Mike Fink, Mark Elendt, Todd Sheridan Perry and Hugo Guerra…go old school!
Each year I’m really excited to be able to curate the ‘Then & Now’ track at FMX in Stuttgart. The conference just released its program for 2024, and it includes info on my sessions at the event.
We’re doing something very exciting for each session, looking to go more hands-on and more intimate with the talks. For example, a talk with legendary VFX supe Michael Fink (Batman Returns, The Golden Compass) will actually be a live-for-attendees edition of the VFX Notes podcast with me and Hugo Guerra! That’s right, Hugo will be right there as well.
Then there’s a deep dive technical chat with SideFX’s Mark Elendt where we’ll jump into the history of Prisms and Houdini and the task of VFX software creation. You’ll get to ask lots of questions at this one.
Finally, VFX supervisor Todd Sheridan Perry is breaking down his work for I’m A Virgo, where many old-school effects techniques were used. Plus, he’ll be giving a special extra workshop demo on shooting something forced perspective.
It’s going to be a big year for ‘Then & Now’ — hope you can join us at FMX on April 23 to 26, 2024. Tickets are available here, and below is more info on each session!
VFX Notes Live: in conversation with Oscar winner Michael Fink
König-Karl-Halle – Thursday, April 25, 14:30 – 15:30 Renowned VFX supervisor Michael Fink won the Best Visual Effects Oscar for ‘The Golden Compass’ and also received an Academy Award nomination in VFX for ‘Batman Returns’. At FMX, he’ll join VFX Notes hosts Ian Failes and Hugo Guerra on stage for a special LIVE session of the podcast to break down key moments in his career, that happen to also be key moments across VFX history—all the way from the analogue and optical days, to models and miniatures, early CG, and groundbreaking advancements in digital visual effects.
We’ll cover the Coca-Cola polar bears, old-school effects in ‘Batman Returns’, zany CG in ‘Mars Attacks!’, bamf’ing in ‘X-Men 2’, a stunning array of creatures on ‘The Golden Compass’, and so much more. You’ll hear insider VFX stories not shared before, and get the opportunity to ask Michael your visual effects industry questions.
What you need to know to build VFX software
Bertha-Benz-Saal – Friday, April 26, 12:30 – 13:30 Mark Elendt, Senior Mathematician at SideFX, will present and be joined in conversation with VFX journalist Ian Failes to discuss his more than 30 year history in building visual effects software. Houdini is a mainstay at so many VFX, animation and games studios, and Elendt will dive into the history and intricacies of the tool, especially relating to rendering and its earlier incarnation as Prisms. Attendees will get to talk directly to Elendt in a more intimate setting, to get down into the finer details of building VFX tools.
Going old-school: breaking down the practical and in-camera effects in ‘I’m A Virgo’
König-Karl-Halle – Thursday, April 25, 15:45 – 16:45 Director Boots Riley’s Amazon series ‘I’m A Virgo’ made significant use of what might be called ‘old-school’ effects filmmaking, including in-camera effects with forced perspective shooting, large and small puppets, miniatures, practical effects and many specialized scale set-ups. Here, visual effects supervisor Todd Sheridan Perry will share the secrets of these in-camera approaches, which were also complemented with digital VFX techniques.
MASTERCLASS: Learn in-camera effects filmmaking with Todd Sheridan Perry
Bertha-Benz-Saal – Friday, April 26, 14:30 – 15:30 In this follow-up to Todd Sheridan Perry’s talk on the practical and in-camera effects of ‘I’m A Virgo’, he’ll be joined by VFX journalist Ian Failes to deliver a masterclass on how to set up a forced perspective shoot, right there as a hands-on demo for attendees.
See you all at FMX!
