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.

Mark Bakowski talks Spectre

“An incredible amount of visual effects work went into the opening shot which comprised of 6 different plates shot in both Mexico City and at Pinewood Studios and totaled around 6’000 frames. The shot work included large crowd simulations, digital matte environment extensions, prop additions, rig removal and cleanup and digi-doubles.”

— Mark Bakowski, interview with Art of VFX

Mark Bakowski, VFX supervisor at ILM London talks to Art of VFX about the work done on the new James Bond epic Spectre. Mark talks in great detail about the often invisible VFX work done by the ILM team, particularly on the spectactular Day of the Dead sequence in Mexico, which has been getting a lot of attention in reviews of the film. He also explains how the 5 minute opening shot was stitched together from 6 different plates, and augmented with lots of digital effects work to create the compelling start to the movie. 

“The Mexico City environment was a fully digital asset created by the Generalist department at ILM London. ”

— Mark Bakowski, interview with Art of VFX

I had the privilege of working as a compositor at ILM London on Spectre for around 8 months, working under Mark's supervision. Indeed this is the fourth project on which I have worked for Mark Bakowski, but Spectre was a particularly interesting project to work on. The compositing team was fairly small, and we had a large number of very complex shots to deliver, so it was a fast paced and challenging show. But Mark, and compositing supervisor Dan Snape, made for a great supervision team, ensuring that the work we delivered was consistently of a high standard. As a junior compositor, it was a great experience to be working on this project and I learned a great deal and developed a lot as an artist. Plus I got to composite some great looking shots, and work on a film which has been very warmly received, which is always a plus.

“Never underestimate a retime! But you live and learn….”

— Mark Bakowski, interview with Art of VFX

Read the full interview with Art of VFX here.

Star Wars Sky Movies Promo

In order to get you ready for Star Wars Episode VII, Sky Movies is screening all six Star Wars movies, which you can watch back-to-back. To promote this, MPC Advertising have produced a stunning 30 second promo, which takes viewers on a whistle-stop tour through a the complete saga. With a combination of footage from the movies, and animated stills, the promo is a series of vignettes which represent each of the Star Wars Episodes, each of which is rich in detail. But for me it is the transitions between these moments which are the most compelling, and make the promo hold up for repeat viewings.

Directed by Steven Hoare, with Lee Parker as Creative Director and VFX from MPC, this promo is well worth a watch

The Force is with us this December with the return of #SkyMoviesStarWars, including all six movies and more. https://t.co/9Ctgs5ylDG

— Sky Movies (@skymovies) November 25, 2015