The hide_input knob is most evil and useless invention since the spork. [not n['hide_input'].value()] python script...to the rescue!
Most don't realize that the "Production Babies" credits list aren't actually babies born during production, but rather babies that were sacrificed to meet the crazy deadlines VFX artists work under.
The Greatest VFX Showreel EVER
The awesomely bad demo reel.
It’s a long and time honored tradition of the Visual Effects industry that has brought us such gems as the Dono reel and Ian Pfaff’s mother fucking demo reel to name a few. They’re funny, self aware, and extremely rare. Why? Because it’s actually really hard for a good artist to do intentionally bad work.
But then there are the just plain bad demo reels. Unintentionally funny, usually comp’d in After Effects, and typically feature badly followed Andrew Kramer tutorials but are passing it off as their own work. They piss you off for a minute, but then you just give up and accept it for what it is. Awesomely bad.
So today I submit to you one of these. A reel to keep in your back pocket for the next time someone comes up to you ranting about how “All VFX work is going to end up in India!”
Steel your mind…for the 11 minute VFX opus of…Martin Gamal.
Some fun things to watch out for…
- The accidental boner shot.
- The amazing “before and after” sequence.
- And the recycled slow-mo T-Rex cameos. Remember…he can’t see you if you move at a stuttering 9fps.
Note to the reader: If, after watching the above video, you still have questions about what you’re NOT supposed to do when cutting together that all important first reel, just email me. Because as much as I enjoy laughing at horrible videos like these, I enjoy even more seeing artists do good work!
I’m back!
It’s been a longgggggggggggggg time since I last wrote on this blog. Over a year in fact! And you can probably guess what I’m about to say next. Me talking about how busy I’ve been (I have), and how life just got in the way (it did). The whole site just turned from a place to share my thoughts about the industry and my latest work, into a barren wasteland.
So it’s time to start fresh. And what better way to start fresh than with a nice, new, clean website?
It’s been a long on-going side project of mine, and I’m finally ready to share it with all of you. I also have a ton of new work that I’m going to be putting up when I can as well. And dare I say it…possibly even a new showreel?!?!?! I know, I know. I’m hesitant to even type that in fears of scaring it off. But it could be!
Anyways, stick around. The bubble wrap has been taken off of the site, and I’m itching to talk with all of you again. I’ll be writing more later. In the mean time though, is anyone still out there? Let me know in the comments.
Gettin’ Money With a Mouse and a Wacom Pen
Word to your comper.
BERG’s Timelapse Painting
This 3-D Typography experiment that the interface designers at BERG in London came up with is absolutely beautiful. I particularly like the pixelated style of the text, even though it’s getting a little over used. It just makes it feel like the sci-fi flicks I loved watching growing up in the 1980′s. Adding to it’s appeal is the simple technique that’s used to create the, as I’ll refer to it from now on, “magic transparent floaty text”.
The formula goes a little something like this. iPad + 3D to 2D image slices + persistance of vision = magic transparent floaty text. A simple movie, slice by slice frame by frame, is played on the screen of the iPad in front of a camera with it’s shutter open. And the result is a brand new take on the whole light writing phenomenon of the past year. But that’s only the first part of the process. They then repeat those steps over and over again until they get close to 3,000 frames which then makes up a shot in the video you’ll see below.
It’s total manual work too. Just a guy, holding an iPad, and moving it in front of the camera. But I wonder what type of effects could be achieved if you combine this with a high tech motion control rig. Or dare I say it…stereo cameras. Gasp!
Think about that as you watch the video below. Some really cool stuff.
P.S. On a site centric note, if anyone of my readers are in fact STILL reading this blog that is, I’m currently in the long stop and go process of redesigning this site. Once I finally sit down and just bang it out, this blog shall live again in a shiny new form. So if you are still reading this, one…thank you. And two, your patience will be rewarded.
Stay tuned!
“Coyote Falls” Gets Amazing Reviews!
The premiere weekend of the new Looney Tunes short, “Coyote Falls” in theaters has come and gone. And it’s left in it’s wake some really stellar reviews from critics and audiences a like! Now I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. I am SO PROUD to have been apart of this creative team. The whole experience has just been a dream come true for everyone involved, so I wanted to give you all a consolidated list of all the reviews I’ve collected so far. The fruits of all the hard work everyone put in to make these as great as they are.
Now all that’s left to do is wait for the world to see the next two shorts. Which I’m so excited for, because each one is seriously better than the last!
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The Washington Post
The best part of “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” happens before this derivative family film even begins. It’s the Looney Tunes animated short, “Coyote Falls,” that precedes the movie.
The 6-year-old next to me, like nearly every child in the theater, shrieked in delight and gasped in wonder as Wile E. Coyote was smashed, flattened, run over and blown up in an enormous fireball. (All in 3-D!) For kids raised on the nonviolent, chipper children’s entertainment of Nickelodeon and PBS Kids, the first Road Runner cartoon they’ve ever seen delivers genuine entertainment catharsis.
Tampa Bay Times
The sole reason to buy tickets — 3-D or otherwise — to Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore has absolutely nothing to do with the movie, which belongs in a pooper-scooper.
It’s a preceding, too-short subject that almost makes the investment worthwhile, starring Looney Tunes legends Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote in richer colors and more eye-popping depth than ever. Coyote Falls needs only those cartoon icons, a bungee cord, a bridge and heavy traffic on a desert highway to muster more enjoyment than the main event never matches.
Coyote Falls seems like a trial run for a possible Looney Tunes revival, retrofitted for the 3-D generation. That makes more sense in theory and now execution than most childhood retreads do in any format. The late animation genius Chuck Jones would be proud.
Box Office Magazine
In fact, Kitty Galore’s best laughs occur during the Looney Tunes pre-show cartoon Coyote Falls. Its 3D is fast and furious and the slapstick is clever. The cartoon short has everything Kitty Galore desperately needs. Too bad the Looney Tunes writers didn’t help out with the feature presentation.
Boston.com
Very much the best part of “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore’’ is the new “Road Runner’’ cartoon that precedes it. It’s in 3-D, of course, and Wile E. Coyote and his eternal avian nemesis have been rendered in fleshed-out, “realistic’’ shadings. I prefer the flat pop colors of yesteryear, but in all other respects, the short’s a scream: fast, funny, impeccably timed, and as brutally obedient to the laws of Looney Tunes physics as ever.
The National Post
In fact, the only thing that got the kids riled up was a new Road Runner short that preceded the feature. Although it lasted only five minutes, the dialogue-free, gleefully wacky toon scored more laughs than any wise-cracking pooch, no matter how famous the voice actor. Out of the mouths of babes indeed.
What Up Doc?
Wanna see what my wife Jess and I have been working on for the past 4 months? And also the reason I haven’t posted diddly on this blog either? Well then check out this shot of Wile E. that Jess lit / comp’d that was featured in the New York freakin’ Times!
LINK: New York Times – What’s Up, Doc? New Looneys
Meanwhile, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote are going back to work in movie theaters in a series of 3-D shorts. The first of these shorts — Warner has approved three, and three more are in development — will play ahead of the movie “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore,” which arrives in theaters July 30.
And the fan response over at Cartoon Brew is pretty awesome too. Fans really seem to be getting excited for the CG shorts! Here are some of my favorite comments…
Rafa says:
The road runner shot looks amazing!
the bugs & daffy, not so much…_______________________________________
lampshade says:
auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh
hey, the CGI shot doesn’t look so bad though
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Fooksie says:
I agree, Rafa. Wile E Coyote looks fantastic.
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erlab says:
I was seriously SCARED of Daffy’s welcoming expression! Now that I know Bugs WILL look like that, I will just have to live with it or ignore the show.
CN is still running the original cartoons in the morning right?
That CG Road Runner series has potential to be really good.
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A.J. says:
The cgi coyote looks pretty nifty!
But Bugs is having a serious tude problem…and his feet and face..wtf?_______________________________________
Taber Dunipace says:
Why is Daffey made of thistles? I hope that Coyote shot is going to be as good as it looks now!
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coyote says:
“The short will be in theatres? That’s great! The shorts were made in India? That’s really unfortunate.”
Don’t worry, the shorts aren’t being made in India. They’re being done by Reel FX in Dallas.
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tgentry says:
I guess I’m just restating what many others have already said, but the genericized, Flash-happy Bugs and Daffy make me incredibly sad. It’s odd that the 3D coyote looks much more organic and cartoon-like than the more trendy and souless look of Bugs and Daffy. Looking forward to the updated Roadrunners.
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mrscriblam says:
i like the coyote cgi shot
looks almost like stop-motion, which is a style i think would work very well for that sketch
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vfx says:
The real fun will be when everyone gets to frame-by-frame through the CG animation to see just how spot on it is to the classic stuff.
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The comments just go on and on. So I’ll let you thumb through them at your own pace.
But I will end with this. To all the fans who love the original Wile E Coyote and Road Runner shorts, the CG shorts will not disappoint. I dare say, you’re going to love them! I’m so proud to be a part of this project, as is every other single person on the team. And we’re putting in the hard work and long hours to do justice to what Chuck Jones brought to life all those years ago.
This is most certainly not all folks 
Just you wait.
Weapons of Mass Pixelation
Using wonderful special effects and combining the upbeat music, Patrick has made a wonderful nostalgic video that features the old style and pixel look into a realistic suburban city with the Pixels taking over. With so much color, sound and things happening at the same time, I really could not attempt to explain what is going on and just urge you to press play and really soak in this amazing creation.
The cool concept aside, this short has some really superb lighting and compositing going on. And I really love the marriage between the 8bit modeling style, and the really high res particle simulations. The shot of the Tetris blocks collapsing the building? Fantastic.
I would love to see a making of!
Please, Patrick…pleaseeeee?