This years 2005 VES-VFX Festival of Visual Effects kicks off June 24-26 at the newly renovated Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, California, with a lineup that includes behind-the-scenes looks at STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH, BATMAN BEGINS, MADAGASCAR, SIN CITY, BEWITCHED, LORDS OF DOGTOWN, CSI, LOST and ALIAS.
In addition to focusing on vfx and animation associated with commercials and games, the VES-VFX Festival will include a family friendly day on Sunday, where visual effects enthusiasts can bring their kids for special panels, including an interactive puppetry experience and a screening of the kid-friendly HERBIE: FULLY LOADED. Other highlights include a look at invisible effects (LORDS OF DOGTOWN) and a VES Insider evening featuring an open-ended conversation with visual effects Academy Award winners Jim Rygiel and Richard Edlund.
Festival passes are available online at www.vesfestival.org . If purchased before May 24, a special discount applies.
Please note that the following schedule is subject to change:
Friday, June 241:00 pm 2:30 pm: TINY MAGIC IN THE BIG WORLD OF MODELS & MINIATURES Panelists include Matthew Gratzner (New Deal Studios), Dave Jones, Lorne Peterson (ILM) and Robert Spurlock discussing models & miniatures in visual effects.
3:00 pm 4:30 pm: MADAGASCARFeaturing the creative team from DreamWorks/PDI behind this summers animated feature.
5:00 pm 6:30 pm: ANATOMY OF CSIThe creative teams behind all three CSI shows (Vegas, Miami, New York) discuss the use of groundbreaking visual effects in televisions hottest one-hours.
7:30 pm 10:30 pm: BEWITCHEDA screening and panel featuring the visual effects team from Sony Pictures Imageworks discussing how they brought televisions golden oldie to the big screen.
Saturday, June 2511:00 am 12:30 pm: SIN CITYPanel featuring the visual effects team from CafeFX, The Orphanage and Hybride that brought Robert Rodriquez vision to life.
1:30 pm 3:00 pm: REVENGE OF THE SITHFrom 300 visual effects in the original STAR WARS to more than 2,000 in the current installation, this panel will feature the visual effects wizards from ILM who created the magic in STAR WARS III.
3:30 pm 5:00 pm: VES INSIDERSAcademy Award winners Jim Rygiel and Richard Edlund in conversation.
5:30 pm 7:00 pm: NEXT GENERATION: THE FUTURE OF GAMINGVFX leaders who create the industrys hottest games talk about this rapidly expanding and moneymaking area of the visual effects industry. Moderator Richard Taylor leads a lively conversation with panelists that include Lorne Lanning, Glen Entis (Madden, NFL Football, Underground) and others to be confirmed.
8:00 pm 11:00 pm: BATMAN BEGINSScreening preceded by panel with visual effects supervisors Janek Sirrs and Paul Franklin from Double Negative.
Sunday, June 26 FAMILY FRIENDLY DAY
9:00 am 10:00 am: THE ART OF PUPPETRYAn interactive panel featuring Master Puppeteer and Animatronic supervisor Dave Barclay, who created the puppets used in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, brought Yoda to life in STAR WARS and more, demonstrating the artistry of puppets used in visual effects.
10:15 am 12:30 pm: HERBIE FULLY LOADED Screening and panel with the visual effects team including VFX supervisor John Van Vliet, VFX producer Lynda Thompson, special effects coordinator Matt Sweeney and supervising puppeteer Robert (Bob) Short.
1:30 pm 3:00 pm: LOST and ALIAS A discussion with the creative teams behind two of televisions hottest shows utilizing visual effects
3:30 pm 5:00 pm: 30-SECOND STORY TELLING: VFX IN COMMERICALSA revealing look at the art of creating visual effects in the short form.
5:30 pm 7:00 pm: INVISIBLE EFFECTS REVEALEDThe intricacies of creating visual effects that cant be detected. Panelists include director Catherine Hardwicke (LORDS OF DOGTOWN), visual effects supervisor Gray Marshall and the visual effects team from Gray Matter.
Founded in 1997, the Visual Effects Society (www.visualeffectssociety.com) is an organization comprised of distinguished visual effects artists desiring to honor, advance and promote visual effects for its membership and the industry as a whole. The Society promotes continuous awareness about the visual effects industry, supports combined technology research and development, and designs and implements educational programs for its membership and the public interested in the production of visual effects. Society headquarters are located in Los Angeles, California with approximately 1,100 global members.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
