Godzilla - Official Teaser Trailer

Now this is a teaser. They probably didn't need to show his profile at the end, showing the large spikes on his back, as well as the damage done, was enough for me. Fire it up! Randolf

Omar Meradi: TD Showreel

Omar's reel is quite inspirational, there are a lot of clips in this reel that could serve as launch points for similar simpler projects. Check it out Omar's reel, take notes and jot down whatever inspiration comes to mind. Fire It Up! Randolf

Keloid - Big Lazy Robot

This came up this week in my classes. The variety we are exposed to as a group gives us some really good examples to review and be inspired by. This clip is no exception.

Fire It Up!

Randolf

Vaimiti Guesdon - CG Generalist Reel

Nice interesting ways to showcase your model in this reel. Nice, clean and well designed. Sweet.

Donnie Yen vs. Bruce Lee CG Animation

This is actually quite entertaining if you are a fan. They did a good job in capturing the fighting styles of both fighters as they are quite believable.

Next Level: Lucas Film Shows Off Realistic Customizable Game Engine Renders

This looks quite amazing and fun. More and more, our games are beginning to look a lot like the movies we are accustomed to seeing, or are we headed into an entirely new realm of entertainment, where games are now the focus and movies support the game. I could see it happening.

Pacific Rim "Before and After's"

The breakdowns and overall presentation in this movie are insightful and inspiring. Be sure to check out their website below. Mirada Studios Fire it up!

Imaginary Forces - Demo Reel

Siggraph 2013 Rewind: Imaginary Forces from Cineversity on Vimeo.

Imaginary Forces is a VFX motion graphics house responsible for creating the opening title sequence of Pacific Rim. They work exclusively in C4D and in this movie, not only do they feature a slick opening reel, but go into the creation of their project in C4D. Enjoy. You can visit their site here >>

Grayscale Gorilla

We fell in love with Greyscale Gorilla initially for their C4D After Effects integration tutorials. The blog is quite robust, check out their blogpost about how they did the CGI opening title sequence in Pacific Rim.

Visit the Greyscale Gorilla site here >>

"Beyond" by Raphael Rogers CG VFX Short

I'm a big fan of the storytelling and overall presentation of Raphael's piece. See how many VFX shots you can spot. You can do many of these shots, but his refinement and attention to overall detail makes them superb. Also, pay attention to their duration and its use in the context of the film. This is just as important as the actual CG effect.

Ryan Prestridge: Matte Painting TD Reel

World War Z - CG Jerusalem Breakdown

The Hobbit 2: Desolation of Smaug - UK Trailer

Stick around, they actually show the dragon at the end.

Iron Man 2 - HUD Design Breakdown

Inspiring breakdowns. I've always been amazed at the look and feel of these designs which appear complex, the main shapes are basic and simple, but have numerous levels of detail in the forms of little tick marks and numbers for added texture.

Post Viz Documentary

Post Visualization is the process by which actual plates used in a film are given to a vfx artist. The vfx artist blocks in the animation to give the director/producer an actual working piece that exists within the current movie. From this point, refinement can occur. This documentary filmed in 2011 describes that process. We've actually been using it quite a bit, but nobody has articulated the process. This video does a great job in doing that. Fire It Up! Randolf

Matte Painting VFX Breakdown Reel : Carlos Nieto

If you are going to put matte painting examples in your reel, its a good idea to think ahead and to save the various layers of detail used to create your scene. Not only is it helpful to have the final composited shot, but if you can animate the various layers and assemble the piece, it lends insight and understanding into your creative process, especially to your attention to detail and presentation, in many cases this goes a long way. Check out Carlos' reel, not only are his examples very good, but he's included simple effective breakdowns for each. Well done. Fire It Up! Randolf

Pacific Rim: Trailer 2

"Thor - Dark World" Trailer

Loki looks like he could be the lead singer of a band in this trailer.

Man of Steel: Trailer 3

Elysium: Trailer

Something really cool about this movie. Let's hope its cool.

The Hobbit: Post Production Featurette

Bought The Hobbit on Bluray about a week ago, and haven't stopped watching it. I love this move even more, even after seeing it on the big screen. The video blogs that accompany the bluray give a nice tour into the creation of the film, and if you haven't seen it, here is video blog 9 about the post production process. Items covered in this featurette include: sound design, sound engineering and foley, color correction, animation, and compositing - subjects that are right up our alley. In a small way, you'll get a taste of the stress involved in creating all of the work in a compressed timeframe. Enjoy!

Silent Hill: Opening Title Sequence Featurette

I saw this featurette and immediately thought of the many students who I come across who love drawing, painting and conceptual development, but shy away from 3D. I know very well that you are familiar with this opening title sequence and admire it and so do I. We appreciate the tone it has, the use of lighting, cameras, character development, and the excellent execution to achieve the unsettled feeling for the viewer. None of this happens without the initial drawings created from the storyboard, it would be too difficult to plan and approve otherwise. This featurette walks one through the many storyboards to achieve this idea, but most importantly, pay close attention to when they show your Maya viewports. The models are simple, but what makes this sing is the work done in the lighting and camera. Its a piece that I believe most of you can pull off in my classes, I've seen it. All you have to do is to commit to the vision you have and do whatever it takes to achieve your goal. Hope this featurette inspires you. Fire it up!

Gustavo Maia: Motion Graphics Demo Reel

Many practical Cinema 4D examples in this reel. Good use of particles and Mograph tools, but pay close attention to his transitions, many pieces begin as an abstract only to later become clear.

Iron Man 3: Trailer 2

Rhythm and Hues: Life of Pi

As a visual effects instructor, the condition of the industry is worth some discussion. Let's talk about this in class. Still want to keep doing this? The problem is not new and has been around since the conception of commercial art. To learn more about why so many visual effects artists are angry, check out this article below.

http://filmmakeriq.com/2013/02/why-there-were-400-visual-effects-artists-protesting-at-the-oscars/

Below is R&H 2013 Showreel. Impressive work guys. We're all feelin it!

Benjamin Erdt: CG Modeling Reel

Urbance: Directed By: Joel Dos Reis Viegas

Had to post this one. Really nice work. Nice music, style, flare, hip and visual rhythm. Urbance is created by Steambot Studios. Roland, thanks for the heads up! Fire It Up! Randolf

"The Gate" by: Matt Westrup

This little short by Matt Westrup is quite exceptional. If it were me, I probably would "suggest" the appearance of the first creature in the street - leaving it up to the viewer's imagination would be better. The appearance of the larger second creature later in the film, in the office building, freaked all of us out, that image in the doorway was quite disturbing. Overall, nice modeling, texturing and lighting as seen in the high tech medical equipment, and outstanding execution in the storytelling. Thanks for sharing Ryan. Fire It Up!

Canadian Pipeline Association by: Embassy VFX

I often have my visual effects and animation students animate a piece that educates. For something as complex as the growth of Canada its nice, simple and clean. It features a clever concept, good camera work and uses depth maps to make the models look small. Nice work.

My Top 10 Superbowl Commercials for 2013

Top 10 Super Bowl Commercials 2013 Three years running....Here are my top ten Super Bowl commercials for 2013. Like previous years, my criteria is as follows: It must have animation or visual effects of some kind, its gotta be memorable and extra points if its got the “dry humor” factor - just make us laugh. Surprisingly, there are no Coke or Budweiser ads that made the list. Let’s start with our honorable mentions, one has no CG in it, but it sure is funny.

 Honorable Mention VW “Get In / Get Happy”


PSY / Wonderful Pistachios


Soda Stream

 Okay - now that I got you warmed up. Let’s begin the countdown...

 10. Kia “Space Babies”


 9. Kia Forte “Hotbots”


 8. Fiat “Sister” - Formerly Skechers "Go"


 7. M&M’s “Love Ballad”

 6. Mercedes Benz “Soul”


 5. Blackberry “Can’t Do”


 4. Milk
 

 3. Beck’s “Saphire” - This one was simply nice to look at. I also appreciate the mashup with the Blackstreet song.

 2. Hyundai “Gather Your Team”


 1. Oreo “Whisper Fight”.
(Whispering) Thanks for visiting. See you next year. Husssshhhhh.

"Paperman": Animated Short

If you watched "Wreck It Ralph" in theatres, you are familiar with the "Paperman" animation that played before the film. Nice for the guys at Disney to post it online so all of us can enjoy it. I also included a featurette below that describes the look and feel of the movie. Its nice to see CG getting a facelift. The sets and characters look as if they are done by hand, the textures and linework are quite detailed creating a new look and feel and the story is charming. Well done.

VFX Highlight Reel by Main Road|Post

The creature animations and breakdowns are fun to look at especially the shots involving the massive tentacled robot. Really nice. You can visit their site below: http://mrpost.ru/

Motion Graphics Demo Reel: Tony Zagoraios

Nice work by artist Tony Zagoraios. Pay attention to his detail, timing and his use of typography. The reel is textural and nice to look at too. Enjoy and Fire It Up! Randolf

"R'ha": Short Film by Kaleb Lechowski

A superb short film by Kaleb Lechowski. There are lots of things in this short he is doing extremely well, his lighting and command over materials in the interrogation room. Way to go Kaleb! Fire it Up!

"Battleship" Fluids & Particles by ILM

A featurette detailing how ILM created the large fluid/particle effects surrounding the massive alien ships in the middle of the ocean. Not too many people liked this movie, I liked it a lot - quite entertaining. Be sure you check it out.