• The latest from VFX Voice

    At VFX Voice, two new online articles I wrote have now been published. The first is a breakdown of one scene from Downsizing, which utilised some neat miniaturisation effects. And the second is about the awesome stampede in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

  • 5 visual stories from 5 VFX Oscar nominees

    Over the past year I’ve been able to cover the visual effects in all of the films nominated for the VFX Oscar – Blade Runner 2049, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Kong: Skull Island, The Last Jedi, and War for the Planet of the Apes. Now in this special series of visual stories, I’m…

  • Inside Kong: Skull Island’s final battle

    There are a number of fierce fight scenes in Kong: Skull Island – one of the most intense is the final battle between Kong and a giant Skullcrawler. ILM handled the complex sequence, which included not only extensive character animation, but also a photoreal jungle and water environment and plenty of effects simulations. Academy Award…

  • The making of The Last Jedi’s crystal foxes

    Towards the end of The Last Jedi, we meet on Crait a number of Vulptex creatures, fox-like animals with crystalline bristles. Although a detailed animatronic was made for the production, the Vulptices were ultimately crafted in CG by ILM. Academy Award nominee Ben Morris from ILM was the overall visual effects supervisor on The Last…

  • The art of translating humans to apes

    In War for the Planet of the Apes, Weta Digital proved once again its status as a leading creature house, and one of the most accomplished at taking motion captured human performances and using that as a basis to further realize photoreal digital characters with meticulous attention to detail. Academy Award nominee Daniel Barrett was…

  • The story behind those crazy dioramas in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

    A unique scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has Ego (Kurt Russell) explaining to the Guardians his history of universe travel and his many lovers. This is told in a sequence featuring visual effects by Animal Logic, which created 3D picture dioramas with characters inside resembling almost porcelhine-like statues. Academy Award nominee Christopher…

  • How the orange haze of Blade Runner 2049’s Las Vegas meant 13 hour renders

    Some of the most visually startling moments in Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 are the distinctively orange and hazy Las Vegas scenes. The look for these was said to be inspired by a rare Sydney sandstorm (one that I remember living through). Academy Award nominee Richard R. Hoover was Framestore’s visual effects supervisor on Blade…

  • Tracking nightmares: behind Blur’s half-digested Billy shots in Deep Rising – from 20 years ago

    “We said, sure, we can do it! And we did it, although it was very, very painful.” – David Stinnett, Blur Studio While it may not have made a splash at the box office when it was released 20 years ago, Stephen Somers’ Deep Rising certainly contained some considerable ‘out-there’ practical and CG creature work. Most…

  • A guide to the best horror effects

    For MovieMaker magazine, I talked to practical and digital effects artists from Blood Brothers and Alchemy24 about combining forces to make some killer horror fx. The full story is in the MovieMaker ‘Complete Guide to Making Movies 2018’.

  • Coming this week to vfxblog – 5 visual stories from 5 VFX Oscar nominees

    This week I’ll be posting five original visual stories showcasing the work of the five films nominated for the visual effects Oscar, with observations from five of the nominees themselves. Stay tuned to vfxblog.com…