How James Bond met the Queen, and other Olympics effects

The London Olympics and Paralympics are not only showcases for athletes and sports broadcasting – they also heavily feature visual effects and animation work. We take a look at how effects teams aided the Olympics opening ceremony – including the creation of the Queen’s grand entrance – and a number of affiliated Olympics and Paralympics shows and TVCs.

From Speed to Spidey: 20 years of VFX and animation

There are only a handful of visual effects houses that have been in business for 20 years or longer. And this year, Sony Pictures Imageworks has become one of them. At the same time, Sony Pictures Animation is celebrating its tenth year in operation, with its newest animated feature Hotel Transylvania to be released in September. Here's a timeline of key moments in visual effects and animated films from SPI and SPA. And check out our fxguidetv episode where Mike Seymour talks to Ken Ralston, Rob Bredow and Jay Redd about the history of Sony Pictures Imageworks and Sony Pictures Animation.

Ice Age 4: riding the new wave

It’s been ten years since Blue Sky Studios produced the first Ice Age. Now, with Continental Drift, the fourth film in the animated series, the studio has again upped the ante on its CG and rendering tools, particularly for more than 500 ocean and storm shots. We go behind the scenes with Blue Sky on water, voxels, efficient sky creation and character sims.

Sinbad: The Mill’s effects voyage

VFX supe David Houghton from The Mill tells fxguide about the elemental visual effects in the new TV series Sinbad.

A world away: John Carter

Edgar Rice Burroughs’ early 1900s tales of a fictional Mars (known as Barsoom) have been brought to the screen with modern day visual effects in John Carter. The film, directed by Pixar’s Andrew Stanton, sees the titular Civil War character, played by Taylor Kitsch, transported to the red planet where he meets the nine feet tall Tharks and all manner of civilizations. Visual effects artists from Double Negative, Cinesite, MPC, Nvisible, Legacy Effects and Halon Entertainment all collaborated on the alien world and its inhabitants. Read the fxguide interview with Dneg.

How to Make Your Very Own Demon!

Courtesy : FilmRiot 
http://www.youtube.com/FilmRiot 

Rhythm & Hues takes flight for Chronicle

fxguide recently visited Rhythm & Hues in LA to talk to visual effects supervisor Raymond Chen about the flying scenes in Chronicle. 

Journey 2: small is large & large is small

In Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, director Brad Peyton enlisted visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis to oversee 430 shots for the native stereo production set on a mythical island where creatures and environments are not what they seem. Several vendors shared the workload, including Scanline, Pixomondo, Method Studios, MPC, Rising Sun Pictures, Trixter and ICOVFX. Previs duties were handled by The Third Floor and Pixomondo. fxguide chats to each of the lead studios about their major shots.

Also, check out this fxinsider interview with Rising Sun digital effects supervisor Mark Wendell on the tech tools behind the bee chase.

Electric aliens: Buf’s VFX for The Darkest Hour

In Chris Gorak’s The Darkest Hour, a group of friends band together against an alien invasion that threatens Moscow through the city’s power supply. Overall visual effects supervisor Stefen Fangmeier tapped Buf to realize various aliens and parts of the destruction they wreak on the Russian capital. Pierre Buffin led the artistic direction of Buf’s work, with Stéphane Nazé as Buf’s VFX supe and Thomas Schoberand as VFX producer. Buffin tells fxguide about the design behind some of the specific sequences in the stereo film in this fxinsider interview.

Shooting a Fireworks Video

Fireworks is a challenging subject for the video shooter, especially if you are used to using automatic functions. The best thing you can do to create a better fireworks video is to use manual functions. Of course this applies to all video, but in the case of fireworks it's not just a recommendation — it's essential. Here are a few specific tips...

Focus

Auto-focus will "hunt" (go in and out of focus) constantly during fireworks. You will need to use manual focus instead (as you should anyway). Obviously you won't be able to keep adjusting the focus for each set of fireworks but you won't need to. In most cases you can just set the focus to infinity and leave it there.

Exposure

In some cases automatic iris can produce quite good results with fireworks but it's not generally a good idea. You are better off setting the iris to a level which captures the exploding fireworks well and leave it on that setting.

Over-exposure is common with fireworks, resulting in white, ill-defined pictures. Be conservative — it is better to slightly under-expose than over-expose.

White Balance

A standard outside white balance setting should be fine.

Position, Framing, Movement, etc.

• Find a good position where people won't get in the way.
• A tripod is a good idea if you are planning on shooting for more than 5 or 10 minutes. You will also be able to enjoy the display yourself more if you have a tripod.
• Wide-angle shots usually work best.
• If there is a lot of fireworks happening, don't try to chase them all. Concentrate on the main area of action.
• Don't worry too much about normal framing rules (such as the rule of thirds) unless you are framing the fireworks with something else, such as a stadium or staging area. Mostly the display will look fine if it just fills up the frame.

8 Things Every Camera Owner Should Know About Their Camera

If you want to make the evolution from pointing and shooting to creating art, one of the things you must do is master your camera. I’m talking the kind of mastery where you can pick up your camera in most situations and begin firing quickly without too much fiddling around. 

How do you do that? Practice when there’s nothing at stake. Assuming you have some down time over the holiday break, here are 8 things you should learn about your camera. 

1. Where does unacceptable noise begin on your ISO range?

Your manufacturer says your camera can shoot a wide ISO range, but you won’t always want to do that. As you select a higher ISO setting, your images show more noise – bigger pixels. At what point in your camera does the noise become unacceptable? Take a series of pictures at progressively higher ISO settings and compare. Find out before it really matters. 

2. Where’s the sweet spot on your lens?

This is a similar concept. Your zoom lens has a smaller range that is sharper than the outer edges. Just because the camera says 70 mm – 300 mm doesn’t mean it is sharp for that entire range. That inner limit where your lens performs best is generally referred to as your sweet spot. Do you know what that range is on your favorite lens? The only way to find out is to experiment. 

3. What’s the fastest way to change your settings?

In many cameras, there is more than one way to change your metering, focus type, or white balance. If you are shooting and need to make quick adjustments, what’s the fastest way to do it? You never know when you might need to react without thinking. 

4. Should you calibrate exposure?

Is your camera consistently shooting over or under exposed? Are you always having to dial in exposure compensation? This might be a good time to grab a grey card and practice getting your exposure correctly. Your default might be 1/3 stop under or over exposed. 

5. How do you adjust your flash?

Yes, sometimes you will actually have to use your (gasp) flash. With most DSLRs, you can adjust how the flash fires – normal, red eye, or rear curtain – or with what intensity. Do you know where to make those adjustments? It’s possible when you need them, you could be in the dark. Always good to know where to begin fumbling. 

6. Do you have a reset routine?

When you finish shooting for the day, do you return the camera to any default settings? Do you check those settings when you pick up your camera for the day? You might come up with your own “start” settings that will work if you ever need to grab and go. 

For instance, at the end of a shoot, you might return your camera to ISO 400, Aperture Priority f/9, Evaluative Metering, Exposure Compensation set to 0, and Auto White Balance. If you pick up the camera and run out in a hurry, you’ll be set to get most basic shots. The last thing you want to do is start shooting and find that your camera is still in last night’s extreme set up. Establish your own routine. Is it before the shoot, after, or both? When will you reset and what? 

7. What’s your accessories routine?

When do you recharge your batteries? How frequently? What’s the routine for the tripod plate? When do you empty your memory cards? Simple organization routines can help you from ending up on a shoot with a dead battery or full memory card…or worse yet, a tripod with no plate. 

8. What’s your workflow system?

What’s your organization system for your pictures? It’s been a while since we used a Dewey Decimal library system, but you will need your own version for your photos. As you collect more and more pictures, a good tagging and filing system will save hours of searching later. That’s a good mindless exercise for a slow day. 

Knowing your tools is often a skill that makes the difference in your photos. When I was in the Army, we had to practice taking apart and reassembling our weapons so much that we could do it in our sleep. The Army believed the point you needed your weapon most was not the time to start learning its nuances. 

The same concept goes for your camera. Take the time to learn your camera when there is low pressure or expectations, like down time over the holiday break. When you’re shooting high impact events in 2012, everything should flow naturally. 

Lynford Morton is founder and president of PhotoTour DC. He teaches photography during walking workshops around Washington, DC., and blogs at www.photocoachpro.com. Visit him at www.phototourdc.com.

Courtesy : http://www.digital-photography-school.com & www.phototourdc.com.

 

'New' iPad Sets the Standard with 2048 x 1536 Resolution

Well, Apple always finds a way to be “different,” and they’ve certainly done that with the introduction of the new iPad. The new iPad is called…iPad. It remains to be seen if we’ll get an explanation into why they didn’t decide to continue with the numbering system – or a whole new naming system – but it’s clear Apple wants to start over again and has now created a slight confusion among consumers – as the iPad is far superior than the iPad 2. If you despise Apple, at least stick around for the conclusion.

Here’s the launch video:

Here are the specs:

• 2048 x 1536 IPS Retina Display – 261 PPI
• A5X processor with Dual-Core CPU and Quad-Core GPU
• 5mp camera and 1080p video recording
• 4G LTE
• $499, $599 and $699 for 16, 32, and 64GB
• $629, $729, and $829 for 4G LTE
• March 16 Availability

What does this mean for you? Well if you’re one of the millions of creatives out there who own Apple devices, it’s obviously exciting on a base level. But what Apple has done is truly push the envelope for resolution in a small screen. At 10 inches (same size as the previous iPad), the screen now has a high enough pixel density to be considered a Retina Display – that is, if held at least 15 inches away from your face. No other 10″ monitor in existence right now has a pixel density that high.

This means that we can finally watch not only 1080p videos, but actual 2K files from a RED Epic or Arri Alexa in full resolution on the iPad. This is going to be a blessing for most or a curse for some. I would expect that if you’ve got a rough cut of anything, and a client or boss with a new iPad, they’re going to want a full resolution file to be able to watch on their mobile device.

The positive end of this announcement for most of us, is that we now have the highest resolution resolution 10″ production monitor ever made. Is connectivity and durability a possible issue – probably – but with a device like the Teradek Cube, you can give directors, producers, and clients a full resolution image of whatever you’re shooting. This is scary in some ways, but if these higher-ups have a better sense of the final image because of the iPad – maybe they’ll leave you alone a little more (maybe). Regardless, this is a major development and there are an infinite number of reasons that this kind of resolution is helpful for filmmakers and creatives. Apple does one thing that even detractors can’t deny: they push other companies into innovating at a faster pace, and it’s likely over the next year or two every tablet screen will be at least 1080.

More to come soon on the other Apple announcements of the day – like 1080p movies in iTunes, new Apple TV, and an upgraded iMovie.

Link: Apple iPad

What Can Indie Filmmakers Learn from Pixar's Story Development Process?

With one of the best critical and commercial records in movie-making history, there are a lot of things Pixar does right.  One of their greatest strengths is their ability to consistently craft great stories.  So what’s the Pixar story development process like, and what can we as independent filmmakers learn from it?  As part of a 5 part interview, Mary Coleman, a Pixar senior development executive, shares details about how it all comes together — revealing some surprising and enlightening things:

For example, the fact that the story is always seen as a work in progress:

“[W]e keep improving the story well into production, which is painful in animation. Making changes is expensive and laborious. But we’ll keep at it if the story’s not right yet.  And we’ve never once gone into full production with it “locked.”

That comes after 3-4 years of active work developing the script, with a full year dedicated to outlining:

“In that first year you’re pitching twenty minute overviews of the story, getting feedback, and rethinking it. We often spend a whole year in outlining before going to a first draft. A lot of time laying that foundation.”

The feedback given for the first draft leads to a second draft, which begins a series of “visual rough drafts”:

“[A] team of story artists begin drawing out the movie, like [a] comic book. Then the comic book becomes like a flip book when the drawings are scanned in and edited together to make our “reels”. It’s a visual rough draft of the whole thing, so if your movie’s an hour and a half long your reels are too.”   

Now, you might think that once you start getting into visual rough drafts you are getting close to having a finished script.  Instead, a full 2-3 years are spent going back and forth between the “reels” and new drafts of the written script, a process Coleman says may result in an average of 8 visual rough drafts and many more written drafts.  This culminates with the movie going into production. 

 The takeaway?Don’t skimp time on your outline — Try as many versions as you can before going for that first rough draft.  This is where you figure out the heart of the story.  You’re still going to have to write a lot of drafts, but if you figure out what you’re ultimately trying to communicate, it will make those subsequent drafts easier to problem-solve and improve.

Keep the visual story in mind — Once you start working with drafts, start thinking about the story as images in real time, feeling out the beats and rhythms and letting what you learn  inform your subsequent written drafts.  Coleman says that at a certain point it’s all part of the same process, visual drafts meshing with written drafts and vice versa, and as visual storytellers we have to take that same attitude to heart.

Don’t be afraid to see the story as always being a work in progress — With today’s technology making it easier and easier to mix pre-production with production with post-production, use that to your advantage.  For example, edit your footage as you’re shooting, seeing what can be improved while still in production.  Don’t be afraid to let your actors’ performances suggest different possibilities within the story, it’s all just memory files, so keep the camera rolling and let them try different takes.

As Indie/DIY filmmakers we’re never going to be able to compete with the budget of a studio like Pixar, but with time on our side we can certainly learn from the care, work, and attention that is taken to develop these stories when crafting our own.

For the full interview covering the story development process click here, and for a more visual behind-the-scenes look check out Koo’s previous post about John Lasseter.  What’s your takeaway?

[via Go Into The Story]

Winners !!! Complete List From the 2012 Oscars

The Artist wasn't the only winner tonight! Find out who else took home trophies from the 84th Annual Academy Awards...

Best Picture: The Artist

Actor in a Leading Role: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Actress in a Leading Role: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Actress in a Supporting Role: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Actor in a Supporting Role: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen

Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon and Jim Rash

Animated Feature Film: Rango

Foreign-Language Film: A Separation (Iran)

Documentary Feature: Undefeated

Cinematography: Hugo

Art Direction: Hugo

Film Editing: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Visual Effects: Hugo

Sound Editing: Hugo

Sound Mixing: Hugo

Original Score: The Artist, Ludovic Bource

Original Song: "Man or Muppet," The Muppets; music and lyric by Bret McKenzie

Costume Design: The Artist

Makeup: The Iron Lady

Animated Short Film: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Documentary Short Subject: Saving Face

Live Action Short Film: The Shore

Moments to remember from Oscar 2012

The Oscar telecast takes hours, but it's the moments we remember.

Just a few of them, of course — ones that are so emotional, funny, or bizarre that they'll stand out in our collective memories, candidates for future Oscar montages, of course, but also for office watercooler talk. Here's a running look at some of the Oscar moments we may be talking about in the morning:

MAIS C'EST FORMIDABLE!

The evening had a decidedly French accent, thanks to best-picture winner "The Artist," and one of its most charming moments was the acceptance speech by Jean Dujardin, best actor for his wordless (almost) turn as silent film star George Valentin. "I love your country," he exclaimed, adding that if Valentin could speak, he'd say: "Wow! Amazing! Great!" and a few other things, including a rather salty colloquialism. It was all still charming. He didn't seem too upset that a few days ago he was upset for best actor at the Cesar awards, France's equivalent to the Oscars.

BONJOUR BILLY!

Last year, the joke-starved Oscar audience was so thrilled to seeBilly Crystal by the time he showed up that they gave him a standing ovation — before he even said a word. (Many felt hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway lacked enough comic spark). Now back as host, Crystal was greeted warmly if less ecstatically as he launched into his timeworn routine: first the montage where he inserts himself into films — he even got a kiss from George Clooneyin his "Descendants" hospital bed — and then his medley of songs. "You didn't think I wasn't gonna do this, did ya"? he quipped. No, we didn't.

LISTEN TO YOUR ELDERS

It was a night that celebrated veterans and those of a certain age, which may be why Crystal, in a search for a bit o' youth, brought Justin Bieber into his "Midnight in Paris" bit. Later he was even blunter: "We're gonna slam the 78 to 84 demographic," he said. Next year, he added, we'd be in the Flomax Theater, referring to the prostate medication. The old-age reference became a running theme. After 82-year-old Christopher Plummer won the supporting actor prize, Crystal quipped: "The average age for winners has just jumped to 67."

MERYL AND MARRIAGE

From longevity in life to longevity in marriage: One of the most moving moments of the night came when Meryl Streep, winning best actress for "The Iron Lady," thanked her husband, Don Gummer — not at the end, but at the beginning of her speech, so that the music wouldn't drown out the acknowledgement as it often does.

"Everything I value most in our lives, you gave me," Streep said tearfully.

Then she thanked a man she called her other partner: J. Roy Helland, her makeup artist on every movie for 37 years — who had quite a night, also taking home a statuette for transforming Streep into Maggie Thatcher.

"Thanks Meryl, for keeping me employed for the last 37 years," said Helland, who won with Mark Coulier.

I'M FREAKING OUT!

The first emotional moment of the evening came with Octavia Spencer's expected yet still heartwarming supporting actress win for her turn as a tart-tongued maid in "The Help." From tart-tongued to a little tongue-tied: "Please wrap up ...I'm wrapping up!" she cried. "I'm freaking out!"

YES, ANOTHER ONE...

This could become a trend: For the second year in a row, a winner dropped an F-bomb. Last year it was supporting actress winner Melissa Leo; This year it was documentary feature winner TJ Martin, co-director of "Undefeated," which documents a high school football team.

Martin confessed he'd been, er, defeated by his excitement. "That was not the classiest thing in the world," Martin said backstage. "However, it did come from the heart."

THE CUTEST DOG IN THE WORLD

Uggie, the adorable dog in best-picture winner "The Artist," made a charming appearance onstage when the movie won best picture. However, his director allowed that the canine star does have his limits. "I don't think he understands what I'm saying," Michel Hazanavicius said when he won his own statuette. "He's not THAT good."

A MESS ON THE CARPET (NOT FROM UGGIE)

Sacha Baron Cohen always has something up his sleeve. This year, the comic actor spilled it all over Ryan Seacrest's sleeves — and the red carpet, too.

Parodying the Moammar Gadhafi-type dictator he plays in his upcoming film, "The Dictator," Baron Cohen showed up carrying what he said were the ashes of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Then he spilled them all over the E! host's tuxedo.

Said Seacrest: "Anything can happen and it most certainly did, all over my lapel."

A CIRCUS IN THE HOUSE

Wait, was that Spider-Man flying up to the rafters? No, this wasn't the Tonys, it was the Oscars, and those were Cirque du Soleil aerialists in a lavish tribute to the movies. Crystal noted the circus-like atmosphere when he quipped: "We've got puppets, acrobats ... we're a pony away from a bar mitzvah!"

WARDROBE MALFUNCTION?

Jennifer Lopez doesn't shy away from sexy gowns — remember the famously skin-baring Versace dress she wore to the 2000 Grammys? Well, this time, some viewers speculated on Twitter and elsewhere that a bit too much breast was visible in her Oscar gown with a plunging V-neck by Zuhair Murad. Her stylist hastened to report that it was an optical illusion. "While the dress did give the illusion of sheer-ness, (the) joke's on everyone who wishes they saw something!" Mariel Haenn said in a statement.

Courtesy : Yahoo News 

Behind the scenes with the animated Oscar noms

Five animated features and five animated short films are nominated for the 84th Academy Awards. fxguide checks out the nominees and present new interviews with Puss in Boots helmer Chris Miller from Dreamworks and La Luna director Enrico Casarosa and producer Kevin Reher from Pixar.

Phantom camera, Sci-Tech winner

We’ve all seen incredible high impact sports replays, slow motion film scenes and poetic balloon bursts. Now, the team behind the digital high-speed camera responsible for many of those types of shots – the Phantom came from Vision Research – has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Scientific and Engineering Academy Awards, which fxguide recently attended.

Rhythm & Hues takes flight for Chronicle

fxguide recently visited Rhythm & Hues in LA to talk to visual effects supervisor Raymond Chen about the flying scenes in Chronicle.

Red Tails: Pixomondo wrecks planes and trains

For Anthony Hemingway’s Red Tails, Pixomondo drew on its worldwide resources to collaborate with Industrial Light & Magic on the film’s aerial shots and battle visual effects, which tell the story of the ‘Tuskegee’ African American pilots during WWII. Pixomondo VFX supervisor Bjørn Mayer, who shared duties with Boris Schmidt, breaks down for fxinsider the train attack and other key sequences from the George Lucas-produced film.

Luma transforms Underworld: Awakening

For Underworld: Awakening, the fourth film in the Underworldfranchise, Luma Pictures devised impressive CG werewolves – known as Lycans – to again wreak havoc, and one beast that would transform from human form. fxguide takes a look at how Luma utilized motion capture, the Light Stage process and renderer Arnold in bringing the creatures to life.

32Ten Studios – mixing it up

When famed practical and miniatures outfit Kerner Optical recently ceased operations, many in the visual effects community lamented the demise of old-school effects work. But now a new company, 32Ten Studios, located on the former site of Kerner Optical and Industrial Light & Magic in San Rafael, has been formed with a mandate to produce not only practical and miniature effects, but also delve into the digital realm. fxguide talks to Scott Smith, heading up 32Ten’s digital operations, about the mix of work planned by the facility.

A Game of Shadows: more to the mystery

With A Game of Shadows, director Guy Ritchie follows up on his first Sherlock Holmes adventure with even more impressive special and visual effects artistry. Overall VFX supervisor Chas Jarrett returned to oversee sequences completed by Framestore, MPC and BlueBolt.fxguide dives into just some of the major shots, including the waterfall plunge, the train battle, digital environments and the escape through the woods.

Alive and animated: how DD created ‘Robotarm’

In ‘Robotarm’ a fully-CG Cisco TVC completed by Digital Domain/Mothership, nine automotive assembly robots fix and diagnose themselves, all to the tune of Gary Numan’s ‘Cars’. fxguide talks to visual effects supervisor Aladino Debert about the challenges of completing the spot in a tight four week schedule.

Digital storytelling: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

In his latest film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, director David Fincher once again brought digital filmmaking tools to the fore to help tell the story of a man’s search for the truth about a 40 year old murder case. Fincher shot Dragon Tattoo on the RED One MX and EPIC, and relied on more than 1000 visual effects shots throughout the film. fxguide talks to Method Studios and Digital Domain about their effects contributions, and to Blur Studio which was responsible for the startling main titles.

Studio Profile: Character Animation inside ILM

Head over to fxphd.com for a studio profile video on ILM and interview with Maia Kayser, a Lead Character Animator on Rango and other ILM shows.