The latest VFX Notes episode is here! Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes are back to discuss the visual effects in the original Top Gun. A combination of real photography, miniatures, cockpit rear projection and animated HUDs were in the mix. One fun effects technique used was a drill with an offset piece of wood fixed to a camera shooting the models, to give a special hand-held shaky look to the footage, something that had been pioneered on The Right Stuff. This episode is sponsored by Backlight Creative. Backlight Creative enhances the entire creative project lifecycle. For pre-production, there’s ..read more

Yep, all the events from the Awards, plus the bts films made for each winner. This is cool – the Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation hosted by Natasha Lyonne is available to watch in full, including the short film pieces made for each winner (which are rarely seen!). The post A rare glimpse behind the scenes with the full Sci-Tech presentation appeared first on befores & afters ..read more

Including overseeing almost an hour of full CG action in the film. Today on the befores & afters podcast we’re chatting to Alessandro Ongaro, who was the production visual effects supervisor on Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. We talk about the prep Alessandro was a key part of on the film, including the extensive previs done by The Third Floor. We discuss all the shooting locations involved, and working out how shots and sequences would be handed out to vendors, which included Weta FX, Scanline VFX, DNEG and Luma Pictures. Alessandro was also second unit director on the film, and on t ..read more

Get an early perspective on the film’s visual effects work. In this video, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director Wes Ball and visual effects supervisor Erik Winquist go behind the scenes on the film, discussing digital apes crafted by Wētā FX. They talk about working together, the performance capture, and memorable scenes, including two major water scenes. Wētā FX, of course, broke new ground in the translation of on-set performance capture through to final fully digital performances in the previous Apes films. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes releases on 10th May. The post Hear fr ..read more

A rhino may soon get its day on screen in the sequel. I read today that CinemaCon audiences saw a rhinoceros shot in preview footage shown from Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2. (with a soldier on its back, no less) What you might not know is that a rhino scene had also been planned for the first Gladiator film in 2000. It would have featured Russell Crowe battling one in the arena. Instead, of course, he takes on a tiger (more on that at this earlier befores & afters story). Phil Tippett mentions bidding on it based on production storyboards, in this Empire magazine article: “Ridley Scott’s ..read more

VFX shots are everywhere in modern video production, with more than 90 percent of all films in release using visual effects at least once; effects-heavy films like Avengers: Endgame and Top Gun: Maverick feature more than 2,400 VFX shots apiece. This all adds up to a ton of work for VFX artists – often, too much work in too little time. Most VFX professionals work on a per-project basis with heavy, full-resolution files on extremely tight schedules that require lightning-fast turnaround times, and usually don’t get paid extra if projects require additional time. VFX Houses Need More Efficient ..read more

The studio has released a firebending reel. The post Watch Pixomondo’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ VFX breakdown appeared first on befores & afters ..read more

See how DD helped craft several scenes. The post Watch Digital Domain’s VFX breakdown and postvis reel for ‘Madame Web’ appeared first on befores & afters ..read more

The VFX studio has unveiled its reel. The post Watch Image Engine’s VFX breakdown for ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ appeared first on befores & afters ..read more

The National Film and Television School’s Model Making and VFX students combine to re-create this iconic movie scene. In the past couple of years, befores & afters has covered some fun replica miniature set builds and motion control shoots carried out at the UK’s National Film and Television School. We’ve delved into 2001: A Space Odyssey and Mission: Impossible, and now we’re taking a look at what the Model Making and Visual Effects departments at the School have made this year: the hypersleep chamber from Ridley Scott’s Alien. “We set the bar incredibly high last year by building a m ..read more