Jeff Barnes Talks VFX & VES
Bill Desowitz chats with Jeff Barnes, co-founder of The ComputerCafe Group and the new chairman of the VES, about the state of VFX and the Society's new direction.
VFXWorld Magazine
Massive Goes to School
Karen Raugust reports on how the famed AI-based 3D animation system is being adopted by key VFX/animation schools.
'The Ruins': Rigging Up a Scary Vine
Alain Bielik visits The Ruins with Rising Sun Pictures, which devised a new system for animating the nasty, man-eating vines.
'Nim's Island': A CG Menagerie That Kept Growing
Tara Bennett pays a visit to Nim's Island with CafeFX and others to explore the CG pelicans, sea lions and lizards.
'Maya 2008 Character Modeling and Animation': Controlling Smooth Binds
In this second of six excerpts from Maya 2008 Character Modeling and Animation, author Tereza Flaxman explains how to better control the deformation around joints.
Houdini 9.1 Review: Added Value and Improved Problem Solving
Anupam Das of EA tests Houdini 9.1 and discovers several improvements, including FBX support and new additions to fluid and animation tools.
The Digital Eye: Gaming as the Driving Technological Force
In this month's edition of "The Digital Eye," Autodesk's Maurice Patel explores how gaming is driving VFX and Design Visualization through performance, interaction and immersion.
I Am Legend Returns with Alternate Ending
Dave Schaub of Sony Pictures Imageworks tells Bill Desowitz all about the additional animation in the alternate ending for I Am Legend, now on DVD/Blu-ray.
Ben Mathis Talks Digital Artistry and BodyPaint
Fred Galpern catches up with Ben Mathis to find out more about his career after recently leading the GDC Visual Arts Track on Maxon BodyPaint.
Sampling Six VFX-Driven Commercial Spots
Karen Raugust explores some recent and noteworthy commercials from Framestore CFC, MPC, Digital Domain, Method Studios, RIOT and Radium in search of the creative process behind them.
Imageworks Gets Inspired by Chicago Spire
Bill Desowitz recently caught up with Sheena Duggal of Sony Pictures Imageworks to discuss the promotional 3D short she directed about the Chicago Spire, the towering, twisting, opulent residential development project.
NVIDIA Ventures Deeper into Middleware Enabling
Bill Desowitz chats with Jeff Brown of NVIDIA about its recent acquisitions of mental images and AGEIA.
'Doomsday': A VFX Cure for the Reaper Virus
Amid the requisite exploding gore in Neil Marshall's new Doomsday, Thomas J. McLean uncovers the subtler vfx deployed by Double Negative to convey a dystopian future Scotland.
'Maya 2008 Character Modeling and Animation': Creating a Smooth Bind
In this first of six excerpts from Maya 2008 Character Modeling and Animation, Tereza Flaxman explains how to create a smooth bind.
'Tin Man': Art Deco Oz -- Oh, My!
With this week's release of Tin Man on DVD, Tara Bennett caught up with Anthem Visual Effects about efficiency, mobats and going to town on Central City.
'10,000 BC': To Furtility and Beyond
Alain Bielik tames the prehistoric beasts in 10,000 BC after speaking with the vfx vets at Double Negative and MPC.
'CJ7': Hong Kong Action With an Alien Twist
Eddy Wong of Menfond tells Tara Bennett about the VFX thrills in Stephen Chow's latest Hong Kong actioner, CJ7.
'Lost': Season 4 -- VFX Interruptus
VFX shots in the first half of the strike-interrupted fourth season of Lost played an important -- but supporting -- role. Karen Raugust gets the scoop from VFX Supervisor Mitch Suskin on the abbreviated season.
GDC 2008: New Tools, More Convergence and Outsourcing
Fred Galpern reports back from GDC 2008 on the launch of Havok Cloth and Destruction, Star Wars: The Forced Unleashed, realtime rendering and more.
The Lucas Empire Strikes Back With Richard Kerris
Bill Desowitz talks technology, convergence, The Force Unleashed and Star Wars: The Clone Wars with Richard Kerris, who recently left Apple to become CTO of Lucasfilm.
The Digital Eye: Dissecting A Previs Roundtable -- Part 2
In this month's edition of "The Digital Eye," Bill Desowitz concludes his report on a recent Previs Roundtable discussion he moderated with a focus on videogames.
'Vantage Point': Old School Meets New School
Tara DiLullo Bennett gets the scoop on Vantage Point: a low-key political thriller in which the vfx melt into the background.
'Be Kind, Rewind': Getting in VFX Synch with Gondry
BUF Compagnie is back with Michel Gondry on Be Kind, Rewind, and Alain Bielik is on the scene to find out what new vfx wrinkles are in store.
VFX Oscar Nominees 2008: Conversations with Farrar, Fink and Knoll
On the eve of the Academy Awards this Sunday, Bill Desowitz chats separately with Visual Effects Supervisors Scott Farrar, Mike Fink and John Knoll about CG robots, daemons and the Maelstrom.
'Jumper:' Using VFX to Disrupt Space and Time
Thomas J. McLean jumps to the heart of previs supervisor Laurent Lavigne and Wetas work on Jumper.
