ILM + LAIKA = Incredible!

0

Posted on by

Jeff White's ties are stong - despite the CA license, a Portland address!

Jeff White’s ties are strong – a CA license, but a Portland address!

Another big thank you to all who came out for “Avenge of the Zombies” on a near perfect Saturday down on the park blocks at the NW Film Center. It was a testament to the old phrase “if you build it, they will come,” and I’m happy to report over 300 Portlanders helped make a mind blowing memory!  Courtesy of Jeff White and the crew at ILM + Andrew Nawrot and company out at LAIKA, who deserve the biggest thanks of all.

A great turn out!

A great turn out!

Any Oscar nominated VFX film is wrought with challenges, and it’s easy to see why Jeff is an undeniable, major heavyweight talent in our industry.  The Avengers represents the collective strength and VFX execution that ILM brings to the table, well placed in the context of a story we can all get behind.  It was one of the most entertaining films in recent memory, vetted with a box office of over $1.5 billion;  the kind of movie that stands up to multiple viewings.  I was happy to take it in again a couple days before the presentation.  And that said, it was fresh in my mind and I can safely say that no stone went unturned – we were given a full tour of every major effect and character in the film, laced with some razor sharp wit and genuinely hearty laughs in there (Green Steve…  need I say more?).  Jeff knows this film like the back of his hand and has honed his presentation, no doubt, through Siggraphs and Oscar bake-offs and who knows what else.  It’s clear he brought his best to Portland!

andrew

Andrew Nawrot, LAIKA’s secret weapon

And speaking of P-town, it was fantastic to celebrate LAIKA’s work on ParaNorman from a VFX standpoint with the prodigious Andrew Nawrot as our guide.  So much goes into crafting a LAIKA movie and creating those worlds within the realm of stop motion, and VFX continues to play an increasing (dare I say major?) supporting role.  The army of “Laikans” out there in Hillsboro are doing world class work, and I hope we can make this a regular thing to take the time out after each feature cycle is complete and do up a proper show & tell for the home crowd.  If Andrew’s ParaNorman presentation was any indication, there will be some amazing (and beautiful…  and unique!) war stories to tell.  I was very happy to see ParaNorman Writer/Director Chris Butler in attendance for this trip down memory lane.  Hats off to all of the LAIKA crew.

Despite some early technical issues that gave me some unplanned (complete with jitters!) mic time in the opening minutes and made us run long, the event was otherwise a huge success.  I can only speak for myself, but wow – I was loving every minute and it immediately had me getting nostalgic about “landmark” events of past.  Time will tell, but it may even have topped my previous fave – the animation festival at OMSI in 2006 when I saw Moongirl (along with several other Portland based shorts) and decided then and there that I wanted to move here and set up shop in this beautiful town.  Again, thanks to Jeff and Andrew for a hefty supply of inspiration and a boost of motivation to power us all through a rainy spring.

hive_etc

To round things out – another quick shout out to our openers, Aidan Fraser with his short film “Space Out,” Carl & Felipe from Delerium showing off the “Fear Agent” trailer, and James & Karim from HIVE-FX with an updated reel of their work on Grimm.  Fantastic images from around town – and made for a good opening Q&A with the filmmakers to get us primed for ILM & LAIKA.

Last but not least – our sponsors deserve a drop for supporting an event of this size and helping to keep it free (which was a big priority).  Thanks again to 3DV, 52ltd, Autodesk, the Oregon Film Commission, Red Giant Software, the Art Institute of Portland, Imagineer Software, Artbeats, Make Magazine and the NW Film Center.  Whew!  A mouthful.

I think it’s safe to say – “let’s do it again sometime!”  And in fact big plans are in the works for our Summer meeting.  Loosely on the calendar for late July.  Until then!

Next VFX/PDX Meeting: ILM & LAIKA – May 25th

0

Posted on by

vfxpdx_meeting_jeff_andrew_2

It doesn’t get any better than this.

In this industry, some names almost need no introduction.  Jeff White, Industrial Light and Magic Visual Effects Supervisor (and former Portlander), comes “home” to show us the Oscar nominated VFX work and behind the scenes from The Avengers.

And as if that wasn’t enough, from Portland’s own LAIKA hails Visual Effects Supervisor Andrew Nawrot, kicking off the afternoon with a look at the VFX work from ParaNorman.

Many of you know that sometimes my meeting descriptions can get a little wordy –  I’m happy to say this one pretty much speaks for itself.  I’m as excited as you are.  This is a one time only event, and I can guarantee it’s the juicy VFX before & afters you will never see as DVD extras or anywhere else.  Register now (seating is limited), mark your calendars, and I’ll see you at the show!

Thanks to our amazing sponsors, this is a free event.

Avenge of the Zombies!
Saturday, May 25th
Doors at 1:30, Presentation 2pm-4pm
The NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium @ the Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Ave, Portland OR

Register for free and get your ticket at:
http://avengeofthezombies.eventbrite.com

Big thanks to our sponsors 3DV, 52 Ltd, Autodesk, Red Giant Software, the Oregon Film Commission, the Art Institute of Portland, and the NW Film Center for helping make this happen.

Spread the word and let’s make this our biggest & best meeting yet.

It’s Not My Bag, Baby! Errr, Yes It Is

0

Posted on by

Not even VFX will fix those teeth...

Not even VFX will fix those teeth…

Courtney (VEMG/DFV Dept Coordinator over @ the Art Institute) & I were recently talking about reviving the old “VFX Team” class at Ai.  Strange name, but the focus of the class is on-set VFX supervision.  I’m excited about it – definitely would be a boost to get everyone shooting more and solving problems with brainpower & careful planning on the front end, and less muscling things out on the back end.  Probably goes without saying, but if you don’t nail down the shoot you’re going to have a long, messy ride the rest of the way.  This type of production exposure would be valuable in this brief window where, as a student, one might have a little control over one’s own post-production destiny.

A well designed shot can make the rest of the process a breeze.  Or at least…  breezier.

I should probably tag this with the disclaimer that I’m still a “Padawan” when it comes to supervising vfx for a shoot.  I was lucky to get an early taste back in my commercial NYC days (this is 10 some odd years ago now), but not so much since taking positions at larger studios – even ones that had production work happening alongside VFX.  Oh ya know, the occasional element shoot or student project comes along and those are good chances to buy a new toy or 2, shake off the rust, test theories, and keep skills sharp.  But I still have lots to learn and feel like I have plenty of “book smarts” that need converted to “street smarts.”  All along the way I’ve been been hitting up the more senior on-set folks who were around and nice enough to share wisdom, and constantly building my kit.  I think this class would be a nice excuse to bust things out and fully explore the fundamental concepts.  Now that we’re talking about it, I’m starting to get the itch!

On set w/Hinge Digital

On set w/Hinge Digital

All the years spent slugging it out in the trenches has proven valuable;  for better or worse, it’s given me a dose of…   well, to put it nicely – production “challenges.” Challenges which, as any Compositor worth a salt does, gives me a chance to reverse engineer the fix and see how the bullets could’ve been dodged in the first place…   along the way keeping a mental file cabinet of all this shrapnel to avoid.

The on-set skills will definitely expand your mind and get you thinking critically.  Dissecting.  And once you graduate, I think you’ll find that although you might not be able to apply a lot of it instantly or directly, it’s just good to know the process, speak the language, and keep a catalogue in the back of your mind while you work the daily grind – to not only (for example) be able to pull a good key but take the time out to understand why a poorly shot key is blowing up on you, and what could have been done to avoid it.  I’ve not thought much about it or put this to the test, but I have a hunch many of the best on-set supes out there are former Compositors, with scars to prove it.  🙂

Continued on page 2

1 2 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 37 38