VFX Beat

Guts and Magic in the Air at the VES Ball

rkerrigan — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:22:19 -0800

After spending the evening with friends and industry acquaintances at the VES Awards, Rick Kerrigan talks about how the industry’s rapid change means vfx professionals must adapt and evolve or get pushed aside.

True Grit Review

rkerrigan — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:50:53 -0800

True Grit fits into the Coen Brother’s expanding body of work. Their scripts are not scripts of painful labor, deadlines, script-writing programs or marketing demands but of self-amusement. At the end of their day, they can be satisfied not only with the product but the process undergone. To sit and watch one of their films is to lean forward with a combination of bemusement and apprehension. True Grit does not disappoint. It’s a lot of fun.

TRON: Legacy Review

rkerrigan — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:52:47 -0800

The first imperative for a producing company is that a film be profitable, preferably obscenely profitable, but for a viewer and lover of films the most important criteria of a movie is to transport us to other worlds and into the lives of other people in an entertaining fashion. An American film director once said: “a film is an immensely likable group of people doing an impossible task”. The producers of TRON: Legacy failed to embrace any element of this quote.

A Dog With No Name

rkerrigan — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 12:35:46 -0800

I go to the piazza every day to get an espresso or use one of the only two Internet connections in town. There is a dog that wanders the piazza and being a dog person I make an attempt to get to know him. I call him and he looks at me but makes no effort to approach me. I step closer. The dog doesn’t move an inch but keeps an eye on me. I approach closer still and he holds his ground while considering me only indifferently

Is Paris Burning?...No, It’s Freezing!

rkerrigan — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 12:21:21 -0800

I came to Paris to reset. Thoreau once wrote that it is best if one moves every seven years. If life consists of doing the same thing as a matter of habit over and over again, perspective is lost and the opportunity to truly know oneself never realized. In adversity is truth. Thoughtless patterns are numbing. Time to re-discover. It’s good to be uncomfortable. Good to be uprooted.

On the Road with Rick in Paris

rkerrigan — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:51:27 -0800

Many great adventures start with a journey of some sort. Not much happens when one stays in his rutted path and hopes the phone to ring. The visual effects business has been quiet for me these past two years and frankly I must consider that after thirty-two years in the saddle this horse is no longer prepared to carry me. This is something that many are currently facing worldwide. I’m not alone in this nor are you. One must also consider if the battle to remain within is ultimately worth the struggle required as wages spiral downward and competition becomes more extreme in its willingness to make any sacrifice to compete.

Tired of Keeping Your Head Down? A Modest Proposal...

rkerrigan — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:54:54 -0700

A call to arms for filmmakers to implement a large scale letter campaign to bring the work back to California. Business is controlling the economy (and the government) and is satisfied to let the American worker scramble on his way down to match the standards of living of our competitors. Letters to the governor, our senators and state assembly seem to be the most powerful tool in our arsenal. The greatest power we have is in awakening ourselves, then awakening our representatives to the missed opportunities that exist and giving them the incentive to make changes.

What To Do Until The Cavalry Arrives...? Follow Your Bliss...

rkerrigan — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:51:46 -0700

A discussion of some of the ways various visual effects artists fill their time and their wallets while waiting for the current shortage of entertainment jobs to be over.

The Filmmaker’s Toolbox Continues to Expand – On Set Pre-Viz and Compositing

rkerrigan — Mon, 24 May 2010 12:22:36 -0700

The Previzion system allows the user to pre-composite on set thereby greatly reducing the labor required for post production compositing. This will prove a great asset to editors as they will have clean, possibly final versions of green screen shots that they can rely upon while cutting the film.

The Going Stays Rough for California VFX Houses

rkerrigan — Mon, 17 May 2010 09:32:59 -0700

CafeFX going on hiatus is just another example of how the state of California sits by and watches a great and green business fade into the sunset.