Category: Visual Effects

With several months to go before TERMINATOR SALVATION his theaters in May, producers are already plotting out the next chapter: a fifth film from Halcyon heads Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek is in development, reports VARIETY.

Director McG, who did TERMINATOR SALVATION, is working with the duo on the fifth installment, tentatively scheduled for a 2011 release. The news came out of the Dubai International Film Festival, which started on Thursday and runs for a week.

Singapore's visual effects industry is set to receive a huge boost, with the setting up of a studio to train specialists and develop related high-end software technologies.

The NYP-SESI Visual Effects Studio, a collaboration between Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) and Canadian software developer Side Effects Asia Pacific (SESI-AP), will train and produce talent in visual effects, games and interactive digital media for Singapore and the region.

Starting April 1, 2009, Bradley J. Wechsler, currently co-Chairman and co-CEO of IMAX, will become the sole Chairman of the Board.

BBC NEWS is reporting that STAR WARS: A MUSICAL JOURNEY will debut in London in April, then tour Europe.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will play a live score as excerpt from the six films are shown onscreen. The show was put together by Lucasfilm and composer John Williams. It will not have actors playing characters, but will feature live narrators.

The six films in the STAR WARS saga have been edited down to two hours and Williams has "painstakingly rewritten" the music he wrote, said a statement from Lucasfilm.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its list of 15 semifinalists for Achievement in Visual Effects for the 81st Academy Awards, with Industrial Light & Magic getting three contenders: IRON MAN, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL and THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES (along with Tippett Studio). Other anticipated contenders include THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (Digital Domain, Lola/Hydraulx, Asylum and Matte World Digital), THE DARK KNIGHT (Double Negative, Framestore) and THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (Weta Digital, Cinesite).

RE:Vision Effects has released its DE:Noise plugin set for Nuke, Fusion and Toxik.

Post-production boutique Solventdreams will now have in-house 2k scanning for film and television workflows through a strategic partnership with Cranium Filmworks.

The new service gives producers a cost effective in-house 2k digital intermediate with VFX integration for the price of HDCAM-SR digital intermediates.

th1ng, the mixed media and animation house, has expanded with the opening of th2ng, a new dedicated live action production company concentrating on advertising.

th2ng (pronounced "th2ng two") will be headed by long-standing SoHo producer Hannah Cooper, and anchored by the talents of experienced live action directors including Dan Lumb and only-just signed Simon Cracknell and Stuart Fryer complimenting the roster of eight directors.

Activision Publishing has released new details on X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, whose titular hero is one of the most popular Marvel characters of all time. The videogame, scheduled for release in May 2009, coincides with the global debut of Twentieth Century Fox's release of its feature film, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, which is also based on the famous Marvel character.

HARRY POTTER fans will have a chance to get a first-hand look inside the famous wizard’s magical world through "Harry Potter: The Exhibition," which will open at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago on April 30, 2009.

Bully Bros. Post, a new full-service post and visual effects facility in Santa Monica, California has been opened by Creative Director/Lead Effects Artist Kiki Chansamone and Exec Producer Jason Forest.

Big Stage Ent., a media technology company that lets consumers project themselves photo-realistically into the digital realm, is opening its proprietary 3-D facial modeling system to third parties for seamless integration into video games, virtual worlds, Web sites, mobile apps, kiosk-based systems and more.

This new program, called PortableYouTM, enables any third party to offer a consumer experience that features an animated, 3-D likeness of a user to enhance everything from entertainment to communications and retail.