Post-Production
Latest
So you need a Louisiana colorist: A post-production worker directory
With more and more productions blossoming in, we bring you a list of Louisiana colorists with background and contact information simplified, as your matchmaker for Louisiana post-production.
VFX
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California VFX artists: Studio Arts LA offers up to 240 hours of free education for creatives
The Studio Arts post-secondary fine arts school in Los Angeles is offering valuable skills - possibly for free - for VFX artists seeking work. Learn how to get up to 240 hours of funded training by Studio Arts LA.
Film Production
Latest
Here’s Your SIGGRAPH 2023 Buzz Straight From the Floor
As SIGGRAPH Conference carries through the week with dozens of exhibitors and presentations, here are a few of the topics that have made a cannonball splashdown at the SIGGRAPH 2023.
SFX
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2021’s ‘Dune’ vs. 1990’s ‘Tremors’: The shared prehistoric DNA between two generations of bad-ass worms
An audience unfamiliar with the Dune universe might say, “Dune totally ripped off their sandworm idea from Tremors.” But Frank Herbert wrote the original Dune in 1965, so maybe Tremors is the real ripper-offer here. Let's compare them.
Animation
Latest
ICVR’s Animated Primitive Candlemaker Short ‘Lightfall’ Is the Latest Unreal Project To Win an Epic MegaGrant
ICVR, a digital game development and virtual production studio out of Los Angeles, didn’t have to spin any wheels. No stale basic cable audience booed them and what possibly happened when they learned they had acquired an Epic MegaGrant for their animated short film, Lightfall, is that they felt relief and gratitude.
Marketing
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Grilled movie hotdogs vs. cinematic pork butts: the marketing strategy contrasts of ‘Crater’ and ‘Barbie’ show that all we want is nostalgia food
Two 2023 projects serve as quality contrasting examples of movie marketing campaigns: Disney+’s upcoming made-for-streaming premiere of Crater, and Greta Gerwig’s live-action theatrical release of Barbie.
OTHER POSTS
The post-production elements seasoning the galactic stew of ‘Rebel Moon’
Rebel Moon has employed a half dozen of the biggest post-production & VFX houses to complete work on a film being promoted as a planetary behemoth of scale and spectacle.
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If only Mrs. Doubtfire had Metahuman Animator: early reactions to Unreal’s performance capture pipeline
Unreal Engine released the Metahuman Animator pipeline for facial performance capture the second week of June, and the reactions have been positive if not captivated.
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The speaker lineup at the 2023 VIEW Conference is like the Space Jam Dream Team of VFX and animation
With an early confirmed speaker list released, here’s a look at who’s attending the event and what you can expect from the 2023 VIEW Conference.
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Let’s get technical: The keyboard shortcuts for Autodesk’s Open RV
Whether you’re new to Open RV or a veteran of the commercial RV through a ShotGrid subscription, any user can benefit from RV keyboard shortcuts – especially those now familiarizing themselves with the new open-source version of RV.
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We now pause your broadcast to melt into the lush animation of ‘Elemental’
Elemental looks like it’s going to parachute down from a Pixar Animation Studios blimp and land to fill audiences with wonderment and baby tears. The week before release, here’s the speculation on why Elemental is already considered a visual achievement.
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What’s happening at SIGGRAPH 2023?
SIGGRAPH 2023 will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from August 6th to August 10th, with the opportunity to watch much of the conference live-streamed. With many of the scheduling specifics now available, here are a few highlights of the upcoming 2023 SIGGRAPH Conference.
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Unreal Fellowship shows that during the 2023 writers’ strike, artists can find avenues to creatively grow
One of the expressive avenues currently open to artists on a slowdown caused by the WGA strike is the 2023 Unreal Fellowship in animation.
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What does environmental sustainability look like in VFX? The 2023 movements toward green production
The movie industry has come a long way and is still working its way forward in environmental sustainability in film production. Here’s a look at where things are at in the industry-wide push toward green production methods, and where things are going.
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Blood, sweat, and more blood: VFX Supervisor Andy Byrne talks the CG effects of ‘Renfield’
We talked with VFX Supervisor Andy Byrne about his experience on Renfield, reflections on everything from mental health to technique, and about a film that wanted Red Sea levels of blood.
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What’s your blood type? A lesson in the stylistic spectrum of movie gore
So many gory movies have iconic blood and every movie has its own style and grace, so today we pay homage to the ancestral bloodlines of…well, blood. Let’s get bloody.
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The John Wick franchise cinematography and the cameras and color palettes that give us elegant luscious melty noir
We enter the back alleys and hotel lobbies of New York City to explore why the John Wick cinematography is so endearing, and the techniques that helped achieve an atmosphere that stacks color the same way John Wick stacks bodies.
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The facial animation frontier quest for complete realism: examining the developments and attitudes of 2023
The gamer/film lover attitude of “it’s still not good enough” is reflected in the companies working frantically to be the best in facial animation. Here are a few of the 2023 developments in the quest for dominance in facial animation.
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The 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival prepares for another record-breaking attendance
The 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival will take place from June 11th to 17th in Annecy, France. Billed as “The world’s largest event dedicated to animation”, here’s what you can look forward to at the annual festival honoring the best in animation.
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The ‘Shadow and Bone’ VFX: Pure nerd speculation on what viewers can look for in Season Two
You don’t have to be someone who writes Shadow and Bone fan fiction to appreciate a well-built fantasy playground, and here’s what we might appreciate from the Shadow and Bone VFX in Season Two.
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Crafty Apes VFX releases highlight reel from ‘National Treasure: Edge of History’ series
Crafty Apes recently released a highlight reel of some of the finer moments of ‘National Treasure: Edge of History’ series that concluded its season finale in February.
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VFX unionization: How the IATSE and industry workers are voicing their drive towards stability, respect, and peace of mind
The 2023 IATSE survey emphasizes the challenges that VFX workers face and why they need unionization. What’s the path forward look like for VFX unionization?
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“You will draw orc flesh!” Character artist Jared Chavez’s tutorial series teaches artists how to render and texture lifelike orcs
Senior Character Artist Jared Chavez of Firewalk Studios has created an intimate and comprehensive series of Youtube tutorials to help guide you through orc rendering and texturing.
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From VFX bibles to coffee table canon for nerds: The best VFX books
The knowledge that helps a VFX artist support the world of a story is found within the stories of the VFX artists that came before. Some of these artists articulated their knowledge for future generations, and that’s what this is: a collection of the best VFX books, assembled for the filmmaker forever aspiring to improve their craft.
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