Visual Effects
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Farewell Douglas Trumbull, visual effects pioneer
He produced pioneering visual effects for some of the most important sci-fi movies of the last century, and pushed the limits of what could be achieved with the technology long before CGI arrived.
Douglas Trumbull, VFX whiz for ‘Blade Runner’, ‘2001’ and others, dies at 79
The longtime visual effects director was behind some of the most influential sci-fi films of all time.
Farewell Cinefex, you unlocked the magic of VFX for everyone
Cinefex, the legendary VFX magazine, is shutting down
'The Mandalorian' won the first Emmy for Disney+
'The Mandalorian' has already won five Emmys, including the first Emmy for a Disney+ production.
How The Handmaid's Tale defaced the Lincoln Memorial
Watch how 'The Handmaid's Tale' VFX artists defaced the Lincoln memorial.
Watch how VFX artists crafted Disney's 'The Lion King' remake
Nothing in Disney's divisive Lion King remake was real. Simba, Scar and the sprawling Pride Lands -- all of it was created digitally. To convey this gargantuan effort, visual effects studio MPC Film -- the same company behind The Jungle Book and countless other Hollywood blockbusters including Blade Runner 2049 -- has released a short breakdown on YouTube. It shows the various steps required to build young Simba, adult Nala, and some of the film's iconic scenes including The Circle of Life. If you want to know more about how the movie was made, including its VR-assisted cinematography, read our 'making of' feature from last year.
'Cats' is getting new special effects while it's still in theaters
You've seen movies receive visual touch-ups in special edition re-releases, but Universal is trying something new: it's updating a movie while it's still in the middle of its initial theatrical run. The media giant has informed theaters that it's giving them a new version of Cats that delivers "some improved visual effects," according to a memo Hollywood Reporter saw. Insiders talking to the publication said that director Tom Hooper wanted to alter some of the effects after rushing to get the movie ready in time for its December 16th premiere screening.
'Stranger Things' VFX artists show how imploding rats came to life
Stranger Things 3 packed plenty of punch, not least because of the horrifying monsters that terrorized the residents of Hawkins. A great deal of work went into the creatures and the rest of the season's visuals, and VFX house Rodeo FX has released a behind-the-scenes look at how some of the effects came into shape. The videos spoil some of the season's more impressive shots, so you might want to hold off if you haven't finished Stranger Things 3 yet.
Inside the virtual production of ‘The Lion King’
The new Lion King movie is visually spectacular. A two-hour remake that frequently defies belief. Pride Rock is, of course, a fictional place but in director Jon Favreau's film it feels eerily real. The creatures, too, move just like they would on the plains of Africa. They're utterly believable until they talk and sing to one another about family, responsibility and the circle of life. Disney has been remaking its animated classics for some time now. But The Lion King, which hit theaters on July 19th, sets a new benchmark for what's possible with computer-generated animation. The secret behind it all? An experimental form of filmmaking that, through VR, allows studios to shoot virtual sets with old-fashioned direction and analog camerawork.
How ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ triumphed over the uncanny valley
When the first trailer for the live action Alita: Battle Angel dropped in late December 2017, the internet was abuzz about the eponymous character's large CG eyes. Heck, even we called them "creepy" and "weird." Now that the film's finally here and I've had a chance to check out this long-awaited comic adaptation, I can safely say our fears were overblown. In fact, Alita might be one of the most realistic humans I've ever seen on-screen -- huge manga eyes and all.
Warlords of Draenor: Visual clutter to be reduced
Lead Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas has been tweeting about visual clutter and the developers' response to it in Warlords of Draenor. @szspagna Completely agree. This is a major priority for us, and something we discuss among the class team, with our FX artists, etc., often - Watcher (@WatcherDev) February 6, 2014 There has been talk of this before, and with good reason too. When players go into melee and are faced with totems, pets, elementals, minions, imps, apparitions and more, it's hard to work out what's important and what isn't. At the PvP summit it was also raised, with discussion on making the most important visual cues really stand out, and the less important ones less flashy. The same is likely to apply in PvE, with emphasis added on your own animations and key ones from other players, mobs, bosses and so on. This should have several effects. Not only will it make life easier for melee, and for PvPers as a group, it will also reduce strain on players' systems. While it's remarkable that WoW still runs on older systems as well as it does, it is slowly getting harder and harder for less current machines to cope. And as upgrades like the new character models continue, it's only going to get worse. Things like reducing visual clutter, especially in raids, will be a huge help for system resources.
Blizzard looking into weapon enchant display solution
The World of Warcraft artists are second to none in the industry, masterfully turning concepts into game reality. What happens, sadly, when your awesome weapon graphics are overshadowed by the overzealous weapon enchant you are practically required to have? Blizzard is still looking into a way to deal with displaying weapon enchants, either through a toggle, some other interface switch, or some unannounced feature yet to be determined. While I agree with Blizzard that iconic and recognizable looks are a great way to pinpoint what items are capable of how much damage and power, as we have seen with transmogrification, the general scope of iconic looks has changed drastically. If it's possible and feasible, Blizzard will allow us to toggle our enchants, especially after the success of transmogrification.
The Daily Grind: What games go overboard with effects?
It's not that I don't love City of Heroes, don't get me wrong. And it's not that I don't love the flashy and unique animations that every powerset gets to show off. But when you get in a full group of people exploding with various powers, the whole screen turns into a sustained burst of white light grouped around a red box that's probably your target. It's kind of overkill at best, and it makes it near impossible to see what's going on at worst. Maybe you don't mind the effects in the game. Maybe you find Final Fantasy XIV's dramatic spotlight for weaponskills or the constant beams crossing in Star Trek Online more obnoxious. Whatever the context, there are doubtlessly games in which you feel there's a bit too much going on in the midst of a battle. So what game do you feel goes overboard with effects when you want something just a bit more straightforward? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite use of heavily stylized graphics?
In the earliest days of gaming, games were by their very nature pretty much abstract in graphics. The Atari 2600 couldn't really handle photorealistic human faces, after all. But even though we're now in the era when realism is not that far off, many games still employ intentionally stylized looks. LEGO Universe people look nothing like actual human beings, after all -- but they're not supposed to, representing instead the ubiquitous minifigures given motion and character. Some players really don't like stylized appearances, feeling that they look cartoony or artificial. Others prefer them to realistic graphics out of a sense that the style makes the game stand out more. MMOs have run the gamut from the detailed and realistic humans of All Points Bulletin to the intentionally unreal graphics of Super Hero Squad Online. So what game has stylized graphics that you think really work? Whether or not you like the style overall, where do you feel they add to the game's atmosphere? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Iron Man 2: the gadgets (video)
When done right, a science fiction or fantasy film will leave audiences with a prescient glimpse into our actual gadget future. Remember the heady pre-iPhone, pre-Pureness days of 2002 when you first saw Minority Report? Staring silently, mouth agape, jonesing for a chance to partake in a multi-touch, transparent display future using nothing but gestures? Well now that Iron Man 2 has been released, we've got another chance to look into the high-tech crystal ball, this time envisioned by a team of artists at Perception who did the design, animation, and visual effects work that turned Tony Stark's transparent LG smartphone (pictured above), touch-screen coffee table, and holographic lab environment into an on-screen reality. The group was compelled by director Jon Favreau and the team at Marvel Studios to keep the UI elements "legible and logical, while still appearing to be several generations beyond the typical user experience." Perception tells us that some of its inspiration was directly attributed to Engadget as it researched near-term technologies for the film's future reality. No doubt, we do see influence from Emblaze's First Else navigation elements and limited color palette as well as Microsoft's InkSeine research at the heart of the doomed Courier UI. And if we're not mistaken, Stark's big ass computing table is almost certainly inspired by Microsoft Surface. Now get past the break and check out Perception's contribution to Iron Man 2, the future of Google search alone is not to be missed.%Gallery-92501%
Giant iPhone video is cool, but quite fake
This video is making the rounds lately -- on first glance, it looks someone running the iPhone OS on a Mac Pro with a 24" multitouch monitor. As you can see, everything more or less works as you'd expect, and therein lies the rub: anyone who's looked at it with a critical eye, including our friend and former TUAW-er CK Sample III, has pronounced it fake. I'd have to agree -- besides the fact that it comes from a visual effects house, the picture flipping at about :56 is a little bit off. How'd they do it? It's most likely just a movie running on a screen, with a guy pretending to control it. But even so, it's a compelling idea -- if you could find a multitouch monitor that worked like that and ran the iPhone OS with it, wouldn't it work exactly that way anyway?I've actually brought up this idea before -- there is a ton of software running on the iPhone currently, and some of it is even better than the equivalent versions on the Mac. It would be extremely useful to port the iPhone's OS (and all of its software in the App Store) to another form, whether that be on your TV (I originally suggested a Wii-like interface) or on a multitouch input like this desktop. Apple has sunk a lot of work and design thought into this OS -- they may never do it, but it seems like it would be a terrific decision to bring some of that successful R&D back on to the TV or the desktop.
World of Warcraft guild leader wins Oscar
Enumerating the accomplishments of one Steve Preeg would be a lengthy undertaking, indeed. He's got a magnificent surname, for starters. He's worked on the digital effects team of some of our favorite films, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I, Robot, and Ri¢hie Ri¢h's Christmas Wish. The World of Warcraft guild that he heads up has conquered all but one of of the title's demanding raid bosses (curse you, Sartharion!), which is truly no small task. Oh, and he won the highest available commendation for cinema last night at the 81st Annual Academy Awards. We nearly forgot about that one.Preeg's small digital effects team took home Oscars in the Visual Effects category for their computer-assisted oldening of Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, beating out fellow cinematic contenders The Dark Knight and Iron Man. We're sure it'll go down as the proudest, happiest moment of Preeg's spectacular life -- that is, until he and his guild finally take that bastard Sartharion down. Best of luck!
Guild leader wins Oscar
I didn't have any interest in watching the Oscars last night (so no, I didn't get to see Wolverine singing and dancing), but there was one piece of WoW-related news to come out of the big event. Steve Preeg is a visual effects artist who's worked on films like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I, Robot, and last night, he won an Oscar for his team's work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. And that's not his only achievement: he's also done everything but Sarth 3D with the guild he leads.Yup, we've heard from one of his guildies that Preeg is a guild leader in the game -- he plays a Combat Rogue with 450 Enchanting and Inscription, and runs a progression guild that's downed everything but the big black dragon and his three companions. he's even done all of the holiday events so far (though he's rolling with the "Champion of the Frozen Wastes" title).So he's picked up some excellent loot, both in and out of game (Oscars are epic at least -- the drop rate is pretty low). Congrats to Preeg and his team on the Oscar, and to his guild, good luck with Sarth 3D. Maybe if Anne Hathaway showed up for that you'd have him down by now.
