It's Alive screened in Germany

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"It's Alive" screened at the Hamburg Fantasy Filmfest and a review is in.  Here's a translation from Google, I'm not sure if it's a good or bad review.. "Director: Josef Rusnak Screenplay: Larry Cohen, Paul Sopocy, James Porto Reading Writer: Larry Cohen, more ...

with Bijou Phillips, Skye Bennett, James Murray, Raphaël Coleman, Ty Glaser, more ...

The Lenore lands pregnant with strong labor in the district hall. Your child is only six months already and will be fully developed by Notoperation born. When she wakes up from the anesthesia, like the circle room of a chamber of "Hellraiser": the walls are wallpapered massacred by the medical profession. But a lucky, the baby slumbers peacefully in Lenores poor. Together digest she and her husband Frank the shock at home, finally, Schnulleralarm and their attention is devoted to the putzigen infant. Fiese flashbacks to the murders OP-baked fresh squeezed the mother skillfully and certainly that their offspring unusually early (Reiss) gets teeth - and powerful appetite for meat. So it stacks animals in the dustbin, until suddenly aufkreuzt visit. Also good, then they are piling corpses."

I don't know...you tell me.

We completed 61 shots on "It's Alive", and until the film is officially released, here is a trailer:

Righteous Kill screening tonight!

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I finally get to see one of our movies on the big screen tonight!  It's only a press screening, nobody below the line was invited to the premiere, but I still am looking forward to this.  We completed 440 vfx shots on this movie.

Will post my thoughts after.

Edit:

OK, saw the movie.  Much better than the earlier rough cut version we were working on.  The 440 shots were all in the movie, btw.  The shots were things like adding buildings in backgrounds, fixing lens flares, removing crew members...etc.

As for the movie, it was great to see these two stars together, and it's not often we get to work on a movie like this, so that was good.  But that said, I couldn't escape the feeling that something was missing.  I could bring myself to care abiout the characters, and then there's the ending... The ending, as has been noted elsewhere was fairly easy to figure well in advance.  I knew the ending already, so I brought our LA vfx superviser with me to the screening to get his opinion, knowing he knew nothing about the movie.  He had the twist guessed early on, so it's not just me.  Nevertheless, the movie is very entertaining and will do huge business I'm sure.  It's scoring a terrible 22% on Rotten Tomatoes right now, and that's not justified in my opinion.  But what do I know?  I'm just the fx dude.

Ninja starts...

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We finally have started work on a movie we shot earlier this summer.  "Ninja" is a martial arts film directed by our old friend Isaac Florentine.  Currently the movie is being edited, but we have now started work on the visual effects.  Expected are 150-200 shots in the movie, and they should be done in November.  I will try to post some images when possible.  It's also nice to see that fan sites have picked up on "Ninja".

To add a little content to this post, here is an interview with the star, Scott Adkins, on Bulgarian television.

Off to LA and then LA

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Gustav Not that LA.  I'm leaving for Louisiana.  I was originally supposed to fly on Tuesday, but a little thing called Gustav got in the way.  I spoke to the office yesterday, and they assured me that Shreveport did not blow away, and everybody was at work.  The movie is called "Leaves of Grass".  I'm heading there to meet the VFX supervisor and get everything rolling.  I'm also sending a Bulgarian supervisor, as she will be  heading up the show in BUlgaria when the actual compositing begins.  After that it's off to the other LA, Los Angeles, to take care of company business.

Flu Bird Horror!

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"Flubirds" finally aired on Sci-Fi Channel last Saturday.  Apparently it did monster ratings.  Plus, we got good reviews for our CGI.  Review here.    Directors Blog Nice to see that Sci-Fi listened to my pleas from more than a year ago.  I have asked them repeatedly to not expend so many shots on films that clearly could not afford them.  Instead, buy fewer shots with higher quality and you would keep the fans happy.  We did 64 shots on this movie, and are happy with them all.  Much better than 250+ shots and being happy with none.

Catch the flick on a reairing if you can.  It's got a rubber bird suit, and that's a good thing...

The Dog Days of August

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Not Black Sea

Here it is, August 28, and the studio is sloooowwwww.   30% of staff are on the black sea, and the rest are... well not much.  Cyclops has wrapped, and until the new films start up, it's housekeeping duty.  We have been able to tackle long overdue and oft-postponed tasks.  Various previously neglected projects underway are:

  • New Logo.  Millennium and NuImage have finally decided that their logos are from the 80's and need updating.
  • Building a virtual backlot.  It was always planned to build 3d versions of standing sets that exist here on the lot.  Now is the time to do it.
  • Updating the Servers/Software/Workstations. Obvious, but never really had the time to update everything at once.
  • R&D for new projects.  Nearly all of our future jobs require crowd simulation.  We have put a team together to master "Massive", the crowd generation software made famous by "Lord of the Rings".

Speaking of new projects, we have some real exciting ones coming up.  "Red Sonja" is probably the most famous one, but that doesn't actually start shooting until the end of the year.  There are others that are fun also.  "Ninja" is currently in the low-res Temp stage, while we wait for full-res scans.  "Command Performance" is shooting with Dolph Lundgren.  Plus there are a few others that I don't want to reveal just yet.

Wrapping up a few projects and other news.

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Recently we've finished a few projects.  "Terror Train", now called just "Train", directed by Gideon Raff. This is a remake of the Jamie Lee Curtis vehicle from the early 80s. This time starring Thora Birch. Second, we have just finished work on another remake. "It's Alive" is a film made by Larry Cohen in the late 1970s. Our modern take on it is even more psychological than the original. Other recent projects include, "The Code", and the latest film in the "Prince and Me" franchise entitled "The Prince and Me 3: A Royal Honeymoon".

All in all it's been a very busy summer. And we are taking a little bit of a breather (only working on three movies right now). Movies we're working on are:  "Cyclops" for Roger Corman, "Ninja" directed by Isaac Florentine, and  "Command Performance" directed by Dolph Lundgren.

All this down time has let us begin to prepare for "Red Sonja" by starting a team for Massive, the crowd generation software made famous by "Lord of the Rings".

(CC) & ©

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As a visual effects studio, we have to deal with copyrighted material.  Make no mistake about it.  We cannot show material without permission.  And the copyright extends to us marketing ourselves on our own web site.  Every image we show has to be cleared.  Every time we want to cut a reel or update the webpage, it becomes a major mission.  Over the years, I have adopted a conservative stance regarding clearances, mostly because I don't want to deal with the legal hassles.  I know you can argue fair use for certain things, but why bother? Another issue is music.  Truthfully I don't know all the in and outs of copyright law, so we have been finding our own legal, original music for years now.  How?  Simple.  I ask them.  Most composers are happy to allow a short one to two minute piece of music to be included on our webpage.  It's usually a piece of music that they have lying around anyway.  So it's no skin off their back to supply a track in the hope that a movie producer will take a fancy to it.

Actually that happens sometimes.

Usually I have found music through our work connections.  If we are working on a film and the director has an especially close relationship with us or the composer, we are in a position to propose a collaboration.  Less often, I have found music from forums I frequent.  In general we offer free exposure and a couple of DVDs of the finished clip.  This has worked out well for both parties.  Here are a few of the composers we have worked with:

Kevin Jackson John Dickson Josh Jones Geoff Zanelli

Recently our website has become in need of a major upgrade graphic wise.  Many new films have been released, and now it's time to promote the work.  So once again we are updating the demo reel(s) for the studio.  And the search is on for music.  This time I didn't want to ask the same composers for more work.  I don't like to piss them off by asking them too many times, so I decided to try a new resource.  The creative commons license scheme.

If you don't know what the cc license is, I recommend you google up Laurence Lessing. He is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and founder of the School's Center for Internet and Society.  Creative Commons is an attempt at reforming the badly needing reform copyright law.

So I go to the CC music resource page.  At first it seemed like treasure trove of good music.  Everywhere I looked was free music for taking!  Until I started looking at their license closely.  There are 6 possible licenses the music can have.  It turns out I can use two of them.  The other licenses are too restrictive or require me to turn over ownership over copyright that I don't have.  After a couple of false starts (subatomicglue, I'm looking at you) we are finally having some success.

I still want to have a personal connection with the musicians, so I don't just grab some tracks and start editing.  Even though I can use the music without notifying the artists, I still make sure to start a correspondence with them to get their input. A couple of guys have been very nice; others haven't wanted to do this.

More to come...

Black Hole

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  Another one of our projects, "Black Hole", just aired on the SciFi channel.  The reaction from the audience was about what I expected.  Most people thought the movie was a bit dumb in the science area, but watchable.  The review I read also concurs with my thoughts that the destruction sequences were successful, but the creature was less so. 

"Black Hole" was a difficult job is several ways.  First, I thought there shouldn't be a creature in this movie.  A black hole is scary enough, and doesn't need the movie device of a monster on the loose.  Secondly, this was an interesting idea, (scientists creating an actual black hole on earth) and I had never seen it done before.   But third, the scale of this movie was huge!  This was a massive job to destroy St Louis on a scifi channel diet.

I spent many hours trying to talk the producer out of the creature, but the network was insisting on it.  So we were stuck.  Now I had to come up with a creature that would work in the budget/schedule we had.  I tried to obscure the creature as much as possible, and still give the network what it wanted.  We came up with a creature that was only revealed by it's effect on the surrounding environment.  However, due to the limitations of the project, we were forced to keyframe the animation.  This was very labor intensive, and led me to the decision to never take on a humanoid creature unless we have access to a motion capture system.

I understand why the network wanted a creature, so I'm not arguing their logic.  A creature provides a focus that a big disaster might not have.  My point was that this disaster was unique, and definitely in the "science fiction" realm.  Therefore it was all that was needed.  In any case, the movie turned out well, and is a good popcorn munching feature. 

Click here to see a small clip of the creature.

As always, additional images and information can be found at the Worldwide FX website.

Bigger! Faster! Cheaper!

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I have described VFX++ as the culmination of cheaper hardware and the accessibility of software.  Today's laptop has the power of an 1980's supercomputer, and graphics software is cheap or easily pirated.  In other words, a teenager in his bedroom now has the possibility of competing against established facilities.  Disruptions have occured many times over the years, and this is indeed a disruptive step.  This is not the first time this has been so.  The visual effects industry has always been challenged.  As motion pictures demand ever more impact, visual effects professionals are continually scrambling to create high quality images faster and cheaper.  The industry adapted to the advent of sound, the invention of video, even the arrival of computer graphics… but somehow, this change of the mid nineties was different. 

But what was different?  The delivery and communication process. 

The internet, with its web pages, email, and collaborative possibilities has forever lowered the bar for entry in the game.  Consider this situation

  • Anybody can make a virtual company online without any brick and mortar presence.
  • "The "Product" (rendered film frames) can now easily be transfered over the net.
  • Instant messaging and other communication systems mean that artist and technicians can distribute work across the globe easily. 
  • Proprietary technology has been overtaken by off-the-shelf materials. 

VFX Companies are some of the most creative entities around, but this is a tough set of circumstances to compete against.  They have always used cutting edge technology, and that practice has led to many innovations. Motion control and CGI are just two examples.  Both of which were revolutionary when they were introduced.  However, this continual R & D has a cost.  Movie producers have demanded visuals that surpass what studios did the year before, at a lower cost.  This has forced the industry to pursue alternative solutions to ever-expanding budgets. 

  • Boutique houses briefly came into vogue as large facilities succumbed to market pressures. 
  • In-house vfx departments were tried by various content providers, but ultimately were disbanded due to unprofitably. 
  • By far the most controversial step was the establishment off-shore facilities. 

Globalization is a reality in today’s world.  Just about every industry has been affected by it.  The VFX industry has not fared particularly well in this area.  Perhaps it is naive belief that the rest of the world can not compete, or innovate.  I think it is simply that the industry does not want to deal with globalization.

Whatever the reason, the industry has been changed in the last ten years, and will never be the same.

Tribeca

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Two of our recent projects screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.  lonely hearts"Lonely Hearts" starring John Travolta, Salma Hayek, and Jared Leto.  (click here for trailer)

 starring John Travolta, Salma Hayek, and Jared Leto. ()jtteotn1.jpg"Journey to the End of the Night" starring Brendon Fraser.  (official site)

starring Brendon Fraser. ()Each did well in reviews and will be out in theaters later this year.  Worldwide FX's contributions were subtle and significant in both films.  More on our website when the films are released. 

VFX++

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The idea for this weblog, came to me last week after giving my talk on this very subject at FMX.  I have been in visual effects for more than twenty years, and I have been thinking about the future of visual effects for more than ten years.

So what is VFX++?

In order to talk about VFX++ we need to talk a little bit about history.  Visual Effects, have been with us as long as we’ve been telling stories.  They are the ultimate visual prop.  They were originally shadow puppets around fires.  They are illusions.  They became the tool of magicians used to baffle the public, and ultimately they became an entertainment tool. 

The invention of the film camera in the nineteenth century allowed people to film the illusions and created a new medium for them.  A nice history of visual effects can be found here and here.

What we commonly call the visual effects industry will usually refer to the post 1992 industry, or after the mass market success of T2 and Jurassic Park.  I call this Visual Effects 1.0 because even though visual effects existed before this time, they were generally optical effects.  After T2 (I’m not going to talk about extremely specialized one-off projects such as Sherlock Holmes, Tron, or the Star Trek genesis effect, because digital visual effects were not in the public consciousness until T2 and Jurassic Park.) But the pervasiveness of computer graphics has all but obliterated this distinction, and now what we think of as visual effects are generally created with a computer.

When digital technologies first arrived on the scene, the first people to use them with any success were big optical turned digital effects houses.  This was the era of mainframe computers and hundred thousand dollar 3D programs. The technology belong to the same "wizards behind the curtains" that have always been the masters of the art.

However, the dominance of the traditional large facility didn’t last long.  The desktop computer, the explosion of the web, and the Internet in general changed everything.  Software and computing technology became accessible to everybody.  At the same time that graphics technology became available, new communicating tools also became available.  Suddenly you can create sophisticated visual effects on your home computer and share them over the web with your friends.

Welcome to the era of VFX ++

I run a visual effects company in Europe, and this is a subject I deal with each and every day.  In this weblog, I will try to expound on these ideas.  How can companies survive today?  What does this mean for the independent filmmaker?  It's an interesting journey.

and so it starts....

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This is the beginning to what I hope will be a stable and regularly updated blog about my experiences, thoughts, and musings on the film industry generally and visual effects in specific.  Most of the topics will be in these three areas: 

      

  • Amusing anecdotes from the ridiculous world of film making
  • The activities of my company
  • My thoughts on the future of visual effects

You can find out more about me in my bio page (not written yet).  I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to your feedback!