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The opening scenes of Leave the World Behind show us a seemingly average American family hitting the road on a nice vacation getaway, and it all seems fine until a very strange thing occurs on an outing to the beach, where a very large ship called White Lion comes closer and closer and finally crashing to a halt when it hits the sand, causing everyone nearby to run frantically out of its way. Immediately you think, “Ok, this ship and whoever is on it is going to figure heavily into the fate of this family.” And while does to the extent that it is the first signal we get of something amiss in the world, it is only an obscure clue that disaster is looming in a more discernable form.

That family, as it turns out, has rented a handsomely appointed, plush and modern multi-level beach house and, despite the incident at the shore,...

Everyone wants a piece of the superhero genre’s oversize box office, which can engender a certain sameness among wannabe blockbusters. But standing out amid the well-defined brands of Marvel and DC is a challenge Sony’s “Bloodshot,” which bows in theaters March 13, met with a high-energy, realism-based approach to its 1,500 visual-effects shots.

First-time feature director David S.F. Wilson brings decades of experience to the film as co-founder, along with “Deadpool” director Tim Miller, of acclaimed visual effects house Blur Studio. Wilson says that as a stylistic starting point, he aspired to give “Bloodshot” the energy of a Tony Scott film.

“It was a big part of how we carve out a little slice of the [superhero] pie for ourselves,” says Wilson. “The best head start I could give [visual effects supervisor Chris Harvey] was a look that didn’t already feel” like Marvel or DC. Wilson aimed for the appearance of science-based “plausible reality,...

The Visual Effects Society has unveiled nominations for its 18th annual Ves Awards, which honor VFX work in film, animation, TV, commercials and video games. Winners will be revealed at a ceremony January 29 at the Beverly Hilton.

Disney’s CG redo of the The Lion King and 20th Century Fox’s Alita: Battle Angel lead all film nominees with five apiece, joining the top animated nominee Toy Story 4. In TV, Disney+’s Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian and the final season of HBO’s epic Game of Thrones lead the field with six nominations each.

Along with naming winners in 25 categories, the group’s ceremony later this month includes honoring Martin Scorsese with the Ves Lifetime Achievement Award. The Ves Visionary Award will be given to Roland Emmerich, and the Ves Award for Creative Excellence will be presented to VFX supervisor Sheena Duggal.

Here’s the list of noms:...

Mubi's retrospective, Juliette Binoche: The Woman with a Thousand Faces, is showing July 14 – September 23, 2019 in the United Kingdom.Les amants du Pont NeufA newly reformed Michèle, played by Juliette Binoche, meets her estranged lover (Denis Lavant) on the Pont Neuf, where years ago the two lived as vagabonds, drinking bum wine into the night, falling asleep nestled into the curves of the bridge’s arced barriers. Once a raggedy drifter, with mangy hair and gooey, dull eyes falling gradually into disrepair, her vision is restored in their conclusive reunion, and we observe a more familiar Binoche donning a clean, boyish bob. Once again, she is the woman of our dreams, a mercurial presence whose eyes—wide-set and a conjuring warm brown—give her tender alabaster beauty a poignant intelligence. She launches into a dirty joke about a group of men discussing how often they have sex. The happiest...

For the last few years, Vancouver-based Oats Studios has been home to director Neill Blomkamp and key collaborators, where they make experimental shorts when they aren’t working on his Hollywood-backed sci-fi films. This morning, the company launched a crowdfunding campaign for its first indie feature, but it’s not on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or Seed & Spark. Instead, they’re using a platform built on the studio’s website, promising backers they will shoot something no matter what they raise.

Blomkamp explained the campaign isn’t simply about raising funds for “Firebase,” the feature follow-up to Oats’ popular short, but that this a first step in a multi-year journey to making Oats sustainable.

“For the average audience, crowdfunded films tend to be films that Hollywood wouldn’t make, so crowdfunding is a stepping stone toward making your film,” said Blomkamp. “This is not that. This is, ‘How do we build...

Sci-fi filmmaker Neill Blomkamp is turning to Twitch to present a kind of virtual film festival of five short movies — and entreat fans to open their wallets to fund production of a feature-length version of one of them, “Firebase.”

It’s the first time a Hollywood director has used Twitch to showcase films and tap into the video-broadcasting platform’s gaming-centric audience. Blomkamp’s Oats Studios will live-stream the five short films Wednesday, April 11, starting at 11 a.m. Pacific on twitch.tv/oatsstudios.

The Oats Studios films are: “Rakka,” a 22-minute movie about an Earth enslaved by reptilian aliens starring Sigourney Weaver; “Zygote,” an Arctic-set horror short starring Dakota Fanning, which also runs about 22 minutes; “God,” a 4-minute short about a deity manipulating a tribe of prehistoric humans; 5-minute CGI film “Kapture: Fluke,” about a military-weapons manufacturing plant that uses unethical means to test its products; and “Firebase,” a 27-minute...

Author: Jon Lyus

Denis Villeneuve’s cerebral sci-fi Arrival surprised many last year and looks set for awards glory in February. It was voted the Best Film of 2016 by the online film writers community in our poll at the end of last year and made many of our top ten lists. Today we have a better look at some of the less visible artistry that went into making the film the spectacle it was.

The Quebec-based VFX house Oblique FX have been adding their touch of magic to recent projects such as this impeccable work on Villeneuve’s previous film Sicario. Their latest work, as seen in the full video below, gives an idea of the seamless integration of their VFX into the raw footage shot by the director. One notable aspect mentioned on the Reddit forums this was posted to today is the fact that the fog in the...

Academy invitee Eddie Redmayne in 'The Theory of Everything.' Academy invites 322 new members: 'More diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before' The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has offered membership to 322 individuals "who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures." According to the Academy's press release, "those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2015." In case all 322 potential new members say an enthusiastic Yes, that means an injection of new blood representing about 5 percent of the Academy's current membership. In the words of Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs (as quoted in the press release), in 2015 "our branches have recognized a more diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before, and we look forward to adding their creativity, ideas and experience to our organization." In recent years, the Academy membership has...

©Renzo Piano Building Workshop/©Studio Pali Fekete architects/©A.M.P.A.S.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that the Los Angeles City Council, in a unanimous vote, approved plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Construction will begin this summer, and ceremonial groundbreaking festivities will occur this fall.

“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum’s development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”

“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy...

Strangely dropping a press release on a historic day where the nation's attention is elsewhere, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their annual list of new member invitees this morning. For those who criticize the makeup of the Academy there was some good news and the stark realization the organization still has a long way to go. The Academy has spent the last eight to 10 years attempting to diversify its membership and this year's class mostly reflects that. There are significantly more invitees of Asian and African-American descent, but the male to female disparity is still depressing. Out of the 25 potential new members of the Actor's Branch only seven are women. And, no, there isn't really an acceptable way for the Academy to spin that sad fact. Additionally, It's important to realize the 322 people noted in the release have only been invited to join Hollywood's most exclusive club.

Chappie, the adorable sentient police bot (voiced by Sharlto Copley, who also donned the gray suit on set for "the poor man's mocap"), represents this year's Baymax or Groot. And one of the best moments is the "Real Gangsta" scene (watch below), in which he transitions from awkward toddler to cool struttin' teenager.  VFX supervisor Chris Harvey of Vancouver-based Image Engine explains how they did it. With "Chappie," South African director Neill Blomkamp returns to more intimate social commentary about violence and oppression in Johannesburg. And in adapting his 2003 short about an autonomous robotics company, he embraces the larger issue of re-introducing innocence and love through the AI-driven police "scout."  Thus, Chappie was designed in a cost-effective way for police enforcement so that he could move through doors, fire weapons, and drive vehicles. He had to be badass enough to be taken seriously by criminals...

Zero Dark Thirty hits stores today on Blu-Ray and DVD. To mark the film’s release, we spoke with the film’s VFX supervisor, Chris Harvey.

During the conversation we discussed the difficulties of recreating secret helicopters, the satisfaction of subtle CGI and the ethics of digitally changing a film after it’s finished.

HeyUGuys: I didn’t pick out a lot of the CGI in the film, which I presume means you’ve done your job properly, but what was the heaviest CG shot in the film?

Chris Harvey: The helicopter stuff would have been the heavy stuff. It’s not heavy in the way that Avengers was, the entire world was digital and there are 15 characters running around or whatever, but 90% of the time you see the helicopters in the film they’re entirely digital. At least 90%, maybe 95%. So even when you see stuff you presume we built some and shot that,...

Interview Ryan Lambie 6 Jun 2013 - 06:33

We chat to the FX supervisor behind Zero Dark Thirty about the state of the effects industry, and what he thought of The Hobbit's 48fps...

In a career spanning the course of a decade, Chris Harvey has worked on the special effects on such films as X-Men: The Last Stand, Superman Returns, Watchmen and Battleship. But with Zero Dark Thirty, Harvey and his fellow artists at Image Engine faced a rather different challenge from making the impossible look physically plausible: he had to help director Kathryn Bigelow restage the manhunt for Osama bin Laden.

Harvey was required to create a number of intricate effects shots - most significantly, a night scene that involved top-secret American stealth helicopters. Dramatically, the film would either stand or fall on how photorealistic these sequences were, and it has to be said, the results are extraordinarily convincing. Using Black...

Last week, the release of "Guacamelee!" helped to reinforce what kind of quality work can come out of Canadian, indie developer DrinkBox Studios. "Guacamelee!" marked the third major console release for the studio, and the first to not star a mutant blob. Deeply influenced by classic games from the 8 and 16-bit eras, "Guacamelee!" was clearly a labor of love for the small studio, which is headed up by Co-Founder Chris Harvey. To celebrate the launch of such an epic game, Mr. Harvey gave us some insight into the development of the game, as well as what it means to be an indie developer in today's gaming world.

MTV Multiplayer: How has the indie development community's support contributed to the creative process for "Guacamelee!"?

Chris Harvey: The indie development community talks a lot – people are always providing advice or insight into their own process. Things like the Indie MegaBooth at...

The Visual Effects Society has announced the nominees for their 11th Annual Ves Awards. From film to animation to television to commercials and video games, the Ves Awards honor the outstanding visual effects artistry.

"Life of Pi's" Ang Lee will be honored with the Visionary Award. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, February 5, at the Beverly Hilton.

Here's the complete list of nominees; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Joe Letteri

Eileen Moran

Eric Saindon

Kevin L. Sherwood

Prometheus

Paul Butterworth

Charley Henley

Allen Maris

Richard Stammers

Life of Pi

Thomas Fisher

Susan Macleod

Guillaume Rocheron

Bill Westenhofer

The Avengers

Susan Pickett

Janek Sirrs

Jeff White

Guy Williams

Battleship

Grady Cofer

Pablo Helman

Jeanie King

Glen Mcintosh

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture

Rust and Bone

Béatrice Bauwens...

Fuel VFX has received two award nominations from the Visual Effects Society.

The.peer-voted accolade for the company's work on Ridley Scott.s Prometheus follows the near-collapse of the VFX house, which was saved in October 2012 when Animal Logic acquired its assets.

Fuel co-founder Paul Butterworth was nominated for .Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture. for Prometheus (alongside non-Fuel nominations Charley Henley, Allen Maris and Richard Stammers).

The Fuel team of Xavier Bourque, Sam Cole, Simone Riginell and Denis Scolan - representing the hard work of all 16 compositors who worked on the film at the company - were nominated for Prometheus (Engineers & the Orrery) in the "Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture" category.

Fuel has also provided effects on a number of Marvel films including Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Fuel continues to run from its Newtown, Sydney-based offices where Animal Logic...

The Visual Effects Society has announced the nominees for the upcoming 11th Annual Ves Awards. This year’s major players include Life of Pi, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Prometheus, The Avengers, and Battleship, all of which landed nominations for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture. The Ves Awards also recognize visual effects work in more dramatic fare, singling out the impressive effects of films like Flight and The Impossible. Duking it out for Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature will be the ridiculously impressive Richard Parker in Life of Pi, Hulk in The Avengers, and Gollum and Goblin King in The Hobbit. Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominees. The 11th Annual Ves Awards will take place on February 5th. Here’s the list of nominees: Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey...

This article originally appeared in If Magazine #139 (Feb-March 2011).

Almost three decades ago, unknown storyteller Steve Lisberger wrote and directed a movie that will have a lasting impact on our generation. Released in 1982, Tron became an institution and its effects were considered .groundbreaking. in the industry.

It was a major motion picture first, blending in 70mm live-action, computer graphics and hand-drawn animation. In keeping with groundbreaking effects is its successor, Tron: Legacy.

.I think we.ve certainly tried to live up to that legacy of that first film and make this thing look every bit as cool . if not cooler . for a modern audience,. Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor Eric Barba tells If from Venice, California.

.We.ve certainly pushed the technology . in our work with Clu and with Jeff Bridges [who plays both Kevin Flynn and Clu] in creating something that.s never been done before..

The Disney stereoscopic blockbuster, with a budget of reportedly $US170 million,...

The Winners of Reed’s annual Short Film Competition were proudly announced on Wednesday May 30th at an exclusive awards ceremony hosted at London’s Hospital Club.

We were pleasantly greeted with a Champagne reception which was enjoyed with the intimate gathering of Reed staff, directors, actors and judges. The space was modern and the creative canvases marking each finalists’ film displayed across the walls gave it a personal touch. A few topped up champagne glasses later we were ushered into the screening room to reveal what everyone was waiting for: The 2012 winners.

Just to recap- with over 500 entries from film makers around the UK who each created their piece based on the theme, ‘The Boss’ the following 12 were shortlisted:

• ‘Boss Boot Camp’ by Paul Cook

• ‘Disconnected’ by Tom Edkins

• ‘Gaffer’ by Alex Hinx

• ‘Going Up’ by Francis Annan

• ‘Man Up’ by Caroline Giammetta

• ‘Mourning Rules’ by Daniel Castell

• ‘Moynihan...