Spinning beads, cloud tanks and crucibles of molten thermite
The practical photographic element shoots and the digital compositing work done to bring the subatomic and large scale explosive effects of ‘Oppenheimer’
Holey moley, Michael Crichton’s ‘Westworld’ is 50 this year
The film celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and included a huge step forward in digital VFX.
This is how you make Chris Hemsworth dangle off the 57th floor of a Vienna tower
Behind the visual effects work for the 'Extraction 2' awning sequence, by Fin Design.
Interview: DNEG visual effects supervisor Andy Lockley on ‘The Flash’
The VFX studio talks three key sequences: Metropolis destruction, young Barry’s power test run, and visiting the Batcave.
How that crazy nunchuck helicopter sequence in ‘Fast X’ was pulled off
A deep dive into the on-location chopper flying, bluescreen shooting, and final digital VFX work by DNEG for this and many other
‘Cardboard cut-outs were our mainstay’
Making the second season of ‘Prehistoric Planet’.
Why the animated feature Nimona could not have been achieved without compositing
Also, the scene that almost gave one of the film’s VFX supervisors a heart attack.
How Wētā FX made a missile peel around Supergirl, and two Flash characters do the dos-a-dos
Breaking down key moments from the Flash/Batman/Supergirl vs Kryptionans battle.
How that stunning driving oner leading to the plane crash in ‘The Last of Us’ was previs’d
The team behind the work are from SOKRISPYMEDIA, and they're presenting on the previs at SIGGRAPH 2023.
Wētā FX used mocap and early blocking to help choreograph the Optimus and Noah vs. Scourge scenes in ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’
Plus, how the studio directly honoured the transformation of the G1 toy of Optimus Prime.
Punch rams, pole cannons, chopper bucks, motorbike dummies and silicone glass: the practical effects of ‘Extraction 2’
A breakdown of the 20-minute oner crashes, helicopter smashes and other fiery effects in the film.
The humble guide to building an asset library
das element's Jonas Kluger breaks down the key steps to organzing your assets in the best way possible.
EVEN more of the social (VFX) lives of Hollywood
A new update on actors sharing fun VFX-related selfies.
On The Set Pic: ‘Ahsoka’
Rosario Dawson on the set of Lucasfilm's 'Ahsoka'.
Blowing up model airplanes for a film (against hobby shop owner wishes!)
Plus, an amazing use for Nestlé Cremora creamer...
‘I’m very passionate about cobblestones now’
Behind the massive environment and vehicle build and complex compositing work by Rodeo FX for the Arc de Triomphe roundabout scene in
Imagining a singing, dancing croc on set with Actor Capture
Actor Capture's mocap, visualization and use of Reallusion's iClone for 'Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.'
On The Set Pic: ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’
Tom Cruise on the set of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Behind the shoot and VFX for that dynamic train opener to ‘Citadel’
Behind the background plate and bluescreen train carriage shoots.
How that crazy HBO Mario Kart trailer on SNL was made
'I'll get you to Rainbow Road.'
‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ was huge, but what does VFX Notes think about it?
Hugo loved it! Ian...didn't quite get it (but thinks it looks amazing).
Making miniatures and props for ‘Asteroid City’
Trains, craters and vending machines.
The AI, volumetric and animation tools that helped make Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ possible
Neural style transfer and enhancements to Pixar’s curvenet animation tools were part of the toolset on the film.
What makes up a ‘Transformers’ scene
How MPC orchestrated the first meeting between Noah and the Autobots in ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’.
‘This was the first CG animated movie I’ve ever heard of that actually had a dedicated inking team’
Behind the brushstroke, inkline and frame rate tools made for ‘Across the Spider-Verse’, plus case studies on bringing the hugely complex Mumbattan
See early glimpse behind the scenes of ‘Comandante’
This featurette showcases the partnership between Cooke Optics and EZtrack for camera movement tracking and lens and camera data recording.
The different ages of Rocket needed for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ were made by ‘in-betweening’ CG models
Behind the scenes with Framestore on how they went from ‘runt’ to ‘adult’ Rocket.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Get issue #52
Order my new book
Industrial Light & Magic: 50 Years of Innovation
Creativity meets technical curiosity: an FX TD’s role on Predator: Badlands.
From classroom to credits, with Campus VFX