Gmunk on Oblivion’s Graphics
GMUNK has some video on Oblivion’s graphics. I have not seen it yet because of Tom Cruise, though the graphics do look impressive.
Studio Daily on Ending the VFX Crisis
A very good article as it makes you look at it from both sides, and see it is not just the studios fault, it is also bad business practices within FX houses, and how both sides need to sit down and talk this out. And also interesting that Studios will often pay a change if they make a big enough change and it is in the contract.
I still think that Studios need to slow down on their insane schedules so that things can be done in a more reasonable time. A more normal schedule would make the whole thing more pleasant and lead to better FX in the end.
Creative Cow on VFX Industry Crossroads
Creative Cow has a great article by Debra Kaufman on the crossroads of a Visual Effects Industry in Crisis. Well worth checking out. And a scary look inside the industry.
The whole flat bidding thing is the scariest thing, as jobs always get bigger and have more changes and if you don’t get overages eventually the expenses will kill a company and that is why so many are moving overseas where the labor is cheaper.
And it is not like Rythym and Hues is the first, this will continue, as it may prove too expensive to run an FX company in the current model. Maybe the studios just need to make their own companies on a per movie basis, though I don’t see that saving money either, as they will have to pay their own people!
PVC on why VFX industry is failing at it’s highest point
The ProVideo Coalition has a great article on the Visual FX industry failing at it’s highest point.
The film industry is crazy. Everything goes to the lowest bidder forcing companies to work for less and less money, until they can no longer make a profit, all while studios make record profits.
I know my rate as an editor won’t go up unless I manage to get a union editing gig (unlikely since I was unrostered from the union not too long ago).
How Peter Jackson shot the Hobbit
Filmmaker IQ links to an article at Popular Mechanics on how Peter Jackson shot the Hobbit and shot both small Hobbits and large humans at the same time. Couldn’t do the forced perspective trickery because of the 3D, so had to have a normal and a green screen set next to each other with motion control rigs connected to each other. WOW! That is pretty darn amazing!