Viral Deepfake Ad Switches Men and Women Soccer Players to Make Powerful Statement
As the Women's World Cup approaches, a clever marketing video has employed the latest deepfake technology to challenge gender stereotypes.
You Could Own the Custom Camera Used to Shoot ‘Blade Runner’
The custom-made 65mm VFX matte camera used to shoot Blade Runner (1982), Batman Returns, Species, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind is being offered for sale, letting fans of motion pictures own a major piece of cinema history.
Applying Eye-Contact AI to Movies Makes Scenes Very, Very Weird
Earlier this month, NVIDIA released a new beta software that uses artificial intelligence to fake eye contact. While designed for video calls and live streaming, a VFX specialist applied the effect to movie scenes and the result is... unsettling.
Australian Film is World’s First to Use Real-Time Ray Tracing in Production
The new Australian film Don't Go Below is the world's first to use a real-time ray tracing system that utilizes ultra short throw projectors and ambient light-rejecting screens, melding a digital environment with actors.
Boris FX Optics 2022 Review: Hollywood-Level Effects for Photography
Optics 2022 from Boris FX brings some seriously impressive special effects (SFX) tools like color grades, easy masking, and impressive lighting effects in a package that can be used as a stand-alone application or as a plugin for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom Classic.
How Filmmakers Recreated and Parodied an Iconic ‘Matrix’ Scene
With a new Matrix movie coming out this month, Unplug Productions and its creative director Isaac Alvarez decided to recreate the iconic "red pill, blue pill" scene with a fun twist, and share how they made it all come together.
Boris FX Optics Brings Cinematic Visual Effects to Photoshop and Lightroom
Academy and Emmy Award-winning software developer Boris FX is dipping its toes in the world of still photography with "Optics": a new standalone application and plugin suite that brings some of the company's feature film visual effects to the world of photo editing.
Incredible Real-Time Visual Effects Tech Replaces Green Screens with LED Walls
Real-time in-camera VFX might sound like a pipe dream, but Unreal Engine has just published a demo that shows exactly that with Project Spotlight. Using "next-generation virtual production tools," Project Spotlight is able to render and manipulate real-time environments with startling realism, replacing green or blue screens with LED walls.
Magnets and Iron Powder Were Used to Make this Mesmerizing Short Film
Photographer and filmmaker Roman De Giuli has created a new short film titled Matereality. The visual effects in the 3.5-minute video were created using iron powder, highly reflective pigments, and magnets.
This Sneaky Ode to Compositing Has a Lot More CG Elements Than You Think
Visual effects artist Roy Perker is tired of people saying that VFX and digital compositing "looks fake." So he created this fun little video to show off his own compositing skill, and educate people on what it takes to seamlessly blend real footage and computer generated imagery on screen.
This Haunting Short Film Was Created by Erasing Everyone in Photoshop
It took 2 months for photographer and filmmaker Mathieu Stern to create his haunting short film "Alone in Paris." That's because it wasn't shot at odd hours when Paris' streets were empty... every scene was shot at 2pm on a weekday and then painstakingly cleaned up in Photoshop!
755MP 300fps Lytro Cinema Camera Captures a 3D Model in Every Frame
Lytro has ditched the world of consumer cameras, and if the Lytro Immerge wasn't proof enough of this decision, their latest announcement should seal it. Yesterday, Lytro debuted "the world’s first Light Field solution for film and television," a 755MP cinema camera monster.
Why Photoshop Sucks (Except It Doesn’t)
Popular YouTube filmmaker and VFX artist Freddie Wong released this video a couple of days ago that has a lot of people talking. It's titled "Why CG Sucks (Except It Doesn't)." Over the course of 7.5 minutes, Wong argues that computer generated visual effects often get a bad rap because it's the bad CG that everyone notices -- by definition, good CG is largely invisible to audiences.
Before and After Comparisons of the Visual Effects in Mad Max: Fury Road
One of the big Hollywood blockbusters to hit the silver screen this year has been Mad Max: Fury Road, which has gotten rave reviews, with many praising the insane and complex visual design of the film. If you were wondering what some of the shots looked like when they were originally captured on camera, here are some before-and-after comparison images showing those shots next to the final frames after visual effects were applied.
Special Effects Artist Uses VFX to Turn His 3-Year-Old Into ‘Action Movie Kid’
What happens when you combine the imagination of a three-year-old with the talents of a father who is a special effects artist? You get "Action Movie Kid", a great example of when a talented visual artist uses his skills to make his kid feel awesome.
Grounded: An Eye-Popping Sci-Fi Short Filmed Using Canon DSLRs
It's mind-blowing what can be created these days using ordinary DSLRs, a small team of people, and a whole lotta skill with visual effects. The short film above, titled "Grounded", was emailed in to us by its creator Kevin Margo, who works as the visual effects supervisor at Blur Studios. He says that it was inspired by his father, who passed away from cancer. Here's the synopsis:
One astronaut's journey through space and life ends on a hostile exosolar planet. Grounded is a metaphorical account of the experience, inviting unique interpretation and reflection by the viewer. Themes of aging, inheritance, paternal approval, cyclic trajectories, and behaviors passed on through generations are explored against an ethereal backdrop.
It was shot using a Canon 5D Mark II for 24fps footage, a Canon 7D for 60fps footage, and the Canon 24mm, 50mm, and 135mm prime lenses. The software used in post include Vegas, PFtrack, Zbrush/Vray/Max, Fusion, and AE/MagicBullet.