Kermit The Frog talks about compositing with the new version of Fusion, but warns that “it’s not that easy keying green…”, although “green can be great if it’s shot well because of its brightness and low blue-channel noise”. If you’re a compositor, definitely check out this video and have a good ol’ chuckle.

“it’s not that easy keying green…”

Credits go to Sander de Regt, aka ShadowMaker SdR for this great little vid.

Came across this beautiful short animation called “Tezcatlipoca”. The animation is the amazing work of Robin George and tells the mythical story of the Aztec god, Tezcatlipoca, who decends from heaven to earth as his nagual, his animal counterpart, the jaguar.

The 3 minute animation is a graduating project from Southern Adventist University’s School of Visual Art and Design. The project took Robin about a year and a half from initial concept to final render. The project was completed in Maya.

I think the character animation in this short is absolutely fantastic. Everything, in fact, is quite stunning, but the movement of the jaguar in particular is nothing short of amazing. Be sure to check out Robin George’s website to read more about Tezcatlipoca.

Tezcatlipoca

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I recently got sent a couple of free movies tickets so thought I’d go along and check out Public Enemies, directed by Michael Mann and starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. The film seemed instantly appealed to me and the prospect of seeing it in Greater Union’s giant Vmax cinema had me tingling with anticipation – Add one Johnny Depp, a touch of Christian Bale and muddle with some gangster shenanigans: a recipe for a great night out!

Unfortunately, something went horribly wrong..

I left the cinema feeling completely disappointed (but glad that I didn’t have to pay to see it) and amazed at how Public Enemies had gained such publicity! Just minutes into the film it became apparent to me that the film was shot on digital video (I later found out much of the film was shot on the Sony F23), not film. It just looked wrong to me – like some kid, who happened to live next door to two of Hollywood’s biggest actors, had wrangled together a couple of mates and shot a movie on the Mini DV he got for Christmas.

Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but seriously… this is one big-budget film. We’re talking $100 million… that’s about the same amount that Screen Australia received to finance and develop films, pay staff and other costs… wait for it… for an ENTIRE YEAR! Needless to say, I was hoping for something with slightly higher production values than what I saw.

The video look was so distracting to me that I found it impossible to connect to the characters and become engrossed in the story. The motion of the camera moves, the ability to see TOO much detail (I don’t want to see skin blemishes and makeup!), the blown out whites and all the other horrible things that come with digital video were there for all to see. Now, don’t get me wrong… digital video certainly has it’s place. I have seen movies before shot on video that have been fantastic – Wolf Creek is the first that springs to mind. I just don’t think it worked for this film. I think period movies need that filmic quality. It’s something that we have come to expect, and a genre to which hand-held shaky camera movements and high picture sharpness are not necessarily suited.

Keep reading the review of Public Enemies…

Just came across this TVC the other day and thought it was worth sharing. Amazing visual effects by the guys over at Mikros Image. The spot was apparently filmed in Iceland and features very well integrated 3D with live action. Anyway, enough blabber, the pictures speak for themselves. Don’t miss the last video – breakdowns and concept art!

NISSAN – Cougar

Click here to see the other videos!

Here is the current list of the TOP20 Best Visual Effects / Post-production studios in the world, according to motionographer.com. Obviously this list is highly subjective and is only the opinion of one critic, but whether or not they are really the best-of-the-best, these places must be doing something right to attract such attention!

(In alphabetical order, not necessarily best to worst):

• A52 / Los Angeles
• Animal Logic / Sydney and Los Angeles
• Blur / Los Angeles
• Buf / Paris
• Digital Domain / Los Angeles
• Eight VFX / Los Angeles
• Framestore / London
• Fuel / Sydney
• Glassworks / London and Amsterdam
• Mac Guff / Paris

Is your work in the Top20 list? Read more and find out…