Free Webinar: Creating Custom Facial Rigs in Anime Studio Pro 9
Join Vern in this 1-hour webinar as he shows you how to create your own facial control rigs to animate the faces of your characters in Anime Studio Pro. Learn how to build simple controls for opening and closing the eyes, and for animating the eyebrows. These control rigs will allow you to animate features such as these both separately and/or together.
...Read More »
Bread & Butter 3D By Ko Maruyama
Here's why Zax Dow created Zaxwerks and why his software is so valuable even if you already have another 3D program. 3D work can be divided into two main categories: Bread and Butter work, and Custom work. Everyone would like to get custom work but it's the bread and butter work that keeps food on your table. The big mystery here is why most people use custom software on bread and butter jobs? Do they even realize there is a difference? Doing that is like drawing animation by hand; the result can be completely custom but boy does it take a lot of time and skill to do.
...Read More »
FlyingS3D sets Le Crazy Horse on Fire with Pablo
FlyingS3D opened its doors early in 2010 as France's first dedicated stereoscopic 3D post production facility. FlyingS3D is the brainchild of managing director Audrey Bourdiol, who had spent her career up until then looking after the technical side of one of France's largest post houses. With already more than 30 major S3D projects under its belt, in 2012 FlyingS3D won the full post production for 'Feu' (Fire) - a 3D film by Le Crazy Horse - one of its most ambitious projects to date. Le Crazy Horse cabaret was founded in 1951 by the avant-garde artist Alain Bernardin and has delivered its own special brand of glamour entertainment to millions of men and women for more than sixty years. 'Feu' is designed to bring Le Crazy experience to cinema audiences worldwide; 3D was "the natural choice" to achieve this aim, says Audrey Bourdiol.
...Read More »
Darino - Renowned Animator, Filmmaker By Miles Weston
Ed Darino pioneered in using computer technology for animation and has been involved in the production of more than 300 feature and short films. Now he prepares for a video showing and the production of a retrospective.
...Read More »
Preserving Groningen's History through Film
Cultural heritage is a community's legacy. Something we live with today, and what society will eventually pass on to future generations. Acting as custodians of the past, archive centers around the world are tasked with not only storing content, but also making it accessible. Groningen Audio Visueel Archief (GAVA) is one such facility in the Netherlands responsible for looking after more than 24,000 audiovisual items relating to the region of Groningen, which are kept on formats varying from nitrate film base to digibeta. Founded in 1992 as the second regional AV archive in the Netherlands, GAVA specializes in cataloging and preserving sound and video programs about the province of Groningen, as well as productions created by residents from Groningen. In addition to acting as a repository, the center is also tasked with making all of its archived footage available to broadcasters, artists, museum organizations and businesses online.
...Read More »
The Third Shift By Ko Maruyama
The Third Shift is, at first glance, a story told through images in a calendar. But it's only part of a larger tale. The calendar is just a sample imagery found in the monthly stories that appear from the minds at Cryptonym Media, projected through eerie stereoscopic compositing. The creative writing and compositing are packaged into a tactile, technological, and interactive experience.
...Read More »
The Art of the Trailer: Two Years in 30 Seconds
The trailer plays a major role in the marketing and ultimate success of a feature motion picture. This on-screen advertisement is so engrained in popular culture that most of the time it is taken for granted by movie goers. But industry marketing veterans know the trailer is the first and last chance to create a lasting impression on an audience. Most trailers range in length between 30 seconds and two minutes. It's within that short time span that the viewer will pick up on hundreds of cues about the movie. In the blink of an eye he will determine the genre, the gist of the story, the aesthetic and level of production. By the end of the trailer the viewer might well determine the fate of the movie. Is it a must-see or to-be-avoided?
...Read More »
AFTER EFFECTS APPRENTICE By Ko Maruyama
Trish and Chris Meyer have been writing books for Adobe After Effects users for several years. Their After Effects Apprentice book is currently in its third edition, which covers Adobe's current version of After Effects, CS6. This also offers lessons for those who may be using earlier versions of the software. The book is not only for the "Aspiring" motion graphics artist, but for anyone who wants to improve their all-around skills in the popular animation software.
...Read More »
It's Hell on Wheels at FuseFX
The second season of Hell on Wheels continued its epic story of post-Civil War America, focusing on Cullen Bohannon, a former Confederate soldier, and his dramatic journey west as he struggles to leave his past behind. The building of the transcontinental railroad serves as the backdrop to the entire series. The scope and challenges of the expanding railroad were critical to the storytelling and couldn't be achieved without the resourceful use of visual effects provided by FuseFX. At the center of the traveling town are the trains. Production built full scale replicas of the period trains and laid down a few hundred feet of track to support tight shots and moments when the train isn't moving. But almost all shots showing wider perspectives and moving trains was achieved with CG models of trains and railroad tracks composited into live action backgrounds.
...Read More »
Coca-Cola's 2012 Euro Cup "Spirit of the Euro" Commercial Rockets to Life with DaVinci Resolve
Coca-Cola's 2012 Euro Cup "Spirit of the Euro" commercial is an animated wild ride that captures the excitement, fun and craziness of the soccer tournament and its fans. In the spot, a very passionate fan zooms through the sky in a Coca-Cola powered soccer boot, releasing soccer ball bubbles in its wake that turn all they touch into deliriously enthusiastic soccer fans. Produced by Portland, Oregon based BENT IMAGE LAB and directed by Carlos Lascano, "Spirit of the Euro" is a highly creative and exciting commercial that required equally intense and vibrant color to bring it to life, which was achieved thanks to Jalal Jemison, BENT's lead colorist, and Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve color correction software.
...Read More »
MAXON's CINEMA 4D R14 By Ko Maruyama
In Los Angeles and New York, motion graphics animators have seen year over year dominance and adoption of MAXON's flagship software CINEMA 4D. Their newest release offers users improved feature sets and new tools to create 3D models and animation even easier than before.
...Read More »
Q&A with Creative Supervisor of Replacement Animation & Engineering Brian McLean
With ParaNorman, we have made the first stop-motion movie that uses a 3D Color Printer. The technique is similar, but what the 3D Color Printer affords you to do is to build color into the model. ParaNorman is not only a wonderful story but it is the most advanced stop motion film of all time. I think the audience members will ultimately get so involved in the story that the will forget that they are actually watching a hand crafted stop motion movie. Only after the movie is over do they have time to think "whoa how in the world did they do that?"
...Read More »
Q&A with Animation Supervisor Brad Schiff
I have many proud moments from this film. Most of them revolve around the success of the animation team. While it seems like it's all fun and games, what we do is incredibly difficult and taxing...mentally and physically. It takes great skill, concentration and confidence to animate at this level. Witnessing the animators on this film shoot the greatest shots of their careers on ParaNorman has proven to be most rewarding to me.
...Read More »
Q&A with Visual Effects Supervisor Brian Van't Hul
In Part 2 of our PARANORMAN interview series we talk with Brian Van't Hul who works at animation studio LAIKA, and was also the visual effects supervisor on the company's Oscar-nominated 2009 feature "Coraline." His previous stop-motion credits include Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James & the Giant Peach."
...Read More »
Q&A with Director of Photography Tristan Oliver
A cinematographer for over 20 years, Tristan Oliver's stop-motion animation credits as cinematographer include the Academy Award-winning short films "The Wrong Trousers" and "A Close Shave," as well as the features "Chicken Run", Wes Anderson's Academy Award-nominated "Fantastic Mr. Fox," and the Academy Award-winning "Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit."
...Read More »
iPiSoft Motion Capture By Ko Maruyama
Many of you at E3 have already started to fill out your shopping list with the newest titles for your gaming time, but there is more software that will let you take advantage of your gaming hardware. Make your own movies with your Microsoft Kinect or multiple Sony PS Eye cameras. iPiSoft makes motion capture software that allows you to translate your acting into a 3D character.
...Read More »
NAB Professional Gear: Wacom By Ko Maruyama
For years, Wacom tablets have dominated the professional market; their name synonymous with responsive, accurate results. The new Intuos5 tablet heralds a new definition for what tablets can be. Not only is this pressure sensitive for your designer needs, but it also boasts a touch capability. Now more than ever, you'll find yourself with your Wacom all day long.
...Read More »
Filming the Fantastic By Ko Maruyama
"Filming the Fantastic" has been recently released in its second edition. The book by Mark Sawicki is not only a "guide", but a personal discussion about the ebbs and flows of visual effects trends, and stories of universal truths.Sawicki's book is a great read for directors, VFX supervisors, post-production teams, artists, and - naturally - those who gather around the eyepiece.
...Read More »
Free Webinar: Creating Custom Facial Rigs in Anime Studio Pro 9
Join Vern in this 1-hour webinar as he shows you how to create your own facial control rigs to animate the faces of your characters in Anime Studio Pro. Learn how to build simple controls for opening and closing the eyes, and for animating the eyebrows. These control rigs will allow you to animate features such as these both separately and/or together.
...Read More »
Bread & Butter 3D
Here's why Zax Dow created Zaxwerks and why his software is so valuable even if you already have another 3D program. 3D work can be divided into two main categories: Bread and Butter work, and Custom work. Everyone would like to get custom work but it's the bread and butter work that keeps food on your table. The big mystery here is why most people use custom software on bread and butter jobs? Do they even realize there is a difference? Doing that is like drawing animation by hand; the result can be completely custom but boy does it take a lot of time and skill to do.
...Read More »
FlyingS3D sets Le Crazy Horse on Fire with Pablo
FlyingS3D opened its doors early in 2010 as France's first dedicated stereoscopic 3D post production facility. FlyingS3D is the brainchild of managing director Audrey Bourdiol, who had spent her career up until then looking after the technical side of one of France's largest post houses. With already more than 30 major S3D projects under its belt, in 2012 FlyingS3D won the full post production for 'Feu' (Fire) - a 3D film by Le Crazy Horse - one of its most ambitious projects to date. Le Crazy Horse cabaret was founded in 1951 by the avant-garde artist Alain Bernardin and has delivered its own special brand of glamour entertainment to millions of men and women for more than sixty years. 'Feu' is designed to bring Le Crazy experience to cinema audiences worldwide; 3D was "the natural choice" to achieve this aim, says Audrey Bourdiol.
...Read More »
Darino - Renowned Animator, Filmmaker
Ed Darino pioneered in using computer technology for animation and has been involved in the production of more than 300 feature and short films. Now he prepares for a video showing and the production of a retrospective.
...Read More »
Preserving Groningen's History through Film
Cultural heritage is a community's legacy. Something we live with today, and what society will eventually pass on to future generations. Acting as custodians of the past, archive centers around the world are tasked with not only storing content, but also making it accessible. Groningen Audio Visueel Archief (GAVA) is one such facility in the Netherlands responsible for looking after more than 24,000 audiovisual items relating to the region of Groningen, which are kept on formats varying from nitrate film base to digibeta. Founded in 1992 as the second regional AV archive in the Netherlands, GAVA specializes in cataloging and preserving sound and video programs about the province of Groningen, as well as productions created by residents from Groningen. In addition to acting as a repository, the center is also tasked with making all of its archived footage available to broadcasters, artists, museum organizations and businesses online.
...Read More »
The Third Shift
The Third Shift is, at first glance, a story told through images in a calendar. But it's only part of a larger tale. The calendar is just a sample imagery found in the monthly stories that appear from the minds at Cryptonym Media, projected through eerie stereoscopic compositing. The creative writing and compositing are packaged into a tactile, technological, and interactive experience.
...Read More »
The Art of the Trailer: Two Years in 30 Seconds
The trailer plays a major role in the marketing and ultimate success of a feature motion picture. This on-screen advertisement is so engrained in popular culture that most of the time it is taken for granted by movie goers. But industry marketing veterans know the trailer is the first and last chance to create a lasting impression on an audience. Most trailers range in length between 30 seconds and two minutes. It's within that short time span that the viewer will pick up on hundreds of cues about the movie. In the blink of an eye he will determine the genre, the gist of the story, the aesthetic and level of production. By the end of the trailer the viewer might well determine the fate of the movie. Is it a must-see or to-be-avoided?
...Read More »
AFTER EFFECTS APPRENTICE
Trish and Chris Meyer have been writing books for Adobe After Effects users for several years. Their After Effects Apprentice book is currently in its third edition, which covers Adobe's current version of After Effects, CS6. This also offers lessons for those who may be using earlier versions of the software. The book is not only for the "Aspiring" motion graphics artist, but for anyone who wants to improve their all-around skills in the popular animation software.
...Read More »
It's Hell on Wheels at FuseFX
The second season of Hell on Wheels continued its epic story of post-Civil War America, focusing on Cullen Bohannon, a former Confederate soldier, and his dramatic journey west as he struggles to leave his past behind. The building of the transcontinental railroad serves as the backdrop to the entire series. The scope and challenges of the expanding railroad were critical to the storytelling and couldn't be achieved without the resourceful use of visual effects provided by FuseFX. At the center of the traveling town are the trains. Production built full scale replicas of the period trains and laid down a few hundred feet of track to support tight shots and moments when the train isn't moving. But almost all shots showing wider perspectives and moving trains was achieved with CG models of trains and railroad tracks composited into live action backgrounds.
...Read More »
Coca-Cola's 2012 Euro Cup "Spirit of the Euro" Commercial Rockets to Life with DaVinci Resolve
Coca-Cola's 2012 Euro Cup "Spirit of the Euro" commercial is an animated wild ride that captures the excitement, fun and craziness of the soccer tournament and its fans. In the spot, a very passionate fan zooms through the sky in a Coca-Cola powered soccer boot, releasing soccer ball bubbles in its wake that turn all they touch into deliriously enthusiastic soccer fans. Produced by Portland, Oregon based BENT IMAGE LAB and directed by Carlos Lascano, "Spirit of the Euro" is a highly creative and exciting commercial that required equally intense and vibrant color to bring it to life, which was achieved thanks to Jalal Jemison, BENT's lead colorist, and Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve color correction software.
...Read More »
MAXON's CINEMA 4D R14
In Los Angeles and New York, motion graphics animators have seen year over year dominance and adoption of MAXON's flagship software CINEMA 4D. Their newest release offers users improved feature sets and new tools to create 3D models and animation even easier than before.
...Read More »
Q&A with Creative Supervisor of Replacement Animation & Engineering Brian McLean
With ParaNorman, we have made the first stop-motion movie that uses a 3D Color Printer. The technique is similar, but what the 3D Color Printer affords you to do is to build color into the model. ParaNorman is not only a wonderful story but it is the most advanced stop motion film of all time. I think the audience members will ultimately get so involved in the story that the will forget that they are actually watching a hand crafted stop motion movie. Only after the movie is over do they have time to think "whoa how in the world did they do that?"
...Read More »
Q&A with Animation Supervisor Brad Schiff
I have many proud moments from this film. Most of them revolve around the success of the animation team. While it seems like it's all fun and games, what we do is incredibly difficult and taxing...mentally and physically. It takes great skill, concentration and confidence to animate at this level. Witnessing the animators on this film shoot the greatest shots of their careers on ParaNorman has proven to be most rewarding to me.
...Read More »
Q&A with Visual Effects Supervisor Brian Van't Hul
In Part 2 of our PARANORMAN interview series we talk with Brian Van't Hul who works at animation studio LAIKA, and was also the visual effects supervisor on the company's Oscar-nominated 2009 feature "Coraline." His previous stop-motion credits include Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James & the Giant Peach."
...Read More »
Q&A with Director of Photography Tristan Oliver
A cinematographer for over 20 years, Tristan Oliver's stop-motion animation credits as cinematographer include the Academy Award-winning short films "The Wrong Trousers" and "A Close Shave," as well as the features "Chicken Run", Wes Anderson's Academy Award-nominated "Fantastic Mr. Fox," and the Academy Award-winning "Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit."
...Read More »
IdeaRocket Helps Launch Eighth Season of the SHOWTIME Comedy Series "Weeds" with New Show Open
The hit SHOWTIME series "Weeds" is back for its eighth and final season, which called for a new show open to deftly provide the backstory of the entire seven seasons. The show's producers were fascinated by an animation technique they came across called whiteboard and asked IdeaRocket to run with the format.
...Read More »
iPiSoft Motion Capture
Many of you at E3 have already started to fill out your shopping list with the newest titles for your gaming time, but there is more software that will let you take advantage of your gaming hardware. Make your own movies with your Microsoft Kinect or multiple Sony PS Eye cameras. iPiSoft makes motion capture software that allows you to translate your acting into a 3D character.
...Read More »
NAB Professional Gear: Wacom
For years, Wacom tablets have dominated the professional market; their name synonymous with responsive, accurate results. The new Intuos5 tablet heralds a new definition for what tablets can be. Not only is this pressure sensitive for your designer needs, but it also boasts a touch capability. Now more than ever, you'll find yourself with your Wacom all day long.
...Read More »
Filming the Fantastic
"Filming the Fantastic" has been recently released in its second edition. The book by Mark Sawicki is not only a "guide", but a personal discussion about the ebbs and flows of visual effects trends, and stories of universal truths.Sawicki's book is a great read for directors, VFX supervisors, post-production teams, artists, and - naturally - those who gather around the eyepiece.
...Read More »
Leveling Up: NYU Game Center Offers Masters Program
Stu Horvath talks to the NYU Game Center`s director -- and Zynga co-founder -- Frank Lantz about the details of their newly announced master`s degree program.
...Read More »
Vegas Pro 10 Available Now
