Space Academy and Beyond — Filmation’s Saturday Morning VFX

This entry is part 8 of 8 in the series VFX_archaeology

In 1977 Everything Changed. Saying that Star Wars altered entertainment and society forever may not be an exaggeration. It’s hard for those not around in 1977 to understand the significant impact that the biggest blockbuster since JAWS had on society (similar to that of the Beatles in 1964). Due to …

The AVATAR Adventure in IMAX3D – a short review.

Avatar Is a Stunning Stereo3D Work of Art—Here is Why. Aside from a spiffy special presentation poster at the door of the feature,  what is my takeaway from the ⁦IMAX 3D presentation of AVATAR?  My history with stereo3D filmmaking informs me a lot about the process, and I’ll go into a little …

The Missing Millennium Falcon — THE ARTIST REVEALED!

This entry is part 7 of 8 in the series VFX_archaeology

The Original Falcon Heavy It is about time we closed this saga. This will require a recap: [part1][part2] In 2014 I saw an image that I’d never seen before, of the Millennium Falcon design, as it evolved from the Blockade Runner concept.  For those of you unfamiliar with Star Wars …

Digital Makeup Chronicles 3 — A Piece of Cake

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series The dMFX Chronicles

Melting Faces For Falling Skies With Baking Goods and Computers WARNING: This article contains simulated gore, and may not be suitable for children under the age of 12 (after that age, you may have to contain their glee). One of the more frightening and effective images over the history of …

VFXarcheology: Part 6 — The Un-solved Star Wars Caper

This entry is part 6 of 8 in the series VFX_archaeology

  A Legend Lost Not Found Updated 04/17/19 In 1977 Star Wars stunned the world, and changed cinema forever. It was a long, hard slog for creator George Lucas, who suffered physical ailments, and the possibility of financial ruin due to to all the challenges of the film. All the …

The Missing Millennium Falcon — FOUND!

This entry is part 5 of 8 in the series VFX_archaeology

Found: One Actual Millennium Falcon Transitional Variant.   Inquire Within. This image is from the SOLO, a Star Wars Story art book. It shows an almost completely unknown variant of the early design of the Millennium Falcon, and attributes it to Joe Johnston. This attribution may be in error, as new …

Inverse Light Probes and MatCap Re-lighting

Geometry-based MatCap light probes, and re-lighting in compositing.   Light Probes and a Little VFX History We will get into the subject at hand soon enough.  First let’s set the context: Photographs of chrome spheres are used in visual effects production to record actual location lighting and reflection.  These are …

Digital Makeup Chronicles 2 — The Life of Brian

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series The dMFX Chronicles

Practically Effective The addition of Digital Makeup in Falling Skies actually expanded the use of practical effects.  I know that may shock some of you to read.  In a time when computer Generated Imagery frequently replaces the practical world, this syndicated, wrapped series bucked the trend.  Practical makeup artists used …

Tracking for FRINGE Effect — Performance Transfer in Production

Grabbing an Actor’s Performance In 2008 concepts and methods developed working on 3D conversion for IMAX films combined to solve a problem at Zoic studios for the Bad Robot TV series FRINGE. Those IMAX3D films required large amounts of match moved geometry to generate depth information.  During that time I …

AG_NEWS: How To Scan A Person In Less Than Five Minutes — Article Link

AG_RapidCapture In The Open Something I am working on, provided an opportunity for a recent article with VFX author Ian Failes covering one of the techniques in my AG_RapidCapture series (in development).  Essentially trying to get down to bare bones photogrammetry, best practices, rig designs, and so forth.  This article …

Lost Concepts: Part 4 — Transformers

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Lost Concepts

An Idea On Its Own During the production of Transformers: The Movie, I was asked to submit some ideas for poster designs, and other concepts to sell the motion picture.  I knew it was a Michael Bay film, and that he had a love for fast cars, scantily clad perfect …

VFX Archaeology: Part 4 — Nurnies and Greeblies

This entry is part 4 of 8 in the series VFX_archaeology

You can’t talk about #greebles without mentioning, likely the most iconic miniature ever shot, the #starwars #stardestroyer at only 3 feet long -@FonHDavis   Context is Everything Modern cinema maintains a series of technical terms via oral tradition, that really no longer make sense. How many people really itnow the origin of terms like …

VFX Archaeology: Part 3 — Starship Troopers

This entry is part 3 of 8 in the series VFX_archaeology

Recollections of BOSS FILM STUDIOS     A recent post of one of my photos from Starship Troopers on social media erupted into a lengthy discussion about the BOSS Film work, some of which has heretofore received little mention.  Following is a summary of that discussion, beefed up with a little …

VFX Between Shots — Get Up and Build Something Real

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series VFX Between Shots

  With Your Own Two Hands When I was a kid, I built things with my hands.  Clay, wood, paper, tape, wire, and film combined together were enough to make a movie. If you had a motion picture or still camera, you could forge the materials of this world into worlds of …

Lost Concepts: Part 3 — Falling Skies

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Lost Concepts

Concept Art by Johnathan Banta As part of any creative process, there are a lot of abandoned avenues and choices. When a final  design concept is approved, all other art is shelved and a final creation guided from approved art. It is an evolution, sometimes directed, and occasionally as a …

How We Faked The Moon Landing: Part 4 — The Visual Effects of Magnificent Desolation

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Magnificent Desolation VFX

To the IMAX Moon and Beyond Moon Flight Science! On September 23, 2005, Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon in 3D released on giant IMAX screens. It is a 4K stereo3D experience of the Moon landings, and speculative missions from the past and future. The film was honored with the …

Starfleet Shipyards — October 1996

In October 1996 the best place for any devotee of Star Trek to be was the Starfleet Shipyards.  These are not the in-cannon fabled shipyards of Mars, nor are they the near earth orbit construction dry-docks.  They are definitely not a large ground-based construction facility in Iowa.  The Starfleet shipyards were …

How We Faked The Moon Landing: Part 3 — The Visual Effects of Magnificent Desolation

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Magnificent Desolation VFX

To the IMAX Moon and Beyond Filming on location is not an option. On September 23, 2005, Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon in 3D released on giant IMAX screens. It is a 4K stereo3D experience of the moon landings, and speculative missions from the past and future. The film …