Method Design - AICP Sponsor Reel 2016

This VFX dance spectacular from Method Design must have been a dream job for the Houdini effects artists. Method was hired by production company RSA to produce this years AICP sponsor reel. Using motion-capture driven animation and dynamic simulations, the short playfully represents the AICP sponsors as dancing avatars.

I love this video. It's visually engaging and has a huge amount of energy, and the simulations are really creative. I'd love to have worked on this project. Congratulations to everyone that did.

Mad Max and The Doof Warrior

The internet has been abuzz since it's been released, even outside of VFX circles, about the use of practical effects in Mad Max (one of my favourite films this year by a clear mile). With some nice before and after shots being released it’s great to see breakdowns of the Special as well as Visual effects that went into making it. 

The element I was most pleased to find out had actually been created was hands down the guitar used by The Doof Warrior (Otherwise known as ‘holy shit that guy has a flamethrower’) played by musician-actor iOTA. Director George Miller explained in an interview with The Daily Beast “Pre-modern communications, there was always the music of war — the bugle, horns, bagpipes, drummers. Every war culture had some sound to signal the troops… ours is just weaponized, so it’s a flamethrower as well.”

“...it was gas and it was controlled by the whammy bar…”

— http://noisey.vice.com/blog/we-talked-to-the-dude-who-plays-a-flame-throwing-guitar-in-mad-max-fury-road

The Doof Warrior has become a focal part of some reviews and the film for many fans despite having less than a minute of screen time. Given this it was only a matter of time before a DIY ukulele version came out...Right??

Fan Caleb Kraft has been channeling his inner Doof and put together a video tutorial on how to make your own hellfire flinging hipster guitar on Youtube.

“I didn’t want to try to replicate exactly what he had, and I also wanted to scale things down to be marginally safer.”

— http://makezine.com/projects/mad-max-doof-warrior-inspired-flamethrower-ukulele/

Kraft's video doesn't show the final product being played, although I feel the sound might not be the point.