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Category: Visual Effects

Headline News

21-Year-Old Scribe Starts Elysium Ent.

By Rick DeMott | Tuesday, September 21, 2004 at 12:00am

TYRO screenwriter Ali Russell has launched feature production banner Elysium Ent. with a pair of comicbook-based projects -- THE 10TH MUSE and an untitled Rob Liefeld film, reports VARIETY. Brooklyn Weaver of Energy Ent. will sheperd the new company. Weaver discovered 21-year-old Russell at the UCLA screenwriting program.

Weaver optioned MUSE for low-six figures and Russell is set to write and produce the film. Based on the comic by Darren Davis, the story follows the adventures of modern-day daughter of the Greek God Zeus.

Technology Headline News

Korean Researchers Anticipate New 3D Technology Boost

A group of Korean researchers from a local university have developed a new kind of high-quality MoCap technology that is so simple to use that they believe this will allow Koreans to compete internationally in vfx, reported THE CHOSUN ILBO.

Effects Headline News

Houdini 7 Released With Increased CG Pipeline Flexibility

Side Effects Software announced the release of Houdini 7, the formal launch of Houdini Escape, third party rendering support for Houdini Escape, a scripting product for rendering and free access to the Houdini Developers Kit for all Houdini customers, including Houdini Apprentice users.

Headline News

NVIDIA Launches GoForce 3D 4500

NVIDIA Corp. unveiled the GoForce 3D 4500, the world's first 3D wireless media processor. The NVIDIA GoForce 3D 4500 WMP enables a whole new level of interactive content not previously possible on cell phones, PDAs or other handheld devices. For the first time, mobile content developers can harness a powerful 3D medium to create rich, dynamic, lifelike worlds and characters.

Headline News

Rushes Runs Maze for New Sheba Spot

Rushes was called upon by AMVBBDO to illustrate the search for "Sheba," the ultimate luxury food for cats. Produced by Lindsay Hughes and directed by Graham Fink, MAZE is a fantasy quest through a beautiful world, with a cat leading its owner to its favorite food.

Effects Headline News

VES Offers Online Voting Tips and Reminders

For the first time, the Visual Effects Society (VES) will be offering online voting in preparation of its third annual VES Awards ceremony, to be held in Los Angeles at the Palladium on Feb. 16, 2005.

Meanwhile, the VES has offered several tips and reminders:

Headline News

Video Lab Johannesburg Adds Colorist and luster 2.5

The Video Lab Johannesburg has two announcements: not only has renowned international colorist Catherine Pantazopoulos joined the group, but they have secured the latest in grading wizardry: Discreets lustre 2.5, the only one in South Africa.

Joining luminaries such as Pixar Animation Studios and Sony Pictures Imageworks, The Video Lab plans to have the lustre up and running by mid-October in a custom, designed, world-class grading room.

Festival Headline News

eDIT | VES to Honor Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond

European visual effects society eDIT | VES, whose upcoming festival runs in Frankfurt, Germany from Sept. 26 28, 2004, will award Academy Award winner Vilmos Zsigmond (THE DEER HUNTER, HEAVEN'S GATE, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND), aka Master of Light, the Festival Honors. The award will be handed out on Sept. 26 at the opening gala of eDIT | VES 2004. Zsigmond will discuss "The Art of Cinematography" during the festival on Sept. 27 at 7:00 pm. More information can be found at www.edit-ves.com.

Headline News

Gnomon School Offers First ZBrush User Group Meeting and Classes

Gnomon School of Visual Effects and Pixologic will be hosting the first official Pixologic ZBrush User Group meeting, Sept. 30, 2004, at 6:00 pm at Gnomon (1015 N. Cahuenga Bl. Hollywood, CA 90038).

* Bay Raitt (Creature Facial Lead for Gollum and co-founder of Box Rocket) will discuss the strengths of ZBrush and its use in various production pipelines, i.e. Weta Digital, Valve Software.

Digital Headline News

Sarnoff, Winston and Goulekas Headline Third Annual Digital Studio Summit

iHollywood Forum Inc. announced its lineup of entertainment industry luminaries at "The Digital Studio," a summit and showcase focusing on digital technology and how it is transforming the film and TV industry. The third annual summit takes place as part of the American Film Market, (AFM) on Nov. 2, from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm at the Monica Laemmle Theatre, 1332 2nd Street, Santa Monica, CA.

Industry headliners include:

Time Headline News

Independence Day: A Battle Ground Between Worlds & Fantastic Four

Independence Day 2005 is shaping up at a toe-to-toe battle between Foxs tentpole FANTASTIC FOUR and Paramount and DreamWorks event movie of the decade WAR OF THE WORLDS. The Marvel Comics adaptation from 20th Century Fox was first to stake a claim on the lucrative holiday weekend by taking a release date of July 1. However, the Steven Spielberg-directed, Tom Cruise-starring alien invasion flick has now set its sights on June 29. With Spielberg stating that his H.G.

Design Headline News

A52 Earns Emmy for Carnivàle Main Titles

Los Angeles visual effects and design company A52 earned an Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Design on HBO's CARNIVÀLE series. The award was presented during the 2003-2004 Creative Arts Primetime Emmys segment of the 56th Annual Emmy Awards presentation at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sept. 12.

A52s work on this project also earned the PROMAX Gold Award in the category of Non-Promotional Animation earlier this year.

Film Headline News

Digital Musings From the Editor:

Finally, SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW opens this Friday, after all the buzz about the vintage look and CGI wonder. As many of you are already aware, it boasts the most elaborate bluescreen compositing work ever done for a feature, containing some 2,000 shots, nearly half of which was outsourced to more than a dozen vfx studios. Will its sweet and innocent retro vibe catch on? Or will it polarize people like MOULIN ROUGE with its accent on artifice?

Film Headline News

Stars Next In Line for Doom

By Rick DeMott | Wednesday, September 15, 2004 at 12:00am

With Universal recently hiring CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE director Andrzej Bartkowiak, the studio has now secured one lead with a second in negotiations to star in its DOOM adaptation. BOURNE SUPREMECY baddie Karl Urban is set to star with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in talks to join the cast. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and John Wells are producing from a script by Dave Callahan. The film will follow the zombie blasting plotline of the recently released DOOM 3 videogame. The film is set to go before cameras in mid October.

Visual Headline News

Nine Added to AMPAS Science & Technology Council

Nine new members have been appointed by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Frank Pierson to the organization's year-old Science and Technology Council, bringing the number of members to 23.

The new members are Peter W. Anderson, visual effects branch; Clay M. Davis Jr., sound; David W. Gray, sound; Richard Hollander, visual effects; Brad Hunt, associates; George Joblove, visual effects; Takuo Miyagishima, members at large; Daryn Okada, cinematographers; and Richard Patterson, visual effects.

Technology Headline News

Massive Founder Regelous Nominated for 2004 World Technology Award

Massive Software founder and product manager Stephen Regelous has been nominated for a World Technology Network Award in the entertainment category. Determined by a vote of industry peers, the awards are presented by the World Technology Network (WTN) to recognize work that has a high level of innovation and lasting significance in such fields as biotechnology, space, energy, ethics, design and entertainment. Winners will be named Oct. 8 at the World Technology Awards in San Francisco.

Lucas Headline News

THX 1138 Director’s Cut on DVD

While George Lucas blockbuster STAR WARS trilogy DVD set, which streets Sept. 21, 2004, is getting all the buzz both positive and negative Lucas debut from 1971, THX 1138, makes its welcome DVD bow on Sept. 14 (Warner Home Video, $26.99). This DIRECTORS CUT, like the STAR WARS films, contains extended footage with ILM-produced CGI; however, it merely adds greater scope and detail to the underground factory, where Robert Duvall and company work in a dull, depressing and dehumanized futuristic society.

Imax Headline News

IMAX and Warner Bros. Embark on 3D Denizens of Deep

IMAX Corp. and Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. will jointly produce their second original IMAX 3D film, DENIZENS OF THE DEEP (working title). This is Warner Bros. Pictures' sixth film commitment to IMAX theaters in the past 18 months, and follows on the successful release of NASCAR 3D: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE, which set opening weekend box office records for an original IMAX film, and has already grossed more than $18 million.

Headline News

Boris FX Introduces Boris Blue

Boris FX announced the upcoming release of Boris Blue. This standalone application renders broadcast-quality 3D compositions in realtime regardless of the complexity of the 3D scene or materials. Boris Blue allows users to create stunning looks by combining innovative "pixel shaders" to paint objects with bump maps, noise patterns or natural materials along with light reflections and 3D shadows.

Digital Headline News

Weta Digital Adds Discreet's lustre to DI Pipeline

Weta Digital has purchased two Discreet lustre digital grading and color correction systems as part of a strategic collaboration between Discreet and Weta Digital that spans multiple products.

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