VFX Bakeoff 2010

Check out breakdowns, clips and trailers from the Oscars short listed VFX work.

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How Weta Digital Handled Avatar

James Cameron’s Stereo-3D Epic Demanded Workflow Innovation

By Barbara Robertson January 5, 2010 Source: Film & Video Avatar, director James Cameron’s second billion-dollar baby, stretched the process of making a visual effects blockbuster as much as it is stretching the imagination of audiences streaming into theaters to revel in an alien world. To create the moon Pandora and the Na’vi who live there, Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, with help from Giant studios, created a real-time performance capture system. The system allowed the director to see CG characters in CG environments reacting in realtime as the actors climbed props representing trees, rode gimbaled machines representing horses and dragons, and otherwise moved around the stage. ...more

Modern Videofilm Goes the Distance on Color-Grading for Avatar

James Cameron Could Tweak His Look at the Post House or on the Studio Lot

By Bryant Frazer January 14, 2010 Source: Film & Video

When you're James Cameron, you need to be in several places at the same time. That's why Modern Videofilm needed to figure out a way to let Cameron work on color-correcting Avatar whether he and colorist Skip Kimball were in a DI suite at Modern or sitting on the Fox Studios lot across town. To solve the problem, Modern Videofilm installed a Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve system at the Fox lot in Century City, then networked it via optical fiber to the Modern offices in Glendale, 56 miles away. Data was mirrored on local storage so that changes to the edit or color-grading that were made in one location were immediately reflected at the other. That meant Cameron and Kimball could work at full power and efficiency on the studio lot as well as at Modern. F&V got more details from Mark Smirnoff, president of studio services at Modern Videofilm.

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Introduction to Cache-A Archiving Appliance

If you're unfamiliar with Cache-A's Archiving Appliance, this is a great introductory video. More information on Cache-A's products an be found at their website: http://cache-a.com/

fxpodcast: Talking Color Management with Technicolor Creative Bridge

In February the Visual Effects Society (VES) and American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) held a joint meeting to discuss Image Quality. At the time fxguide wrote that it was clear that “DI and the workflow from image capture to release is not one workflow”.

At the VES Production Summit Fred Chandler (Senior Vice President Post Production – Fox) made the point again saying he’s “been in the business 28 years and the color pipeline for every movie is like starting over”.

It was with this in mind that fxguide approached Brian Gaffney and Dan Lion from Technicolor Creative Bridge to have a conversation about color workflow. Join fxguide for this podcast as fxguide discuss what people should do to guarantee a smooth process from shoot through final DI.

Download the podcast here

Modern Videofilm Uses Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve on James Cameron's Avatar

(Milpitas, California--January 6, 2010) Blackmagic Design Inc. today announced that Modern Videofilm Inc. used four Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve systems for color grading and full 3D stereoscopic effects for James Cameron’s latest motion picture, Avatar. To handle the immense scope and complexity of color correcting the alien worlds of Avatar, Modern Videofilm developed a network of DaVinci Resolve systems all connected via optical fiber. Three systems were installed at Modern Videofilm’s main office in Glendale, CA, with the fourth system installed 56 miles away at the Fox Studio lot. By building a color correction suite directly on the Fox lot, Modern Videofilm was able to handle the enormous number of real-time color corrections and 3D transfers between facilities. These requirements included up to 120 color changes on some EDLs, using hundreds of nodes and creating multiple versions for the theatrical release. Mark Smirnoff, President, Studio Services at Modern Videofilm stated: “The Avatar look and feel is very specific, and James Cameron and his crew knew exactly how they wanted every frame to look. The sheer size and scope of what we were working on required the absolute best in color correction and 3D, and DaVinci Resolve fits that need perfectly.” “Avatar and Modern Videofilm really put the power and flexibility of the DaVinci Resolve to the test, and showed why the system is the highest standard for color correction and 3D,” said Grant Petty, CEO Blackmagic Design. About DaVinci Resolve Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve is the industry standard for color correction and 3D grading technology, supporting more real-time color correction than any other system. Eliminating performance barriers by using a cluster of computers with high performance GPU cards, DaVinci Resolve handles real-time performance demands of color grades when using dozens of primaries, secondaries, power windows™, multi-point tracking, blurs, and can work within the industry’s newest digital workflows. Also, DaVinci Resolve can easily handle new workflows needed for full stereoscopic 3D, offering the ability to grade and view two eyes simultaneously, in real-time with no rendering and no proxies. About Blackmagic Design Blackmagic Design creates the world’s most advanced video editing products, video converters, routers, color correctors, film restoration software and waveform monitors for the feature film, post-production and broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink, Mini Converters, Videohub routers and UltraScope waveform monitoring products revolutionize the television industry by making advanced post production tools affordable to thousands of creative professionals. Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Emmy™ award winning color correction products continue to dominate and lead the industry with ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia.