VFXhack

Rubber suited, trashcan lookin’ CG robot action!

(via Twitch)

Hey looks like updating the Wordpress install wiped out the all the users in my database. Yipee! So now when you comment you’ll get the added fun of having to re-register your user name. Think of it as a chance to re-evaluate part of your online identity. 

Thanks for your patatience.

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Check out this crazy 8-bit rant from uber-hip animator David O’Reilly that was posted on biongbiong.tv today. It makes some really obtuse points about animation history and the future of CG through the use of crazy primitive rendering techniques. Got to love the title tho’ Innovate or GTFO.

LINK to more David O’reilly madness on bbtv (Super Mario 8-bit theater)

Last month Variety published an article about the increased role of the VFX supe on set subtitled “Tech Pros Move Up In Film Production Hierarchy”. Here’s a taste.

“Not so long ago, visual effects were an isolated corner of post-production, a ‘black-box’ process headed by amiable engineers who kept largely to themselves. ..That has turned the job into a kind of uber-technician-diplomat whose job touches all departments”

I guess that officially makes 2008 The Year of The VFX Supe! To help guide us the dangerous wilds of our new found celebrity I’ve come up with a few tips to ease the transition.

Tip #1: It’s Time For a Makeover

A Hawaiin shirt under a custom-made photographer’s vest coupled with Trebekian facial hair just won’t cut it anymore. Put away the mullets and fanny-packs fellas cuz your with the big boys now. Get subscriptions to Details and Esquire now! Before you know it you’ll be on the carpet with Cloney and Pitt.

Tip #2: Get On The Scene (like a VFX machine)

Since VFX folks have a tendency to fall on the sedentary-anti-social-misanthrope end of the civility scale, newly found celebrity will have to include a social make-over of sorts. Topics that need to be focused on include; volume modulation in both conversation and laugh, human to human eye contact and of course grooming. Please take note that waiting in the comic book store for new books to arrive on Wednesdays is technically NOT considered socializing.

Tip #3: Use Smaller Words

Now that you’ll be released into the wild it’s time to be your own personal Henry Higgins and start listening to the way that you talk. To get started, try this role playing exercise. Don’t talk about Blade Runner for 5 minutes. How’d you do? If you made it more than 30 seconds your on the right track. Other off-limits topics include; the relative merits or high end video cards, TOS vs TNG and whether Greedo shot first just to name a few. A good rule of thumb is that if a conversation topic sounds interesting you, it will probably be insufferably boring the the non-vfx people you are trying to impress.

Tip #4: Keep Your Friends Close and Enemies Closer

Having a VFX Supe involved in every aspect of production on every flick from Tranformin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo to Rainbow Bright: The Movie means that lots of folks on the practical side of things will be out of work as a direct result of what you do. From now on, every Art Director, Make-Up Effects Artist, Special Effects Whacko, heck everyone with the possible exception of the guy who makes the smoothies will be giving you the stink eye every time you walk on set. So be careful, many these people are crafty and have access to high power explosives.

Tip #5: Stop Letting Others Drag You Down (and also don’t forget the little people)

Your time has arrived! You’ve been baptized into the realm of the Hollywood Gliterazzi and now you’ll have to engage in that age old Tinsel Town tradition of blaming others when things go wrong and taking credit for just about everything when things go right. There is only one thing you must do to maintain your good standing. If you are ever in a position to receive an award of any type for your work, make sure you mention that you “couldn’t have done it without my super-talented crew”.

LINK to Variety article

To help ring in 2008 I thought that I’d share with you my resolutions hoping that you will follow suit and help make our world of VFX a better place.

1. I promise never to use the word “virtual” again. I’m starting to annoy my self at this point
2. I resolve to no longer lose sleep over when we will finally come out of the uncanny valley.
3. I will no longer fly into a fit a rage when a Hollywood blockbuster based on a comic book is out of continuity.
4. I’ve decided to stop using big words and phrases like “particle simulations” and “3D tracking” in order to confuse clients.
5. I acknowledge that I spend way too much time taking on-line surveys that rate my geekyness.
6. I refuse to get excited by any announcements about hardware or software the promises to revolutionize the industry.
7. I will not Hulk out when someone on set suggests in all seriousness that something be fixed in post.
8. Never again will I use the phrase “split the difference” when asked to comment on a shot and I really don’t have anything else to say.
9. I’ll stop needlessly truncating words in order to sound cool. No more “mo-blur” and “de-satch” for me.
10. And finally, I resolve not to blather on endlessly in Blog posts about obscure topics that only the nerdiest of VFX nerds could comprehend.

Oops, looks like number 10 is already out the window. Hope you all have better luck with yours this year.

While working late to finish a project this week, many emails were exchanged on topics ranging from the current state of the render queue to whether or not you can sustain internal injuries from eating pizza for diner 14 nights in a row. Artists are a visual lot and some of those emails came with the added flourish of an animated GIF to accentuate and clarify the point of the message. VFX guys are generally not known as master wordsmiths so these images are often used to express everything from frustration to praise and everything in-between. I’ve compiled a greatest hits page of this low-frame-rate gems for you to browse, enjoy and use as you wish.

 LINK to VFX GIF Gallery

special thanks to Q and L. Jolly

I really relate to this. But then again I also find myself wishing the Ctrl-Z worked in real life.

LINK to more geek tunes at XKCD

Imagine the experimental film version of of the kids game telephone and you’ve got the the project PSST! Organized by Bran Dougherty-Johnson, PSST! is collection of 9 films each broken into 3 sections completed by different teams that pick up where the last one left off.  The result is a super spicy gumbo of animation, stop-mo, motion graphics, compositing and everything else but the kitchen sink. Nice.

LINK to PSST! 2 website

LINK to PSST! 1 website

StumbleUpon-ed Ian Hubert’s personal website Robot Soup this weekend and found a pretty wicked homage to the much loved and lamented Fox series Firefly. Ian isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions like

“What would happen of Serenity got chopped in half by a giant ninja robot?”

Maybe Whedon would have gotten around to that in season two. Unfortunately, we’ll never know. Thanks Fox!

LINK to Ian Hubert’s animation