In this new article for Cartoon Brew, I go through with Framestore animation supervisor Pablo Grillo how the studio crafted Paddington.
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Old-school Star Wars and the path of innovation
For VFX Voice magazine, I looked back at some of the big ticket innovations ILM introduced with each Star Wars film. Loved the history here.
VFX Voice on The Last Jedi
What a thrill to chat to ILM vfx supe Ben Morris about The Last Jedi (we did this a few months before the film was out – it was tough!). VFX Voice magazine has the story.
Re-visiting Jumanji
Anyone who saw Jumanji in the 90s knew that CG and VFX was already changing films forever. I got to chat to former ILM animation supervisor and now director Kyle Balda about his work on it, for VFX Voice magazine.
The VFX magic of ‘The Shape of Water’
Recently, I was able to interview several of the effects filmmakers behind Guillermo del Toro’s amazing The Shape of Water. You can check those pieces out at VFX Voice and Cartoon Brew. The film has also been shortlisted in the final 10 movies for consideration for the visual effects Oscar, and will be at the VFX Bake-Off today in Los Angeles.
Now the studio behind the film, Fox Searchlight Pictures, has released a two-minute VFX breakdown. It showcases the digital effects by Mr. X Inc, championed by Dennis Berardi (Senior Visual Effects Supervisor), Luke Groves (Co-Visual Effects Supervisor), Trey Harrell (Digital Effects Supervisor) and Kevin Scott (Animation Supervisor). And it also serves to show the impressive collaboration between Mr. X’s digital work and that of the practical creature effects, led by Mike Hill (Creature Lead Designer/Sculptor) and Legacy Effects’ Shane Mahan (Project Supervisor/Make Up Effects). Enjoy the video above!
Ten things I learned from ILM about ‘The Last Jedi’s’ space battles
Space battles are synonymous with Star Wars films. The original trilogy is fondly remembered for ILM’s use of motion control and miniatures. These days, like on The Last Jedi, digital ship models, photorealistic rendering and simulated crashes and explosions are of course the norm.
But to ensure the space battles in this latest Star Wars adventure echoed those memorable scenes from the first films, ILM employed several ways to bring them to life, even starting an in-house project to copy – at least to some degree – the look and feel of the original motion control miniature movements.
vfxblog recently visited ILM London to find out more on that process, plus a whole bunch of other things about the scenes in which Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) takes on the Dreadnought, and when Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) launches his spinning attack on the Resistance cruiser.
Continue reading “Ten things I learned from ILM about ‘The Last Jedi’s’ space battles”
The Shape of Water, amazing
One of my favourite articles to write this year: a look at The Shape of Water effects with Legacy and Mr. X, for VFX Voice magazine.
Blade Runner 2049: going deep with DNEG
Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 is one of the 10 films short-listed for the VFX Oscar. I’ve covered several aspects of the film so far including with overall visual effects supervisor John Nelson, but here is a brand new interview with Double Negative visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert. DNEG was responsible for views of future Los Angeles, Joi the holographic girlfriend of K, and a memorable ménage à trois featuring Joi and K and Mariette.
Check out the Q&A below, plus a befores and afters video breakdown of many of these visual effects and other shots in the film by studios including Framestore, Atomic Fiction, MPC and Rodeo FX. Continue reading “Blade Runner 2049: going deep with DNEG”
Checking in with Neill Blomkamp’s Oats Studios
The January 2018 issue of VFX Voice has a piece I wrote on Oats Studios, Neill Blomkamp’s experimental outfit.
A director’s perspective on VFX
It was such a pleasure to be able to interview Bong Joon-ho, the director of Okja, about his experience with VFX on the film. Check it out at Cartoon Brew.
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