VFXWorld Magazine

Technology Headline News

Autodesk Releases RV Open Source Version

By Dan Sarto | Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 11:47am

Now available on the Academy Software Foundation GitHub, Open RV, the open source version of the tech giant’s Sci-Tech award-winning media review and playback software, will benefit from continued vendor development as well as community-driven updates.

Feature Film VFX Headline News

VFX Breakdown: BlueBolt Delivers 1950s Nostalgia to ‘The Policeman’

Challenged with creating accurate portrayals of Brighton Beach across 2 timelines, the studio’s team delivers 152 seamless VFX shots; breakdown reel highlights the studio’s visual effects work creating the backdrop for the romantic drama, which spans decades.

It’s Unreal Headline News

Gnomon’s Real-Time Short ‘The Voice in the Hollow’ Shows Power of Unreal Engine

The 10-minute animated African horror fable by instructors Miguel Ortega and Tran Ma - known as Half M.T. Studios - employed hand-drawn and cutting-edge 3D techniques, with tools like ZBrush and Maya for characters and Substance Painter for texturing, and was rendered exclusively in the game engine.

Business Headline News

Stray Vista Studios Debuts the Largest Virtual Production Studio in Texas

The 40x80x16 foot LED Virtual Production Volume wall displays interactive, computer-generated perspectives and includes an LED ceiling for fully immersed lighting.

Mando! Headline News

Disney+ Drops ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3 Trailer and Art

Lucasfilms’ hit sci-fi adventure series follows the Mandalorian’s continued journeys through the ‘Star Wars’ galaxy; new 8-episode season kicks off in March.

The Annies are Coming! Headline News

50th Annual Annie Award Nominations Announced

By Dan Sarto | Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 9:45am

Best Animated Feature nominees ‘Turning Red,’ ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,’ ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,’ ‘The Sea Beast,’ and ‘Wendell & Wild’ top the expansive list of category nominations; animation’s biggest awards ceremony is scheduled to return live on Saturday, February 25 at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

Awards Headline News

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ Lead VES Award Nominations

By Dan Sarto | Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 8:00am

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ tops all TV contenders as nominees are announced in 25 categories across film, television, real-time, and special venue projects; ceremony set for February 15 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in LA.

Events Headline News

Virtual Production Event to Showcase Technology for New York Filmmakers

Hosted by Post New York Alliance (PNYA), the Hollywood Professional Association (HPA), and Fuse Technical Group, the January 26 event will explore how filmmakers can utilize Unreal Engine to enhance their projects, including presentation, speakers, and Q&A.

VFX for television VFXWorld

FuseFX Helps ‘The Mysterious Benedict Society’ Set Sail

CG supervisor Bryant Reif and his team created ‘The Shortcut,’ an entirely CGI transatlantic ocean liner modeled after the Queen Mary, along with digital people, oceans, docks, wakes and waves, for Season 2 of the series, now streaming on Disney+.

Awards Headline News

‘Wendell & Wild,’ ‘New Moon’ Take Animation Honors at 14th Annual AAFCA Awards

By Dan Sarto | Monday, January 16, 2023 at 10:52am

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ takes home two awards as well as two Special Achievement honors; winners will be celebrated at a March 1 ceremony.

Awards Headline News

‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ and ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Win at Critics’ Choice Awards

By Dan Sarto | Monday, January 16, 2023 at 9:16am

The two heavily favored features took home coveted Best Animated Feature and Best Visual Effects awards, respectively, while ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ was the big overall winner, at last night’ 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards.

Education Headline News

‘Deducers’ Training Program for Producers Launches

Curriculum provides interactive instruction for producers to up their skills in team management and client servicing; now enrolling for ‘Flame,’ designed for junior or associate producers, the program begins February 14 – additional courses kick off in June.

Move over Jack Skellington! VFXWorld

FuseFX Helps ‘Extend’ the Hijinks in Henry Selick’s ‘Wendell & Wild’

VFX supervisor Paul Santagada’s team used CG to build out and assemble the film’s physical Rust Bank Cemetery and Underworld sets, integrating plate elements, performance passes, secondary bits, and a bunch of fluid, smoke, breaths, and bubbles - delivering 275-300 shots across around 12 sequences on the stop-motion comedy horror film, now streaming on Netflix.

Technology Advancing Art Headline News

NVIDIA Studio Launches Creative ‘5-9’ Resource Hub

To support artistic ‘side hustles,’ new initiative features key technology and resources, helping artists up their game; the platform lets artist share their creative journeys - such as CG Geek, who built an intricate 3D world with the help of NVIDIA Studio technologies.

Awards Headline News

2023 Producers Guild Awards Nominees Announced

‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,’ ‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On,’ ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru,’ ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,’ and ‘Turning Red’ selected in the animated movie category; ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ among Outstanding Producer award nominees.

Classics Restored Headline News

4K Ultra HD Restored ‘Invaders From Mars’ Now Available

To celebrate the home entertainment release, special New York screenings of William Cameron Menzies’ 1953 sci-fi classic will be held January 14 and January 18 at MoMA and at the Bedford Playhouse Clive Davis Arts Center January 15.

3D Design Headline News

PixCap Launches Browser-Based 3D Design Platform Update

More intuitive interface, extensive 3D template library, and collaboration tools make content creation faster and easier for use across social media, games, graphic design, and the metaverse.

Wakanda’s Return Headline News

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Hits Digital February 1 and Blu-ray February 7

Ryan Coogler and Marvel Studios’ action-adventure will soon be available all major digital platforms before coming home on disc; two exclusive Best Buy SteelBook designs showcase Wakanda and Talokan; Walmart exclusive includes a Black Panther enamel pin

Humans and Fae Collide! Headline News

Prime Video Drops ‘Carnival Row’ Season 2 Trailer

The long awaited second and final season has finally arrived, rolling out 2 episodes per week starting next month; Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne return to the fantasy world where humans and fae collide.

Will Humanity Survive? Headline News

SYFY Heads to the Cosmos with New Original Series ‘The Ark’

Premiering February 1, the live-action science fiction series follows the crew of spacecraft Ark One as they battle to survive long enough to fulfill their mission to save the human race by colonizing a new planet.

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