Effects Corner

Woes of non-union VFX

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:21:38 PDT

The Meteor case has become a symbol of the shaky standing of the vfx industry and vfx artists in particular. Vfx artists have no union or guild, and no Hollywood union has consented to represent...

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VES Annual Meeting

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:40:38 PDT

The Visual Effects Society had it's annual meeting last Saturday. There was a live feed to Vancouver and San Francisco.It was also webcast throughout the world including the other sections of London...

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Healthcare for all

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:38:20 PDT

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

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Public Healthcare

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:34:50 PDT

Quite a few visual effects artists are freelance. They work from project to project. Some are contractors. Even when working at large VFX companies there are frequently large gaps when there is no...

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Visual Effects Producer Book

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:32:19 PDT

This was written by Charles Finance and Susan Zwerman, both with the VIsual Effects Society.Susan is also one of the editors of the VES Handbook that is in progress.If you're interested in visual...

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Greenscreen plates

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:57:19 PDT

For those interested in practicing with greenscreen plates check out Greenscreen Test FootageRange of shots and difficulties. Tracker markers and other items in the shot.I'd avoid using them in your...

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Reworking Blog

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:05:38 PDT

Reworking the blog and updating the template. Will have to restore many things so it may be awhile.

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Previs thoughts

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:15:51 PDT

Just Misc Previs thoughts from a note I had sent someone months ago.I think previs encompasses anything that is used to get a visual sense for the final product ahead of time. The majority today is...

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Science of Magic and Illusion

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:21:19 PDT

Wired magazine takes a look at the science of magic. (thanks to Eric Alba http://twitter.com/alba for mentioning it)Click the title or use the link...

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VES Handbook

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:14:58 PST

I wanted to let everyone know that there is a Visual Effects Society handbook being written by quite a few visual effects artists, myself included. There's already a publisher involved and the plan...

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Cloud Tank effect

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:49:31 PST

People have been asking me to provide some of the details of the Cloud Tank so that's been on a long list of subjects. Recently I had to write up some of the notes so thought i'd post it here as...

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Update on Dallas Cook

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:02:48 PST

When I started this blog I had posted news on a young man who was killed by a drunk driver.Ryan Dallas Cook was in the band Suburban Legends, which my daughter saw quite a bit.The drunk driver worked...

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Fliparoni update

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:01:17 PST

Just a note that Fliparoni (iPhone and Touch game) is available free for a very short time as a promotion on the App Store and iTunes.

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Fliparoni

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:38:15 PDT

My newest iPhone application is now available.Fliparoni, It's a video puzzle game for the iPhone. Improve your visual sense.Click on the post title above to go to the website.Now I'll be getting...

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Squiggles

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:01:08 PDT

For those interested I updated my iPhone/Touch paint program Squiggles.Click the Squiggles link above to see demo video and images.This has even more advanced paint options (paint smoothing, opacity,...

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Space Race

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:57:20 PDT

For those interested in a blast from the past (late 80's?, early 90's?) a ShowScan simulator ride I directed and Supervised is posted on the web. (Click Space Race above and scroll halfway down the...

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iPhone

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:27:05 PDT

I've been tied up lately with a lot of other things. (Hence the delay in getting new postings up).One of those things is a paint program for the iPhone called Squiggles. The link above takes you to...

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Designing Visual Effect Shots

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:49:06 PDT

Designing Visual Effect Shots, Part 1(This posting started getting very long and cover a lot so I’m breaking it into smaller postings. I’ll get into more specific details in future postings.)The...

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VES & Gnomon - Golden Compass Breakdown

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:46:53 PST

Gnomon School Of Visual Effects And The VESWelcomes The Visual Effects Team From The Academy Award Nominated, The Golden CompassFeb 28, 2008 in Los Angeles at the Gnomon SchoolAcademy Award...

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Depth of Field and VFX

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 19:35:26 PST

Depth of Field and VFXThis is in response to a question from a reader about depth of field and how it relates to visual effects.ModelsWith miniatures you need enough depth of field to hold focus from...

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VFX Schedules

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:57:23 PST

More reader questions regarding schedulesWhat is a 'Shot Timeline'...is this some sort ofdevice used to tell the amount of time the shot shouldlast for or what. You also made mention of some typesof,...

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VFX management

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:49:53 PST

Here are a few reader questions. As I’ve said before each company and each production is a bit different. There are no standards of operation so there will exceptions to everything below. How much...

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Close Encounters Book

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 23:03:19 PST

There's a new book on Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This was the first film I worked on and the author covers the behind the scenes, including the visual effects. I still have to get around...

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VFX Supervisor article in Variety

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 22:46:57 PST

Click on the post title to go to an article in Variety about visual effects supervisors. Some productions are catching on.Here's the link if you have...

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Visual Effects in India

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 22:51:07 PST

NPR did a story on vfx animation in India last week. Click on the Post Title above to go to the article or use the link below.http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17103636There's...

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Audio Reminder

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:47:51 PST

This is just a reminder for those who subscribe to the audio feed to check out the latest articles posted here. http://www.effectscorner.com is the base address that links to this blog.I have a few...

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Comparisons

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:03:23 PST

When you go to an eye doctor he asks you to compare two different lens choices. “Is this better or this better?” Step by step he refines the specific lenses that you need. The visual effects...

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LA Shows - Matte Painting, Illustrations

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 15:37:39 PST

The Academy is having a couple of events in the next 2 or 3 weeks of interest.Motion Picture Illustrators exhibit in their gallery until Dec 16.Matte Painting show by Craig Barron Dec 10 at the...

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Mac Widget for Effects Corner

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:39:14 PST

Click the link of the title and download a Widget for the Mac to display the highlights of the last 10 postings here. Click on the article title in the widget and it takes you to the page.

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Photo Real and Realism in Visual Effects

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:30:32 PST

At the start of most projects every director requests their shots be photo real What does Photo Real mean? Are realistic vfx shots a lot more difficult than fantasy shots?Photo Real means to create...

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Visual Effects Society

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:06:09 PST

Just a reminder to check out the Visual Effects Society (VES) sometime. If you're a professional with 5 years or more experience then you can qualify for membership. They have member inductions...

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Budgeting VFX

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 22:53:26 PDT

Budgeting VFXI covered some of the basics of this in the post/podcast Bidding and Preproduction I’ll be going into more detail in this posting.As previously discussed budgeting visual effects can be...

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Naming conventions and workflow

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 19:24:47 PDT

Naming conventions and workflow.Since this question has come up a few times I’ll try to address it here. Note that if a company is already up and running chances are they have a workflow in place...

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Filming the Fantastic

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:38:28 PDT

I recieved this email the other day from Mark Sawicki along with a notice from the Visual Effects Society. Unfortunately I haven't seen the book yet (looks good on Amazon) and probably won't be able...

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More on VFX Time Crunch

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:10:28 PDT

fxguide has a follow up to the Variety article on the crushing post-production schedules for visual effects. This was touched on in my Wasting Time post.The problem here is the studios are making...

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Visual Effects Schools

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:40:49 PST

For those with questions about possible schools for visual effects I've had no direct experience with visual effects classes but thought I'd list a few here.I know there are quite a few others...

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Time's a wasting

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 14:56:18 PDT

Click on the Post title above to go to the Variety article on the time the studios allow for VFX on feature films.Some film producers like to brag how little time they have and how close they came to...

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Visual Effects Festival

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 21:06:31 PDT

If you're in the LA area the Visual Effects Society Festival starts Thursday night and runs through Sunday.Click on the Post Title to go to their info page.

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Spring cleaning

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:12:18 PDT

I'm doing a bit of adjustments to the blog as time permits to make it more useful.On the left I've included permanent links to the main effects postings to make them easier to find.I've put key tags...

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Visual Effects Supervisor

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 23:53:45 PDT

Visual Effects SupervisorIn this posting (no podcast) I discuss the role of the visual effects supervisor and issues related to this position.DefinitionsNote that there is no union position for...

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News on Ryan Dallas Cook

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:05:06 PDT

This is non-visual effects posting:The above is a link to an LA Times article on the Hyundai executive who caused the death of Dallas (from Suburban Legends) and fled the country with the aid of...

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Topics?

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:13:14 PDT

I'm writing up some more podcasts and articles. Are there specific topics people want me to be covering so I can try to prioritize them?Preferences regarding podcast vs written articles?Just post as...

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Storyboards

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:13:34 PDT

Audio Podcast on Storyboards for visual effects.21 minutes long.Previs and Animatics podcast to come.I'm recording this on my MacBook Pro and am a little rusty going through the whoel process so let...

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Any day now

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:14:20 PDT

I've been writing up some podcasts and hope to start recording and posting in the next few days.As I've mentioned in the past VFX work can easily be 6-7 days a week at 12-16 hrs a day. What little...

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Visual Effects Producer

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:14:45 PDT

In this podcast I cover a bit more detail on what a Visual effects Producer does.Approx 14 minutes.

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Ryan Dallas Cook update

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 20:54:44 PDT

As mentioned a few months ago one of the band members of Suburban Legends, Ryan Dallas Cook, was killed by a hit and run driver.Police have now found out this was a man from Korea who works for...

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Blogger outage

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:15:11 PDT

Blogger had a major outage the last couple of days so this web site was unavailable. Sorry about that. I'll hopefully be able to start posting new podcasts in a week or so.

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More Transcripts

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:16:13 PDT

I've added transcripts for the November podcasts (Bidding and Pre-production, Filming, Moving Camera

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Transcripts

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 16:17:43 PST

I've been a bit busy lately so I'm behind on podcasts.As a test I posted the transcript of the Visual Effects Career podcast.You can find it below or on the list of archives on the left.If there's...

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Rotoscoping - Part 2

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:16:42 PDT

Rotoscoping - Part 2 I cover the process of creating rotosplines for visual effects and some tips and suggestions. Examples are in Commotion but should apply to any application that has...

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Rotoscoping - Part 1

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:17:00 PDT

Rotoscoping for Animation and Visual Effects. In this first part I cover what is rotoscoping and when do you use it. Includes examples of creating animation and roto mattes.I've included chapter...

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Visual Effects lesson 101-106

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:17:24 PDT

(Blog post, no podcast)Here is a basic visual effects lesson for those just starting out:1. Think of a simple concept to do as a test shot. Do this as a still so you don't have to worry about moving...

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Server down

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:18:07 PDT

Well I switched to a new provider over the holidays but it appears the server is down.Sorry, looks like I may be moving again.Anyone have any experience with http://www.dreamhost.com/ or other ISP...

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Walking Pants Breakdown Video Part 2

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:18:29 PDT

This is the second part of the breakdown video where the specific shots in the commercial are broken down into the rotoscoping and visual effects process used.Previous post:Pants breakdown Part 1I've...

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Walking Pants (Invisible Man) Breakdown Video Part 1

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:18:49 PDT

This is a reposting now that I have a new server setup. I've broken the video into 2 parts to make it easier to deal with. This is part 1. I'll post part 2 in the next 2 or 3 days.This is a video...

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Bandwidth issues

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:19:07 PDT

Evidently the podcasts have been doing too well. My service provider has warned me that I may be exceeding their bandwidth so I may have to move the files elsewhere. If you have suggestions for...

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Walking Pants (Invisible Man) Breakdown Video

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:19:40 PDT

[ Notice: I've reposted this in two parts. Look at the later postings.Pants breakdown Part 1 ][Notice: I've had to remove this file since it and the other podcasts are exceeding my bandwidth. I'll...

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Happy Holidays

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:19:59 PDT

Happy Holidays to all.I'm working on a video cast and had hoped to have it up by now but it'll probably be a few more days.

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Visual Effects Career

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:26:30 PDT

Getting started in a career in Visual Effects.The pros and cons as well as learning and applying for jobs.1:39 The Upside2:49 The Downside7:30 Education13:04 Self Education14:33 Hands on17:58 On...

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Questions for Listeners

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:20:53 PDT

Now that I've posted a few podcasts I thought I'd check to see how well it's working for listeners.Do you stop by these pages much? I publish occasional non-podcast material (such as this) and...

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PostProduction

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:23:38 PDT

PostProduction for Visual Effects is covered in this podcast.Here's the timeline: 2:10 Client turnovers 6:24 Effects editorial 8:41 Scanning12:08 Effects turnovers15:21 Artists - Matchmover,...

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Moving Camera

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:24:05 PDT

Using a moving camera when filming live action for Visual Effects.Locked off camera, Post Moves, Motion Control, 2D Motion Tracking, 3D Match Moving and Face Markers are all covered in this podcast...

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Comments and iTunes

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:21:27 PDT

Just so everyone knows, right now when you post a comment it sends me an email and then I have to approve it. So if your comment doesn't show up immediately don't worry, I'm probably just slow...

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Filming

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:25:07 PDT

Filming live action for visual effects on feature films. I discuss the process of shooting on locations and sets, using references, creating interactions and things to watch for. In addition I give...

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Bidding and Preproduction

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:24:43 PDT

Visual Effects Bidding and Preproduction are covered in this podcast.Storyboards and animatics are included in this discussion.TranscriptToday I'll be discussing the start of the process, which...

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Update

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:25:36 PDT

Hoping to get the next podcast uploaded tomorrow.I've started listing this site on various podcast directories. iTunes kicked it back for some reason and their system seems to be broken so I've been...

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Intro to the Effects Corner Podcast

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:26:14 PDT

I've posted the first podcast for the Effects Corner. This is a very basic introduction.Copy the link to the right into iTunes subscribe to Podcast or click on link of this post name.

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Suburban Legends

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 28 May 2007 14:19:32 PDT

Last Staturday I saw Suburban Legends perform in Oakland for iMusicast. If you ever get a chance to go to a concert of their's - go! In addition to the great music it is an amazing, energetic and...

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Dallas Cook

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 12:58:08 PDT

I know this is a Visual effects blog but sometimes you have to take time out for reality.A few days ago Dallas Cook was killed in Orange County. Dallas was a member of band called Suburban...

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Welcome

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:26:50 PDT

Welcome to the Effects Corner.I'll try to cover creative, technical and business aspects of Visual Effects.I'm working on the podcasts and hoping to have those posted soon.If you have questions you...

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