The Rise of the Previs of Planet of the Apes

The digital simians in Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of Apesrepresent breakthrough performance capture work by Andy Serkis and incredible VFX tech via Weta Digital. To help in the planning effort for the effects-heavy film, a bevy of previs artists tasked with literally choreographing just about every shot featuring a digital ape. fxguidetalks to Image Engine and Pixel Liberation Front, two of several studios involved in the previs.

The Lion King 3D: in-depth with Disney

At fxguide, Disney stereographer Robert Neuman discusses his work for the 3D conversion of The Lion King, recently re-released in cinemas. The project involved unarchiving the original Disney CAPS files, and the creation of an entire depth score for the film.

7 Deadly Mistakes You Might Be Making On Your Photography Website

Do you know that your photography website can actually be damaging your business?

The good news is that most of these websites suck.Google tells us that there are almost one million photography websites on the web right now. This is bad news for you.

Photographers keep making the same mistakes over and over again, never getting the best out of their websites.

This post will show you what are these deadly mistakes and how you can fix them in order to get ahead of your competition.

1. Your Photos Have Low Quality Or Low Resolution

This one is a killer and also surprisingly common. Some photographers are afraid to upload high quality images to their portfolio because they think it increases the chances of unauthorized usage. Forget about this!

Use only a few of your best quality images and make sure that they’re shown on your website with an height or width of at least 800px. If you’re worried about copyright use a watermark.

Image by: Chris Blakeley

2. You’re Not Saying Where You’re Located

The first thing an interested prospect wants to know when he arrives to your website is almost always: “where’s this guy located?”. The second being how much do you charge.

Don’t just say where you’re located, advertise it! It’s one of the things that makes you different from your competition so show it on every single page of your website. Of course this tip is only useful to businesses that rely on location-based services, like wedding photography.

3. You’re Using Flash

Flash is a technology that allows web developers to create some impressive looking websites but it has a big disadvantage, search engines can’t read text inside a Flash website.

For a search engine, a Flash website is just like a gigantic blank page without any text at all. Text is king in the search engine world and therefore this makes it much harder to rank high on search engines, which is not good for your business.

4. You Don’t Have A Contact Page

Image by: Storebukkebruse

This is one deadly mistake that is more common than you think! You musthave a dedicated contact page with at least an e-mail address and a phone number but the more information the better.

Also, try to set up an e-mail contact form because it increases the amount of people contacting you. Make sure you show it on every page!

5. You Don’t Have A Blog

A portfolio-only website is just not enough nowadays. The web is now more dynamic than ever and the photography website with 3 or 4 pages and little text doesn’t stand a chance!

The solution is to create a blog. Blogs are dynamic by nature and give a breath of fresh air to any stale photography website. They’re also great for SEO and people love them.

Now, don’t use your blog as a portfolio by posting image after image. Use it in a unique and personal way by telling stories, helping other photographers or sharing new ideas. Also make sure your blog and portfolio is under the same domain because it’s better for SEO.

6. Your Website Is Slow

I personally hate this one! A slow loading time is one of the main reasons why people leave a website. Search engines also dislike slow websites, it’s been proved that Google gives lower rankings to slow websites.

The solution is to get a fast and optimized web server for photography websites, avoiding Flash and other fluffy effects. Also, don’t upload super high resolution 10MP images if your website only displays them at 800×600! And remember, use .JPG for photos.

7. Your Portfolio Is Hard To Navigate

Again, avoid using Flash. Flash usually means a complex site. People like simple! Don’t try to be unique with the navigation or design of your website, be unique with your content.Sometimes it almost feels like I have to re-learn the web with each photography website I visit. I know that all photographers like to have a visually impressive and unique website but please make it usable!

Now be honest, are you making any of these mistakes? Let me know in the comments.

Peter Almeida is a web designer, treehugger and photography lover that specializes in SEO Photography Websites. You can read more about this in his free e-book, SEO for Photographers.

Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/7-deadly-mistakes-you-might-be-making-on-your-photography-website#ixzz1YmPKurVx

Masters of illusion, India the Growing VFX market

The film's release is still months away, but the trailer has already created a buzz. And judging by the trailer, whatever the final commercial and critical verdict on Shah Rukh Khan's forthcoming science fiction Ra.One, it will go down in Indian film history as the movie which has used computer generated visual effects footage the most in Indian cinema so far, putting even last year's Rajinikanth blockbuster Enthiran or Robot in the shade.

Hardly any of those who have seen the trailer are discussing Khan's looks or his performance in Ra.One, short for Random Access - Version 1.0, or the plot. Everyone is gushing about the film's visual effects, or VFX. Even Hollywood is impressed. "New minute of Captain America visuals pales in comparison to the 10-second Ra. One teaser," says Movieline, an international website that reviews film trailers. So too director Shekhar Kapur, whose Mr India made in 1987 was one of the first Indian films to use VFX, tweeted: "Shah Rukh's Ra.One has raised the bar on VFX technique in Indian cinema... Hope other filmmakers catch up!"

Ra.One is a pointer to not only the levels of excellence achieved by the Indian VFX industry, but also to Indian cinema's increasing use of VFX technology. For many years, Indian VFX units catered mainly to Hollywood and ad film makers in India, with feature film directors - barring a few exceptions - keeping their distance. Suddenly, attitudes have changed.

Among the high-profile films of late that used VFX extensively are Chandni Chowk to China (1,500 VFX shots), Aladin (1,600 shots), Blue (800 shots), Guzaarish (350 shots) and above all, Enthiran (2,000 shots). Currently, industry insiders estimate around 70 per cent of Indian films are using VFX.

"In Bollywood, VFX has evolved only in the last five years," says Merzin Tavadia, co-founder and Chief Creative Director, India, of Prime Focus, a leading VFX and postproduction studios that is working on the 3D conversion of The Phantom Menace of the Star Wars series. The first Hindi film to do so on a large scale was the 2008 release Love Story 2050. "It had 1,200 VFX shots. The film bombed, but the VFX was something Bollywood had never seen before," Tavadia adds

Indeed, even the subsequent Indian films that relied heavily on VFX had mixed fortunes at the box office. But all that changed with Enthiran, which was a tremendous success, raking in Rs 350 crore worldwide. And now there is Ra.One, which industry sources say has around 3,500 VFX shots, outstripping not only Enthiran in this respect, 2008 230 but even the much-discussed Hollywood blockbuster James Cameron's Avatar, whose score was around 2,700 shots. Haresh Hingorani, its VFX supervisor, says: "The most difficult of shots in Ra.One were the ones that required Shah Rukh's 'suit enhancement', which means combining actual shots taken using a camera with VFX shots. There are 800 suit shots and it took us five months to develop the pipeline for them."

New thinking
VFX studio owners say the mindset of Bollywood directors is changing. They are realising the enormous possibilities that VFX opens up, especially for science fiction, adventure and mythological films. "VFX is no longer an afterthought," says Sanjot Sonalkar, Head, Creative at Reliance Media Works, or RMW. "It is serious business. Earlier film producers would come to us and ask what stock VFX shots we had. They wanted to choose some and incorporate in their films. We don't have that situation now."

"Most filmmakers horizons have expanded," adds Viral Thakkar, VFX Supervisor at Pixion, a post-production studio. "They are now capable of thinking and writing scripts around VFX. They are also becoming more confident that post-production studios can deliver the kind of work they are looking for." The effects have become so creative that they blend well into films, adds Sanjay Yashroy, Chief Operating Officer, Pixion. "The audience does not realise VFX is being used."

Even so, Bollywood (Ra.One is an exception) has some way to go before it catches up with Hollywood. For a VFXdriven film, rarely do Indian producers budget more than 10 per cent for the effects, while their Hollywood counterparts could earmark as much as 60 to 70 per cent. Then, there is the size of budget, itself. Hollywood studios can spend $200 to 250 million on VFX alone, while the entire budget of Enthiran, for instance, was around Rs 160 crore or $36 million. "We tried to deliver visual effects of international standards within budget constraints," says V. Srinivas Murali Mohan, the film's VFX supervisor.

Again, to get the maximum impact out of VFX in films, detailed pre-production - the work that goes into filmmaking before shooting starts - is a must. Here too, Bollywood lags well behind Hollywood. "Pre-production means the development of the concept and the use of pre-visualisation," says Neil Cunningham, Creative Head, VFX, RMW.

"In Hollywood, once scripts are written in which VFX is an integral part, the process automatically takes over." Not in India. Enthiran, says Mohan, spent six to seven months on pre-visualisation. "Indian cinema is still raw in the way it views VFX," says Keitan Yadav, Ra.One's VFX producer. "For directors and producers, getting involved at the script stage and pre-visualising is not the norm yet. However, things are changing and Ra.One is an example."

Cost goes poof
But there is a big advantage in using VFX for certain kinds of sequences that Indian filmmakers are finally waking up to: it can be economical. "It is much cheaper to create images on a computer screen rather than take an entire film crew to a location and shoot," says Pixion's Yashroy."You are able to easily capture extreme situations that are difficult to shoot."

For television shows, especially the mythological ones, where budgets are usually much tighter than those of feature films, VFX is a still bigger boon. Industry sources maintain using VFX rather than putting up sets reduces TV production costs by 60 to 65 per cent.

Unlike films and TV, Indian advertising cottoned on to the benefits of VFX very early. In advertising, VFX has already come of age with almost 80 per cent of commercials today using VFX in varying degrees, according to those in the industry. They estimate that a 40-second commercial, which would typically cost Rs 40 lakh to shoot, can be made for Rs 30 lakh if VFX is used instead.

"With around 15 million small and medium enterprises in India, the demand for VFX in advertising can be huge. This is good for the future of the VFX industry," says Mohit Ralhan, Head of Investments, Media and Entertainment, Baring Private Equity. "Many SMEs cannot afford TV advertising, as they find it too expensive to prepare TV ads. VFX-based ads can do wonders for them."

Another set of professionals who saw the potential of Indian VFX studios early were Hollywood producers. Their reason for turning to India was initially the same that has prompted every kind of outsourcing: saving on costs. "Hollywood studios can get about 75 per cent cost advantage by working out of India," says Anil Arjun, RMW's CEO. But over the years, Indian VFX studios have moved up the value chain. It is no longer labour intensive, low-on-creativity work that is outsourced to them as in the first few years. A little known fact is that films like Avatar, this year's Oscar winning The King's Speech, and the BBC TV series The Deep (about a submarine disaster) have all used studios like Prime Focus, Pixion and RMW for high-end work. Prime Focus created a number of the visual effects seen in Avatar. It had a team of around 90 working on the film, spread across Los Angeles, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Mumbai. RMW has worked on projects such as The Chronicles of Narnia and is currently working on two 3D films slated for release later this year - Shark Night and Conan the Barbarian. "A lot of the work in Shark Night is over and under water, which is notoriously difficult to do in stereo," says RMW's Sonalkar. "In Conan, we have worked on a major set piece. We have built proprietary tools and rigs to tackle some complex VFX shots."

Growing market

The RMW team (standing from left) Head of Operations Nishit Shetty, Creative Head Sanjot Sonalka; (seated from left) VFX Creative Head Neil Cunningham, Naresh Malik, COO-TVC Visual Effects Creative Services

The market for VFX in India stood at approximately Rs 450 crore in 2010 against Rs 320 crore in the previous year, an increase of 41 per cent. The overall industry comprising animation, VFX and post production grew by 17.5 per cent over 2009 to reach Rs 2,360 crore, according to a FICCI-KPMG Media and Entertainment report. The overall growth was largely led by VFX and post-production, the latter rising by 17 per cent.


The report says that animation and VFX together are expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 18.5 per cent to reach Rs 5,590 crore by 2015. Baring's Ralhan is even more optimistic, expecting the VFX industry to grow by more than 25 per cent annually. "The next five years are going to be big," he says.

Not just the next five - VFX will grow for many years to come. The sight of unbelievable events unfolding believably on screen is guaranteed to fascinate all, especially children. Back to Ra.One, which its director Anubhav Sinha admits is being made "as a treat for our kids". Shah Rukh's son Aryan is 13, his daughter Suhana is 10, while Sinha's own son, Shlok, is nine. "Ra.One is a father-son story. We wanted to do it for our children," concludes Sinha.


Courtesy :www.businesstoday.intoday.in

Spies and effects (times four)

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World is director Robert Rodriguez’s fourth adventure in the franchise, and follows retired spy Marissa Wilson (Jessica Alba) who is called back into action to defeat the evil Timekeeper. In this fxinsider story, Hybride talks about their 1000+ visual effects shots, including their use of ICE to create a whole city.

Learn to Think and Compose like a Painter

Many years ago I met a well known English artist while I was travelling through Northern India. We happened to be staying at the same hotel, one of those rather agreeable converted palaces. Each day he went out with his watercolours, easel,  portable chair and sizable sketch books, as he used to say, ‘to seek inspiration and watch the world go by.’

One late afternoon I saw him, brush in hand, stooped over his easel and decided to see how he was getting on. He was well on his way to finishing his scene but as I looked from his picture to the view, and back again, I instantly noticed how different they were. What he had done was to omit a lot of detail and add some of his own. He explained to me that he rarely painted exactly what was in front of him. ‘I go for simplicity, he said. ‘ I paint what I think my picture needs, what makes it work, not necessarily what I see.’ ‘It is of course a representation, I am distilling the scene but I like to fill it with interest.’

This, coming as it did when I was just starting out in my photographic career, was a revelation to me. I suddenly realised after that brief conversation that I, as a photographer, could work in exactly the same way. I began to view my own scenes with the critical eye of a painter. Of course it takes a combination of persistence, patience, timing and luck but in the process I taught myself to slow down. I took time to observe things, to wait for subjects to move in and out of the frame and I started to compose my pictures deliberately and consciously. I took on projects that required me to learn about the lifestyle of my subjects, to get close to them, understand them and wider angle lenses became my photographic mainstay.

The painter’s way is to see shapes first and details second; that is why they tend to squint a lot at their subjects. This has the effect of highlighting essential tones and shapes filtering out extraneous or unwanted detail. It is their method of simplifying a naturally complicated or over busy scene. I too am looking to simplify my images as much as possible by isolating the subjects against uncluttered clear backdrops while at the same time retaining a sense of the environment in which I found them.

Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/learn-to-think-and-compose-like-a-painter#ixzz1Y5bVuQdA

Iloura vfx isn’t Afraid of the Dark

fxguide talks to Iloura’s creative director and visual effects supervisor Glenn Melenhorst and lead animator Avi Goodman about their creature work for Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.

Updated: article now includes two Iloura vfx breakdowns.

How to Make a Short Film, A Step by Step Guide

Choose your equipment, something that can record video. There are many choices. This process might take months or even years, but you have to keep looking. Make sure your video recorder works with your editing equipment. You can even borrow a camera if this is one of your first films it's just good to get practice, later on you can get all the fancy gear and all that.


Learn a few features, and review how your recording device works. Also make sure you know how to get the best possible image out of you camera.


Choose a subject -- what you want to make a film about. Remember, you'll need to complete the project. Think about who, what, and where you'll shoot. Form a basic idea for a story and if you're having trouble, read short stories for inspiration.


Type out your script. Make sure to develop your characters with different personalities; your movie won't be interesting if everyone acts and talks the same.


Draw out a storyboard, illustrating the shots you plan to use. Don't worry about following the storyboard perfectly. It's just a good idea to get your thoughts on paper and a great way to see if you can communicate an idea "visually" rather than needing the actors to verbally communicate the concept. The viewer is watching first and listening second.


Find people who aren't busy and are willing to work hard on your film. Provide food for your crew. They'll appreciate it and be able to hang around longer.


Shoot your footage. Put all your practice to use and use proper techniques to shoot you footage. Remember to get several angles and several takes so you'll have plenty of options while editing.


Edit your film. Practice makes perfect it doesn't need to be some fancy editing program just use what you have and practice cutting footage and piecing stuff together.


Show the film to friends and family and/or post it to YouTube. If you are serious about film making submit to film festivals!


Look hard for the best footage, remember even the simplest of things can make excellent short films.

Tips

• Make sure that before your shoot you have all your equipment with you. It is best to plan these things before production.
• Write a short idea of what you want to accomplish. It can be anything from a paragraph to a full script.
• Make your production choices based on necessities. If you're low budget, choose something that happens around you every day as your subject. Don't forget that you can use pictures and still shots for video, too.
• Remember your overall vision as you record your footage. Don't forget to record voice-overs (talking) and other sounds as part of you regular footage. You can always use the video or audio independently.
• To make a film, you need to be creative.
• Have fun with it!

Warnings

• Be careful to check each setting on your recording device as you operate or you might miss the best shot. It's a good idea to review your footage after each "take".
• There are laws against using videos of people and certain places without permission. Always ask the subject or the owner/operator of a building if it's OK to record them and be sure to tell them what it's for. For added protection, have them write it on paper when they give permission.
• Always check your camera before shooting just in case you have forgotten to press play. This is to avoid losing precious footage!

Things You'll Need

• Video camera and audio recorder
• Eager actors and actresses
• Editing software and computer
• Permission from your subjects/actors/background players
• An idea for your story
• Pen or pencil
• Patience
• Determination
• Make-up and costumes

                                                                                                                                                                                     Courtesy : Wkihow.com

Which country produces the largest number of movies?

You might be surprised to learn that India produces an average of 800 movies a year, and that number continues to grow. Just as the movie capitol of the United States is Hollywood, the movie capitol of India is Bombay, but it is commonly called “Bollywood,” a combination of the words Bombay and Hollywood.

No Bollywood movie is considered complete without a few song and dance sequences. In fact, music is an integral part of Bollywood movies. Even a bad movie can still do well if the music is good. Music directors are sometimes more popular than the film stars themselves. An average Bollywood movie has five to six songs with at least three songs performed to elaborate dance routines. There are a lot fewer movies without music or dance, and those are considered to be art films or serious cinema.

Bollywood may be different from Hollywoood in regards to music, but it is very similar to Hollywood in several ways. If Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt can wield a gun so can the Bollywood hero Sharukh Khan. Bollywood stars are followed by photographers and the press just as often as Hollywood stars. The private lives of actors and actresses catch the headlines daily, just as they do in the United States. Some Bollywood actors get into politics too, just as Arnold Schwarzenegger has in California.

The Oscars are a very exciting time of the year for actors and actresses in America. Bollywood has its own version of the Oscars, and they are conducted with just as much excitement.

Here is a fun fact: Did you know that India has over 100 languages! The movie industry and the application of visual effects  is growing at the rate of sound, That's provoked us to write this article.... 

Fright Night – Q&A with VFX Supervisor Joe Bauer

Craig Gillespie’s Fright Night pits high school kid Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) against vampire-next-door, Jerry (Colin Farrell). Visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer takes fxguide through the gory details on this DreamWorks stereoscopic feature, from the opening shot through to the dramatic vampire transformations. Warning: contains spoilers.

Captain America: super soldier effects

Conceiving an old-fashioned comic book outing for Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger – set mostly during World War II – director Joe Johnston still relied on just shy of 1600 visual effects shots, and more than a dozen vendors for the stereo release. fxguidetakes a look at just some of the key work.

NUKEX 6.3 Particles Tutorial: Fundamentals part 1

Courtesy : TheFoundryChannel

Pan Am: retro green screen world

Pan Am is one of ABC’s newly commissioned TV series, airing in late September. For the pilot episode, the production utilized Stargate Studios’ virtual set technology to re-create the iconic 1960s Pan Am terminal and other locations in the show. Read more at fxguide.

Night Photography Tips

Over the last year I’ve become more and more enamored with night photography and the depth of colours offered by it. Today I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned with you and hear your thoughts on this diverse and fascinating style of photography.

What are our tools in night photography?

1. Tripod. While not always necessary (see further on for how to cheat on this), a tripod will give you the greatest flexibility to get the angles you need while keeping your camera steady for those long exposures.
2. 
   
3. Wide-angle lenses. This is a personal preference, but I love the way they work in night photography. I use Canon’s 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 ($700), but if you can afford it I’d get the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II ($1300). If both of these are out of your price range – don’t worry! Try it out with whatever you’ve got as the only thing that will limit you is your imagination.
4. 
   
5. A lens hood. To minimize lens flares from light entering at angles outside of your frame.
6. A flashlight. Sometimes you’ll want to draw attention to or simply lighten up an important part of the foreground which is too dark.
7. 
   
8. Our imagination. Tools lie all around us in everyday objects to help us make our work better in this; I’ve used bicycle lamps, lampposts and newspaper boxes to get it done.
9. 
   

The same composition rules that apply to day apply to night, except with night we have our long exposures to take advantage of. I’ve chosen a selection of my night work to illustrate some tricks of the trade:

Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/night-photography#ixzz1Wl7pq0Qb