VFXhack

Gizmodo posted today about some fan art for a redesigned Starship Enterprise that has been presented as leaked artwork for the new Star Trek film. The images in the article were created by the one and only Gabe Köerner who I’ve worked with in the past and is known throughout the industry as quite the character. You may recognize Gabe as “That Trekkie Kid” from the docu-nerdfests Trekkies and Trekkies 2. The post also contains a classic interview with Gabe that just makes you laugh at what happens when you let a typical VFX artist off-leash. Here’s a taste…

The prongs on the front of Syd Mead’s Sullacco from ‘Aliens’ gave me the idea for the deflector dish. If the rest of the ship was graceful curves, the deflector is the ‘asshole’ of the ship, the part that no matter how sexy you are, you still have an asshole.

Amen, brother!

LINK to the whole post on Gizmodo

60 minutes ran a feature recently on” Millennials”, those lost souls that have had the seeming misfortune of being born in the years between 1980 and 1995. Morely was pretty tough on these iPod toting whippersnappers. Maybe he was mad about being named Morely because the story claimed that amongst other things, Millennials don’t know that underwear is meant to be worn under your clothes and that things called “knives” and “forks” can be used instead of shoveling food into your messy gob with your unwashed bare hands. However slanted the folks with the ticking stopwatch may be, this group of perpetual teenagers have flocked to our fledgling VFX industry. So, I have composed this open letter to the Millennials to give them a leg up if they choose to enter the industry that we all hold so near and dear.

Dear Millenials, Sorry to see that 60 Minutes took a elephantine sized dump on your entire generation. That being said, please hear my few nuggets of wisdom, for I too was once the youngest guy in the room. Now I’m ancient at 37 and a proud member of the club that you say can’t be trusted. I’m sorry to say that you too will inevitably make the transition from young hot-shot to pathetic has-been. If you want to make this journey an easier one, listen up.

1. You Don’t Deserve Your Job- Just because your parents ponied up the green to send you to VFX school doesn’t mean you automatically gain admission to a job at a studio. For all it’s faults, this a merit based business. If you don’t have the drive and talent, you won’t get too far. And no, bringing your mom to your job interview will not help.
2. Find Old People- Believe it or not, some of us in our golden years have knowledge that we can pass onto you. There are even Jedi masters older than I who hold the keys to a veritable Pandora’s box of effects know-how. Seriously, you don’t know everything, in fact quite the opposite. Find someone whose been around the block a few times and annoy them until they give up the goods.
3. Give a Crap- This is an easy one. You need to care about the work you do. Supes are looking for artists who put an extra something special into their shots without being asked. The powers that be at a VFX house are always on the prowl for people who have something to contribute rather than those who do only the minimum needed to complete the job.
4. It’s Not Show- Fun- VFX houses are a businesses that need to make a profit to stay in business. And it’s a tough business at that. The list of companies that have bit the dust over the years is long and written in the blood of young artists. Make sure you have a good work ethic and don’t expect ice cream sundaes and balloon animals at your desk every Friday.
5. No Flipflops- Now this is is just plain common sense. Foot thongs are for the gym or the beach and that’s it! And besides, when I see your gnarly toenails sticking out from underneath a bathroom stall, I can’t help thinking that Morely Safer is right and you truly do have no standards. Don’t be a stereotype, leave the shower shoes at home.

Sincerly, VFXHack

LINK to 37 Signals take on the Millennials piece

Special thanks to the 3dPro guys for starting the conversation and to Bill S. for the image

The folks over at your3dsource have compiled a fairly complete list of of the worst 3D animated movie characters of all time. Each of these horendus abortions of the computer age is given both a technical and personality score. Jar-Jar is given some well deserved extra attention with the inclusion of a poll from one of the Kill Jar-Jar anti-fan pages on what the best way would be for the floppy eared jester to meet his maker. Here’s a taste…

25% Multiple lightsabers to the colon 24% Tied to a pod racer by this tongue 16% Drown in a pool of his own blood 13% Step in Bantha crap, fall into Sarlacc 11% Ejected into deep space by R2D2 10% Soul swallowed by new Hellraiser C3PO

LINK to original article

Update!  jim Says: Heya! Apparently this is fanart from this guy: http://dougblot.blogspot.com/2007/09/1-18-08.html

The CG community is all a-twitter about the new trailer for the J.J. Abrams’ produced dv-cam-tastic Cloverfield (formerly known as 1-18-08). The latest conspiracy theory is that the movie is actually based on the classic arcade game Rampage. At the risk of becoming a shameless shill for the Hollywood viral-marketing machine, I’m posting what is being touted as a leaked concept sketch for the illusive Cloverfield monster. Can anyone out there in the Blog-o-sphere confirm or deny the authenticity of this sketch?

Comments please!

LINK to the history of the Rampage video game

As all of you probably know by now, the Writers Guild of America is now officially on strike. You may also know that the last time the WGA went in strike in 1988 it lasted 22 weeks and left the skeletal remains of many VFX shops in it’s wake. Only time will tell how this strike will evolve, but in the mean time, I’ve compiled a short list of suggestions of how you, the VFX professional, can ride out the storm.  

1. Sell your useless junk - The workplace of a VFX artist can be an untapped Ebay goldmine. First edition vinyl figures (or “dolls”), high end game controllers and signed 1st edition hard cover graphic novels are some of the not-so-buried treasures of the desktop that can be exploited for quick cash. Let’s just hope you kept the original box for that 15″ IG-88! 
2. Help flood the job market - Woody Allen once said “Those who can’t do teach, and those who can’t teach, teach Visual Effects” Well, not really but you get the point. Without any new movies or TV shows to keep you busy, all you need to do is march on over to one of the 15-20 VFX schools that surround every major (and most minor) cities in the US. From the breadth of knowledge displayed by some recent grads of these McVFX institutes (don’t get me wrong there are some good schools out there), it should be to hard to get a teaching position. 
3. Lower your expectations - I probably shouldn’t share this one as it may cause unwanted competition for me if the strike lasts to long, but here goes. VFX for the masses! Ever wanted to have The White Stripes play at your wedding. How about a Bar Mitzvah featuring a special guest appearance by Radiohead. All you need is a few yards of green fabric, a copy of After Effects and WHAMMY! Instant revenue stream.
4. Repurpose you secondary skills - When you think about it, there are a few things that VFX pros are very well suited for that don’t have anything to do with VFX at all. I think any animator would make a great Aeron chair stress tester. I also hear that Microsoft is looking for a team of thousands to beta test Halo 4 thru Halo 12. It’s time to think outside the box people. I’m sure the processed food industry is dying for test subjects who are willing to ingest nothing but Kraft Cheese-N-Crackers and Diet Coke for months on end.
5. Dispense unwanted advice - During the strike there will be plenty of time for everything from thoughtful debate to idle chit-chat. Yes you too could start your very own Visual Effects Blog. You’ll have plenty of spare time to write posts. I plan to up many publishing rate to 3 - 4 posts per day. Hey if you can’t spend your time actually creating visual effects you might as well read about ‘em, right?

UPDATE! VFXWorld just posted another article about me and my work at Zoic HERE. 

Okay, so it’s another bit of blatant self-promotion considering that the bulk of this article (3 out of the 4 shows covered) centers around my work on the new season of TV shows. I hope what comes across in this piece is the fact that I really like doing VFX for television. Seriously, I get to work n a lot of projects and turn around cool VFX on a dime. There really isn’t the time for insane amounts of noodling you might see in a big ole’ bloated feature film. The shear variety of work is great too. One day I’m blowing up an airplane and next I’m following a bullet into some dude’s thorax. Now how many other people get to say that about their jobs?

LINK to “Pushing VFX in the New Fall TV Season” (via VFXWorld)