, about 18 inches in diameter. These were sanded and painted to match images in astronomy books and observatory photos. Shooting one frame at a time meant we never got more than a few seconds of film shot in a day. One long shot involved the camera moving in on Mars. The first long day’s work was ruined. As the camera came in on the red planet, a large piece of fuzz came into frame, sitting on the planet. It had drifted down on the sphere from the dress factory."

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/star-wars-sfx-take-on-mars-1977/243181/

Incredible CGI Demo from the Late 1980s Shows Earliest Efforts to Represent Animal Motion Realistically

(io9.com) Remember DARPA's Big Dog? Looks like this video could have inspired its design. The clip shows a composition of some animal motion studies (along with some killer dance moves) prepared for the 1989 CG short "Eurythmy" by Ohio State University's Computer Graphics Research Group.

We found this over at web TV station Network Awesome, and it's just one piece from their hours-long collection of vintage CG clips - we could watch these all day!

VIDEO - Take a look: http://io9.com/5829677/incredible-cgi-demo-from-the-late-1980s-shows-earliest-efforts-to-represent-animal-motion-realistically

Pixar, Industrial Light & Magic, and Rhythm & Hues Studios To Get Academy Tech Interns

(blogs.indiewire.com) The Academy announced today that its Science and Technology Council had selected as its 2011 interns five students who will have the opportunity to participate in 10-12 week internships providing the opportunity to experience advanced movie-making technology.

The Council itself will host one intern, while the others, who come from universities across the country such as UC Berkeley and Rochester Institute of Technology, will be hosted by Pixar, Industrial Light & Magic, and Rhythm & Hues Studios.

The Academy’s 2011 science and technology interns are:

Yunfei Bai, Georgia Institute of Technology – Rhythm & Hues Studios 
Yunfeng Bai, Cornell University – Industrial Light & Magic Yeon Jin Lee, University of California, Berkeley – Pixar Animation Studios Alex Pagliaro, Rochester Institute of Technology – Science and Technology Council Xinxin Zhang, New York University – Pixar Animation Studios.

Anim Sup Hal Hickel Says 3-D Movies Reaching a 'Natural Place'

(Washingtonpost.com) -- Hal Hickel, Academy Award winning visual effects animator for Industrial Light & Magic, talks about the special effects technology behind blockbuster films, including the "Transformers" action films and "Cowboys & Aliens." Hickel speaks with Emily Chang on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West."

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/hickel-says-3-d-movies-reaching-a-natural-place/2011/08/03/gIQA3VqysI_video.html

Paramount Opens "World War Z" Xmas 2012

Paramount Pictures have locked down a December 21st 2012 release date for "World War Z", the Brad Pitt-led film adaptation of Max Brooks' best-selling darkly comic satire about a zombie apocalypse and its political ramifications.

Many have been wondering how the studio would adapt the book which is essentially an anthology of different people's recollections about events of the war connected by the framing device of a UN researcher interviewing subjects.

Dear Indian Visual Effects Companies...

(drake.org.uk) .. stop bloody spamming.

I’ve received far too many unsolicited emails from Space Animation Studio and Digikore (of which a sample email is exhibited below) than I care to count. If you’re not able to bid amongst all the other visual effects studios without spamming, you don’t deserve the work in my opinion. Especially if I write a reply asking you not to contact me again. That doesn’t endear me to you – in fact, it enrages me even more.

I don’t get emails from ILM, Digital Domain, Baseblack, Blue Bolt or the many hundreds of other VFX studios (boutique or fecking mega-factories) spamming me.

So why the hell do Indian visual effects facilities think they can do so? I know the VFX industry tough, but this just isn’t the way to go about it. Not at all.

VFX Spam Sample: http://www.drake.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/vfxspam.png

Visual Effects Community Needs Funding to Develop Open Standard

(hollywoodreporter.com) At annual VFX confab, participants say standardization will save time and money.

VANCOUVER -- The global visual effects industry needs a set of open standards, but developing standards will require both funding and a mechanism through which decisions can be made.

That was the message that Ray Feeney -- co-chair of AMPAS’ Science and Technology Council and one of the SciTech industry leaders who has earned the Academy’s Gordon E. Sawyer Award, an Oscar statuette – brought to Siggraph, the CG confab on Monday.

“Those two things have to exist,” he warned. “It requires more than just volunteers.”

As Rob Bredow, chief technology officer at Sony Pictures Imageworks, explained, from its work on Green Lantern to The Smurfs, most every project that goes through Sony’s VFX studio involves collaboration with additional VFX houses.

While that sort of collaboration is common these days, so too is the problem that software, workflows and even naming conventions vary between facilities. That adds to both time and costs on a project.

During the panel session devoted to the need for standardization, Feeney provided an overview of the Image Interchange Framework (IIF), a SciTech Council open source initiative aimed at improving color management within pipelines and between facilities. The IIF effort is led by the SciTech Council and is supported by funding from AMPAS’ Board of Governors.

Also discussed during the panel was an open source initiative, dubbed Alembic, which aims to help VFX companies easily share complex animated scenes regardless of what software is being used. Imageworks and ILM co-developed and launched that initiative in 2010.

Both projects aim to break down barriers and in turn direct more production dollars toward the creative work itself.

“But these (open source development) projects always take longer than you think,” warned Feeney, admitting that the IIF initiative is approaching its seventh year.

IIF is currently going through the standardization process through global standards setting body Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).

To take off “it will require studios deciding this is the way they want their shows done,” Feeney said. “We are working with the studios and talking to their suppliers.”

For example, the last season of the series Justified used an IIF workflow. Feeney reported that 16 pilots have been made using IIF, and a couple of movie projects are underway that incorporate the Framework.

SPI and ILM are scheduled to discuss Alembic—which they are already using on projects at their facilities—at a joint press conference Tuesday at Siggraph, which runs through Thursday.

Could Andy Serkis Really Win an Oscar for Playing a CGI Ape?

(nymag.com) Over at Rotten Tomatoes, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is riding high with a score of 81 percent, a surprisingly generous rating for a film that, before this week, seemed like it might be little more than a B-movie starring James Franco. (You can read David Edelstein's rave here.) But it's not Franco who's scoring the film all the positive press, it's the excellence of those apes and particularly motion-capture master Andy Serkis, who, as Caesar, the sentient ape with a revolutionary streak, is winning more praise than Jesus on a Sunday morning. You know what that means, right? Time to talk about Serkis's chance of winning an Oscar! (Come on, you had almost six months off from Oscar talk! Time to climb back onto that shiny gold eunuch!)

At the beginning of last month, The Hollywood Reporter first wondered if Serkis could break through the Academy's computer-generated glass ceiling; then Jeff Wells at HollywoodElsewhere declared the Oscar buzz "totally valid"; and then Grantland argued that Serkis's Oscar bona fides are the "sole focus of the movie's publicity push." And now, here come the reviews, many of which explicitly call for Serkis to be nominated. We've gathered the praise-ridden highlights below. If the academy is even half as smitten with the Serkis's mo-cap ape as these guys are, he should start preparing to at least be nominated for his precious.

"Serkis is playing a motion-capture monkey — the prime primate, Caesar — and gives a performance so nuanced and powerful it may challenge the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to give an Oscar to an actor who is never seen in the film." —Time

"To watch what actor Andy Serkis does as Caesar, the lead ape in this movie, is to witness a kind of miracle. ... Serkis gives by far the best performance in the movie, deserving an Oscar nod from an Academy long suspicious of this "hybrid" performance art." —Rolling Stone

"That a movie starring a CGI chimp could attain this (or any) degree of emotional resonance is largely a gift of the performance of Andy Serkis, who's been called 'the Charlie Chaplin of motion capture.' ... There's a debate brewing about whether motion-capture performances like Serkis' should be eligible for the Oscar. It's easy to see why flesh-and-blood actors might be wary about technological invasion of their turf, but Serkis' incarnation of the bitter, conflicted Caesar is nothing if not fleshly." —Slate

"Serkis commands the screen, combining his malleable features with the motion-capture technology he excels at. His Caesar conveys more intelligence and emotion than any of the human characters. He’s the reason for seeing the movie, even if you’re not ape-obsessed. ... Advantage to the apes, but they have Andy Serkis on their team — and so should Oscar, when the season of gold arrives. —Toronto Star

" ... the hero's nuanced characterization couldn't have been achieved without a motion-capture performance by Andy Serkis, who manages wordlessly—well, almost—to render unto Caesar almost as wide a range of feelings as he revealed, with the help of words, when he played the madly malign little Gollum in 'The Lord of the Rings.'" —Wall Street Journal

"As Caesar, a chimp whose enhanced intelligence leads him to challenge the human power structure, Serkis makes the film his own. The ape grows from exuberant childhood to rueful, rebellious maturity in a performance of remarkable -- there is no other word for it — humanity." —Star Tribune

" ... Andy Serkis (best known as King Kong and Gollum) is like a CGI Streep, bringing humanity and a fun, primal flourish to Caesar, first played by Roddy McDowall in 1972 and now fleshed out by seamless special effects. What Serkis does with his bright eyes is a revelation." —New York Daily News

"One never knows exactly where the human ends and the effects begin, but Serkis and/or Caesar gives the best performance in the movie." —Roger Ebert

"That would be Andy Serkis of Gollum fame, midway through one of the strangest Hollywood acting careers since Peter Lorre's, who damn well steals the whole movie as the charismatic ape genius." —Salon

"All this technology wouldn't be as dazzling as it is without the work of the actors (some from Cirque du Soleil) who wear the motion capture suits, especially the redoubtable Andy Serkis, Gollum in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. He plays Caesar, who goes from being a cuddly 'Project Nim' type chimpanzee to He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed." —L.A. Times

Sony's Making 'Smurfs 2' Whether Critics and Moviegoers Like it or Not

(thecelebritycafe.com) Although the color green is usually associated with the motion, Hollywood is convinced that blue means go.

Deadline reports that Sony Pictures has given the thumbs up to a Smurfs sequel, having seen the success of the family-friendly live-action and CGI combo.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the kiddie comedy, which stars Neil Patrick Harris and Glee's Jayma Mays in the "live-action" part and credits the likes of pop star Katy Perry for the CGI portion, has proven to be a smash with family audiences and has brought in $135 million worldwide.

Variety says that the project doesn't have much to its name yet, except for Jordan Kerner as producer and an August 2013 release date.

It's not a terribly surprising move, as Sony seems keen on carving out dates for their sequels way in advance -- the production company already has plans for a sequel to the superheroic The Amazing Spider-Man, even though that won't even open until next summer.

Smurfs is a hot property, though, despite generally negative reviews. The reboot boasts a weak 22 percent rating with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences gave it a barely-better-than-awful 59 percent.

Still, the movie managed to beat both raunchy comedy The Change-Up and sci-fi action flick Cowboys & Aliens at last weekend's box office race.

Autodesk Gets Exclusive Licence for Disney’s XGen Technology

(3dworldmag.com) Autodesk has obtained a license with a five-year exclusivity period for the XGen Arbitrary Primitive Generator technology (XGen), used by Walt Disney Animation Studios on the film Tangled

Tangled. Image © Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

XGen technology was first presented by Disney in a research paper at SIGGRAPH in 2003 for the creation of computer-generated fur, feathers, and foliage.

Since then, it has most recently been used on Tangled. It has also been used to create the fur, hair, feathers, trees, leaves and rocks in Bolt, the trees and bushes in UP, the dust bunnies, debris, trees, bushes, clover and flowers in Toy Story 3, and the grass and trees in Cars 2.

Autodesk is now hoping to provide the digital entertainment creation community with the power to create similar effects and animation.

XGen is a comprehensive system for generating arbitrary primitives on a surface. A collaboration between the WDAS production and software teams, artists were provided with intuitive, creative tools for 3D animation — such as “grooming” tools for fur and hair — so that they can develop the look and feel of their characters and environments more quickly and easily.

“Twenty years ago, visual effects artists creating computer graphics were mostly mathematicians and scientists using highly technical and complex software tools that required significant amounts of custom programming,” explains chief technology officer Andy Hendrickson, Walt Disney Animation Studios.

“Back then, off-the-shelf software could not create the required details of nuance and emotion. Today, we were able to create XGen as an effective artistic tool because Autodesk provides studios like ours with comprehensive tools and a flexible, extensible platform to develop on.

“The Autodesk customisable toolset helps visual effects artists do their best work.”

Director of Studio Technology at Disney Animation, Dan Candela adds: “With Autodesk’s Maya as a core piece of our toolset, we’ve developed over 100 plug-ins and extensions for the platform to enable our artists to create a movie of the quality of ‘Tangled’ within necessary time and budgetary limits.

“Sharing our technology with the VFX and CG animation community raises the creative bar for the entire industry.”

The Avengers Production Setting Up in Cleveland

(comingsoon.net) WEWS5 has posted a look at The Avengers production setting up in Cleveland and the locals' reactions. The set is being constructed in the city at East 9th Street between Euclid and Prospect Avenues. Filming is scheduled to take place from August 15 until August 24 there.

The highly-anticipated Joss Whedon-directed film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Clark Gregg, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård and Amanda Righetti. It opens in theaters on May 4, 2012.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=80940

Lucasfilm, Sony Pictures Imageworks Launch VFX Development

(hollywoodreporter.com) VANCOUVER -- Lucasfilm and Sony Pictures Imageworks released an open source system aimed at helping VFX companies easily store and share complex animated scenes across facilities, regardless of what software is being used. The launch occurred Tuesday at annual CG confab Siggraph.
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Development of Alembic, a computer graphics interchange format, was first announced a year ago at Siggraph. The version 1.0 software-now available for download--includes newly announced features aimed at efficiencies, including automatic data de-duplication, which the companies said can result in the use of less disk space.

"If you compare Alembic performance to the best performance we had available to us at Sony Pictures Imageworks, we are seeing a 48 percent saving-48 percent faster and less disc space-and just a 48 percent faster experience for our artists. If you compare it to the best the rest of the industry had as a standard … we are actually 99.8 percent faster," Rob Bredow, chief technology officer at Imageworks, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Imageworks used Alembic on recent projects including The Smurfs, and is using it on currently projects Men in Black 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man. "The most compelling part of the Alembic story is you can get more done in a day of work. [Artists] can get right to the artistic part." Bredow said, adding that the use of Alembic would be incorporated into upcoming projects. "That changes what you can put on the screen."

Lucasfilm's Industrial Light + Magic is currently using Alembic for their work on The Avengers. "There’s a lot of shots. There's lots of characters, and we really needed something like this to make it feasible -- not just in San Francisco, but the Lucasfilm Singapore studio is doing a sizable portion of the work as well," Tommy Burnette, head of global pipeline at Lucasfilm, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Leading software suppliers have started to work on Alembic support. This week at Siggraph, Autodesk is showing Alembic support in its Maya software and intends to include support in its 2012 Subscription Advantage Pack; Luxology is offering a technical preview of support in its Modo; The Foundry is planning native support in its Katana, which enters its beta test stage in September; and Side Effects is releasing its Houdini 11.1 release this week with Alembic support.

Additional suppliers that have been talking with Imageworks and Lucasfilm about the Alembic initiative include NVIDIA and Pixar Animation Studio’s Renderman.

10 Computer-Animated or Motion-Captured Characters Who Actually Look Cool

(io9.com) Rise of the Planet of the Apes proved that a motion-capture performance can capture audiences' attention. And a mocap character doesn't need to be a lovable blue cat person to win people over.

Computer-created characters have arrived: People are even talking about an Oscar nomination for Andy Serkis. But it took a lot of innovation and brilliance to get us there, including years of small advancements and a number of unforgettable characters. Here are the 10 coolest-looking computer-animated or motion-captured characters.

Note: We're not including any characters from fully animated movies, or this list would be pretty much a celebration of all things Pixar.

10) The Owl, Labyrinth
According to IMDB, the owl in the movie's title sequence is the first attempt at a photo-realistic CG creature in a feature film. And Jim Henson, who helped make puppet characters such a huge part of live-action storytelling, managed to help spawn the computer-generated characters who replaced them.

9) Bit, Tron
One of the coolest characters in the original Tron is the guy who has the least dialogue. Bit is a binary "bit" who can just signify "Yes" or "No" by changing shape and making a noise — although Bit seems to be able to understand complex questions and situations. And Bit represented a huge leap forward in technical effects at the time, using vector graphics to create the character and the then-new morphing software to make him change shape. Even though he's only got two things to say, he's one of the characters who sticks in your mind the most.

8) The Dinosaurs, Jurassic Park
When this film came out, these creatures represented a revolutionary change from anything we'd seen before. And they launched a whole new era of creature design. More than anything else, because Spielberg and his team of effects wizards were using CG to create creatures we'd imagined but never seen on screen, they avoided the "uncanny valley" problem. Check out a featurette from ILM about how JP changed CGI, at left.

7) Dobby from the Harry Potter movies
The Potter films had so many CG characters that came to life, including Aragog, Buckbeak and the Hungarian Horntail. But Dobby is probably the one that most people remember. He was created by the British visual effects house Framestore — by the same designers who did the current Doctor Who title sequence. They created 300 different facial expressions for him by his final appearance in Deathly Hallows. Dobby had to be painted in digitally, to replace the much larger actor who played him in the actual scenes.

6) General Grievous, Star Wars
Okay, sure, the Star Wars prequels: Bleh. But General Grievous represents an amazing achievement. From his first conceptions by master concept artist Warren Fu, to the maquettes to the computer modeling, he's a striking character. And he's one of the most complex computer models ILM ever created, including a ton of different textures and types of stuff. During combat sequences, he's played by a greenscreen actor, but he's always expressive and weird. For our money, the CG Yoda never lives up to his puppet original, but Grievous is a fully realized evil character.

5) Dragons, Game of Thrones
So many insane things happen in the final episode of Game of Thrones season one, and it all leads up to one huge, Westeros-shaking revelation. Amazingly, when we meet the creatures who give their names to the latest book in George R.R. Martin's saga, it still stands out as the moment from the finale. Those creatures just look so alive, and so curious and full of personality, from the get-go. According to the producers, it took hours of discussions and pages of sketches and notes to get them right. (Warning: Video is NSFW.)

4) The Wolf Pack, The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The wolves each had to have human eyes but wolf features, and six separate distinct personalities — not to mention fur that moved realistically. The animators at Tippett Studio went to a wolf sanctuary and spent time with the endangered wolves, getting to know them. They even created their own "Frankenwolf" out of pelts from already-dead wolves. The result was a set of digital creatures which arguably had more personality than any of the humans on the screen.

3) Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3:
The second and third Pirates movies are known for going way overboard in visual effects and storytelling elements, but Davy Jones still manages to stand out as a great character. The Cthulu-like Jones manages to avoid the uncanny valley nightmare of looking like a human gone wrong, and instead looks genuinely like a sea-creature. And the weird design actually helps Bill Nighy's excellent performance, because — let's face it — he has a great presence, but it doesn't scream "supernatural pirate."

2) Gollum, Lord of the Rings
This is the one that everybody always thinks of, the character that put Caesar actor Andy Serkis on the map and proved that mo-cap characters could be chilling and arresting. Both Gollum and Smeagol felt absolutely present in Serkis' amazing performance. Just watch this insane video showing Serkis in his mocap suit and the finished product.

1) Queen Moat, Avatar
James Cameron's motion-capture masterpiece laid the groundwork for the new Apes movie, as well as the upcoming Tintin and John Carter adaptations. And all of the Na'vi had tons of personality, including Zoe Saldana's Neytiri. But trust C.C.H. Pounder to bring an extra dignity and presence to Queen Moat, Neytiri's mother. As one-dimensional and cliched as the Na'vi society is, when Moat speaks for her people, you believe in it. And you believe in her. The technology took a huge leap forward with the Na'vi, but it worked best with Pounder's character.

Cameron's Lightstorm Hires Avatar Marketing Guru

(Lightstorm Entertainment) With the growing universe in Avatar 2 and Avatar 3, James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment has hired Kathy Franklin as President of Franchise Development to expand the franchise and brand beyond the traditional licensing and merchandise. Here's the official announcement:

Kathy Franklin has been named President of Franchise Development at Lightstorm Entertainment. Announced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, the hire signifies Lightstorm's commitment, in collaboration with Twentieth Century Fox, to building the franchise and brand of AVATAR beyond the traditional licensing and merchandising avenues.

Cameron commented, "Anticipating the exponential growth of the Avatar universe, we looked for someone who could lead a team that will cement Avatar as a world class brand across all platforms and markets. Kathy's experience, coupled with her drive and vision for what Avatar can be, made her the right choice."

Walden Set To Adapt "Flat Stanley" As Live Action Feature

Walden Media has acquired film rights to Jeff Brown's children's book series "Flat Stanley" about a two-dimensional person stuck in a 3D world says Deadline.

The adventures follow Stanley Lambchop, a kid who is given a bulletin board by his father to put above his bed. One night it falls off and flattens him. He's fine other than the fact he's now two-dimensional.

He can now can slip under doors, pose as a kite, and solves an art heist by posing as a wall painting.

The film will be shot live action, with visual effects being employed to turn the lead character into a literally flat hero. John Carls will produce.

Motion Control Maven

(variety.com) Gravity's Vfx supervisor Jim Rider has always been as transfixed by the ways films get made as by the pics themselves.

"When I was a kid, I remember learning about how the effects in 'Star Wars' were done and the early days of ILM," Rider says. "The stories of them blowing up spaceships in a parking lot in Van Nuys were as fascinating to me as watching the whole movie."

It's no wonder then that Rider has spent his career in moviemaking -- starting out in motion-control camera operation and compositing, and working on TV series such as "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and films ranging from such blockbusters as "Titanic" to indie darlings like "I Love You Phillip Morris."

Rider likes artistic challenges. His motion-control skills were put to good use in "Crazy Stupid Love."

Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa wanted to do a lengthy, continuous tracking shot showing the transformation of Steve Carell's character from a depressed divorced man into a skilled pickup artist. As the camera pans inside a bar, it finds Carell seated in various places, each time wearing a different outfit and picking up a different woman as it traces his growing confidence.

Rider tackled the challenge by doing a 3D pre-visualization of the points of view needed to get what the helmers wanted, worked out the camera moves, then loaded that information into the computer of the motion-control system.

"We used a Bulldog crane because it worked well in the bar set that was built for the movie," says Rider, who has known Ficarra and Requa for 20 years and worked on many student and professional projects with them.

"Even though CG has made a lot of motion-control work unnecessary, situations always come up where skills you learned a long time ago help you solve a new problem," adds Rider, who's now at work on Brett Ratner's "Tower Heist" for Gravity in New York.

'Avengers' & 'John Carter' At Disney's D23 Expo

(hollywoodreporter.com) In the Mouse House's answer to Comic-Con, stars of the upcoming "Muppets," "Wreck-It Ralph" and "Brave" are expected to be in attendance.

Disney will present sneak peeks at The Muppets, John Carter, Oz The Great and Powerful, Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie, Pixar's Brave and Marvel’s The Avengers at its studio-themed convention known as D23 Expo.

Disney will also trot out the stars of some of those movies, including Jason Segel, Kermit, and Miss Piggy (Muppets), Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, and Willem Dafoe (John Carter), Kelly Macdonald and Kevin McKidd (voicework for Brave), Jennifer Garner (The Odd Life of Timothy Green), Jack McBrayer and Sarah Silverman (Wreck-It Ralph), and Avengers cast members, whom have not been revealed.

The company, in making the announcement, also promised surprise guests, with some speculating cast members of the not-yet-in-production Lone Ranger, starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, could show up as well.

The convention, now in its second year, runs August 19 to 21, but it’s August 20 that promises to be the big day, with the sneak peaks and cast roll call. Also on hand for that day will be Disney Studios chairman Rich Ross, production president Sean Bailey, Disney Animation and Pixar chief John Lasseter and Marvel man Kevin Feige.

D23 Expo, held at the Anaheim Convention Center, is designed to be a Comic-Con-style celebration of things Disney and D23’s nascent arrival has affected how Disney (and Marvel) now approach Comic-Con; the studio, for example, didn’t bring Avengers to the San Diego-based pop culture mega-event, waiting to hold it for its own event.

A large amount of time will be devoted to Pixar, which is celebrated its 25th anniversary, including a look at the key members of the Pixar creative team (in a panel including Lasseter, Jim Morris, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, Lee Unkrich, Mark Andrews and Dan Scanlon), a look at the characters of Pixar’s new movie Monsters University, a focus on composer Michael Giacchino, a look at the art of Brave, and a panel discussion with the filmmakers behind the Pixar shorts.

Also on the schedule, an advance screening of the 3D version of The Lion King and and the upcoming ABC holiday special Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nicefrom Walt Disney Animation Studios.

On the convention centre floor, fans will be able to see a collection of props from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, engage in drawing classes, meet-and-greets, book signings, among other activities.

Will the UK Riots Delay RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Release?

(whatculture.com) In a week that has seen cities across England ransacked by gangs of rioting youths, what a coincidence it is that the big cinema release of the forthcoming weekend sees a major city being overrun by troops of wild apes in scenes reminiscent of those that have dominated the British news for the past 72 hours.

While the vast majority of audiences would enjoy the movie as a fantastic piece of storytelling, be marvelled by the amazing visual effects and appreciate the commentary on art imitating life (I gave the film 5 stars in my review and it deserves your attention), which now carries even greater resonance, there is the fear that some will be influenced and incited by the piece; thus leading to scenes that the press would no doubt dub as ‘life imitating art’.

In addition to this there will be question marks surrounding the suitability of a release that deals with such subject matter given the thousands of people who have been directly and seriously affected by the riots. So do not be surprised if pressure is put on 20th Century Fox to review the imminent release of their big summer blockbuster Rise of the Planet of the Apes. And then a deeper question is… should it?

The question then becomes when will it be appropriate to release it? A week later? A month? Not considering the issue of timing for Fox, who have negotiated this weekend to capitalise on audiences by avoiding competition from the likes of Harry Potter, Captain America, Conan and Final Destination 5, but focusing on when it will be considered appropriate to release this film on moral grounds. How long will have to pass before it is thought safe to release it without any actions of individuals being attributed to it? Which then brings us to the question of to what extent does Hollywood and the arts in general have responsibility over the behaviour of it’s consumers?

Video games like Grand Theft Auto have already come under attack and blamed for the riots; they have been in England for years and this is the first instance of riots on this scale. Ben Affleck saw the theatrical release of his sublime directorial debut ‘Gone Baby Gone’ shelved for months because of the parallels with the Madeleine McCann kidnapping. Then when eventually released months later hampered by the media storm that surrounded it and the film suffered.

So while I will completely understand if Fox decides to delay the release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes amidst concerns of inciting further trouble or a media backlash on the grounds of insensitivity, I shall see it as a great shame if a film that is so deserving of attention and praise becomes another victim of the insanity that has swept across this country, caused by a minority of cretins who aren’t worthy of being mauled to death by a shrewdness of apes!

Transformers 4 - Will There Be One?

(movie-moron.com) It’s been a momentous week for the Transformers franchise. So is there going to be a Transformers 4 or a reboot? And what can we expect from it?

A couple of days ago Transformers: Dark of the Moon reached $1 billion worldwide gross. That’s $338 million in the US and $663 million internationally. Incredibly it’s the first billion dollar grossing movie in Paramount’s 99 year history. And it’s one of the 10 highest grossing films worldwide of all time. This was no doubt helped by the inflated ticket price of 3D, but still it’s a great achievement, especially coming off the back of a generally disliked second movie.

So what happens now? Shia LaBeouf and Michael Bay have had enough. Shia told MTV “I’m not coming back to do another one. I don’t think Mike [Bay] will either,” the actor continued. “It is still a hot property I think, especially coming out of the third one. So I imagine they’ll reboot it at some point with someone else.” Bay wrote on his site, “I’m kind of sad to leave the franchise.”

It’s a common Hollywood tactic to pretend you want to leave a successful franchise just to boost your next payday. But after five years of Transformers blue-screen filmmaking and more money than they could ever spend, it could well be genuine.

If they do go, will it mean a reboot like Shia suggests? No. The producer has stated “Certainly not a reboot. We haven’t lost the Transformers. They didn’t grow up or become expensive like Tobey Maguire. I’m pretty sure there will be a second trilogy. I am pretty sure it will kick ass. And I am pretty sure some of you will hate it because it wasn’t all bots.”

There have been rumours that Spielberg might direct or that Jason Statham might be the new leading man (he’s dating Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in real life), but trust me those will prove to be nonsense. Bay himself has said the Statham thing is untrue.

TRANSFORMERS 3 SPOILERS: One problem Transformers 4 will have is how to deal with the bridges burnt by Bay at the end of Dark of the Moon. Killing Starscream and Megatron in such a final way means there’s going to be a huge gap in future movies. Then again, could Megatron somehow be recovered enough to become Galvatron (the ‘re-born’ form of a destroyed Megatron)? And were they both fairly minor players in Dark of the Moon anyway?

Bay said he wasn’t keen on the Dinobots, but if he’s exiting then this would seem the time. They’re great characters, would present a fresh new spectacle on screen (giant metal dinosaurs trashing a city), and their prehistoric-form would offer some obvious plot opportunies if it meant prehistoric-origins too. The series sure does love to show the Transformers dropping in on earth’s history.

Unicron (the planet-sized Transformer from the original animated movie) is the villain most fans want to see. While this would be jaw-droppingly spectacular, it does present a huge logistical problem – how is Shia LaBeouf’s human replacement going to battle something the size of a planet?

Catwoman Stunt Double Barrels Through IMAX Camera

(latinoreview.com) Catwoman Stunt Double Barrels Through IMAX Camera This past Friday, we got our first look at Anne Hathaway as Catwoman in 'The Dark Knight Rises,' as well as the lovely side-profile of her stunt double riding one of Batman's motorcycle-like vehicles, the Batpod. During filming that day, the stunt double did a lot more than just look good -- she barreled through one of the IMAX cameras during one of the takes. You can watch the video of the minor accident below thanks to TMZ. A source told them that nobody was injured, and even the camera came out of the traumatic event just fine.

VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.latinoreview.com/news/catwoman-stunt-double-barrels-through-imax-camera-14411