Cinematics case study: Mass Effect 3
Earlier this year, Budapest studio Digic Pictures produced a stunning three minute trailer for the Bioware game Mass Effect 3. The trailer, dubbed ‘Take Earth Back’, tells the story of an alien invasion as Earth is attacked by the game’s Reapers. We go in-depth with Digic to show how the cinematic was made – in stereo – featuring behind the scenes video breakdowns, images and commentary from several of the artists involved.
Dark Shadows: retro old school VFX with a modern twist
We take a look at the visual effects in Tim Burton’s latest film, Dark Shadows, talking to overall VFX supe Angus Bickerton and showcasing the work of MPC, Method Studios, The Senate and Mattes and Miniatures.
FMX 2012 coverage
Check out our FMX 2012 coverage at fxguide:
Art of Stereo Conversion: 2D to 3D – 2012
Stereo conversion, or dimensionalization as it is sometimes called, is the process of making stereo images from non-stereo traditional 2D images. We originally published an Art of Stereo conversion two years ago, and this is a new updated version of that story covering The Avengers, Titanic, John Carter, Star Wars: Episode I, plus the newest techniques and approaches.
VFX roll call for The Avengers
Having supervised the visual effects on Iron Man 2, Janek Sirrs was well suited to return for Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. Along with producer Susan Pickett, the visual effects supervisor oversaw the creation of approximately 2,200 shots completed by several vendors. These included ILM, Weta Digital, Scanline VFX, Hydraulx, Fuel VFX, Evil Eye Pictures, Luma Pictures, Cantina Creative, Trixter, Modus FX, Whiskytree, Digital Domain, New Deal Studios, The Third Floor (previs and postvis), with titles by Method Design. Here is fxguide's comprehensive coverage.
Wrath of the creatures
In Wrath of the Titans, the sequel to 2010′s Clash, Perseus (Sam Worthington), son of Zeus, must rescue his father whose power is being drained in order to awaken Kronos – Zeus’ own father imprisoned in the Underworld. The Jonathan Liebesman film, a 3D stereo-converted show, once again features a bevy of mythical gods and Titans – from the devastating Kronos, to the deadly Chimera and Makhai and the giant Cyclopes. In this article we take a look at the work of Nvizage, MPC, Framestore and Method Studios, who, under overall VFX supervisor Nick Davis, brought many of the creatures and visual effects of Wrath to life.
Band of Misfits: Dneg’s pirate adventures
The latest Aardman and Sony Pictures Animation project is The Pirates! Band of Misfits, a Peter Lord film that utilized a mix between traditional animation, CG techniques and visual effects enhancements. Aardman relied on an expert team of designers and stop motion animators, plus an in-house group of visual effects artists and outside vendors to create the film. Helping to realize aspects of the facial animation was Double Negative, also contributing rig-removal and compositing for various shots. We chat to Dneg’s CG supe David Vickery.
Follow my visual effects links on Twitter.
