Category: Visual Effects

Guerilla FX (GFX), a visual effects, production, post finishing, design and interactive house, in a continuation of their recent expansion, has added integratedD-P/Digital Strategist Darren Himebrook to its creative roster.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, THE DARK KNIGHT and IRON MAN were nominated for the Oscar for Achievement in Visual Effects.

Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards were announced today (Thursday, January 22) by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis and Oscar winner Forest Whitaker.

Digital-Tutors has released MOTORCYCLE MODELING TECHNIQUES IN MAYA and AUTOMOTIVE MODELING IN XSI -- the newest releases in the largest library of interactive training for emerging digital artists using Maya, the integrated 3D modeling, animation, visual effects, and rendering solution for artists in film, television, game development, and design industries, and XSI, the complete 3D package for modeling, rendering, and character animation newly acquired by Autodesk in 2008.

BOXX Technologies, an innovator in high-performance computing systems for vfx, design professionals, and advanced visualization, has released the 3DBOXX 4850 Extreme Workstation, the most powerful single processor workstation ever designed. The 4850 Extreme outperforms the fastest dual Intel Xeon processor workstations from Apple, Dell and HP when running professional compositing applications, and rivals their speed for professional 3D applications.

Craft Director Tools are now available from Craft Animations for users of MAXON Cinema 4D. Craft Director Tools utilize high-end artificial intelligence and autonomous control systems to drastically condense traditional animation processes. Combining these unprecedented animation tools with Cinema 4D's ease-of-use and image quality, users receive a time-saving and cost-effective animation solution capable of saving hours, days and weeks of laborious animation time.

Autodesk has announced they will cut 750 jobs, or about 10 percent of their staff, according to wire reports.

A release on iStockAnalyst said Autodesk will "consolidate certain facilities as part of a plan to reduce operating expenses."

The initiatives are in addition to the ongoing actions previously announced that include a hiring freeze, business travel restrictions, and other reductions in its operating expenses.

GenArts Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SpeedSix Software Limited. As of today, all SpeedSix employees will join the GenArts team and remain in the U.K. In addition, SpeedSix's renowned Monsters and Raptors visual effects will be sold and supported in their current form alongside GenArts Sapphire, creating a family of state-of-the-art image processing and synthesis effects software.

Sony is pushing 2012 back from July 10 to November 13, per VARIETY, the same weekend the studio used to launch the last two James Bond films.

Sony's president of worldwide distribution Rory Bruer said the studio has a good summer slate and it makes sense to move 2012, from director Roland Emmerich, to the eve of the crowded Thanksgiving holiday.

Summer tentpoles for Sony include ANGELS AND DEMONS (May 15) and THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (June 12) with Denzel Washington and John Travolta.

Digital-Tutors, makers of award-winning video-based training for emerging digital artists, announced the continued support of their training solutions by studios and schools around the world and the largest number of training titles released by Digital-Tutors in a single year. With 67 training titles released in 2008 and a library of over 150, Digital-Tutors is now among the largest training resources for Autodesk applications including Maya, 3ds Max, Mudbox, and Softimage.

Scott Griffin, senior producer at MPC London, is moving to MPC's Vancouver location, where he will take the position of Head of Production.

The studio, which focuses on VFX for feature films, has recently completed sequences for Zach Snyder's WATCHMEN and is currently working on Jonathan Mostow's SURROGATES for Walt Disney Studios.

The studio is based in the Yaletown district of Vancouver, central to the vfx industry.

Troika Design Group, a strategic branding and design agency for companies in media and entertainment, has ushered in a bold new graphic design for top-rated cable network TNT. The launch of the Troika redesign coincided with the premiere of TNT's new series LEVERAGE and introduced a rich multi-dimensional world of light and color. TNT's new on-air design was unveiled Dec. 7, 2008.

Orbit Digital/Post Works and Post-Production Supervisor, Stuart MacPhee, recently asked Mechanism Digital for some last minute visual effects with the Fox Searchlight feature, NOTORIOUS, in theaters now. The film tracks the remarkable rise of Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace -- who burst from the tough streets of Brooklyn to the heights of hip-hop legend.