Month: May 2018

  • Retro vfx: Godzilla is 20!

    In vfxblog’s ‘Man-in-suit, miniatures, mechanics and modern CG: looking back at 20 years since Godzilla’, we chat to visual effects supervisor Volker Engel about this massive 1998 release and its use of practical, miniature, animatronics, puppet and CGI effects – all at once. The Q&A has some fun new facts about the teaser trailer for…

  • Invisible effects and how they were invisible

    There’s always so much great film work around that’s invisible, and for 3D World magazine, I highlighted a few recent releases. My favourite bit is this feature image which just has the sand bags for a deer that will be later added in for the film, Three Billboards.

  • Behind the scenes of Altered Carbon

    For 3D World magazine, I talked to vfx supe Everett Burrell about the making of Netflix’s Altered Carbon – an amazing show.

  • Willow is 30!

    It’s very nearly the 30th anniversary of Ron Howard’s Willow, a huge effects film full of practical fx, miniatures, optical composites, matte paintings…and digital morphing. This was ILM’s big breakthrough into 2D image manipulation. I recently wrote about for VFX Voice magazine, and you can check out that article here.

  • Welcome…to Jurassic Park (25 years ago)

    For 3D Artist magazine, I looked back at the pioneering CGI work in Jurassic Park by ILM and Tippett Studio. Keep an eye out on vfxblog for more Jurassic 25th anniversary coverage.

  • Thanos, by Digital Domain and Weta Digital

    I was particularly impressed at how both DD and Weta Digital made Thanos for Infinity War. Here’s my Cartoon Brew coverage.

  • Submit your film to VIEW Conference!

    Are you a filmmaker? The 2018 VIEW Conference is now accepting submissions for its 2018 film competitions. There’s a €2,000 first prize – the VIEW Award – for short animated film, and the ITALIANMIX award for Italian short films. Here’s some more info on how to enter: – The VIEW AWARD is open to professionals…

  • Remembering this killer ILM shot from Deep Impact, now 20 years old

    20 years ago, the first of 1998’s asteroid films, Deep Impact, was released. In some ways it used visual effects rather sparingly to showcase the result of a partial meteor hit on the Earth. Massive waves hitting New York were a feature of the film, and these were realised as CG water sims by ILM.…

  • Interested in supporting vfxblog?

    Get in touch with Ian Failes at beforesandafters@gmail.com.

  • The week that was at FMX 2018

    I’m now back in Sydney but last week I had an extraordinary time at FMX in Stuttgart. There I was lucky enough to introduce several killer VFX and animation presentations, and host my own track – ‘Then & Now’ – with Chris Wedge from Blue Sky Studios and Phil Tippett. Another highlight was moderating an…