By TREVOR HOGG
Images courtesy of Marvel Studios.
A new black and gold Spider-Man suit channels Eldritch magic.
On June 5, 1962, teenage angst accidentally combined with a radioactive arachnoid in a story published in Amazing Fantasy #15 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Since then, there have been various incarnations of Spider-Man living in different dimensions, but the original one resides in New York City on Earth-616. Swinging from the comic-book page into the live-action domain, the Web Slinger first appeared on the children television show The Electric Company, with the mask and tights being donned by puppeteer and dancer Danny Seagren. Hollywood came knocking when Marvel sold the film rights to Cannon Films in 1985, and six years later James Cameron (The Terminator) submitted a 57-page scriptment. However, the ambition was undermined not by the Sinister Six but the financial collapse of the studio.
Multiverse chaos ensues when Peter Parker (Tom Holland) asks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to turn back time and interrupts the spell.
Subsequently, Marvel licensed the film rights to Columbia Pictures in 1999, paving the way for Sam Raimi (Army of Darkness) and Tobey Maguire to create a trilogy, with Spider-Man 2 (2004) often being listed as one of the greatest comic book adaptations. In 2012, the franchise was relaunched as The Amazing Spider-Man with Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) and Andrew Garfield collaborating on a pair of installments. A dramatic shift occurred as the Marvel Cinematic Universe became a box-office juggernaut worthy of Thanos, and a deal was brokered between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment for Tom Holland to make his MCU debut as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War (2016) as well as a solo venture under the direction of Jon Watts (Cop Car).
Jamie Foxx returns as Electro to cause some multiverse havoc.
“The concept art, previs and postvis has been essential when tackling a project like Spider-Man: No Way Home. We rely on such items as the initial stage to begin the digital builds, which can be quite time consuming. … [S]ince the assets from previous movies had been created years ago, most of these previous assets were used as a reference guide. Also, various visual effects elements associated with specific characters had to be re-developed, and some took on a different look per creative direction.”
—Chris Waegner, Visual Effects Supervisor, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Spider-Man: No Way Home concludes the MCU trilogy that features Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). The entire Hollywood cinematic history of the Wall Crawler becomes part of the storyline thanks to some ill-advised timeline tampering that unleashes the multiverse, thereby allowing the three big screen iterations of the franchise to merge into one blockbuster event. Unlike his reckless egocentric mentor, Tony Stark, the considerate and self-esteem-hampered Peter Parker had no intentions of revealing his secret to the world, but the right to do so was taken away from him when special effects artist turned villain Quentin Beck aka Mysterio frames the high schooler for his murder and reveals the true identity of Spider-Man.
One of the best performances in Spider-Man: No Way Home is Willem Dafoe reviving his role as the Green Goblin.
Adding to the quota of villains are Electro (Jamie Foxx), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Lizard (Rhys Ifans).
Unlike Spider-Man 2, which relied on mechanical arms being puppeteered for Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), Spider-Man: No Way Home made use of CG.
A tabloid maelstrom worthy of the British Royal Family is unleashed, leading to Parker’s every move being the subject of public scrutiny and, in the process, making his friends and family targets of retribution from his growing list of enemies. Wishing his secret had never been revealed, Parker seeks out someone with the same curiosity and willingness to put aside caution as Stark, master of the mystic arts Doctor Strange. The challenge and perilous risk of turning back time is irresistible to Strange, and has second thoughts about his request and disrupts the spell. As a result, separate dimensions collide together bringing forth a multiverse where the multiple variations of the same person can co-exist within the same space.
Someone with a unique perspective on the project is Sony Pictures Imageworks Visual Effects Supervisor Chris Waegner (Men in Black: International) who partnered with Marvel Studios Visual Effects Supervisor Kelly Port (Beauty and the Beast), as well as with Digital Domain, Framestore, Luma Pictures, Crafty Apes, MR. X, Cinesite, Gradient FX, Folks VFX, SSVFX, MARZ and Perception to produce 2,400 shots. Waegner was an uncredited technical adviser on Spider-Man, a lead character setup artist on Spider-Man 2, CG Supervisor on The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Digital Effects Supervisor on Spider-Man: Homecoming. Comments Waegner, “The opportunity of having worked with three great directors and their creative teams on all cinematic franchises has been a wonderful experience. It has given me a wealth of knowledge that I’ve brought with me to the latest instalment depicting the multiverse in Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
“Fortunately, some of these concepts [in the new film] had been explored and visually developed within previous films, creating a visual language that fans can relate to. These previous films have become a great source that we were able to build upon. Often times, this requires new workflows, techniques and specific software development to ensure we meet the creative demands of the creative team.”
—Chris Waegner, Visual Effects Supervisor, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Like Webb, Jon Watts made a name for himself as an indie filmmaker with the crime thriller Cop Car (2015), revolving around two 10-years-olds taking an abandoned cop car for a joyride only to be pursued by a sheriff looking for the missing vehicle. Marvel Studios has gotten in the habit of choosing those with a proven indie track record rather than established Hollywood directors. One theory for this is that Marvel Studios can exert more control over the production, while others suggest that it has to do with the ability for indie filmmakers to develop empathetic characters which are what immerse audience members in the storyline, not the visual effects spectacles. “Jon Watts is very passionate about the story he’s telling and his characters,” notes Waegner. “He’s collaborative and at times will even act out specific actions he feels are important for these characters.” Watts has collaborated through the trilogy with The LEGO Batman Movie screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, twice with Special Effects Supervisor Daniel Sudick (Ant-Man and the Wasp), and welcomed Production Designer Darren Gilford (The King’s Man) and Cinematographer Mauro Fiore (X-Men: Dark Phoenix) into the fold.
An overseer of the overall aesthetic of the MCU since Iron Man (2008) is Ryan Meinerding, Head of Visual Development, Marvel Studios. Upwards of 200 to 300 designs can be done for a character in the MCU before settling on the final version. “One of the fun parts of my job is the notion of knowing that the Iron Man suit could mean something different in the next movie, and figuring out how to make the character design a storytelling opportunity. Sometimes the storytelling is not that important, like the notion of Tony Stark’s armor getting more advanced. However, in other occasions, Captain America is wearing a shield outfit instead of a Captain America costume because he has left behind some of the patriotism that had been part of his previous looks.”
The web slinging and crawling techniques for Spider-Man get more refined with each film.
“The characters themselves all have their own unique style of VFX associated with their abilities. Since this franchise spans across many years, VFX styles for specific characters had to be reinvented, and in some cases refined/changed in order to craft a look toward Jon’s vision. Dr Otto Octavious had a small team associated just to him in order to resurrect the same visual demands with our modern software and pipeline. It was important to the filmmakers and fans that he literally matched to the previous movie.”
—Chris Waegner, Visual Effects Supervisor, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) unleashes the Astral Form of Spider-Man (Tom Holland), which is when the soul exists outside of the body in a parallel dimension.
The Iron Spider Suit makes an appearance featuring a red, blue and gold color palette as well as the high-tech mechanical iron spider arms and nanobots that result in a quick suit transformation. “The concept art, previs and postvis has been essential when tackling a project like Spider-Man: No Way Home,” remarks Waegner. “We rely on such items as the initial stage to begin the digital builds, which can be quite time consuming.” For the most part, adds Waegner, the visual effects created for the previous films were not leveraged, as the technology is constantly evolving. “In some cases, yes, but since the assets from previous movies had been created years ago, most of these previous assets were used as a reference guide. Also, various visual effects elements associated with specific characters had to be re-developed, and some took on a different look per creative direction.”
Magic and the multiverse had their own unique technical challenges. “Concepts like the multiverse require quite a bit of visual research on many levels,” states Waegner. “It’s very important to create something the audience can relate to and is visually fresh. Hours have been spent going through visual media, which can be scientifically-based art concepts and found media, to help create images that are special to the show.” Adding an element of surrealism is the Astral Form, Eldritch magic, portals and Mandelbroting associated with Doctor Strange, leading to the various dimensional versions of the train sequence taking place at the same time. “Fortunately,” says Waegner, “some of these concepts had been explored and visually developed within previous films, creating a visual language that fans can relate to. These previous films have become a great source that we were able to build upon.” Most films requiring high-concept, intense visual effects will need development. “Often times,” Waegner observes, “this requires new workflows, techniques and specific software development to ensure we meet the creative demands of the creative team.
“Sony Picture Imageworks completed approximately 600 shots and many digital assets, with a production time of 10 months,” continues Waegner. “The digital scope of this show is quite vast. We shared many of our digital assets and several were shared with us. Modern software and technology have allowed the ‘shared asset’ concept to work much smoother these days between different VFX facilities.”
A major part of the visual effects centers around the supernatural powers. “The characters themselves all have their own unique style of VFX associated with their abilities,” states Waegner. “Since this franchise spans across many years, VFX styles for specific characters had to be reinvented, and in some cases refined/changed in order to craft a look toward Jon’s vision.” Digital effects have come such a long way that the practical arms which were puppeteered during the making of Spider-Man 2 for Doc Ock are now a CG creation, and de-aging has become a standard practice for the MCU. Says Waegner, “Dr. Otto Octavious had a small team associated just to him in order to resurrect the same visual demands with our modern software and pipeline. It was important to the filmmakers and fans that he literally matched to the previous movie.”
“Having worked on all the previous films, our web slinging and crawling techniques seem to get more refined with each film. In this case some small refinements were implemented achieving the same great results. The efficiencies in this area allowed the team to focus on other needs for the show.”
—Chris Waegner, Visual Effects Supervisor, Sony Pictures Imageworks
There can be no Spider-Man without web shootings, webbing and gravity-defying action. “Having worked on all the previous films, our web slinging and crawling techniques seem to get more refined with each film,” notes Waegner. “In this case some small refinements were implemented achieving the same great results. The efficiencies in this area allowed the team to focus on other needs for the show.”
If Spider-Man: No Way Home can channel the critical and box-office success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, one can expect more multiverse scenarios populating the MCU, as it will literally allow for different dimensions of characters to be explored which will result in unlimited storytelling possibilities. “On a show like this,” says Waegner, “the biggest challenge is to always meet the visual needs of our director and the adoring fans. There’s such a deep rich history with these characters and their individual stories throughout the entire franchise. It’s our responsibility to raise the bar and set a new standard for the franchise.”
2,400 visual effects shots were produced with the magic and the multiverse creating their own set of creative and technical challenges.
By TREVOR HOGG
Special effects team lead Gerd Nefzer created 300 palm leaves that were later engulfed in flames for a brief scene in Dune. (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
The only James Bond outings to receive Oscar nominations for Best Visual Effects were Thunderball and Moonraker, with No Time to Die looking to add to the total. (Image courtesy of EON Productions, United Artists Releasing and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios)
An action adventure about rival fishermen was the first to be acknowledged for outstanding achievement in creating Special Photographic and Sound Effects. The legacy started by Spawn of the North (1938) at the 10th Academy Awards would later see the two different crafts be given their own separate categories with Emil Kosa Jr. receiving the Best Special Visual Effects Award for Cleopatra at the 36th Academy Awards. A sign of what was to come occurred in 1979 when five rather than the usual three nominees vied for the renamed Best Visual Effects Award with two being the first installments of major cinematic franchises: Alien (the winner) and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Five nominees became the standard when Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb took center stage at the Kodak Theatre for Inception.
The past three winners First Man (2018), 1917 (2019) and Tenet (2020) have been rewarded for their ability to seamlessly blend practical and digital effects rather than being pure CG spectacle. As for what to expect at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, 2022 predictions have been complicated by theatrical release dates being like moving targets with an expected nominee Top Gun: Maverick being jettisoned to 2022 while Venom: Let There be Carnage was moved up a couple of weeks. The only certainty is uncertainty. So here, after consulting a number of industry experts to get even a faint pulse of what might happen when the nominees are announced on February 8 are the best guesses for best effects.
One has to wonder what would have happened if Ridley Scott had not left the original production of Dune for family reasons and been replaced by David Lynch. But then Blade Runner would not have come into existence. Serving as a bridge between ‘what if’ and what actually happened is Denis Villeneuve, who directed the sequel Blade Runner 2049, which went on to win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 2017, and got to make his teenage aspiration of re-directing Dune a reality. The story revolves around a spice with supernatural properties, blue-eyed desert inhabitants, giant sandworms, insectoid vehicles, a manipulative galactic empire and a messiah.
Jason Reitman follows in the paranormal footsteps of his father, Ivan Reitman, in bringing Ghostbusters: Afterlife to the big screen. (Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures)
There is a possibility that only covering half of the first book, as well as aspects of the narrative making their way into Star Wars, might work against the production. However, the term ‘visionary’ is not used haphazardly when describing Villeneuve, who is able to create epic worlds that do not overshadow the trials and tribulations of the characters. His emphasis on naturalism, which is built upon real locations and sets that are digitally augmented, will avoid the campy and outdated effects that plagued Lynch, and pave the way to Oscar glory for a second time.
What are going to be the contenders that could possibly usurp House Atreides? Marvel Studios has made a heroic effort with the Phase 4 release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals. Marvel Studios President and COO Kevin Feige has a developed reputation for what are seen to be risky projects that turn out to be box office gold with the prime example being Guardians of the Galaxy, which received one of the 10 Oscar nominations for the MCU when it comes to visual effects; however, the comic book empire that Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko built has yet to see that translated into a win. Shang-Chi features Destin Daniel Cretton utilizing the crowd-pleasing bar-brawling of Captain America with the iconic Vibranium shield replaced by magical bracelets.
The fight choreography is elevated by paying homage to the death-defying Hong Kong action films that pride themselves on showmanship. Much has been said about the bus and scaffolding fights that embody the mischievous spirit and determination of Jackie Chan, which is a welcomed addition to the MCU. As for Eternals, Chloé Zhao follows the Villeneuve philosophy of naturalism and the avoidance of vibrant, saturated colors. She is essentially dealing with celestial beings echoing the Gods of Olympus, with the major exception being that their view of the world comes from ground-level rather than a mountaintop.
Also, banking on the popularity of comic book adaptations is Sony Pictures which has partnered with Marvel Studios on Spider-Man: No Way Home (2018) and gone solo with Venom: Let There be Carnage.
Not surprisingly, epic visuals were created for the rematch between iconic kaiju in Godzilla vs. Kong. (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Jungle Cruise channels the African Queen via Pirates of the Caribbean, which was also inspired by a theme park ride. (Image courtesy of Walt Disney Studios)
By taking cues from Hong Kong martial arts films, the fight sequences in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings rise above what has been seen before in the MCU. (Image courtesy of Marvel Studios)
Doctor Strange brings some of his magic to Spider-Man: No Way Home, such as summoning the astral form of Peter Parker. (Image courtesy of Sony Pictures)
Symbiotes reign supreme with serial killer Cletus Kasady making a pact with the main adversary in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. (Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures)
A dream becomes a reality as Steven Spielberg finally gets to make a musical with his remake of West Side Story. (Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios and Walt Disney Studios)
For the sheer fun factor and nostalgia appeal, the edge has to be given to the quick-witted Web Slinger from New York City. If Jon Watts can capture even half of the innovative and narrative craftmanship exhibited in the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, that will go a long way to satisfying the masses and Academy voters. Just the thought of the various cinematic incarnations of Peter Parker and his adversaries appearing together for the first time is enough to spark giggles of glee, but is also a recipe for utter disaster like Spider-Man 3 which was riddled with the ‘way too many characters’ syndrome despite being directed Sam Raimi.
For the adult crowd craving an R rating rather than a PG13, have no fear as the symbiote that debuted in Spider-Man 3 has gained enough popularity to warrant the Venom sequel directed by Andy Serkis. The true act of wizardry has been the ability to create the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde dynamic without obscuring the performance of Tom Hardy as a mild-mannered investigative journalist having to share his body with an aggressive and perpetually hungry alien parasite. Undoubtedly, the blood and gore factor will be upped as a serial killer portrayed by Woody Harrelson gets infected and fully embraces the opportunity to greatly increase his sociopathic mayhem.
Godzilla vs. Kong, Jungle Cruise and The Suicide Squad would make an interesting threesome battle. The safe bet would be Adam Wingard’s rematch between the iconic Kaiju that became a cultural institution in Japan and later to the entire world. Interestingly, the original King Kong (1933) sparked the discussion about establishing a visual effects award with producer David O. Selznick petitioning the Academy Board of Governors to recognize the groundbreaking work of animator Willis O’Brien. It is a testimony to how far the digital technology has matured that a project like this required no major pipeline overhaul and the artists could focus more on crafting the performances of the creatures. Jungle Cruise by Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra takes place in an African Queen setting and mixes together the Oscar-winning effects of Life of Pi and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest by bringing to life a photorealistic leopard and living-dead buccaneers. When it comes to The Suicide Squad, what is there not to love about Sylvester Stallone voicing a giant shark that is an aquatic manifestation of Rocky Balboa with a much lower IQ and treats his opponents as edible snacks? James Gunn has done a great job in the past of integrating CG characters into the principal cast, in particular a monosyllabic anthropomorphic tree.
Considering the harsh critical reaction to the two sequels, it is hard to imagine Lana Wachowski returning to the franchise that launched her blockbuster career, unlike her sister Lilly who decided to take the blue pill this time around. The Matrix was lauded with an Oscar, while Reloaded (2003) and Revolutions (2003) were not even nominated despite being a training ground for a lot of the top visual effects talent in the industry today. The Matrix Resurrections brings Neo and Trinity back to life by having Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss return to their signature roles. The storytelling ambitions of the Wachowskis always go way beyond the realm of what is physically possible, which means that Reeves and Moss will be surrounded and supported by boundary-pushing technology.
James Gunn is no stranger when it comes to incorporating CG characters into the principal cast, such as the monosyllabic King Shark voiced by Sylvester Stallone in The Suicide Squad. (Image courtesy of Warner Bros.)
David Lowery deserves credit for re-imagining an Arthurian legend on an independent budget that features a talking fox, walking giants and a defiant tree adversary in The Green Knight. (Image courtesy of A24)
Defying their AI overlords, Neo and Trinity resurface once again in The Matrix Resurrections. (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Another franchise revival has become a family affair as Jason Reitman follows in the footsteps of his father, Ivan Reitman, with the release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Homages have been woven into visuals with miniature rather than skyscraper-sized Stay Puft Marshmallow Men making an appearance along with Slimer, an ominous thunderstorm, and the station wagon emblazoned with the Ghostbusters logo. Despite the supernatural premise, both Reitmans use visual effects to heighten the dramatic and comedic situations that reveal something about their characters.
Visual effects are not only found in the action and science fiction genres as they assisted Steven Spielberg in fulfilling his ambition of shooting a musical with his remake of the West Side Story; the closest for him previously was the opening sequence in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). There will be no digital doubles or massive explosions to be simulated, but expect invisible environmental work to get the necessary size and scope that will enhance the already gorgeous cinematography by Janusz Kaminski.
For the outlier that might surprise everybody, David Lowery took the time during the pandemic lockdown to re-edit The Green Knight and added another 60 visual effects shots. The work consists of a talking fox, a tree-like adversary, wandering giants and fantastical landscapes done with an indie budget. That in itself is a major feat worth celebrating.
By IAN FAILES
A Framestore concept frame for Blade Runner 2049. (Image courtesy of Framestore. Copyright © 2017 Warner Bros. Pictures)
We regularly hear about the incredible artistry inside visual effects studios to pull off final shots. But a key step in the VFX component not always discussed is the intricate concept, design and visualization processes carried out within visual effects studios, which often helps shape the particular story being told.
In this roundtable discussion, representatives from Framestore, ILM, Pixomondo, Scanline VFX, Technicolor Creative Studios, TRIXTER and Weta Digital break down their role in this story-shaping process, especially within their internal art departments.
THE PROCESS BEGINS
Daniel Matthews, Concept Artist, TRIXTER: “We will get our very first brief via our internal supervisor on a project, who distills a short, open ‘TL;DR’ version of what’s been discussed with the client. This minimal brief helps us to keep our creativity totally free-flowing, and allows us to cast the widest net possible for ideas. It gives us the freedom to mess up – which is a fantastic thing as an artist – and get bad ideas out of our system. It allows us to brainstorm and build on each other’s ideas as a team. At this stage, ‘happy little accidents’ can happen which often work their way into the final result.”
Mujia Liao, Head of Virtual Art Department/Art Director, Pixomondo Toronto: “Generally, we create mood boards, sketches, illustrations and key art frames that describe a particular moment in the show to help drive the direction for other departments to follow. Aside from creating designs from scratch, we collaborate closely with the asset department. We create paint-overs on renders for quick design changes, mocking up texture/color variations, as well as provide reference photography to help the asset team look dev the character/creature/environment.”
Mujia Liao carried out matte painting work on a hollow-like planet in Star Trek Discovery. (Image courtesy of Pixomondo. Copyright © 2020 CBS Television Studios)
James Clyne, Senior Visual Effects Art Director, ILM: “I don’t think there is a part of the production pipeline that ILM’s art department doesn’t touch. The department is involved in ‘blue sky’ conceptual designs, working directly with the director or with the production designer, sometimes just with the studio. Then we’re involved in everything from character design to vehicle design, prop design, environments and creatures. I think VFX has also allowed filmmakers to make some of the design decisions a little later because we can actually tackle some of those design decisions in post-production like we couldn’t before.”
Martin Macrae, Head of Art Department, Framestore: “As well as designing for projects internally, we’re also able to work independently on projects that don’t necessarily come through the company’s VFX team. Another part of what we do is to help directors put a pitch package together for studio presentations to help get a film greenlit. This will involve discussions with the director to try and establish their vision for the film, taking extracts from early drafts of the script, if there’s one ready, and creating concept art for film beats that evoke the right look and feel for key scenes in the story.”
Leandre Lagrange, Art Director, Technicolor Creative Studios: “We often get pulled in for greenlighting a project. At that point there is no VFX involved at all. Either we’re being reached out to by studios or we already have a VFX supervisor attached to the project who invites us to create images as a pitch to do the final shots. There are lots of different roles we play.”
A ship and plan design illustration crafted by Scanline VFX for Midway. (Image courtesy of Scanline VFX. Copyright © 2019 Lionsgate Ltd.)
A scene from Prometheus in which the art and the final matte painting work melded into one. (Image courtesy of Technicolor Creative Studios. Copyright © 2012 20th Century Fox)
Rodan emerges from a volcano in a concept piece by Technicolor Creative Studios. (Image courtesy of Technicolor Creative Studios. Copyright © 2019 Warner Bros. Pictures)
TRIXTER crafted its artwork over Black Widow plate photography. (Image courtesy of TRIXTER. Copyright © 2021 Marvel)
The final reveal, in TRIXTER concept form, for this Black Widow scene. (Image courtesy of TRIXTER. Copyright © 2021 Marvel)
Jelmer Boskma, Visual Effects Supervisor and Art Director, Scanline VFX: “There have been projects where we were involved early enough to help establish the look and influence the shoot in a way that complemented our ideas and designs wonderfully. Obviously, this is particularly beneficial to us as we can ensure the lighting and general shot setups will translate well later in post. Just as common, though, is for our design services to be requested at a later stage during production. It’s not uncommon for a director to have a change of heart with regards to a certain design, or to find the production’s art department to have simply ran out of time to fully flesh out an idea.”
Sidney Kombo-Kintombo, Animation Supervisor, Weta Digital: “I’m an animation supervisor, but I do lots of previs as well now. It’s even sometimes previs at the end, in the post-production process. It can be previs, postvis and shots all melded into one thing. For example, Marvel always comes up a very strong concept of what they want – ‘Let’s have a dogfight in a canyon.’ They’ll have super-strong art development. But then the missing link is the connection between that strong concept design art and the thrill of the visual. It’s basically taking the strong concept that already exists and adding all the little elements that make that concept visually as interesting as it can be.”
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
James Clyne, ILM: “There are many applications that we use. I would say Photoshop is probably the most dominant, but there’s a lot of 3D applications from Maya to Modo that people are using every day. The strength lies in not just being really good at one thing, but being pretty proficient at not only 2D drawing, but 3D model modelling as well, and being able to do rapid sketching, all the way up to doing photorealistic environments.”
Martin Macrae, Framestore: “It’s a very organic process, every project is done in its own unique way with no set ways to get things done. Artists can use whatever means they need to get an idea out, be it a pencil sketch or a 3D sketch – it doesn’t really matter what tools they use. Concept artists need to be flexible in the way they work as the creative idea is the most important thing to get out, so they have access to any software they need to use. When it comes to software the trend now seems to be Photoshop and Blender, but, again, anything goes.”
ILM’s James Clyne designed this bomber for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. (Image courtesy of ILM. Copyright © 2017 Lucasfilm Ltd.)
For Spider-Man: Far From Home, Scanline helped establish the smokey look of Mysterio’s suit. (Image courtesy of Scanline VFX. Copyright © 2019 Sony Pictures)
The futuristic, and heavily polluted, Las Vegas in Blade Runner 2049 as imagined by Framestore. (Image courtesy of Framestore. Copyright © 2017 Warner Bros. Pictures)
Daniel Matthews, TRIXTER: “Some of my colleagues like to explore 3D with Blender or ZBrush, or even using 3D fractals like Mandelbulbs as a base for their concept art. However, I prefer to start out with free-flow using Photoshop and sketches, which sometimes allows happy accidents to occur. If I want to explore 3D, it’s usually with cool software called 3D Coat.”
Jelmer Boskma, Scanline VFX: “Some artists are more comfortable working in 3D and are able to provide high quality iterations in a highly economic manner that way. Others rely more on their traditional drawing and painting skills to communicate ideas. Certain tasks call for a specific approach, but, in general, whatever gets the job done well in a quick and organized manner wins. Whether that is through painting in Photoshop, sculpting in ZBrush, photo-bashing, a rough 3D render, a mock-up in SketchUp, or most commonly a combination of all of the above.”
Leandre Lagrange, Technicolor: “We do create a lot of FX simulations with 3D tools such as Blender and Vectron to give us a base to work from. With painting skills and photo-manipulations, there’s quite a lot that you can do for concepting those. It’s preferable not to have a Houdini artist go into it on their own and start shooting in the dark because it’s very time consuming and it’s so heavy. The idea is we’re giving them a look and feel and some direction, and then they can work with that. As it goes on, they can create more and more accurate FX simulations based on the images that we create. We have a close relationship with VFX artists for that type of complex FX work.”
Digital matte painting by Mujia Liao for the jawa camp in an episode of The Mandalorian. (Image courtesy of Pixomondo. Copyright © 2019 Lucasfilm Ltd.)
Concept by Mujia Liao for Midway. (Image courtesy of Pixomondo. Copyright © 2019 Lionsgate Ltd.)
A development frame by Framestore for Pan. (Image courtesy of Framestore. Copyright © 2015 Warner Bros. Pictures)
Sidney Kombo-Kintombo, Weta Digital: “I storyboard a lot. I always try to have a really quick visual sketch of what I’m after. So Photoshop is a big part of it, just like any concept artist will do. But right after that it’s straight into Maya [for previs or postvis]. The best way to make sure that you’re not going to hit any hiccups is to make sure that you are doing this in the software package that will be used ultimately for the shots.”
KEY PROJECTS, KEY CHALLENGES
Daniel Matthews, TRIXTER: “The photostatic veil in Black Widow stayed in the refinement stage for a long time. As they say, 20% of the work takes 80% of the time. We had a rough idea of the look we were aiming for, but of course we wanted to make something new, exciting and as good as possible. The idea was to make this mask look like one of those peel-off self-care masks, with the ability to make the wearer look like someone else entirely. There was also the matter of finding the right shapes. In the end, we settled for the hexagon pattern, which fans say is a shape that features heavily in the Marvel Universe. We definitely get it – hexagons look great, have a futuristic tech-y feel and fit together neatly.”
Jelmer Boskma, Scanline VFX: “We worked on designs for Mysterio’s smokey FX appearance in Spider-Man: Far From Home. We provided concept illustrations in which we tried to capture the look and feel of the effect as much as possible within the constraints of a still image. For FX like these, illustrations only provide part of the solution. Much of the final design is based on the motion, timing and behavior of the simulation. We find that approaching design challenges like this from multiple angles is essential to finding the answer for a director. As a general principle, we like to instill as much real-world reference and logic into any design to give the idea a grounding in reality.”
A sunken boat dining room concept by Scanline VFX for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. (Image courtesy of Scanline VFX. Copyright © 2016 20th Century Fox)
An ILM concept for one of the conquistador characters in Jungle Cruise. (Image courtesy of ILM. Copyright © 2021 Walt Disney Pictures)
Sidney Kombo-Kintombo, Weta Digital: “On the canyon chase in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, we tried to see what we could change in the original design of the canyon to make that a more thrilling experience. The first thing I do is go to dogfight reference – Star Wars comes to mind, and Japanese anime. We say, ‘How can we make this interesting?’ I try to come up with the idea for the sequence first and then the environment that makes that idea shine. We rebuilt the canyon from scratch. We did that in the animation department. Usually, the build comes out of modeling and layout, but here it was more a rough model of blocks of rocks done in the animation stage. Animation then passed it back to modeling who adjusted it. It’s a different way of creating the same type of work.”
Leandre Lagrange, Technicolor: “For Prometheus, some of our pieces of artwork were actually concepted by an artist who had a digital matte painting (DMP) background. So, they would actually end up being projected and used in the final VFX shots in the film. Then on Godzilla: King of the Monsters, for example, we worked on an image of Rodan emerging from a volcano. For that we used a design that was already done by Amalgamated Dynamics. We used their design and then built on top of that to make an image. That was more about making a key frame.”
Mujia Liao, Pixomondo: “On The Mandalorian, we worked on several environments on the planet of Arvala-7, a very barren, desert-like planet covered in wet mud, home to creatures like the iconic Blurrgs. I turned to what I knew best and ended up matte painting the looks we needed for approval. We looked closely at a large number of deserts and found some good images of Atacama Desert after rainfall, although none really provided us with the level of detail we needed. Our CG Supervisor, Winrik Haentjens, then came across this area in Toronto’s Scarborough Bluffs with snow that was just starting to melt, creating these streams that flowed across a muddy surface, giving us some beautiful natural-looking erosion shapes. We took lots of photos of that area and created photogrammetry of the details, and that became the foundation to the closeup areas of Arvala.”
Martin Macrae,
Head of Art Department,
Framestore
Jelmer Boskma, Visual Effects Supervisor/Art Director, Scanline VFX
Sidney Kombo-Kintombo, Animation Supervisor, Weta Digital
Mujia Liao, Head of Virtual Art Department/Art Director, Pixomondo Toronto
Leandre Lagrange, Head of Art Department, Technicolor Creative Studios
Daniel Matthews, Concept Artist, TRIXTER
James Clyne, Senior Visual Effects Art Director, ILM
A New Dawn in the VFX Art Department
The rise of virtual production has introduced many chang- es to the way visual effects studios operate. LED volume and stage work in particular require some of the final pixel VFX shot work to be carried out upfront – before shooting – rather than traditionally in post.
This means that some production companies and visual effects studios have now launched virtual art departments, or VADs. For example, Weta Digital established a VAD-like department out of work on Avatar and Tintin, with a formal VAD on The BFG, while Lucasfilm and ILM ramped up a VAD with The Mandalorian. Other studios such as Pixomondo have followed suit.
“With the same emphasis in visual development and pre-production, the VAD focuses on not only design but creation of real-time assets from initial lookdev to produc- tion-ready models and environments for virtual production,” details Mujia Liao, Head of Virtual Art Department/Art Director at Pixomondo Toronto.
“We process practical scans and create custom assets to block out initial environments, allowing our clients to do virtual scouts and pre-light early on. In addition to the pre- liminary environment build, the VAD will also supply close to final key visuals by over-painting and hand-off design packages including photographic references and mood boards. This design package and early environment build sets a solid foundation for our virtual production and VFXteams to take further into fully realized worlds.”
Martin Macrae, Framestore: “Blade Runner 2049 was a definite highlight for all of us. For Vegas, we worked initially from designs coming from the production designer and Syd Mead sketches, and working closely with VFX we set to work designing everything from large buildings right down to street-level details, also designing the spinner drone that flew over the city – everything was thought out. We generated hundreds of sketches, paintings and 3D models, all with the purpose to help finalize a look for this sequence so the Montreal team could generate the final shots. As an art department we worked on Blade Runner for over a year and loved every second of it!”
James Clyne, ILM: “On The Last Jedi we had to design this bomber. We were asking ourselves, what is a Star Wars bomber? How does that work in space? I started developing something that had a vertical bomb bay rather than a typical horizontal one. The director, Rian Johnson, said, ‘I like the idea, but you’re going to have to really show me that it works.’ So we went back to the drawing board and did drawings and models of it. It was story driving the design rather than the design driving the story. Through discussions and weeks and weeks building out what this could be, it became what you saw in the movie, which was amazing.”
By TREVOR HOGG
Images courtesy of Lynwen Brennan and Lucasfilm.
Lynwen Brennan, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Lucasfilm.
Looking at the responsibilities of Lucasfilm Executive Vice President & General Manager Lynwen Brennan, which involves overseeing Lucasfilm, ILM and Skywalker Sound, one could imagine her head spinning around in bewilderment, but via Zoom she has a ready smile and good sense of humor. “Sometimes it does feel like that! I have an amazing team that helps to keep me on track.”
San Francisco is half a world away from Tenby, Wales where Brennan was the youngest of three born to two school teachers. “It’s as far away from Heathrow Airport as you could possibly get on that island. Everybody knows everybody. My childhood was spent either in the harbor, on the beach or on a boat. My dad was a larger-than-life personality. I got my drive and values of being respectful and interested in other people from him. My mum was definitely the organizer and her work ethic is a thing to behold even now at the age of 84.”
Music rather than movies had a big influence on the family. “My sister and niece are music teachers,” states Brennan, who is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. “Those experiences of playing in orchestras and being involved in a team at such an early age, having those social experiences and having that self-motivation to do your part and practice were hugely important. I play the piano every day. It was the first instrument that I learned. I played the violin and viola in the orchestra, which I still play but not well.” Tenby had one cinema that has since closed down. “I was a [Girl Guide] Brownie when my father took us to see Jaws. Bear in mind I was in a coastal town and spent my whole life on a boat. I was terrified to go into the sea or to even have a bath for ages afterwards! That was the first one I remember going to see. Watching movies became a social thing with friends. When there was a good movie on terrestrial TV, we would get together to watch it. When we were able to get VHS tapes, I watched E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Grease over and over again. Then I got into wanting to actually understand more about movies and what I should be watching, like Casablanca and Citizen Kane.”
Her career path to the movie industry was paved by accidents. “I did biology and geography at the University of London and specialized more on the ecology side,” remarks Brennan. “I was interested in the history behind human behavior and how that leads to either sustainable land use practices or environmental damage. I had intended to take a year off after university and return to do a Masters or PhD or go into law.
Brennan with ILM leadership team Hal Hickel and John Knoll posing with the Oscars and VES Awards won by ILM.
The week after I graduated, I went to a local theme park with some friends and fell off of a rollercoaster. It took me about a year to learn how to walk again. In that time my brother, who had been working in broadcast television graphics, had an idea to do some software for film visual effects. He was thinking about setting up Parallax Software and asked me if I would help him. There were only five us in the beginning. I was doing everything from hiring people, payroll, customer support, marketing, public relations, office management to sales. About nine months later, we went to our first tradeshow and Doug Smythe at ILM was looking for the type of paint and roto software that we had created, called Matador. ILM was our first customer and Jurassic Park was the first film that they used it on. I remember sitting in the theater, seeing that Brontosaurus walk onto the screen, and thinking, ‘This is what I’m going to do, and I’m going to work at ILM one day.’”
Parallax Software was sold to Avid Technology in 1995. “I stayed there for two years and was then asked to work for Alias Wavefront for a period of time,” recalls Brennan. “Cliff Plumer, who had worked at Parallax with us, was at ILM and called me about an entry level job and asked if I wanted to assist them to gear up for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. I thought, ‘I’ll do that for six months and then go back to the U.K.’ That was 22 years ago and I’m still here. Much has and hasn’t changed, which is the way we like it at ILM. I started as a Technical Area Leader for the Computer Graphics Technical Directors. A lot of the time then was hiring artists and figuring out how to scale the crewing systems that we had to handle multiple shows at one time. As things began consolidating, growing and requiring efficiency within the way that we ran the computer graphics side of things, I organically absorbed new responsibilities. I worked my way through the entire pipeline. Eventually, while I was on maternity leave, Chrissie England told me that she was intending to retire and would like me to take on the presidency [of ILM]. I would have a nice ramp in to learn the ropes from her, and she was generous with her contacts and training me on how to work with clients to get their visions on the screen.”
A radical shift had to be made to the business model of ILM as global tax incentives as high as 40% became important in attracting clients. “We grew our Singapore office, pivoted away from games and animation, and focused that team on full pipeline visual effects,” explains Brennan. “This was right around the time of the acquisition by Disney, and George Lucas brought Kathleen Kennedy in.
Brennan with the Marvel Studios leadership team of
Victoria Alonso, Peyton Reed, Kevin Feige and Joe Russo.
Brennan is interviewed by Andi Gutierrez of The Star Wars Show during the 2019 “Star Wars Celebration” in Chicago.
The Tech Building of Skywalker Sound, located at Skywalker Ranch in Lucas Valley, near Nicasio, California.
The Perfect Storm was a project that nearly brought ILM to its knees.
The advancements in digital effects have come along way from Star Wars, which was entirely optical, to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which features CG spaceships.
We were going to make movies again, and wherever shooting was taking place we had to make sure that ILM had a studio there. We expanded into London, Vancouver and more recently to Sydney. That was a huge shift from a management perspective to figure out how do you scale as a global company and keep the DNA that is ILM, but also allow those studios to have a unique character. How do you share work across shots, sequences or shows between studios in different time zones? Also, how do we keep our San Francisco studio feeling energized that its not their jobs going away, and when we’re saying that we are committed to staying in California, we really mean it. San Francisco is as big now as it was then. The part that hasn’t changed is the spirit of loving impossible things, and we’ll figure it out together. John Knoll always says, ‘A good idea is always a good idea no matter where it comes from.’ That is the mantra of ILM. I love that constant striving to push the envelope and to do better. There is never a sense that we know it all, and you can sit back and rest on your laurels.”
“Everybody in visual effects knows that it is not an easy business to run and stay profitable,” observes Brennan. “You have to have a clear vision of what is your North Star. We want to be putting images on the screen that delight audiences and enthuse our clients. We want to be delivering to our directors things that are even better than what they had already imagined. We also want to be looking for work that isn’t just what we’ve done over and over again. We do 15 projects at one time right now, so not everything is something that we haven’t done before, but there is probably an element of it in everything that we do. I will often say when we have taken on something that is hard and the financials are looking scary, ‘Remember why we took it on.’ You’re looking ahead of what you’re going to need, what the problems are, trying to solve them in advance, and you move things around in the company as you need to.
A scene from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Brennan’s first job at ILM was as a Technical Area Leader for the Computer Graphics Technical Directors.
Brennan joined ILM as Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was about to begin production.
The gamble of relying on StageCraft paid off for the production of The Mandalorian.
We have amazing producers who are making sure that we are focusing the resources on where the problems are going to be. Also try to minimize the amount of time that you waste. If we have a full pipeline, there is a lot of leeway in terms of efficiency. If you don’t have a full pipeline, then you lose money very quickly over the year.”
Brennan is fascinated by the Music and Sound Design Lab that Skywalker Sound does in partnership with the Sundance Institute. “One of the things I love about Skywalker Sound is when they take a scene and do different takes on the audio, whether that be different editing or mix or music, and how you feel differently depending on what the sound choices are made; it brings to the forefront how important sound is. Lucasfilm’s films and series are places where sound have shone, and have been celebrated and noticed by the general audience.” Skywalker Sound works on 200 projects each year. “Some of the tools have changed and the ability to work remotely as freelancers. Not everything has to be done on a big mix stage; that has enabled some expansion and democratization of the sound industry. But when you go to Skywalker Sound there is so much that hasn’t changed. It is so much about collaboration and experimentation.”
Everything is done holistically from the storytelling to business decisions. “We think about what stories we are going to tell on all of these different platforms,” remarks Brennan. “Assets from ILM, our console games and ILMxLAB live in a central platform so there is a playbox that we can work with. Utilizing game and real-time technology, whether that would be Unreal Engine in combination with our own real-time engine Helios, we use the best tool for the job. Because virtual production demands for us to push the envelope in terms of the visual fidelity and the interactivity that is needed to move the camera and manipulate in real-time, it has helped us to be able to think beyond that and how entertainment might evolve.
The Jedi known as F summons the Force in Star Wars: Visions episode “The Village Bride,” animated by Kinema Citrus.
Brennan is responsible for marketing the various franchises of Lucasfilm, which includes establishing a creative partnership with anime studios to produce Star Wars: Visions.
“I’m excited about where the future could go,” she continues. “Having various platforms to tell nuanced and targeted stories for different audiences and genres opens up the playfield so widely. Then also our job is to be good stewards of that so that we open it up in a thoughtful way. There is variety, but it’s not confusing, overwhelming or too much. The quality always has to stay high, which is Kathleen Kennedy’s mantra. The fact that we also have Skywalker Sound, ILM and ILMxLAB means that we have this creative community within Lucasfilm that we can bring to bear for our directors.”
Grogu becoming the breakout star on The Mandalorian was immensely satisfying for Brennan.
A huge moment for Brennan was the production of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Several career highlights stand out for different reasons. “I still remember that moment of walking through the door,” recalls Brennan. “Of my years at ILM, the projects that I remember are the ones which were really hard because we were doing something new and difficult. The Perfect Storm nearly brought us to our knees! You come out of that with this amazing sense of commandry. Star Wars: The Force Awakens was definitely a huge moment to be part of. The Mandalorian was another one of those moments. When we went all in on StageCraft, we didn’t know if it was going to work. Then to see how the series was embraced. Seeing Dave Filoni do live-action directing was a wonderful highlight as well. Even the decisions around Grogu, where we were part of a secret and couldn’t wait for the audience to see him. He went so beyond what we had hoped. There are so many highlights. I’ve been incredibly lucky with my career and the people I work with.”
By TREVOR HOGG
Images courtesy of Lionsgate and Centropolis Entertainment.
Director Roland Emmerich on the set of Moonfall. (Photo: Reiner Bajo/Lionsgate)
Whether it be an alien invasion in Independence Day, a raging Kaiju in Godzilla or the environmental catastrophe of The Day After Tomorrow, German filmmaker Roland Emmerich has gained a reputation of being able to destroy the world in creative ways. The cinematic tradition is carried over into Moonfall where a mysterious force knocks our lunar neighbor out of orbit and on a collision course with Earth. It is up to NASA executive Jo Fowler (Halle Berry), astronaut Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) and conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) to save the day, and in the process of doing so they make a surprising cosmic discovery. Reuniting the team behind Midway, which includes Production Designer Kirk M. Petruccelli (The Space Between Us), Visual Effects Supervisor Peter G. Travers (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Special Effects Supervisor Guillaume Murray (Crisis), Emmerich has crafted a $140-million independently-funded action-adventure with a cerebral twist.
A different global disaster occurred during pre-production in Montreal as the pandemic caused the project to temporarily shutdown. “When I prepared the movie, I had 74 days to shoot, but then I had to figure out what to cut out to be able to afford the COVID-19 costs of $6.5 million,” states Emmerich. “For an independent film, you can’t go to a bank and ask for more money. I ended up with 61 shooting days. There were no compromises. I just shot faster.”
Re-igniting the public imagination and interest in outer space is the emergence of space tourism. “NASA read the script and supported us,” says Emmerich. “It took us three or four years to get the script right because it’s such an out-there story and we needed to give it some reality.
The Endeavour space shuttle encounters debris as it approaches the surface of the Moon.
I read a book called Who Built the Moon? by Christopher Knight and Alan Butler, and thought, ‘Maybe there’s a movie here.’ We made our own series. If you only do a story about the Moon falling down to Earth, that is a disaster movie. We wanted to do something deeper and more exciting than that.”
Even though Moonfall has been described by Emmerich as being a mix of 2012 and Independence Day, a cinematic classic from Stanley Kubrick casts a long shadow. “2001: A Space Odyssey is a seminal movie because it was not only a science fiction film, but also about the origins of life. In that perspective, Moonfall is closely connected to 2001,” Emmerich comments. “I knew by 2022 that nobody would go to the Moon. We figured that the space shuttles would get pulled out of a museum and, within a crazy time schedule, be put back together and sent up there. We thought about what problems that they could have, and that was a cool factor to make this realistic.” The spectacle has to be balanced with the human aspect, he observes. “The biggest problem for any movie that has spectacle is figuring out how much character can you infuse and how much character do people want to have? I’ve been battling with this all of my life! You try to be true to the characters, and we got good actors involved like Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, Donald Sutherland, Michael Peña and John Bradley. Halle would say, ‘I wouldn’t say that line.’ Then you have discussions about it, and most of the time something better comes out of it. The cast worked with us to make this real.”
“Moonfall has 1,700 visual effects shots. You have to plan exactly what you want to do, because visual effects companies are already working on these shots while you’re shooting the movie. It is like a dance, but because I’ve been doing this for 40 years I’ve gotten good at it.”
—Roland Emmerich, Director
The Endeavour space shuttle docks at the International Space Station.
“If you only do a story about the Moon falling down to Earth, that is a disaster movie. We wanted to do something deeper and more exciting than that.”
—Roland Emmerich, Director
As part of the emergency response the space shuttle is recommissioned and retrofitted.
Sets had to be redesigned to accommodate COVID-19 protocols dealing with social distancing. “For instance, in the spacecraft, the chairs had to be four feet away from each other, whereas normally I would have them tighter together,” states Petruccelli. “Roland set into motion every nuance and dynamic that had to be enacted. 135 sets were built on six stages at Grandé Studios in Montreal as well as on a couple of filler stages at MELS Studios. Four to five sets were shot each day. Every set was specifically crafted with the visual effects team in mind. Roland thinks far beyond the physical structure. It all has to integrate with the post-production process. He is masterful at that.” Parts of Colorado had to be recreated onstage because location shooting was minimal. “We had to come in and know when we could use one section of the stage, move it to another section, and rotate pieces of it away to create another set,” says Petruccelli. “There were dedicated stages to space travel that were clean environments. We had to rebuild several locations in Los Angeles, including the planetarium, because everything was so dependent on atmospherics that would occur with the visual effects.”
Designs were based on reality and physics. “Roland loves the fact that truth and reality set us apart from pure fantasy and sci-fi,” remarks Petruccelli. “Things that occur in space are in a vacuum, while things on Earth are being manipulated by the forces that the Moon bears if this [catastrophic event] should happen.” Sets had to be designed to accommodate the physics, he says. “If you’re in a motel in Santa Monica, we had to be west-facing because the water would be coastal. We had to calculate how the water would impact the set, and integrate the volume of water with a bigger event. We talked to experts at NASA about what was the actual load capacity of the space shuttle.” A museum in Florida supplied an original space shuttle cockpit. “We made it usable for us to do the weightless scenes,” enthuses Emmerich. “That was some of the most complicated stuff that we did in the whole movie, because when you sit in a tight set interesting decisions have to be made on how to do it.”
The shooting methodology has evolved for Emmerich. “I’m not doing much floor effects anymore because I know later in visual effects you can do them much better,” he says. “For example, if you have snow flurries I only shoot with wind and leave the rest to visual effects.” Special effects still have an on-set presence. “Roland has clear ideas about how he wants to do things and make them work on-set and onscreen,” states Guillaume Murray. “That gives us the right tools to polish those mechanical effects for him. It has to be quick, efficient and easy to re-set. Most of the rigs that we do are modeled in 3D. The printing aspect will be used for prop building. CNC machines are utilized for all of the mechanical parts.” Motion control systems assisted with the zero gravity effects, Murray adds. “We built a robot and used motion control that allowed us to puppeteer actors or stunt people in the shot, and do it in a way where we didn’t need to stop and program every move on set.
“The Moon being out of alignment created the need for a lot of mechanical effects for the scenes on Earth,” continues Murray. “We had lots of people, cars and tents flying in every direction. There were a lot of body shells to avoid the cables that would cross faces. The majority of the practical elements were captured during the shoot.” Two space vehicles were fabricated with the art department, Murray adds. “Those set pieces were placed on tilt rigs so we could bring them up to 45 degrees for take-off scenes, and there were shaky motors to get everything shaking inside. The largest rig that we built was a tsunami. We had a 45-foot-high tip tank with two tanks each containing 3,200 gallons of water that could be dumped into a ramp right into the hotel lobby and wipe out whoever was there.”
DNEG and Framestore looked after space while Earth was handled by Scanline VFX and Pixomondo.
“Roland loves the fact that truth and reality set us apart from pure fantasy and sci-fi. Things that occur in space are in a vacuum, while things on Earth are being manipulated by the forces that the Moon bears if this should happen.”
—Kirk M. Petruccelli, Production Designer
Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) stands before a misplaced Chrysler Building from New York City.
Three different color palettes were devised with Earth being organic, while space was chromatic and clean and the Moon colorless. “I was responsible for every digital asset that would be later used in post, so the creation of the post-production was happening far earlier in pre-production than you would imagine,” explains Petruccelli, who did 3D modeling in Maya. “The previsualization was so detailed that it was almost photoreal. You could understand what Roland was going to do and how best to tell the story. Every set was digitally created for visual effects, and then we isolated from it what had to be physically constructed to meet the needs of where Roland wanted to go.” Previs was created for every visual effects sequence. “My previs crew, visual effects supervisor and I talked about the purpose of the scene, how to build the environment and what’s happening, and then I set cameras,” explains Emmerich. “Once in a while it works. If it doesn’t work, we change it. It’s a tedious process that takes four to five months. Moonfall has 1,700 visual effects shots. You have to plan exactly what you want to do, because visual effects companies are already working on these shots while you’re shooting the movie. It is like a dance, but because I’ve been doing this for 40 years I’ve gotten good at it.”
As with the principal photography, the entire visual effects work was done in Montreal with Peter G. Travers supervising the contributions of DNEG, Framestore, Pixomondo and Scanline VFX. “You could make an easy argument that Montreal is the new hub for visual effects,” says Travers. “Considering the work that we needed and the amount people at certain facilities, Framestore and DNEG became ideal choices to add to Scanline and Pixomondo, which have longstanding relationships with Roland.”
Destruction, fires and looting occur around the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) is surrounded by a mysterious force that caused the Moon to fall towards Earth.
In order to accommodate costs of the COVID protocols Roland Emmerich shot the entire project in 61 days rather than the originally planned-for 74.
DNEG and Framestore looked after space, while Earth was handled by Scanline VFX and Pixomondo. “There were clear lines. Two vendors never worked on the same shot, but assets were shared with the space shuttle being the biggest one.” Travers enjoys being able to research a different subject matter for each movie that he works on. “For this one, I learned every aspect about the Moon. There was an important process that happened in the beginning with Roland. The Moon falling towards the Earth is fantastical; however, what I ended up doing was building a physics simulation in Maya based on the question, ‘If the Moon gains more mass, could we get it to fall with actual physics?’ And we were able to do it.”
Maya is an actual physics simulator. “I built an accurate version of the Moon orbiting the Earth based on Newtonian physics,” explains Travers. “I constructed different virtual cameras showing the same simulation. Then I started messing with the physics of the Moon to see if I could get it to fall. Roland had certain requests, like having the Moon crash into the Earth in three weeks, which in essence is a design factor that got built into the simulation. What we discovered is that it’s not a perfect spiral orbit but elliptical. It was fascinating to learn what the Moon could do under these conditions. In rare instances when the Moon would be so close, you would be pulled 2Gs of gravity sideways while you’re being pulled down. There is a key sequence where the gravity is extremely unusual. This simulation ended up being our physics bible, but within that there is a certain wiggle room. But generally speaking, this was scary enough. We were also using my different cameras for actual moon size throughout the movie.”
LED panels were rigged on cranes and were constantly configured around the windows of the spacecrafts. “It got challenging because Roland wanted to shoot a master shot,” remarks Travers. “It just happened that outside there would be 10 significant events going on while these pages of dialogue were going on. We had to prep ahead of time content that would be done in Maya and be fed into the LED panels; then we would be cueing them editorially. Sometimes we were fed directly into Maya if the camera needed to be changed. There is a scene when one of the crafts is rotating quickly, so we had to have the sun rotating rapidly. We ran the sun across the LED panels. We were constantly figuring out ways to use these panels for lighting, and in some rare instances they would directly show up in camera.” The biggest design challenge was the Moon, states Travers. “I can’t [for spoiler reasons] reveal what aspect of it. It’s the best part of the movie. There is a sense of wonder. Of course, none of this is possible without Roland because he goes to places and shows us things that we have never seen before. That’s literally why we go to the theaters to watch a popcorn movie. This is what Moonfall has.”
By NAOMI GOLDMAN
Eric Roth
Visual Effects Society Executive Director Eric Roth has had a front row seat to the dynamic global VFX industry and a major role in the Society’s growth, serving at the helm of the organization’s staff for 18 years. VFX Voice sat down with Roth to get his perspectives as the Society celebrates its 25th Anniversary.
What stands out for you as key achievements in the evolution of the Society?
On one level, it’s the tangible elements and events that have become synonymous with the Society – our award-winning VFX Voice magazine, three editions of the VES Handbook of Visual Effects, developing extraordinary VES Awards shows, our VES Honors Program and Hall of Fame, and our volunteer Committees who do important work for our organization. But on a broader sense, it’s the continuing healthy growth of the organization in terms of membership and reach. When I assumed this role, we were about 750 people, mostly situated in California; now we have more than 4,000 members in over 40 countries and 14 Sections worldwide. We are a vibrant organization that truly embodies a great sense of worldwide community for our profession. That is what I’m most proud of.
VES Awards Show host Patton Oswalt and VES Executive Director Eric Roth meet up for their annual on-stage banter.
One of the goals of the organization is to raise the profile, recognition and respect level of the visual effects industry – how are we doing in meeting those marks?
This pursuit has been one of the most dramatic efforts during my tenure. Right now, I think there is a common understanding across all sectors of entertainment that the industry’s biggest star is visual effects, which is reflected in the size of every show’s budget and what fans want to see. Hit after hit owes so much to the amazing artists who consistently deliver remarkable effects and imagery and make the impossible… possible. And as we keep forging ahead into streaming platforms and the demand for content is exploding, the future for VFX is seemingly limitless.
Tell us about the leadership of the VES Board over the years.
A huge blessing of my tenure has been working with our volunteer leaders serving on the Board in all capacities, and certainly the six people who have held the title of Chair – each of them singularly remarkable leaders. We strive to focus on issues of importance at the intersection of art, technology and business. The passion, knowledge and determination of these leaders to ensure the Society progresses have been essential as we work to represent the industry, the VFX craft and our membership.
At almost two decades as Executive Director, what does your VES legacy look like?
There are specific projects I want to see to fruition, and creating a VFX Digital Museum is at the top of my list. From interviews with luminaries to techniques and VFX props to befores/afters on awards submissions and our own rich history – I want to make sure these assets are preserved and available to our members and the rest of the world in a fun, accessible way. I also want to continue providing valuable benefits to support our members in their professional and personal lives, and our new Member Assistance Program providing health and lifestyle support 24/7 is the kind of programming I want to keep fostering. Ultimately, I’m now most interested in those projects that will stand the test of time so that my successors 30 years from now will look back and feel they have a strong foundation for the work and goals they want to achieve.
How has the VES innovated during the protracted pandemic?
With heads of the tech revolution and early adopters among our ranks, our industry pivoted quickly to tell stories in new and creative ways. And the Society shifted almost immediately into producing a wealth of online content, with dozens of dynamic webcasts and virtual events including a digital spin on the VES Awards. It was important that we maintain our traditions, while pushing the envelope of the pandemic’s constraints. The lessons we have learned to adapt and stay resilient have been invaluable.
We’re also coming up on the 20th Annual VES Awards. What is the magic of this annual event?
The VES Awards is a huge point of pride for me and my producing partner in crime Jeff Okun, as well as the VES Awards Committee, who work year-round to refine the Rules and Procedures that govern the Awards. The magic is the excitement and energy of the crowd. Every year, quieting the ballroom to start the show is a major feat, because people are so excited to be together, if only for one night. When I walk through the crowd and look at the audience from atop the stage, I feel like I am home with family.
What are some moments that stand out from these star-studded VES Awards?
So many. That time I flubbed Ridley Scott’s name and (then Fox Studios Chair) Jim Gianopulos stood up in the ballroom and called me out, mid-speech. Wafting in and out of greenroom conclaves between Jimmy Kimmel and Mark Hamill. Watching intimate moments, like Roger Corman swapping stories backstage with VES Board Chairs Jeff Okun and Mike Chambers. My annual shtick with our wonderful and sharp-tongued perennial host, Patton Oswalt. And moments that change our course, like when Steven Spielberg took the stage and passionately urged us to honor the next generation of artists. And by the following year, the VES-Autodesk Student Award was born. I’m grateful for every moment.
Can you share any closing thoughts?
The number one biggest strength and pleasure is working with extraordinary staff and passionate volunteer leaders as we serve our Board and Sections. We would never be able to pay for the caliber of award-winning artists and innovators who are on this journey with us, simply because they believe in who we are and what we do. I’ve been in the catbird’s seat for 18 years, and I’m the luckiest guy in the industry.
By NAOMI GOLDMAN
VES Chairs group Zoom shot. Clockwise from left: Jim Morris, VES; Carl Rosendahl; Jeffrey A. Okun, VES; Jeff Barnes; Mike Chambers, VES; Lisa Cooke; and Eric Roth, with roundtable anchor Naomi Goldman.
From its ambitious inception in late 1996 with a few hundred members in Los Angeles to a flourishing global honorary society with more than 4,000 members in over 40 countries, the Visual Effects Society is proud to celebrate its milestone 25th Anniversary and the exemplary VFX community whose contributions have made the Society what it is today. As the entertainment industry’s only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners, the VES has built a rich legacy by advancing the arts, science and application of visual effects, improving the welfare of its members, celebrating VFX excellence and serving as a resource to the ever-changing global marketplace.
The Society has demonstrated its commitment to elevating the craft of visual effects and its practitioners in numerous ways, including:
• Giving birth to a tight-knit global community and 14 diverse VES Sections – Australia, Bay Area, France, Georgia, Germany, India, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, New Zealand, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington;
• Publishing three editions of the industry’s go-to VFX reference, The VES Handbook of Visual Effects, and launching its award-winning print and digital magazine VFX Voice;
• Establishing the VES Hall of Fame and VES Honors program to recognize exceptional contributions to the Society and VFX community;
• Developing valuable programming that educates, inspires and uplifts, including a wealth of virtual content featuring the VFX Pros: Home Edition and VES-Autodesk Ask Me Anything: VFX Pros Tell All webcast series;
• Hosting the VFX industry’s must-attend Annual VES Awards, which recognizes outstanding VFX talent and fosters the next generation of filmmakers;
• And finding new ways to support and invest in our members, with mentoring, skills building, educational and health and wellness resources.
VES CHAIRS, ASSEMBLE!
Six distinguished professionals have served as VES Board Chair over the past 25 years, shepherding the VES’s impressive roster of programs and initiatives in conjunction with staff and Section managers. VFX Voice gathered all the chairs, with VES Executive Director Eric Roth, to share some reflections and insights. This small club of esteemed volunteer VES leaders includes: Jim Morris, VES – President, Pixar Animation Studios (and Founding VES Chair); Carl Rosendahl – Distinguished Professor of Practice and Director of the Entertainment Technology Center’s Silicon Valley campus; Jeffrey A. Okun, VES – renowned visual effects supervisor; Jeff Barnes – Executive Vice President, Creative Development, Light Field Lab; Mike Chambers, VES – acclaimed visual effects producer and consultant; and Lisa Cooke – animation and VFX producer.
Morris: The origin story: In the late ’90s, all of the studios were rolling into VFX and there was tremendous momentum, but we often felt like second-class citizens. The timing felt right to teach the industry about what we do, improve our standing and find a form for honoring the contributors to our industry. Building relationships among artists and practitioners was essential to our business, and so there was great support and acceptance to share our experiences and elevate our craft. Bringing VFX to the forefront and being part of the VES’s genesis – and this esteemed group – is a great point of pride for me.
Rosendahl: In taking the mantle from Jim, who helped realize the foundational vision for the Society, I focused on building the infrastructure… the processes and procedures that would help us mature from our infancy into a stable and sustainable organization. I was tasked with heading our recruiting committee, which ultimately brought on Eric Roth as Executive Director. Now 18 years in his tenure, I see hiring Eric as one of my biggest accomplishments.
Okun: The Awards show was really Jim’s baby… and it was a journey getting to that first show, with 350 people at the Skirball Center, to where we are today. Little known fact: we crowd-sourced the design of the award itself. One of our members came up with the Georges Méliès moon face idea, and here’s what’s unique – the back of the award is the back of a set with chicken wire and the whole thing lights up. Our award won an award for awards! What’s most gratifying is walking into the room on Awards Show night and seeing the mass of people who are genuinely excited to be there in celebration of their peers as we honor every vertical we can think of. And on serving as VES Chair – it’s a life-changer, and Jim and Carl were absolute lifelines.
Morris: I’m so glad we’ve had the opportunity to honor some of our pioneers in our early years of the show, like Lynwood Dunn and Ray Harryhausen. I have vivid memories of us then coming together to lobby the Mayor of Hollywood to get Ray a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Our show continues to be that beacon where VFX talent get their deserved moment in the spotlight. I’m so excited to attend our 20th Awards show this year – it gives me goosebumps!
VES Founders Award recipient Toni Pace Carstensen and the late Bill Taylor at the 2019 VES Honors Celebration.
Zoe Saldana presents the Visionary Award to JJ Abrams at the 13th Annual VES Awards.
Inaugural VES Chair Jim Morris presides over the 1st Annual VES Awards.
Jimmy Kimmel and legendary filmmaker Roger Corman backstage at the 17th Annual VES Awards.
Steve Carell presents at the 17th Annual VES Awards.
Acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay with VES Summit Chair Rita Cahill at the 2017 Summit.
Chambers: That rally around Ray Harryhausen is actually what inspired the Hall of Fame. While we had the Awards Show in place to honor our contemporaries, so many formative people that had passed on needed to be remembered. A lot of things came to fruition under my watch: the Hall of Fame, launching VFX Voice magazine, and certainly an explosion of global expansion, but everything was a team effort and built on what came before. What guided me when I came into this role was our mission and how could I help us continue to foster education and build recognition for the practitioners all across the industry. Over time, we have evolved into a more inclusive organization. COVID was a left turn, and yet we have been supportive and resilient during the pandemic, so adept at creating remarkable virtual programming and finding ways to keep us all tethered across the globe. We keep getting better, and that’s testament to all of our volunteer leaders and every one of our members.
Barnes: I love being around creative people, and the Society is the pinnacle when it comes to conveying outstanding professionals and using our collective resources to advance our work. When I came on as Chair, I was feeling a sense of responsibility in hiring people for my company and growing a business, and I was aiming to set some precedent and considerations that might help protect them and enhance their professional life. Providing that kind of value was and is really important to me, and I’m proud of the work not only as board member and Chair, but also as a member.
Cooke: Mike, yours were very big shoes to fill. Essentially, I inherited a beautiful, well-built house, but I didn’t have to build the house. The support among this special group who know what’s possible and how to make things happen has been invaluable. I’m proud to be the first woman in this role, and I’m committed to lifting up our future leaders so that I’m not the last.
Chambers: Our determination to outreach to all corners of the globe and to all of the disciplines across the VFX spectrum has definitely yielded us a very rich, talented membership, and that commitment to diversity will continue to be a driving force of the organization. And bottom line, more than just recognizing and honoring our history, we are actually making history for our industry… and we’re documenting it to create a powerful legacy that will endure.
Barnes: From the time that I joined to where the Society is today, it’s mind-blowing. We set out to raise the credibility and respect level of the visual effects community and shine a spotlight on the excellence of the artists and practitioners. And the extent to which that has happened is undeniable. Membership continues to skyrocket, and our magazine and awards show are acclaimed… and so our ability to have an influence gives us a great platform to keep innovating.
Okun: It’s the VES that draws the passion and respect out of people and invests it back into the Society and our industry. I may be biased, but the VES is the gold standard. The volunteerism that fuels our work, at every level, is amazing, and the new voices and new talents who are stepping up to help shape our future encourage me.
VFX legends Dennis Murren, Bob Burns, Phil Tippett, Doug Trumbull, John Knoll, Syd Mead and Ed Catmull at the 2017 VES Summit and Honors Celebration.
Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Sir Ridley Scott with Kate Mara at the 14th Annual VES Awards.
Visionary Award recipient Victoria Alonso beams at the 15th Annual VES Awards.
Rosendahl: The VES has played a vital role as an industry convener, providing forums for education and skills development, and in prompting conversations around the complexities of our rapidly evolving global marketplace. We have the aptitude to keep focused on how the industry adapts and innovates and can help shape that landscape, while we build capacity among our members to foster their success.
Cooke: When I took on this role, I wanted to delve into who the Sections are, so I’ve been on a global Zoom tour, listening in to keep building a sense of community that is a true reflection of our diverse industry. So much work is going on across the organization that fills me with pride and optimism. I’m enthusiastic about our Education Committee in developing programs to mentor young women and people of color and bring them into visual effects. That effort will only enhance our field for future generations. I’m proud that we will be introducing a Technology Award into the Awards program and of the work of our Archives Committee in capturing and preserving interviews with our VFX pioneers and luminaries. And I’m immensely gratified by the work of our Health and Wellbeing Committee, which has developed amazing resources to support our members, personally and professionally, including our new Member Assistance Program available to our members worldwide 24/7. These are the investments and benefits that make being a part of the Society so meaningful.
Okun: When VFX took the leap on the shoulders of the greats in the ’50s/’60s/’70s and the team on Star Wars – the rubber band that kicked us into orbit – that’s when the magic of VFX became a community of magicians. I begged to join the Society when it was formed, because that’s where the dark arts convened to share the real stories – and still do. We are pivotal to every aspect of the entertainment industry, and there is not a single image that we don’t touch. Our ongoing work to command the respect equal to our contributions is vital and makes a huge difference.
Morris: The esprit de corps, the camaraderie, the authentic sense of community at the center of everything we do, is why we have accomplished so much together our first 25 years… and here’s to the next 25!
Our 25th anniversary issue would not be complete without celebrating our members from around the world.
You are our greatest strength and source of pride – so take a bow!
Argentina
Alejandro Iturmendi
Pablo Izaguirre
Australia
Ben Andersen
Jordan Bartlett
Jason Bath
Dan Bethell
Jason Billington
Kunal Biswas
Marten Blumen
Timothy Bond
James Bourne
Andrew Brown
Paul Buckley
Paul Butterworth
Stuart Cadzow
Kevin Campbell
Kiersten Casey
Fiona Chilton
Naeem Chudawala
Tony Clark
Andrew Clarke
Rob Coleman
Ian Cope
Fiona Crawford
Felix Crawshaw
Tim Crosbie
Kurt Debens
Domenic Di Giorgio
Zoe Diamond
Tyson Donnelly
Sigi Eimutis
Dean Elliott
Tyrone Estephan
Ian Failes
Stefan Gillard
Victor Glushchenko
Alexander Goodwin
Markus Graf
Robert Grbevski
Jonathan Hairman
Daniel Heckenberg
Sam Hodge
Lara Hopkins
Greg Howe-Davies
Benjamin Hudson
Julian Hutchens
Timothy Jeffs
Samuel Jensen
Ingrid Johnston
Bhautik Joshi
Gregory Jowle
Stephen King
Ryan Kirby
Paul Kirwan
Jamal Knight
Haris Kruskic
Alan Lam
Samuel Loxton
Linda Luong
Mathew Mackereth
Alex Meddick
Kirsteen Millar
Jay Miller
Naomi Mitchell
Bryn Morrow
Arwen Munro
Zareh Nalbandian
Kulathu House
Nandakumar Payan
Gregory Ng
Gregory O’Connor
Pawel Olas
Martin Orlowski
Christophe Pacaud
Premamurti Paetsch
Andrew Palmer
Adrian Paul
Nick Pitt-Owen
Dominik Platen
Anthony Poriazis
Justin Porter
Jeremy Pronk
Jason Quintana
Shane Rabey
Benjamin Rayner
Will Reichelt
Gabriel Reichle
Robbie Reid
Andrew Ritchie
Simon Rosenthal
Ray Ruawhare
Johannes Saam
Malte Sarnes
Mike Seymour
Dilen Shah
Ben Simons
Chris Spry
Alastair Stephen
Grant Street
Phillip Stuart-Jones
Jonathon Sumner
Aditya Talwar
Jo Ann Tan
Eleni Taylor
Lewis Taylor
Sharon Taylor
Arthur Terzis
Daniel Thomson
Anders Thönell
Ryan Trippensee
Noah Vice
Nina Walsh
Andreas Wanda
Marcus Wells
Stuart White
Bree Whitford Smith
Guido Wolter
Chris Young
Jennie Zeiher
Austria
Katharina Kessler
Martin Stegmayer
Valentin Struklec
Rainer Zoettl
Belgium
Michel Denis
Sander Jansen
Pascal Loef
Brazil
Eduardo Amodio
Alceu Baptistao, Jr.
Alexandre Cruz
Tomas Egger
Teisson Froes
Diogo Girondi
Raoni Nery
Thiago Pires
Rick Ramos
Eduardo Schaal
Marcelo Siqueira
Bulgaria
Ivan Grozev
Martin Naydenski
Canada
Charles Abou Aad
Michael Adkisson
Illia Afanasiev
Anton Agerbo
Prashant Agrawal
Nicolas Aithadi
Vladislav Akhtyrskiy
Christine Albers
Neishaw Ali
Alexandre Allain
Christopher Anciaume
Geoffrey Anderson
Kristen Anderson
Stuart Ansley
Roy C Anthony
Marina Antunes
Richard Arroyo
Arundi Asregadoo
Felipe Assumpcao
Greg Astles
Jarrod Avalos
Mostafa Badran
Fabricio Baessa
Larry Bafia
Sandra Balej
Michael Baloun
Berj Bannayan
Rob Bannister
Cristin Barghiel
Craig Barr
Francois Beaudry
Ron Bedard
Anders Beer
Greg Behrens
Jo Ann Belen
Frank Belina
Dennis Berardi
Danny Bergeron
Richard Bergeron
Laurence Berkani
Stefan Bernscherer
Romain Besnard
Melissa Best
Sucheta Bhatawadekar
Paul Binney
David Bitton
Thomas Blacklock
Duncan Blackman
Lucian Boicu
Landon Bootsma
Gaelle Bossis
Nicholas Boughen
Aharon Bourland
Eric Bourque
Gavin Boyle
Phil Brennan
Ian Britton
Andre Brizard
Scott Broad
Shaun Brown
Kevin Browne
Alan Bucior
Ayo Burgess
David Burgess
Greg Butler
John Cameron
Daniel Camp
Jeffrey Campbell
Zacary Campbell
Daniel Canfora
Dan Carnegie
Bradley Caruk
Marie Castrie
Trevor Cawood
Kevin Chandoo
Fred Chapman
Tavia Charlton
Matthieu Chatelier
Eve Chauvet
Nicolas Chevallier
Alan Chuck
Marko Chulev
Ovidiu Cinazan
Karen Clarke
Ryan Clarke
Eric Clement
James Cochrane
Sarah Coffyn
Tony Como
Cyril Conforti
Brian Connor
Chris Cook
John Cook
Shane Cook
Spencer Cook
James Cooper
Kerry Corlett
Sebastien Corne
Jacinthe Cote
Marc Côté
Pierre Couture
Mario Couturier
Daniel Cox
Louis Craig
Jan Cramer
Darren Cranford
Bret Culp
Martyn Culpitt
Colin Cunningham
Glenn Curry
Mark Curtis
Andrew Cuthbert
Rory Cutler
Laurence Cymet
Joe D’Amato
Nikolas D’Andrade
Frank D’Iorio
Cesar Dacol, Jr.
Marie-Cecile Dahan
Etienne Daigle
Johanna Damato
Kim Davidson
Michael Davidson
Colin Davies
Felipe Luiz de Andrade
Anthony De Chellis
Natalia De la Garza
Juan de Santiago
Thierry Delattre
Joel Delle-Vergin
Stanley Dellimore
Nicolas Delval
Peter Denomme
Mehul Desai
Thierry Dezarmenien
Theo Diamantis
Jeremy Dineen
Jean-Luc Dinsdale
Ben Dishart
Thai Son Doan
Eric Doiron
Peter Dominik
Jason Dowdeswell
Brett Dowler
Christopher Downs
Hank Driskill
Nicolas Dumay
Francois Dumoulin
Shawn Dunn
Charlene Eberle
Michelle Eisenreich
Mark Elendt
Filipp Elizarov
Mahmoud Ellithy
Nicolas Elsig
Eddie Englander
Eric Ennis
Jack Evans, Jr.
Pascal Favron
Jean-Francois Ferland
Maxime Ferland
Daniel Finnegan
Stacy Fish
Jean-Pierre Flayeux
Niall Flinn
Julien Forest
Jenny Foster
Carlos Fraiha
Natasha Francis
Warren Franklin, VES
Fortunato Frattasio
TJ Galda
Rosie Galvin
Eric Gambini
Himanshu Gandhi
Wei Gao
Steve Garrad
William Garrett
Duolin Ge
Brent George
Eric Gervais-Despres
Kunal Ghosh Dastider
Michael Gibson
Raymond Gieringer
Dave Giles
Laurent Gillet
Michael Goldfarb
Patricia Gomes
Claudio Gonzalez
Marcus Goodwin
Dhruv Govil
Michelle Grady
Gavin Graham
Clint Green
Derek Grime
Larry Gritz
Lars Groeger
Tyson Groth
Luke Groves
Chloe Grysole
Eric Guaglione
Diego Guerrero
Jan Habib
Robert Habros
Robin Hackl
Winrik Haentjens
Marc Hall
Bill Halliday
Noah Hamdan
Matthew Hanger
Trey Harrell
Jessica Harris
Chris Harvey
Geoffrey Harvey
Leann Harvey
Oliver Hearsey
Christopher Hebert
Shawn Hillier
Cristian Hinz
Dennis Hoffman
Noel Hoffman
Ronald Honn
Noel Hooper
Kristian Howald
Roberto Hradec
Jo Hughes
Colin Hui
Terry Hutcheson
Chrismac Hwang
Sho Igarashi
Brett Ineson
Ludovic Iochem
John Iskandar
Vanessa Jacobsen
Ruheene Jaura
Colleen Jenkinson
Vivian Jim
Sheena Johnson
Laura Jones
Phil Jones
Yann Jouannic
Marc Joubert-Nederveen
Steve Jubinville
Gregory Juby
Luc Julien
Dushyant Kashyap
Joseph Kasparian
Chris Kazmier
Scott Keating
Tyler Kehl
Michael Kennedy
Tony Kenny
Alexander Kew
Cindy Khoo
Gyuri Kiss
Andrew Klein
Duffy Knox
Douglas Koch
Patrick Kolodziejski
Carsten Kolve
Arek Komorowski
Dmytro Korolov
Marshall Krasser
Mat Krentz
Ryan Kuba
Bartek Kujbida
Mike Kwan
Melanie La Rue
Laurent Laban
Mohamed Ghouse Labbai
Pierre-Luc Labbee
Benoit Ladouceur
Guillaume Laferrière
Jeff Lait
Francois Lambert
Alberto Landeros
Isabelle Langlois
Wendy Lanning
Amanda Lariviere
Shandy Lashley
Niña Laureles
Warren Lawtey
Emilien Lazaron
Tony Lazarowich
Daniel Leatherdale
Daniel Leduc
Mai-Ling Lee
Marine Lelievre
Matt Leonard
Rudy Leti
Bruno Leveque
Brenda Levert
Jacques Levesque
Meng Li
Todd Liddiard
Martin Lipmann
William Lipsmeyer II
Frederick Lissau
Kevin Little
Noah Lockwood
Jeremie Lodomez
Nathan Loofbourrow
Marc Lougee
Blaine Lougheed
Shannan Louis
Micael Luis Kobeh
Andreas Maaninka
Chris MacLean
George Macri
Allan Magled
Robin Mangat
Jeannette Manifold
John Mariella
Simon Marinof
Ricardo Marmolejo Garcia
Richard Martin
John Mather
Praveen Mathew
Seth Maury
James May
Kate McFadden
David McGhie
Nigel McGrath
Raymond McMillan
Sarah McMurdo
Laird McMurray
Perrine Michel
Virginia Mielke
Abel Milanes
Curt Miller
Jacob Miller
Marta Mintenko
Alberto Montanes
Carlos Monzon
Sebastien Moreau
Louis Morin
Dave Morley
Ben Mossman
Nancy Mott Basi
Cynthia Mourou
Didier Muanza
Gayle Munro
Michel Murdock
Alexander Naud
Jonathan Nelson
Christine Neumann
James Nicholl
Ken Nielsen
Paul Nightingale
Chad Nixon
Nicolas Noel
Peter Nofz
Annie Normandin
Andre Nugroho
Sabrina Nunes
Philip Nussbaumer
Sean O’Connor
Steven O’Connor
Marianne O’Reilly
Eddy Okba
David Olivares
David Oliver
Stephen Oliver
Mihaela Orzea
Scott Palleiko
Christian Paradis
James Paradis
Sehwi Park
Michael Parker
Anthony Paterson
Bhakti Patwardhan
Don Paul
Addison Pauli
Gillian Pearson
Gregory Peczinka
Martin Pelletier
Stephanie Pennington
Eric Pepin
Aymeric Perceval
Jonathan Piche-Delorme
Sergio Pinto
Sylvain Plourde
Darren Poe
Vincent Poitras
James Porter
Akie Prapas
Kristin Pratt
James B. Price
Aitor Prieto
Sly Provencher
Vicki Pui
Toni Pykalaniemi
Maickel Quinet
Sebastien Racine
Mahmoud Rahnama
Jeff Ranasinghe
Kenton Rannie
Pierre Raymond
Mathieu Raynault
Julia Reck
Brian Reid
Dominic Remane
Laurent Reynaud
Guy Riessen
Chris Ritvo
Eric Robinson
Rogelio Rodriguez
Mario Rokicki
Tom Rolfe
Andrew Rosen
David Rosenbaum
Justine Rosette-Nelligan
Marc A. Rousseau
Jean-Paul Rovela
Susan Rowe
Norbert Ruf
Mark Ryan
Kody Sabourin
Paul Saint-Hilaire
Erick Salazar
Paul Salvini
David Sanchez
Anthony Santoro
Atsushi Sato
Mark Savela
Ronald Saw
Ozen Sayidof
Brandon Schaafsma
Jakob Schmidt
Francois Schneider
Matt Schofield
Brett Schroeder
Sean Schur
Sebastian Schutt
Rebecca Scott
Kevin Sears
Lisa Sepp-Wilson
Wesley Sewell
Daryl Shail
Steve Shearston
Daniel Sheerin
Kirk Shimano
Bradley Sick
Bjoern Siegert
Laureline Silan
John Silander
Graham Silva
Victoria Simiele
Subodh Singh
Corey Smith
Robert Smith
Timothy Smith
Oleg Smykalov
Jordan Soles
Vib Soundrarajah
Frederic St. Arnaud
Harrison Stark
Mark Stasiuk
Darryl Stawychny
Adam Stern
Timothy Stevenson
Jeremy Stewart
Kenneth Stewart
Jelena Stojanovic
Tamara Stone
Boyan Stoyanov
Florian Strobl
Lee Sullivan
Prapanch Swamy
Sarah Swick
Glenn Sylvester
Sebastian Sylwan, VES
Fernando Talavera
Kenny Tam
Paolo Tamburrino
Anthony Tan
Dann Tarmy
Brendan Taylor
Edward Taylor
Christa Tazzeo Morson
Fausto Tejeda
Sebastien Terme
Benoit Terminet Schuppon
Kieran Tether
Steven Tether
Sylvain Thibodeau
Melinka Thompson-Godoy
Daniele Tosti
Benoit Touchette
Tony Tsai
Jerry Tung
Tom Turnbull
Dennis Turner
Ben Unsworth
Chris van Dyck
Ryan van Steenburgh
Jayme Vandusen
Jessy Veilleux
Andres Vitale
Frank Vitz
Stephen Wagner
Cameron Waldbauer
Andrew Walker
Ross Wallis
Shawn Walsh
Xiaoming Wang
Christopher Watkins
Andrea Weidlich
Aaron Weintraub
Larry Weiss
Tyler Weiss
Jeff Wells
Craig Wentworth
Joel Whist
David Whiteson
Bob Wiatr
Shane Wicklund
Sean Wicks
Lee Wilson
David Windhorst, Jr.
Philipp Wolf
Bruce Woloshyn
Sarah Wormsbecher
Aaron Wright
Bruno Xiberras
Mavis Xu
Gustavo Yamin
Ryan Yee
Clement Yip
Christopher Young
Keri Young
Jeffrey Zablotny
Christopher Lee Zammit
Timothy Zhao
Li Zhu
Ken Zorniak
Chile
Tomas Roca
China
Ashwin Agrawal
Chunlin Mi
Wei Song
Paul Yun Zhong
Colombia
Andrea Espinal
Catherine Florez
Andres Hernandez Ospina
Brayan Linares Nossa
Czech Republic
Sridharan Kaliyamoorthy
Denmark
Thomas Dyg
Nick Thye
Finland
Maya Kylmamaa
Scott Liedtka
Sami Nikki
France
Aurelia Abate
Chadi Abo
Nasser Abo
Alexandre Ada
Renata Azambuja
Frank Baradat
Harry Bardak
Beatrice Bauwens
Xavier Bec
Malica Benjemia
Leon Berelle
Stephane Bidault
Yann Blondel
Nicolas Bonnell
Yves Bosson
Tony Botella
Bastien Brenot
Laurent Brett
David Brochard
Denis Brunier
Pierre Buffin
Pascal Buron
Damien Canaméras
Olivier Cauwet
Mathilde Chambras
Bruno Chauffard
Bastien Chauvet
Sebastien Chort
Grégoire Cirade
Brice Colinet
Catherine Constant-Grisolet
Laurent Creusot
Noemie Cruciani
David Danesi
Jonathan Del Val
Yves Delforge
Wacyl Djender
Solenn Draia
Sebastien Drouin
Emmanuel Dufaure
Maxime Dumas
Margaux Durand-Rival
Laurens Ehrmann
Mhamed Elmezoued
Olivier Emery
Sebastien Fauchere
Roxane Fechner
Christophe Ferrier
Philippe Fournier
Ludovic Frege
Fabien Girodot
Pascal Giroux
Francois Gressier
Christian Guillon
Benoit Holl
Guy-Laurent Homsy
Yannick Honore
Alexandra Houillon
Boris Jacq
Marc Jouveneau
Renaud Jungmann
Gilbert Kiner
Raphael Kourilsky
Fabrice Lagayette
Julien Lambert
Franck Lambertz
Eric Lautard
Mathieu Le Meur
Thibault Leclercq
Brice Lehmann
Cedric Lejeune
Josselin Mahot
Bruno Maillard
Yann Marchet
Gaston Marcotti
Guillaume Marien
Quentin Martin
Julien Martins
Camille Mirey
Julien Mokrani
Sandrine Moniez
Antoine Moulineau
Aude Nguyen Ngoc
Bernard Nicolas
Xavier Nicolas
Alexis Oblet
Lolet Ong
David Pelle
Franck Petitta
Emmanuel Pichereau
Stephane Pivron
Dominique Pochat
Luc Pourrinet
Nicolas Rey
Milo Riccarand
Denis Scolan
James Sénade
Antonin Seydoux
Eric Texier
Cat Thelia
Simon Thomas
Luke Titley
Edouard Valton
Nathalie Vancauwenberghe
Alexis Vieil
Milan Voukassovitch
Germany
Jan Adamczyk
Christian Arlt
Katrin Arndt
Pablo Bach
Matthias Backmann
Sebastian Badea
Andrea Block
Moritz Bock
Kirstin Boettcher
Marcelo Bortolini
Heiko Burkardsmaier
Benjamin Burr
Patrick Busse
Christina Caspers-Romer
Cristiano Cesolari
Christopher Chaber
Sabrina Christoforidis
Alessandro Cioffi
Michael Coldewey
Philipp Danner
Mauricio de Oliveira
Markus Degen
Kay Delventhal
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Rico Dober
Michael Dohne
Tobias Dommer
Manuel Dongowski
Jimmy Duda
Sebastian Elsner
Volker Engel
Timm Engelkamp
Marco Erbrich
Francesco Faranna
Imke Fehrmann
Caroline Fetzer
Jan Fiedler
Markus Fischmann
Haggi Floeser-Krey
Kai-Florian Franke
Urs Franzen
Tonio Freitag
Sinje Gebauer
Florian Gellinger
Andreas Giesen
Joern Grosshans
Michael Habenicht
Thomas Haegele
Timo Hanczuk
Christoph Hasche
Eberhard Hasche
Jasmin Hasel
Dietrich Hasse
Volker Heisterberg
Volker Helzle
Mathias Herbster
Martin Herzberg
Annika Hirsch
Falk Hofmann
Oliver Hohn
Michael Honisch
Michael Honsel
Korbinian Hopfner
Holger Hummel
Julius Ihle
Radoslaw Jamrog
Zoran Kazic
Thilo Kienle
Niels Kleinheinz
Jonas Kluger
Thomas Knop
Constantin Konradt
Tanja Krampfert
Philipp Kratzer
Jesse Kretschmer
Patrick Kreuser
Michael Landgrebe
Johanna Lange
Vincent Langer
Michael Lankes
Sebastian Lauer
Nicolas Leu
Sebastian Leutner
Mei Lee Lim
Ivan Lima
Thomas Loeder
Julian Lojek
Tim Luecker
Aaron Luk
Axel Mahler
Igor Majdandzic
Christoph Malessa
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Gus Martinez
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Johannes Mewes
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Tobias Moenninger
Wilhelm Molderings
Rolf Muetze
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Sebastian Nozon
Simon Ohler
Sven Pannicke
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Enrico Perei
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Frank Petzold
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Franzisca Puppe
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Sven Sauer
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Stephan Schaefholz
Lisa Schmölzer
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Erik Schneider
Rolf Schneider
Timo Schnitt
Rayk Schroeder
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Oliver Schulz
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Julia Strack
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Jonas Stuckenbrock
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Agon Ushaku
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Carsten Woithe
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Fuat Yüksel
Farhad Yusufi
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Greece
Savvas Karampalasis
Hong Kong
iMan Javaherypour
Hungary
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Iceland
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India
Pranay Agarwal
Abir Aich
Venkatakrishnan Alwar
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Sherry Bharda
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Yashaswi Ram D.N
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Ankit Gokani
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Pradeep John
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Keitan Yadav
Ireland
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Kev Cahill
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Italy
Rosario Barbera
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Japan
Takahiko Akiyama
Ken Anjyo
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So Hashimoto
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Kenya
Yvonne Muinde
Mexico
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Roy Hoes
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Belén Palos López
Hans van Helden
New Zealand
Gino Acevedo
Richard Addison-Wood
Gerardo Aguilera
Matt Aitken
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Paul Jenness
Miae Kang
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Ju Hee Kwon
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Lance Lones
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Serbia
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Natapon
Huangsakuncharoen
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Gunther Schatz
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Shawn Sun Shiyu
Lionel Taillens
She Fong Yap
Jeen Yee
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Slovakia
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Wicus Labuschagne
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Douw van Niekerk
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Jia Kim
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Spain
Felix Berges
Astrid Busser-Casas
Pascal Chappuis
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Pau Costa Moeller
Isaac de la Pompa
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Miguel Garcia-Villaraco
Tripp Hudson
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Hidetaka Yosumi
Sweden
Dane Bettis
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United Kingdom
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Brooke Lyndon-Stanford
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Roma O’Connor
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Prashanth Pandurangaiah
Zissis Papatzikis
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Ariele Podreider Lenzi
Pietro Ponti
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Sirio Quintavalle
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Soren Ragsdale
Jonathan Rawlinson
Julia Reinhard
Simon Richardson
John Richardson, VES
Jim Riche
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Neil Robinson
Roni Rodrigues
Jesus Rodriguez
Andrea Rosa
Valentina Rosselli
Christoph Roth
Gavin Round
Paul Round
Adam Rowland
Reece Sanders
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He Sun
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Salvador Zalvidea
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Balu Adsumilli
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Jon Alexander
Zachary Alexander
Candice Alger
Saham Ali
Kat Alioshin
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Nigel Allan
Stuart Allan
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Domenic Allen
Isa Alsup
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Ronald Ames
Sean Amlaner
Noah Amrani
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Lycee Anaya
Csilla Andersen
Kirsten Andersen
Brian Anderson
James Anderson
John Anderson
Scott Anderson
Peter Anderson, VES, ASC
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Ricardo Andrade
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Baptiste Andrieux
Fatima Anes
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Cinzia Angelini
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Bernardo Antoniazzi
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Salvador Arditti
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Andy Arkin
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Chris Armstrong
Austen Armus
Tansal Arnas
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Elvis Au
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Ozgur Aydogdu
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Laura Barbera
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Pharoah Barrett
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Addison Bath
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Mei-Ming Casino
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Elle Chan
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TC Chang
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Gordon Chapman
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Belinda Chen
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Glenn Cotter
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Norman DeCarlo
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Sébastien Deguy
Joshua DeHerrera
Eric Deinzer
Francisco DeJesus
Matthew DeJohn
Ante Dekovic
Chris Del Conte
Doug Delaney
Vic DeLeon
Ruy Delgado
Frank DeLise
Steve Dellerson
Tara DeMarco
Lawson Deming
Jean-Marc Demmer
Debbie Denise
Marie Denoga
Shannon Deoul
Dariush Derakhshani
Eric Deren
Caleb Deschanel
Fefo Desouza
Remi Dessinges
Natasha Devaud
Sean Devereaux
David Dewaik
Rob Di Figlia
Juan Diaz
Sharon Diaz
Joseph DiCesare
Andrew Diefenbach
Carsten Dietz
Luciano DiGeronimo
Daniel Dimian
Victor DiMichina
Catherine Dinh
Eran Dinur
Luke DiTommaso
Daren Dochterman
Laura Dohrmann
Brian Doman
Timothy Donlevy
Ryan Donoghue
Ali Donovan
Jeff Doran
Jonathan Dorfman
Jason Doss
Antoine Douadi
Kathryn Dougan
Scott Dougherty
Scott Douwes
Crystal Dowd
Jon Doyle
Loring Doyle
David Dozoretz
Alexander Dracott
Linda Drake
Miller Drake
David Dranitzke
Matthew Dravitzki
Steve Drew
Wilfred Driscoll
Andrey Drogobetski
Kristen Drosinos
Mary Alice Drumm
David Drzewiecki
Olivier Dubard
Mark Dubeau
Steven Dubin
Benoit Dubuc
Robert Ducey
Sheena Duggal
Rose Duignan
Haarm-Pieter Duiker
Rama Dunayevich
Renee Dunlop
Bill Dunphy
Simon Paul Dunsdon
Lauryl Duplechan
Art Durinski
Michiko Suzuki Durinski
Eric Durst
Christopher Dusendschon
Randal Dutra
Pauline Duvall
Animesh Dwivedi
Adam Ealovega
Tim Eaton
Jody Echegaray
Rony Edde
Selwyn Eddy III
Camille Eden
Hagop Edjourian
Richard Edlund, VES
Cliff Edson
Christopher Edwards
Mark Edwards
Robert Edwards
Sam Edwards
Chad Eikhoff
Sarah Eim
Joel Einhorn
Michelle Eisley
Monique Eissing
Mohamad El Ali
Kevin Elam
Thomas Elder-Groebe
Judy Elkins
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Erin Elliott
Jennifer Emberly
Jason Embury
Steve Emerson
Mark Empey
Eric Enderton
Chris Endicott
Jeffrey Engel
Wayne England
Tim Enstice
Daniel Enstrom
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Thomas Esmeralda
Tyler Esselstrom
Fish Essenfeld
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Jud Estes
Robert Evans
Christopher Evart
Mark Everson
Edwin Fabian
Sean Faden
Steve Fagerquist
Reza Fakharieh
Sean Falcon
Brad Falk
Garrett Fallin
Yun-po Fan
Gabi Fang
Saeed Faridzadeh
Nathan Fariss
Alison Farmer
Mark Farquhar
S. Scott Farrar
Scott Farrar
Mark Fattibene
Stephen Fedasz, IV
Ronald Fedkiw
Ray Feeney, VES
David Fein
Danielle Feinberg
Christine Felman
Mitchell Ferm
Adam Ferrall-Nunge
Henrik Fett
Katie Fico
Paul Fiebiger
Charles Finance
Gregory Finch
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Chad Finnerty
Johnny Fisk
Ken Fisk
George Fitz
Eve Fizzinoglia
Laurie Flamholtz
Patrick Flanagan
Dadrian Flavors
Alex Fleming
Albert Florencio Da Costa
Rocco Florimonte
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Heather Flynn
Tyler Foell
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SuAnne Fu
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Fifer Garbesi
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Dawn Gates Wells
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Jose Luis Gomez Diaz
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Ned Gorman
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Miguel Guerrero
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Divya Gupta
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Donn Gurule
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Martin Hall
Paris Hall
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H Haden Hammond
Justin Hammond
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June Han
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Paul L. Hill
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Wensen Ho
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Phillip Hoffman
Deron Hoffmeyer
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Sharon Smith Holley
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Shaina Holmes
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Petra Holtorf
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Hitoshi Inoue
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Victoria Itow-Tsering
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Hetal Jain
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George Joblove
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Kristin Johnson
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Matthew Johnson
Michael B Johnson
Nicholas Johnson
Ronald Johnson
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Jason Johnston
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Bruce Jones
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Ed Jones
Justin Jones
Oliver Jones
Scott Jones
Walt Jones
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Norman Joseph
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Laurie Kallsen-George
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Shyam Kannapurakkaran
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Nitant Karnik
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Louis Katz
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Da Suel Kim
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Deke Kincaid
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Asuka Kinney
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Henry Kline II
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Jonathan Knight
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Mach Kobayashi
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Ken Kokka
Mark Kolpack
Alyssa Koncelik-Diemer
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Stephan Kosinski
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Maggie Kraisamutr
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Markus Kranzler
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Heath Kraynak
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Nicki Kreitzman
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Bridgitte C Krupke
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Eva-Maria Kuehlmann
Yorie Kumalasari
Vishishth Kumar
Frances Kumashiro
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Lincoln Kupchak
Markus Kurtz
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Yasumasa Kutami
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Thilo Kuther
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Randy Lake
Martin LaLand Romero
Ben Lam
Kenny Lam
Martin Lam
Paul Lambert
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Hayden Landis
Cleve Landsberg
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Cameron Langs
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Kenneth Larson
Lisa Lassek
David Latt
Theresa Latzko
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Gary Laurie
Peter Lauritson
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Kim Lavery, VES
Jennifer Law-Stump
Michael Lawler
Aaron Lawn
David Lawson
Joseph Lawson
Kurt Lawson
Martin Lazaro
Phi Le
Tram Le-Jones
Alison Leaf
Demetrius Leal
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Michael Lebensfeld
Scott Leberecht
Andre LeBlanc
Sophie Leclerc
Derek Ledbetter
Chris LeDoux
Mark LeDoux
Austin Lee
Don Lee
Gong Myung Lee
Han-Chin Lee
Herman Lee
Hyun-min Lee
Jang Lee
Jax Lee
Jenn Lee
Lawrence Lee
Matthew Lee
Woei Lee
Robert Legato
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Marcus Lehto
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Craig Leigh
Michael Leitmann
Alex Lemke
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Michael Leone
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John LePore
Leslie Lerman
Vlad Leschinski
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Deven Letendre
Victor Leung
Jim Leuper
Ahavatyah ‘Votch’ Levi
John Levin
Eric Levin-Hatz
Dave Levine
Adam Levy
Didier Levy
Mickey Levy
Stewart Lew
Janice Lew-Bastian
Alex Lewis
Beren Lewis
Joe Lewis
Rachelle Lewis
Andrew Lewitin
Suzanne Lezotte
Mark LHeureux
Linghao Li
Millie Li
Nan Li
Mark Lieberman
Gregory Liegey, Jr.
Brice Liesveld
Erik Liles
Alisha Lim
Nelson Lim
Neil Lim Sang
Daniel Lima
Richard Lima
Andy Lin
Cindy Lin
Jason Lin
Kevin Lin
Kuan Lin
Yi-chao Lin-Chiang
Torbjorn Lindback
Bryanna Lindsey
Van Ling, VES
Kevin Lingenfelser
Randy Link
Shawn Lipowski
Lenny Lipton
Robert Liscombe
Randy Little
Benjamin Liu
Francis Liu
Tingting Liu
Ying Liu
Michael Liv
Laura Livingstone
Victoria Livingstone
James Livolsi
Michelle Lloyd-Samson
Daniel Lobl
John Locke
Carl Loeffler
Michael Logan
Jack London
Hal Long
Julie Long
Sam Longoria
Patrick Longstreth
Benjamin Looram
Dan Lopez
Michael Lorrain
Bill Lorton
Andrew Loschin
Julia Lou
George Loucas
Justin Louis
Conan Low
Stuart Lowder
Daniel Lowenberg
Bob Lowery
Wei “Victor” Lu
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Nick Lucas
Alberto Ludena
Stephen Lumley
Viktor Lundqvist
Alison Luong
Boris Lutsiuk
Lap Luu
Dean Lyon
Skye Lyons
Wanchun Ma
Daniel Maas
Don MacBain
Morgan MacCuish
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Euan Macdonald
Martha Mack
Ross Mackenzie
Sean Mackenzie
Kim Mackey
Michael Macklin
Alastair Macleod
Dawn Macleod
Jason MacLeod
Douglas MacMillan
Timothy MacMillan
John Madden
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Jessica Madsen (Bakke)
Siddhartha Maganti
Anthony Magliocco
Luca Magnanini
Cecil Magpuri
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Cristiane Maia
Marco Maldera
Marco Maldonado
Michael Maley
Namit Malhotra
Lee Malone
Yarin Manes
John Mangia
Ajoy Mani
Samuel Maniscalco
Jeff Mann
Dev Mannemela
Benoit Mannequin
Arnon Manor
Rune Mansson
Michele Maples
Francine Marchetti
Mark Marcin
Sharon Marcussen
Kevin Margo
Nick Mariana
Anthony Marigliano
Sarah Marikar
Jose Marin
Ian Markiewicz
Alan Markowitz
Harrison Marks
Andrea Marotti
Ed Marsh
Carol Marshall
Gary Marshall
Gray Marshall
Tia Marshall
Bettina Martin
Christopher Martin
Douglas Martin
Thomas Martinek
Andres Martinez
Maya Martinez Smith
Steve Martino
Patrick Marty
Ken Maruyama
Stu Maschwitz
Wendy Mashburn
Sergii Mashevskyi
Fumi Mashimo
Albert Mason
Terrence Masson
Todd Masters
Giuseppe Mattiolo
Matthew Maude
Will Maurer
Olivier Maury
Peter Mavromates
Kevin May
Steve May
Dale Mayeda
Bjørn Mayer
Phillip Mayer
Vinessa Mayer
Kenneth Mayfield
Jacob Maymudes
Andre Mazzone
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Ian McCamey
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Omar McClendon
Omar McClinton
Aaron McComas
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Barbara McCullough
Scott McCullough
Matthew McDonald
Petra McElvenny
Randy McEntee
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Scott McGinley
Kevin McGowan
Sarah McGrail
Emma McGuinness
Nathan McGuinness
Mark McGuire
Robert McInnis
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Mare McIntosh
Ray McIntyre Jr.
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Allan McKay
Sherry McKenna
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Kyle McKisic
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Marianne McLean
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Kevin McTurk
Arnie Mecham
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Edwardo Mendez
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Abraham Meneu Oset
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John Mesa
William Mesa
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Robert Meyers
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Ludovick Michaud
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Jed Miller
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Glo Minaya
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Kamal Mistry
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Justin Mitchell
Sean Mitchell
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Mahito Mizobuchi
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Colin Moll
Pablo Molles
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Rohini Montenegro
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Tim Montgomery
Ryan Montrucchio
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Douglas Moore
Mac Moore
Ronald Moore
Troy Moore
Arturo Morales Rangel
Ivan Moran
Joey Morelli
Daniel Moreno
Michael Morgan
Jacquelyn Morie
Lauren Morimoto
Chris Morley
Anthony Morrelle
David Morris
Katie Morris
Thaine Morris
Jim Morris, VES
Jake Morrison
Shelly Morrow
Aaron Mortensen
Ashley Mortensen
Raphael Mosley
Victoria Most
Michelle Motta
Peter Moyer
Kenn Moynihan
Michael Muir
Mike Mulholland
Brian Mullen
Kevin Mullican
Craig Mumma
Gary Mundell
David Munier
Steven Muniz
Dennis Muren, VES
Brendon Murphy
K.C. Murphy
Karen Murphy
John Murrah
Ken Museth
Janet Muswell Hamilton, VES
Will Muto
Bud Myrick
Paul Naas
Val Nabilskiy
Naren Naidoo
Rajesh Naiksatam
Kenneth Nakada
Roger Nall
Jasen Nannini
Masa Narita
Erin Nash
Primo Navidad
Victor Navone
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Michael Necci
Shawn Neely
Cameron Neilson
Kurt Nellis
Charlotte Nelson
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Derek Nelson
Jeremy Nelson
John Nelson
John R. Nelson
Keith Nesson
Davy Nethercutt
Maia Neubig
Glenn Neufeld
Robert Neuman
Gigi Ng
An-Tim Nguyen
Vinh Nguyen
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Alex Nice
Doug Nichols
Jacob Nichols
Bruce Nicholson
Gregory Nicholson
Sam Nicholson
Wilson Nicholson
Jesse Nicodemus
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Vincent Niebla
Niels Nielsen
Alex Nijmeh
Rob Nitsch
Tonya Noerr
Mark Noland
Gary Nolin
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Nils Norgren
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Michael O’Brien
Rick O’Connor
Domhnall O’Donnchadha
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Tina O’Hailey
Danielle O’Hare
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Peter Oberdorfer
Joseph Oberle
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Cyndi Lyn Ochs
Kyle Odermatt
Jessica Oehlberg
Samantha Ofole-Prince
Viktorija Ogureckaja
Maggie Oh
Robert OHaver
Masayori Oka
Michael Okuda
Jeffrey A. Okun, VES
Brian Oliver
Michael Oliver
Mike Oliver
Marty Ollstein
Jeff Olm
Stephen Olmos
Megan Omi
James Orara
Khatsho Orfali
Andrew Orloff
Julie Orosz
Darren Orr
Leah Orsini
Andrew Osiow
Marc Ostroff
Lawson Owen
Caleb Owens
Ira Owens
Olivier Ozoux
Harry Paakkonen
Marlo Pabon
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Helena Packer
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Kevin Page
Maricel Pagulayan
Christoper Paizis
Amy Palladino
Patrick Palmer
Sean Palmer
Paul Palop
Jean-Francois Panisset
Francesco Panzieri
Marco Paolini
Guy Paquin
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Stephen Parish
Brad Parker
Brice Parker
Don Parker
Jon Parker
Mackenzie Parker
Clark Parkhurst
Alex Parkinson
David Parmenter
David Parrish
David Parsons
Amol Parulekar
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Rocco Passionino
Ellen Pasternack
Alex Patanjo
Mark Patch
Sanjit Patel
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Eric Patterson
Scott Patton
Reid Paul
Sarah Paul
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Darwyn Peachey
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Zoe Peck-Eyler
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Joel Pennington
Alessandro Pepe
Joseph Pepe
Kimberly Pepe
Adam Pere
Loni Peristere
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Miles Perkins
Rich Pernice
David Perry
Todd Perry
Davide Pesare
Cristin Pescosolido
Chad Peter, DGA
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Lorne Peterson
Philip Peterson
Lori Petrini
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Ernest Petti
Nathan Phail-Liff
Christine Phelan
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Sean Phillips
Paul Pizza Pianezza
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Rodolphe Pierre-Louis
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Navin Pinto
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Domi Piturro
Maxwell Planck
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Evan Pontoriero
Ellen Poon
Mary Poplin
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Susan Zwerman, VES
By ADAM EISENBERG
Photos courtesy of Randall William Cook, except where noted.
Cook and Harryhausen, 2012. Harryhausen passed away in 2013 at the age of 92. In 2019, Cook was made an advisor to the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation.
When Randall William Cook arrived for his first day on the set of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, director Peter Jackson immediately put him to work. Jackson introduced Cook to miniature supervisor Richard Taylor and to the enormous model Taylor and his team had constructed for the towering stone steps of Khazad-Dûm.
“Peter rushed me through the set and told me I was going to direct the previz animation,” Cook says. “We talked through the sequence with everybody offering opinions, including me. There were lots of ideas thrown out and I couldn’t see how they gelled, so I asked: ‘Do you want me to do what everybody’s been saying?’ ‘No,’ Peter replied. ‘You just do it. This is you.’”
From those initial words of encouragement, Cook went on to design one of the most breathtaking action sequences in The Fellowship of the Ring. In the scene, Frodo and company are deep in the dark mines of Moria, fleeing for their lives over stone stairs that are hundreds of feet high. As Orcs launch a barrage of arrows, the ancient steps crack and crumble beneath the Fellowship’s feet, revealing a bottomless chasm below.
“They gave me a scan of the miniature and little scale puppets of all the Fellowship guys,” Cook explains. “I choreographed the whole sequence from a God’s eye point-of-view and created a very simple presentation that Pete signed off on. Then I blocked out the camera positions, and my team of about four guys and I refined the previz. Pete gave the sequence to a second unit director and told him to copy it exactly and, with the exception of one or two shots, everything in the final film – from the lenses used to the angles to the cutting to the action – was from my previz.”
The Khazad-Dûm sequence represents just one of the many contributions Cook made as Animation Supervisor on The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It also demonstrates how his cinematic career has served as a bridge between the stop- motion techniques that brought the original King Kong to life and the modern motion capture technology that made possible the hobbit-gone-mad Gollum. Along the way, Cook has won three Academy Awards, but he is most proud of his close friendship with effects master Ray Harryhausen.
Cook’s success was far from certain in 1975 when he graduated from UCLA’s film school with the dream of becoming an actor and director. His first post-college job was an animation apprenticeship at Disney at a time when cartoon features were in decline and the studio was focused on forgettable live-action comedies.
Disney provided an opportunity to interact with great animators, including many of the original Nine Old Men, but Cook’s most high-profile assignment was drawing live-action gags for the Volkswagen and human characters in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. It was less than inspiring work, and after a year his apprenticeship was suddenly cut short.
“I got fired!” Cook recalls with a laugh. “John Lasseter also spent time in their apprenticeship program, and he tells people, ‘Randy and I were fired because we were too good.’ But truthfully, I wasn’t Disney material, and I knew that going in.”
Fortunately, the mid-1970s was an exciting time for low-budget science fiction films. Cook quickly landed on his feet doing stop-motion animation for The Crater Lake Monster, Laserblast and The Day Time Ended, alongside other young artists like Jim Danforth, Ken Ralston, VES, Jon Berg, Phil Tippett, VES and David Allen. He also worked for Rob Bottin on Humanoids from the Deep and on John Carpenter’s The Thing.
Then came 1981’s Caveman, a prehistoric comedy starring ex-Beatle Ringo Starr and The Spy Who Loved Me’s Barbara Bach. Cook was one of the key animators of comical stop-motion dinosaurs that stole the show, and the movie’s cult success led to a multi-year position at Richard Edlund’s (VES) Boss Films.
At Boss, Cook sculpted and animated the stop-motion puppets for the terror dogs in Ghostbusters, and choreographed the performances of the live-action full-scale puppets on set. He also worked on 2010, Fright Night, and Poltergeist II, and was planning to work on the next Boss project, Big Trouble in Little China, when director Tibor Takács approached him with an opportunity he couldn’t refuse – the chance to supervise the effects for The Gate.
“Working under Richard Edlund with Steve Johnson and a bunch of other competing talents was great,” Cook says. “But everyone wanted their voices heard and, as a consequence, sang very loudly. Tibor was going to let me do just about whatever I wanted effects-wise, so it wasn’t much of a choice.”
Cook and Ray Harryhausen, 1987.
Cook manipulating the Wolf Lizard puppet from The Day Time Ended (1979).
Cook “standing” in a scene from Caveman (1981) beside the T-Rex puppet he animated.
Sigourney Weaver pays a visit to Boss Films during the making of Ghostbusters (1984) and views her alter ego, a terror dog. (Photo: Virgil Mirano, Boss Film Studios)
Ghostbusters effects cameraman Jim Aupperle, right, takes a light reading as Cook adjusts the stop motion terror dog. (Photo: Virgil Mirano, Boss Film Studios)
In The Gate, teenagers accidentally open an entrance to Hell in their backyard and find themselves under attack from foot-tall minions and a multi-story-high Demon Lord. To accomplish the illusion of tiny minions, Cook convinced Takács to use forced perspective sets and in-camera tricks that were throwbacks to Disney’s Darby O’Gill and the Little People.
“You want to make the audience believe they’re seeing something that’s real,” Cook says, “and even if they know it’s fake – and they have to know it’s fake – they won’t know how the hell you did it. Darby O’Gill was a huge inspiration to me. What makes it magical is when the tiny leprechauns are dancing in front of the big Darby O’Gill, but they’re actually farther away from the camera and he’s closer up. That really confuses your mind because you expect the small guys to look as though they are behind the big guy.
“On The Gate, I planned shots with economy in mind,” he adds. “First, I figured if we had guys who were five-and-a-half feet tall playing the tiny minions, the sets could be a bit smaller, and the camera depth of field could be a bit shorter than if we had guys who were six feet. Every inch counts. Second, doing it in forced perspective put much of the budget on the art department. Fortunately, we had a really good art department under Bill Beeton that built four-times-scale brick walls and other set pieces that were gorgeous.”
Cook next collaborated with Takács on I, Madman, a horror thriller about a young woman who becomes entranced by a mystery novel she’s reading, only to find herself stalked by the crazed author and a fictional monster from the book. Cook not only supervised the visual effects, but also played the horribly disfigured author modeled after Lon Chaney.
Following I, Madman, Cook oversaw the effects for The Gate II, directed a segment of TV’s Life Goes On, and directed and co-wrote the fantasy film Demon in a Bottle.
Peter Jackson first contacted Cook in 1992 to do stop-motion work on a film Jackson was planning called Blubberhead. That project never got made, but the two stayed in touch and finally had the chance to work together on The Lord of the Rings.
Cook arrived in New Zealand in October 1998 and spent the next five years completing the trilogy. It was challenging, monumental work. His extensive previz work and other duties eventually earned him the title of Animation Supervisor, but he found himself consulted on a lot of sequences that had nothing to do with animation.
“For the scene in The Two Towers where Treebeard is first introduced,” he recalls, “Fran [Walsh, producer and screenwriter] originally staged it with the hobbits running from the orcs and, suddenly, two tree-branch hands come down and pull them out of the frame. I said: ‘Why don’t we have the hobbits climb up the tree and look around, not realizing it’s Treebeard’s face? One hobbit has his hand on Treebeard’s nose. He looks back, and Treebeard is already looking at him. The hobbit looks away, does a take, and looks back at him. Treebeard’s head turns, and the hobbit falls off.’
“We did a previz of the scene this way. I wasn’t there when they ran it in the dailies, but according to several people including Pete, Fran turned to Pete and said, ‘What’s this?’ Pete replied with a chuckle, ‘Well, apparently somebody thought they had a better idea than you.’”
Cook supervised the effects and played the psychotic author Malcolm Brand in I, Madman (1989).
Cook animating a bat puppet for Fright Night (1985). (Photo: Virgil Mirano, Boss Film Studios)
On Return of the King, Fran Walsh presented Cook with different problems to solve. “She came to me and said, ‘We want the ring to fall into the lava, and as soon it does Sauron will know the hobbits are trying to destroy the ring. But we want to play Frodo and Sam on the cliff after Gollum falls in with the ring. What do we do?’ I thought about it and said, ‘The ring was forged in high temperature, right? It can float on top of the lava and start to melt, but it doesn’t completely dissolve until you’re ready for it to finish melting.’
“I made a lot of suggestions that had nothing to do with animation,” Cook adds. “Peter and Fran were very generous and willing to collaborate, and I adored them both.”
Throughout the project, Cook and his team drew inspiration from a variety of sources, although sometimes he didn’t realize an influence until years later. In The Fellowship of the Ring, for example, Gollum appears only briefly in a shot where he is seen mostly in shadow and his hands reach into frame.
“I came up with that and animated it myself,” Cook explains. “A couple of years ago my daughter Matilda and I were watching Gunga Din, and at the end of the film, Sam Jaffe climbs to the top of the temple. You see the ledge and you see his hands come up, and I suddenly realized: ‘Son of a bitch! I stole that from Sam Jaffe!’
This past December marked the 20th anniversary of the debut of The Fellowship of the Ring. The film arrived in theaters just three months after terrorists crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the 9/11 tragedy cast a long shadow over the final months of post-production.
“Peter and Fran called everybody together that morning,” Cook recalls, “and they were very sympathetic and solicitous to the Americans. Everybody was shocked, of course, but we still had a movie to finish.
Cook standing in as Gollum with Elijah Wood for a practice shot on the Stairs of Cirith Ungol for Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Scene from King Kong (2005) with Cook playing one of the pilots who attack Kong atop the Empire State Building. Frank Darabont is his gunner.
Cook and his Demon Lord creation for The Gate (1987).
“One of the last sequences in Fellowship to go into production was the prologue,” he adds. “The motion capture editor, Patrick Runyon, wanted my final approval on a shot of motion capture guys falling off a cliff in a rolling wave of bodies. But the week before I had watched live footage of real people jumping out the windows of the World Trade Center, and it was devastating. So, I said: ‘I trust you. If you think it’s fine, it’s fine, because I can’t look at that now.’”
After The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Cook served as a second unit director for Jackson’s remake of King Kong. His duties included directing the first dinosaur attack involving a Ceratops that was cut out of the theatrical release but is included in the extended version. He also directed the flying planes that attack Kong atop the Empire State Building and played one of the pilots – writer/director Frank Darabont was his tail gunner.
These days, Cook consults on a variety of projects and is hoping to direct Sinbad and the Sorcerer’s Bride, a fantasy he co-wrote with David Cairns that combines Hitchcockian suspense with the cheekiness of Ernst Lubitsch and the magic of Ray Harryhausen’s The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
Cook saw 7th Voyage when he was seven and instantly fell in love with Harryhausen’s unique stop-motion approach known as Dynamation. Then, when he was 19, he met Harryhausen.
“Ray’s mother lived in Los Angeles and her number was in the phone book,” he says. “I called her up to get his address in London, and Ray happened to be visiting at the time. I didn’t have anything to show except for a couple of drawings and a little makeup thing I’d done, but I wanted to meet and get a sense of him because his work meant so much to me. Somewhere along the line Ray saw the work I did for Caveman and other projects, and we became friends.”
Forced perspective shots from The Gate. A workman falls on the floor and breaks into tiny minions. While the human teenagers appear to be behind the minions, they were actually in the foreground near the camera, perched on a normal-scale set piece suspended 15 feet above a larger-scale set below.
Cook and motion capture actor Andy Serkis reviewing a scene for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
Cook and Jim Rygiel at 2003 Academy Awards where they won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects for Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Cook won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for three consecutive years (2002, 2003 and 2004).
Harryhausen’s final film was 1981’s Clash of the Titans. Just 12 years later, Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park introduced the world to CGI dinosaurs and, suddenly, Harryhausen’s Dynamation was considered passé. Even so, Cook says the effects master didn’t hold any hard feelings.
“CGI is a whole different approach,” he explains. “With stop-motion, blinking eyes require three to six separate rubber lids or a piece of clay that’s put on and sculpted per frame. You wouldn’t have the lashes or the meniscus – you’d just have the blink. With CGI, a character’s blinking eyes can be a wonderful simulation of flesh and muscle and skin and the mucous membrane. And the eyeball – rather than a doll’s eye or an acrylic eye made in your own shop – can be a gelatinous, dilating organ that perfectly simulates the way the eye transmits light and reacts to outside light sources.
“By the time CGI had arrived, Ray was a virtuoso in retirement who had no need or desire to learn a new instrument,” Cook adds. “Had Ray been born later I think he would have gotten CGI and created his illusions using a computer. As a boy I loved Ray’s films, but I was not reacting to stop-motion, I was reacting to Ray Harryhausen. I loved his work because of what that particular artist put into his work, and Ray just happened to be using stop-motion as his medium of expression.”
Harryhausen passed away in 2013 at the age of 92, and Cook is an advisor to the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation.
Looking back on his own career, Cook recalls the night in 2002 when he won his first Academy Award for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. After the ceremony, Robert Redford came up to him and asked how it felt to hold an Oscar.
“I said, ‘It feels wonderful. But four weeks ago, my boyhood idol, Ray Harryhausen, came down to New Zealand and brought with him the skeleton from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. I got to hold that, a thrill that has thrown this one into a slight shadow. Holding this Oscar is great, but the skeleton from Sinbad is why I got into the business.’”
By CHRIS McGOWAN
Jurassic World: Dominion (Image courtesy of Universal Pictures)
Last year, while the movie and TV industry played catch-up with delayed projects, explored various release strategies and struck outsized production deals, the VFX sector invested heavily in remote work capabilities and achieved significant advancements in areas like virtual production. The stage was set for 2022, which looks to be a boom time for studios, streamers and the VFX business.
“The amount of work out there is crazy right now,” says Ingenuity Studios founder and Visual Effects Supervisor David Lebensfeld. “I think that it’s just going to keep increasing, too, throughout 2022 and 2023. There was a backlog of projects that didn’t happen in 2020. So, it feels like everything has been compacted.”
In addition, the streamers have forged ahead with their already ambitious original production plans. Lebensfeld comments, “Streamers are definitely impacting business positively. It’s more competitive than ever on the streamer side, with their ongoing content war. As a result, there’s so much work to be had. To be honest, I don’t think the industry has ever been bigger or busier.”
In terms of deals, big can mean really big. Streamers and studios announced various nine-figure production packages in 2021. Netflix is paying an estimated $465 million for two sequels of the Lionsgate mystery Knives Out. The streamer has also struck a multi-year deal with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners. Apple TV+ will spend $200 million on Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle. Meanwhile, ViacomCBS (owner of streamer Paramount+) is reportedly paying $900 million for new South Park seasons through 2027 and 14 South Park feature films. Among various other major deals, Universal Pictures and its streaming sibling Peacock are spending an estimated $400 million+ for a new Exorcist trilogy. And in the year’s biggest deal of all, Amazon purchased MGM for $8.45 billion.
Meanwhile, the streamers further fortified their positions last year by dominating the 2021 Emmy Awards, with Netflix taking best series (The Crown) and winning 44 Emmys, while HBO/HBO Max took 19, Disney+ captured 14, Apple TV+ took home 10 and NBC garnered 7. To emphasize their global reach, the streamers are spending heavily on U.S. and global programming. For example, Netflix has invested heavily in scripted originals for Japan and also planned to produce 40 anime releases last year. Furthermore, it said it would spend $500 million on films and series produced in South Korea in 2021.
The Batman (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
The Matrix Resurrections (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
The Mandalorian (Image courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.)
“The streaming landscape is more dynamic than ever,” says Albert Cheng, Chief Operating Officer at Amazon Studios. “With an audience who is increasingly hungry and tuned in, it has been so exciting to see content scale and evolve.”
Pixomondo CEO Jonny Slow observes, “Long term, we think that the streaming model is very much here to stay, and it’s a more global and less regional business than linear TV, so the budgets are bigger and the creative ambition is high end.”
For those companies releasing movies both in theaters and through streaming services, flexibility has been necessary to counter the pandemic, and experimentation will continue in 2022. One example is Disney. “We adopted a three-pronged strategy for releasing our films that consisted of theatrical releases, direct to Disney+ and a hybrid of theatrical plus Premier Access,” said Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek at an August 12 Earnings Conference Call. “Distribution decisions are made on a film-by-film basis, based on global marketplace conditions and consumer behavior.”
The pandemic has affected all sectors of film and TV, including VFX. Spin VFX President and Executive Producer Neishaw Ali observes, “The ongoing pandemic has created some good changes in that we now have a proven online production platform and have demonstrated that we can work effectively remotely.”
Lebensfeld says that COVID “has really unlocked globalization of talent. Now that infrastructure has been put in place to optimize artists’ ability to work remotely, it’s working wonderfully but also requires a retooling in communication practices.”
James Whitlam, Framestore Managing Director – Episodic, comments, “I think we’ll be seeing the ramifications of the pandemic for many years to come. In spite of the difficulties, the industry as a whole has become more resilient and self-assured, I don’t think anyone could have predicted how successful the working-from-home paradigm would be globally. The absence of a drop in overall productivity is testament to the agile nature of the business and the brilliant crews we work with.”
Whitlam continues, “As we return to the studio, flexible working arrangements will no doubt put a strain on many companies as it involves more equipment, more support and greater management overhead to maintain a partially decentralized crew, but this needs to be weighed against providing a manageable work/life balance, which, along with the quality of the projects on offer and the culture of a company in the actual studio, is an important factor in any artist’s choice of where they decide to hang their hat.”
Chris Healer, founder and CEO of Eyelash (formerly with The Molecule), believes that artists want to be more in control of their working environments now. “I can’t imagine most VFX artists will choose to get dressed in the morning to appear at an office. Some will. Most will take a second thought to listen to their music as loud as possible, or choose days to socialize, or spend the day in their PJs. Many have just moved to a different location where they can’t come to the office.”
The Lord of the Rings (Image courtesy of Amazon Studios)
The Last Duel (Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Image courtesy of CBS All Access)
Weta Digital’s Executive VFX Producer David Conley points out the pandemic’s complex effects. “While COVID has certainly accelerated trends like the growth of streaming content, the integration of LED panels and on-set virtualization, we’re only beginning to understand the downstream effects on the disruption of production pipelines. COVID has brought with it the increased reliance on remote work environments, increased complexities around content security requirements, and increased reliance on cloud-based technologies, to name a few issues, all of which will change the way we produce VFX-dependent content.”
Virtual production, including LED stages, has also been having a deep impact on film production and post-production. Whitlam comments, “Framestore pioneered LED tech on Gravity a decade ago, so it’s been great to see how much LED Volumes have proliferated over the past two years.”
Pixomondo had four total LED volumes in Toronto and Vancouver as of September and a deal with William F. White International to own and operate them together throughout Canada. Pixomondo’s Slow explains, “When everyone understands the workflow, they start to adapt their process and bring a lot of creative decisions forward. We are still only just getting started with how virtual production will impact production in the future.”
Weta Digital’s Conley points to the rapid acceptance of virtual production, despite the learning curve. He explains, “We’re all still learning how best to use it and what the trade-offs are, but it’s clearly become normalized as a production option.”
Virtual production took a leap forward with The Mandalorian’s use of ILM’s StageCraft integrated virtual production platform and its LED Volume. ILM Senior Vice President, Chief Creative Officer Rob Bredow notes, “Increasingly, we are seeing more filmmakers interested in learning about how they can best make use of virtual production and, specifically, how they can utilize our StageCraft LED stages to the greatest effect.
Hawkeye (Image courtesy of Marvel Studios)
Dune (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (Image courtesy of Sony Pictures)
With the demand for content at an all-time high, we believe virtual production will continue to attract filmmakers who are looking for collaborative solutions to challenging production and effects scenarios.”
The VFX business has also been affected by the rise of the streamers and their increased production of series. Framestore’s Whitlam comments, “The episodic nature of a lot of the work being commissioned by the streamers is certainly a challenge industry wide, in terms of expectations of quality, shot count and the time available. Traditional feature film effects practitioners and companies are coming to terms with the different approach that is required to deliver 8 to 10 hours of content as opposed to two. The level of planning that needs to go into delivering a marquee show has opened the door for a lot more communication in pre-production between filmmakers and our team, which in turn leads to a lot more creative buy-in and ownership from the people crafting the effects. I think the overall effect on the business has been incredibly positive.”
ILP (Important Looking Pirates) Executive Producer Måns Björklund adds, “There is an unseen – at least in my 20-plus years of the business – growth and amount of work out there at the moment. We are seeing horizons of work down in 2024, which hasn’t been the case before. Clients are starting to understand that they need to reach out and commit in a much earlier stage than before to be able to book resources. With the growth, there also comes the need for more artists to be able to produce all the content.”
On the other hand, Lebensfeld notes, “There is more access to global talent, so VFX teams can leverage flexible schedules. You can essentially build a studio that runs around the clock to keep up with demand. Having talent from other countries can be a tremendous asset.”
Lightyear (Image courtesy of Pixar/Disney)
Mobius (Image courtesy of Sony Pictures)
Squid Game (Image courtesy of Netflix)
The cloud and AI are other important VFX factors. The cloud looks to grow in importance for VFX. Healer comments, “Many facilities are limited by machine power, and moving to cloud-based configurations means that limit may be removed. The irony is that no matter the limit, we will push it.”
Weta’s Conley comments, “Many studios have been experimenting and building tools that use AI-assisted workflows and machine learning, and I expect we will see more of that work in production next year.”
Spin VFX’s Ali says, “Machine learning is starting to show up in commercial software solutions. This trend will only continue, and we have just scratched the surface on the possible use cases. Adding more of an ability to direct the art output of these systems will be important. What is coming down the pike in real-time graphics in 2022 will be a game-changer. The quality and complexity of what can be accomplished in real-time will take a leap forward.”
The pandemic arguably had an unexpected benefit in expanding the use of visual effects. Adds Lebensfeld, “Overall, I think people trust VFX more. You had to rely on it to do things that you could usually do in physical production pre-COVID. VFX has really proved its worth during COVID, and more people are comfortable with it. Turning to VFX even allowed for more safety. You couldn’t fill an auditorium with 200 people, so you did it digitally. An additional benefit is that VFX also allows for redundancy. So, if you don’t get what you need on the day, you still have options in post.”
Conley is enthused about the future of VFX. “There’s a lot to be excited about in 2022. We expect to see continued growth in the visual effects industry resulting from increased content creation across theatrical and streaming releases. Along with the growth in content, we’re seeing a diversification of creative and technical opportunities to help filmmakers tell their stories across a spectrum of budgets. Thanks to innovations in technology and technique, I am excited to see how VFX will continue to be further integrated into the filmmaking process in unique ways, providing more creative challenges for VFX artists across the industry.”
