Sweet Sadie Helps Disney Theatrical Productions Commemorate "The Lion King's" 15th Anniversary
A call was heard in New York that echoed around the world" was the emotional theme of a video produced by Sweet Sadie, Inc. for Disney Theatrical Productions commemorating the 15th anniversary of "The Lion King's" debut on Broadway. Disney provided the studio with a massive trove of stills and videos tracing the far-flung 15-year history of the show from which to draw. Employing After Effects, the Sweet Sadie team set about to bring this material to life by animating cast and crew images against new backgrounds, such as show set photography and crowd scenes complete with flash bulbs popping. 2.5D techniques were used to "cut out" foregrounds from backgrounds to stunning effect.
...Read More »
The Art of the Trailer: Two Years in 30 Seconds
The trailer plays a major role in the marketing and ultimate success of a feature motion picture. This on-screen advertisement is so engrained in popular culture that most of the time it is taken for granted by movie goers. But industry marketing veterans know the trailer is the first and last chance to create a lasting impression on an audience. Most trailers range in length between 30 seconds and two minutes. It's within that short time span that the viewer will pick up on hundreds of cues about the movie. In the blink of an eye he will determine the genre, the gist of the story, the aesthetic and level of production. By the end of the trailer the viewer might well determine the fate of the movie. Is it a must-see or to-be-avoided?
...Read More »
DaVinci Resolve Provides Color Correction for Short Horror Film 'Dead Man's Lake'
When colorist Patrick Inhofer was first contacted by the filmmakers for the short film horror anthology website BloodyCuts.co.uk, he knew right away that he wanted to be involved. The Bloody Cuts team shares a love and passion for horror films and has presented the anthology online as a free web series. As an accomplished colorist, and the founder of the website Tao of Color Grading.com, Patrick realized that he could put his professional skills to work, both by grading their films and by using them to teach aspiring colorists how to grade using the latest developments in color correction.
...Read More »
DaVinci Resolve 'Elementary' in Color Grading Hit CBS Crime Solving Television Show
While it may take Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson just 60 minutes to crack a case on an episode of the hit CBS television show "Elementary," Tony D'Amore can do it in less. As the Senior Colorist at LA based post house Encore and lead colorist for the wildly popular series, Tony is responsible for color correction and grading the weekly show, and he relies on DaVinci Resolve color correction software.
...Read More »
Transitional Animation By Diana Weynand, James Alguire and RevUpTansmedia
Final Cut Pro X provides a number of interesting ways to animate video elements in the Viewer and Timeline to provide complex visual effects. But do you know how to create quick and simple animations just by using transitions? The beauty of this technique is its simplicity. No complex motion paths to adjust, no messing about with untold keyframes, just add a transition and set the timing and you're off to the next project.
...Read More »
It's Hell on Wheels at FuseFX
The second season of Hell on Wheels continued its epic story of post-Civil War America, focusing on Cullen Bohannon, a former Confederate soldier, and his dramatic journey west as he struggles to leave his past behind. The building of the transcontinental railroad serves as the backdrop to the entire series. The scope and challenges of the expanding railroad were critical to the storytelling and couldn't be achieved without the resourceful use of visual effects provided by FuseFX. At the center of the traveling town are the trains. Production built full scale replicas of the period trains and laid down a few hundred feet of track to support tight shots and moments when the train isn't moving. But almost all shots showing wider perspectives and moving trains was achieved with CG models of trains and railroad tracks composited into live action backgrounds.
...Read More »
Coca-Cola's 2012 Euro Cup "Spirit of the Euro" Commercial Rockets to Life with DaVinci Resolve
Coca-Cola's 2012 Euro Cup "Spirit of the Euro" commercial is an animated wild ride that captures the excitement, fun and craziness of the soccer tournament and its fans. In the spot, a very passionate fan zooms through the sky in a Coca-Cola powered soccer boot, releasing soccer ball bubbles in its wake that turn all they touch into deliriously enthusiastic soccer fans. Produced by Portland, Oregon based BENT IMAGE LAB and directed by Carlos Lascano, "Spirit of the Euro" is a highly creative and exciting commercial that required equally intense and vibrant color to bring it to life, which was achieved thanks to Jalal Jemison, BENT's lead colorist, and Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve color correction software.
...Read More »
AJA Ki Pro Finishes First for Digital Garage
Formula 1 (F1) Drivers Lewis Hamilton, Bruno Senna and Heikki Kovalainen recently took to the race track, except this time, the race was digital. Codemasters, developer of the new F1 2012 video game, brought the drivers together for a promotional event during the Italian Grand Prix, where they raced on a digital track using Sony PS3 consoles. The BBC was onsite to record live action footage of the event, while UK reseller & systems integrator Digital Garage Group Ltd. used AJA Ki Pro digital video recorders to capture gameplay from the developer versions of the game consoles. All footage was edited and used to create a BBC segment that aired during the Singapore Grand Prix.
...Read More »
The Curse
Arguably the most significant film event of the calendar, Cannes is the festival that bought us films such as Pulp Fiction and Brief Encounter. This year, Cannes boasts films in Competition from directors including Wes Anderson, Ken Loach and David Cronenberg. 'The Curse', shot in the desolate Moroccan countryside, the film centres on the struggles of a young woman, Fatine, who is hounded by villagers after she is discovered to have had an affair with an older man. Colorist Jason R Moffat explains how he achieved the films distinct look.
...Read More »
Q&A with Creative Supervisor of Replacement Animation & Engineering Brian McLean
With ParaNorman, we have made the first stop-motion movie that uses a 3D Color Printer. The technique is similar, but what the 3D Color Printer affords you to do is to build color into the model. ParaNorman is not only a wonderful story but it is the most advanced stop motion film of all time. I think the audience members will ultimately get so involved in the story that the will forget that they are actually watching a hand crafted stop motion movie. Only after the movie is over do they have time to think "whoa how in the world did they do that?"
...Read More »
Q&A with Animation Supervisor Brad Schiff
I have many proud moments from this film. Most of them revolve around the success of the animation team. While it seems like it's all fun and games, what we do is incredibly difficult and taxing...mentally and physically. It takes great skill, concentration and confidence to animate at this level. Witnessing the animators on this film shoot the greatest shots of their careers on ParaNorman has proven to be most rewarding to me.
...Read More »
Q&A with Visual Effects Supervisor Brian Van't Hul
In Part 2 of our PARANORMAN interview series we talk with Brian Van't Hul who works at animation studio LAIKA, and was also the visual effects supervisor on the company's Oscar-nominated 2009 feature "Coraline." His previous stop-motion credits include Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James & the Giant Peach."
...Read More »
"Sling Baby" Is A Winner at Super Bowl XLVI
Burbank's Blacklist Productions was a part of the process from beginning to end, providing the rented Red camera "Sling Baby" was shot on, and handling color grading and finishing in house with DaVinci Resolve. The one stop shop, which has essentially grown their entire business around the color correction system they purchased last year, considered Resolve to be the instrumental tool in making "Sling Baby" look like a million bucks.
...Read More »
Inferno Records Creates Music Videos Just "Like That"
Modern technology has given artists the opportunity to share their talents with the whole world. Pop music singer, songwriter and producer, Killian Wells, made the most of that opportunity when he founded Inferno Records, putting a new spin on the outdated record label business model. Having been heavily involved in all aspects of his career and enjoying the many successes that came as a result, Killian wasn't about to change his winning formula when it came time to produce the music video for his new single, "It's Like That (feat. Nixon)".
...Read More »
The Film Bakery Gets Cooking with Blackmagic Design and Qantas
The Film Bakery recently teamed up with Qantas to release an hour long independent documentary, now airing on The History Channel, about Australia's national airline. The purpose of creating "Qantas: From the Outback to the World" was to bring archived material together to tell a cohesive story about the major airline's humble beginnings, while still maintaining the aspect of age.
...Read More »
ASSIMILATE Congratulates SCRATCH Artists On Festival de Cannes 2012 Entries
At the 65th Festival de Cannes, May 16 - 27, several films on the competition roster have been created by filmmakers whose post-production companies used ASSIMILATE's SCRATCH DI software in their digital workflows for conform, color grading, and finishing. The Cannes Film Festival is the world's premier showcase for independent and international filmmakers.
...Read More »
Color Grading 'The Courier' with Louisiana's Films In Motion and Colorist Omar Godinez
Shot and finished in Louisiana, 'The Courier' joined massive features such as 'Battle LA' and the 'Twilight' movies, as well as the host of independent films and television series that have transformed the state into the fastest growing region in the US for feature and television work. So while faced with the need to create a blockbuster look on a tight budget, the producers of the film needed to join forces with local post professionals that had experience handling all levels of production. To finish the film, the filmmakers chose Baton Rouge's Films In Motion.
...Read More »
Twixtor: 30p to 24p in After Effects By Jeremiah Hall
Twixtor, from Re:Vision Effects, Inc., has been around for a while. It works with Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro (X and 7), Autodesk combustion, flame, Maya Composite, Avid, Foundry Nuke, Sony Vegas Pro, and several others. It changes speed, timing, and frame rates of footage (frame rate conversion is currently only available with After Effects or Combustion). Twixtor does this by warping and interpolating new frames from the original footage using RE:Vision's proprietary tracking technology to calculate every individual pixel's motion in a sequence.
...Read More »
Adobe CS6 Release Delivers Major Innovations for Design, Web and Video Pros
Powerful new releases of 14 CS6 applications and four Creative Suites - Adobe Creative Suite 6 Design & Web Premium, Adobe Creative Suite 6 Design Standard, Adobe Creative Suite 6 Production Premium, and Adobe Creative Suite 6 Master Collection - drive home Adobe's continued innovation across creative markets. A new subscription-based offering, Adobe Creative Cloud, will provide users with the ability to download and install every Adobe CS6 application* announced.
...Read More »
Sweet Sadie Helps Disney Theatrical Productions Commemorate "The Lion King's" 15th Anniversary
A call was heard in New York that echoed around the world" was the emotional theme of a video produced by Sweet Sadie, Inc. for Disney Theatrical Productions commemorating the 15th anniversary of "The Lion King's" debut on Broadway. Disney provided the studio with a massive trove of stills and videos tracing the far-flung 15-year history of the show from which to draw. Employing After Effects, the Sweet Sadie team set about to bring this material to life by animating cast and crew images against new backgrounds, such as show set photography and crowd scenes complete with flash bulbs popping. 2.5D techniques were used to "cut out" foregrounds from backgrounds to stunning effect.
...Read More »
The Art of the Trailer: Two Years in 30 Seconds
The trailer plays a major role in the marketing and ultimate success of a feature motion picture. This on-screen advertisement is so engrained in popular culture that most of the time it is taken for granted by movie goers. But industry marketing veterans know the trailer is the first and last chance to create a lasting impression on an audience. Most trailers range in length between 30 seconds and two minutes. It's within that short time span that the viewer will pick up on hundreds of cues about the movie. In the blink of an eye he will determine the genre, the gist of the story, the aesthetic and level of production. By the end of the trailer the viewer might well determine the fate of the movie. Is it a must-see or to-be-avoided?
...Read More »
DaVinci Resolve Provides Color Correction for Short Horror Film 'Dead Man's Lake'
When colorist Patrick Inhofer was first contacted by the filmmakers for the short film horror anthology website BloodyCuts.co.uk, he knew right away that he wanted to be involved. The Bloody Cuts team shares a love and passion for horror films and has presented the anthology online as a free web series. As an accomplished colorist, and the founder of the website Tao of Color Grading.com, Patrick realized that he could put his professional skills to work, both by grading their films and by using them to teach aspiring colorists how to grade using the latest developments in color correction.
...Read More »
DaVinci Resolve 'Elementary' in Color Grading Hit CBS Crime Solving Television Show
While it may take Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson just 60 minutes to crack a case on an episode of the hit CBS television show "Elementary," Tony D'Amore can do it in less. As the Senior Colorist at LA based post house Encore and lead colorist for the wildly popular series, Tony is responsible for color correction and grading the weekly show, and he relies on DaVinci Resolve color correction software.
...Read More »
Transitional Animation
Final Cut Pro X provides a number of interesting ways to animate video elements in the Viewer and Timeline to provide complex visual effects. But do you know how to create quick and simple animations just by using transitions? The beauty of this technique is its simplicity. No complex motion paths to adjust, no messing about with untold keyframes, just add a transition and set the timing and you're off to the next project.
...Read More »
It's Hell on Wheels at FuseFX
The second season of Hell on Wheels continued its epic story of post-Civil War America, focusing on Cullen Bohannon, a former Confederate soldier, and his dramatic journey west as he struggles to leave his past behind. The building of the transcontinental railroad serves as the backdrop to the entire series. The scope and challenges of the expanding railroad were critical to the storytelling and couldn't be achieved without the resourceful use of visual effects provided by FuseFX. At the center of the traveling town are the trains. Production built full scale replicas of the period trains and laid down a few hundred feet of track to support tight shots and moments when the train isn't moving. But almost all shots showing wider perspectives and moving trains was achieved with CG models of trains and railroad tracks composited into live action backgrounds.
...Read More »
Coca-Cola's 2012 Euro Cup "Spirit of the Euro" Commercial Rockets to Life with DaVinci Resolve
Coca-Cola's 2012 Euro Cup "Spirit of the Euro" commercial is an animated wild ride that captures the excitement, fun and craziness of the soccer tournament and its fans. In the spot, a very passionate fan zooms through the sky in a Coca-Cola powered soccer boot, releasing soccer ball bubbles in its wake that turn all they touch into deliriously enthusiastic soccer fans. Produced by Portland, Oregon based BENT IMAGE LAB and directed by Carlos Lascano, "Spirit of the Euro" is a highly creative and exciting commercial that required equally intense and vibrant color to bring it to life, which was achieved thanks to Jalal Jemison, BENT's lead colorist, and Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve color correction software.
...Read More »
AJA Ki Pro Finishes First for Digital Garage
Formula 1 (F1) Drivers Lewis Hamilton, Bruno Senna and Heikki Kovalainen recently took to the race track, except this time, the race was digital. Codemasters, developer of the new F1 2012 video game, brought the drivers together for a promotional event during the Italian Grand Prix, where they raced on a digital track using Sony PS3 consoles. The BBC was onsite to record live action footage of the event, while UK reseller & systems integrator Digital Garage Group Ltd. used AJA Ki Pro digital video recorders to capture gameplay from the developer versions of the game consoles. All footage was edited and used to create a BBC segment that aired during the Singapore Grand Prix.
...Read More »
The Curse
Arguably the most significant film event of the calendar, Cannes is the festival that bought us films such as Pulp Fiction and Brief Encounter. This year, Cannes boasts films in Competition from directors including Wes Anderson, Ken Loach and David Cronenberg. 'The Curse', shot in the desolate Moroccan countryside, the film centres on the struggles of a young woman, Fatine, who is hounded by villagers after she is discovered to have had an affair with an older man. Colorist Jason R Moffat explains how he achieved the films distinct look.
...Read More »
Q&A with Creative Supervisor of Replacement Animation & Engineering Brian McLean
With ParaNorman, we have made the first stop-motion movie that uses a 3D Color Printer. The technique is similar, but what the 3D Color Printer affords you to do is to build color into the model. ParaNorman is not only a wonderful story but it is the most advanced stop motion film of all time. I think the audience members will ultimately get so involved in the story that the will forget that they are actually watching a hand crafted stop motion movie. Only after the movie is over do they have time to think "whoa how in the world did they do that?"
...Read More »
Q&A with Animation Supervisor Brad Schiff
I have many proud moments from this film. Most of them revolve around the success of the animation team. While it seems like it's all fun and games, what we do is incredibly difficult and taxing...mentally and physically. It takes great skill, concentration and confidence to animate at this level. Witnessing the animators on this film shoot the greatest shots of their careers on ParaNorman has proven to be most rewarding to me.
...Read More »
Q&A with Visual Effects Supervisor Brian Van't Hul
In Part 2 of our PARANORMAN interview series we talk with Brian Van't Hul who works at animation studio LAIKA, and was also the visual effects supervisor on the company's Oscar-nominated 2009 feature "Coraline." His previous stop-motion credits include Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James & the Giant Peach."
...Read More »
"Sling Baby" Is A Winner at Super Bowl XLVI
Burbank's Blacklist Productions was a part of the process from beginning to end, providing the rented Red camera "Sling Baby" was shot on, and handling color grading and finishing in house with DaVinci Resolve. The one stop shop, which has essentially grown their entire business around the color correction system they purchased last year, considered Resolve to be the instrumental tool in making "Sling Baby" look like a million bucks.
...Read More »
Inferno Records Creates Music Videos Just "Like That"
Modern technology has given artists the opportunity to share their talents with the whole world. Pop music singer, songwriter and producer, Killian Wells, made the most of that opportunity when he founded Inferno Records, putting a new spin on the outdated record label business model. Having been heavily involved in all aspects of his career and enjoying the many successes that came as a result, Killian wasn't about to change his winning formula when it came time to produce the music video for his new single, "It's Like That (feat. Nixon)".
...Read More »
The Film Bakery Gets Cooking with Blackmagic Design and Qantas
The Film Bakery recently teamed up with Qantas to release an hour long independent documentary, now airing on The History Channel, about Australia's national airline. The purpose of creating "Qantas: From the Outback to the World" was to bring archived material together to tell a cohesive story about the major airline's humble beginnings, while still maintaining the aspect of age.
...Read More »
ASSIMILATE Congratulates SCRATCH Artists On Festival de Cannes 2012 Entries
At the 65th Festival de Cannes, May 16 - 27, several films on the competition roster have been created by filmmakers whose post-production companies used ASSIMILATE's SCRATCH DI software in their digital workflows for conform, color grading, and finishing. The Cannes Film Festival is the world's premier showcase for independent and international filmmakers.
...Read More »
Color Grading 'The Courier' with Louisiana's Films In Motion and Colorist Omar Godinez
Shot and finished in Louisiana, 'The Courier' joined massive features such as 'Battle LA' and the 'Twilight' movies, as well as the host of independent films and television series that have transformed the state into the fastest growing region in the US for feature and television work. So while faced with the need to create a blockbuster look on a tight budget, the producers of the film needed to join forces with local post professionals that had experience handling all levels of production. To finish the film, the filmmakers chose Baton Rouge's Films In Motion.
...Read More »
Twixtor: 30p to 24p in After Effects
Twixtor, from Re:Vision Effects, Inc., has been around for a while. It works with Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro (X and 7), Autodesk combustion, flame, Maya Composite, Avid, Foundry Nuke, Sony Vegas Pro, and several others. It changes speed, timing, and frame rates of footage (frame rate conversion is currently only available with After Effects or Combustion). Twixtor does this by warping and interpolating new frames from the original footage using RE:Vision's proprietary tracking technology to calculate every individual pixel's motion in a sequence.
...Read More »
Adobe CS6 Release Delivers Major Innovations for Design, Web and Video Pros
Powerful new releases of 14 CS6 applications and four Creative Suites - Adobe Creative Suite 6 Design & Web Premium, Adobe Creative Suite 6 Design Standard, Adobe Creative Suite 6 Production Premium, and Adobe Creative Suite 6 Master Collection - drive home Adobe's continued innovation across creative markets. A new subscription-based offering, Adobe Creative Cloud, will provide users with the ability to download and install every Adobe CS6 application* announced.
...Read More »
ASSIMILATE Offers New SCRATCH Lab Certification Program for DITs, Video Engineers, and other Dailies Professionals
ASSIMILATE announced today that it has launched a worldwide professional training and certification program for SCRATCH Lab(r) via selected ASSIMILATE Authorized Training Partners. The new certification program offers DITs, video engineers, assistant editors and other dailies professionals intensive hands-on training courses, covering the production dailies workflow.
...Read More »
