ZingVFX: 2009

Monday, August 10, 2009

Tighter schedules/budget for vfx

I'm re-posting an excerpt of this interview with Visual Effects Society Chairman Jeffrey Okun.

"Schedules for creating effects are getting shorter, and lots of visual-effects companies are going under. When the studio doesn't like one company's answer they get rid of them and call in somebody else until they get to whoever will go 'Yeah, we can do that' at the price they want.' "

Okun reasons that, as filmmaking shifts toward an all-digital production pipeline, visual-effects houses deserve an equal voice in the decision-making process.

"The perception is that visual effects are driven by really smart computers with cool buttons that make things go faster or look better," he says. "There's a lack of understanding that the process is driven by artists." The film industry's faster-cheaper mantra has caused "tremendous stress and strain," Okun says.

The Visual Effects Society is holding a summit to address this issue.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Trailers that make me quiver with longing

I can’t wait to see these three movies. They are all based on books, they all blend fantasy and realism to tell the story. Using cinematography, digital and special effects; they are creating a fantastical visual world of our dreams; what cinema is meant for. In short, I would love to work on movies like these!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Videos from Siggraph '09!

Autodesk has made highlights of Siggraph available to view here: http://area.autodesk.com/inhouse.

I've never been to any work-related conferences in my life (usually I travel to get away from work), but if I had to pick one, Siggraph in New Orleans looked pretty swell.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Photojournalism

I love and deeply respect photojournalism. I prefer news photography over fine art because of its strong narrative and social purpose. I often source photos for inspiration and reference, in addition to movies and stock footage. Here are some of my favourites sources;

The Globe and Mail: Day in Pictures
Getty Images: Reportage
Time Photos
Reuters

I've also recently found an excellent blog about photojournalism called Viewfinder that I recommend you check out.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

While looking for motion graphics, I found VideoHive. Its a newish website that is a marketplace for stock footage, motion graphics, and project files. Its quite affordable and has a lot of user-generated content.