Visual Effects

John Knoll appointed ILM's CCO

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Lucasfilm Ltd. Has promoted John Knoll to chief creative officer of Industrial Light & Magic (www.ilm.com). Knoll joined the company in 1986 and has served as a visual effects supervisor since 1991. He will serve alongside ILM president Lynwen Brennan in his new role.

Rampant Design Tools releases four editorial FX packages

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

ORLANDO — Rampant Design Tools (www.rampantdesigntools.com) has launched four new libraries of QuickTime-based drag-and-drop elements that provide realtime effects, transitions and animated mattes. The company’s solutions are compatible with all editing platforms and compositing applications that are able to read QuickTime files, including Adobe’s After Effects and Premiere; Sony Vegas; Media 100; Apple Motion; Final Cut Pro and FCP X; The Foundry’s Nuke; and Avid Media Composer.

Dell adds to Precision workstation line

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

ROUND ROCK, TX — Dell (www.dell.com) has introduced new workstation models for both the high-end and entry-level user. The company’s new R7610 is the next model in its rack workstation line and follows the existing R5500.

SGO broadens Mistika's reach via Tokyo reseller

Fri, 10 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

TOKYO — SGO (www.sgomistika.com) is working to expand the presence and availability of its Mistika post production system with the recent appointment of Kyoshin Communications (www.kycom.co.jp), here, as an official reseller partner in Japan. The company will promote Mistika's post, DI and stereo 3D capabilities, as well as the newly-launched Mistika Air. Mistika Air is a broadcast system designed for HD, Ultra HD and 8K workflows.

NYC's Phosphene adds to core creative team

Thu, 09 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

NEW YORK — VFX and design house Phosphene (www.phosphenefx.com) has expanded its core creative team with the addition of CG supervisor Vance Miller, lead digital artist Eddie Porter, and lead compositor Scott Winston. In addition, lead digital artist Aaron Raff has been promoted to VFX supervisor.

Luma Pictures suits up for 'Iron Man 3'

Thu, 09 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

SANTA MONICA — Luma Pictures (www.lumapictures.com) recently contributed to Marvel Studios' new Iron Man 3 film, creating full-body CG armor replacements for both Iron Man and Iron Patriot. The studio, which also has a location in Melbourne, also added weaponry, environmental and particle effects, and CG backgrounds.

VFX pioneer Ray Harryhausen dies at 92

Wed, 08 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Visual effect pioneer Ray Harryhausen has doe at the age of 92. His Facebook page made the announcement and included the following details:

Adobe shifts to cloud with 'CC' releases

Mon, 06 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES — At “Adobe MAX, The Creative Conference,” here, San Jose-based Adobe (www.adobe.com) announced that is has accelerated its shift to the cloud with a major update to Creative Cloud, which will be available in June. The company also announced that its Creative Suite of desktop tools are now being branded “CC” to reflect their part in Creative Cloud.

Cinesite creates 100 VFX for 'Iron Man 3'

Fri, 03 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

LONDON — Visual effects house Cinesite (www.cinesite.com) completed over 100 shots on the new Marvel Studios film, Iron Man 3, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. In the latest installment, Tony Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands. Left to survive by his own devices, he fights his way back and attempts to discover the answer to the questions about his Iron Man armor.

3D Garage releases LightWave 11.5 training video

Wed, 01 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO — 3D Garage.com, which produces instructional training videos for 3D modeling and digital content creation, has released “LightWave 11.5 Up to Speed.” The instructional training video from Dan Ablan is now available at www.3dgarage.com.

'Inside the Cutting Room' to celebrate the art of filmmaking

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

NEW YORK — Manhattan Edit Workshop, the provider of training for post production pros and content creators, has revealed the line up for “Inside The Cutting Room: Sight, Sound and Story.” The one-day celebration of the art of filmmaking will be held on June 8 at the French Institute in Manhattan.

Sweet Sadie bringing Broadway skills to commercial clients

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

NEW YORK — Creative boutique Sweet Sadie, which specializes in creating spots for hit Broadway musicals, is extending its services to mainstream advertisers and agencies. Sweet Sadie has spearheaded TV campaigns for Disney’s Mary Poppins, The Lion King, The Addams Family, and the Radio City Rockettes.

BigSmack helps Nat Geo promote 'Brain Games'

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

NEW YORK — BigSmack (www.bigsmack.tv), with locations in New York and Philadelphia, recently created a promo campaign for the National Geographic Channel highlighting its new series Brain Games. The studio collaborated with National Geographic’s in-house creative team to complete creative concepting for the project and then wrote, produced, and created extensive CGI and graphics for the launch.

Double Negative adds TV division

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

LONDON — Double Negative has launched Double Negative TV, a new division of Dneg dedicated to visual effects creation for television.

MPC NY adds VFX talent

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

NEW YORK — Chris Bernier has joined Technicolor’s MPC (www.moving-picture.com) in New York City as VFX supervisor and CG lead. Bernier studied computer graphics at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and soon worked with Curious Pictures as a CG freelancer. He later worked with QuietMan, after which he joined The Mill as senior 3D lead and VFX supervisor.

May Expo to look at 'Production Pipeline'

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

SANTA MONICA — The “Production Pipeline Expo” is a two-day event that will be held May 3 and 4 at Raleigh Studios, on Stages 10 and 14, in Hollywood. The Expo is designed to serve as a full blown visual effects and animation event, complete with expert panels, presentations, educational sessions, and speakers.

NAB 2013: Boris FX introduces preview utility

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

LAS VEGAS — Boris FX (www.borisfx.com) has introduced a free utility that allows users of Avid, Premiere, After Effects, and Vegas applications to preview the company's filters and presets on their own footage. The Boris Continuum Complete Preset Browser is expected to be available in Q2.

NAB 2013: New Dell software optimizes Precision workstation line

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

LAS VEGAS — Dell has introduced a new feature for its line of Precision workstation products that makes sure users are getting optimum performance out of their systems and the media & entertainment applications they are running. Dubbed the Dell Precision Performance Optimizer (DPPO), the software can improve application performance by up to 57 percent, says the company.

NAB 2013: Adobe previews new Creative Suite

Marc Loftus — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

LAS VEGAS — Adobe (www.adobe.com) is an the NAB show with a number of improvements to its Creative Suite, though the company is not formally announcing a version number.

Q&A: Vicon's Jeffrey Ovadya

By Daniel Restuccio — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Jeffrey Ovadya is the newly appointed US sales director for Vicon Motion Systems. For the past five years Ovadya was Vicon’s business development manager and sales engineer. He’s also worked as an electrical engineer at Raytheon Space and airborne systems and holds an engineering degree from UC Santa Barbara.