Effects Corner

What happened?

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 03 May 2012 23:43:29 PDT

What happened? A week or two ago the LA Time ran an article on some of the problems of the visual effects industry. It covered someone who had been in visual effects for awhile and wanted things as...

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Melies quote of artists and businessmen

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:53:54 PDT

This is a story from Georges Méliès, early film director and visual effects artist. The film HUGO covered part of his life and the VES (Visual Effects Society) uses his image of a Rocket in the face...

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Beyond 24fps

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:17:07 PDT

Peter Jackson has been shooting The Hobbit in 3D at 48fps*. Jim Cameron is looking at doing Avatar sequels at 60fps. The preview of some of The Hobbit footage this last week caused some concern and...

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Visual Effects Union, take 2

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:43:39 PDT

(Update 4/23/2012 fixed missing BECTU link) Yesterday there was an IA Union meeting with a number of visual effects artists. Most were from Sony Imageworks but there were others attending to get...

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Digital Domain plans to have paying students make up 30% of workforce

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:37:09 PDT

In case you haven’t already been made aware of this Digital Domain (DD) is starting up a school in Florida which is funded by the Florida State government. I won't do a detailed recap here since...

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VES feedback

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:22:44 PST

VES Visual Effects Handbook feedback We are having meetings and starting to work on the revised VES handbook. Most of the feedback we have received has been very general. If you want to see...

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Acting and Animation

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 13:36:23 PST

Acting and Animation There has been debate and discussion lately regarding if motion capture is pure acting. Here are a couple of latest links to check out: James Franco requests recognition for...

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VES and VFX trade organization

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:18:45 PST

There's a LinkedIn discussion going on regarding Vfx trade organizations and the Vfx foundation. LinkedIn discussion This also includes some potshots at the VES. I wrote up a response but thought...

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Dream Quest

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:08:07 PST

Below are a few videos with visual effects by Dream Quest, a visual effects company I co-founded in late 1979. These are from the first 5 years. The company was later sold to Disney and changed it's...

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Visual Effects Union - IA efforts one year later

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:22:22 PDT

I know most of you would rather just focus on the technical issues of visual effects and many of you have an aversion to even thinking about unions after being bombarded by myths and inaccurate...

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People, not computers, create visual effects

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:14:34 PDT

There's an impression that is perpetuated in the media that visual effects are created entirely by computers. The human artists are left out of this narrative. The term CGI is now being used...

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Rotoscoping - The Basics

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:11:26 PDT

Mike Seymour @ fxguide has written up a great article on Rotoscoping. It covers the history, the process and the list of the various roto tools available. I'm glad he spoke to Tom Bertino and Jack...

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VES Board of Directors

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:39:35 PDT

If you are a Visual Effects Society (VES) member you should have already received email regarding the Board of Director's nomination forms. If not, make sure the VES has your current email or check...

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VES Visual Effects Bill of Rights – Now what?

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 23:46:51 PDT

VES Visual Effects Bill of Rights – Now what? By now most of you have heard and hopefully read the VES Bill of Rights. If not check it out here. This first step was to try to define where we want...

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Letter to Animation Guild

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:50:15 PDT

The Animation Guild received an email for someone in the VFX industry who documents some of the issues faced by typical vfx workers. This is somewhat of an extreme but there's certainly a basis of...

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VFX Wages Discussion

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:13:27 PDT

This post is in response to a comment on a previous post. See this post and follow the comments there for the full original comment. (Toward the end from Anonymous) Unfortunately once I wrote this...

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VES 2.0 feedback requested

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 19:46:20 PDT

The VES 2.0 group (Visual Effects Society) continues to meet and explore options for the vfx industry. I'd like to once again ask all vfx artists and companies to submit their thoughts, ideas,...

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2D to 3D Conversions

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:16:56 PDT

2D to 3D conversions 2D to 3D conversion is the process of converted a film from 2D (normal film) to a 3D (or stereo) film for viewing with a stereographic viewing system. (polarized glasses,...

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VES Handbook now in eBook formats

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:52:02 PST

The VES Handbook is finally out in Kindle format from Amazon. It came out last fall but had issues with the Table of Contents among other things. Currently $37.22 on US amazon store. Paperback...

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The Artistry of VFX

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:40:02 PDT

The Artistry of VFX It’s sometimes difficult to get directors and studios to look at vfx as an artistic process and those involved as creative. To some we’re looked at as technical nerds (with the...

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Working directly for the studios

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:43:46 PDT

Working directly for the studios Joe Harkin, Dave Rand and David Stripinis have all expressed a potential solution to some of the problems in today’s vfx industry by having vfx artists working...

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Using the nail

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:36:13 PDT

Using the nail The last post I covered some of problems facing visual effects workers. Today I’ll cover some of the potential outside groups that may be able to help the VFX industry. (* I’m not a...

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Pass me a nail

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:32:08 PDT

Pass me a nail Every time someone even hears the word union and visual effects in the same sentence they always say "it will be the nail in the coffin for all visual effects in this the...

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VFX Business Models

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:33:55 PST

VFX Business Models The VFX business has always been difficult. The amount of work has fluctuated causing feast or famine for those working in it. In the last decade or two the amount of work has...

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VFX Union Chat

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:46:45 PDT

On April 21, 2011 I was invited as a guest on Variety's tech live chat. David S. Cohen, from Variety, was the moderator. Also on the chat were Lee Stranahan, Joe Harkin and Dave Rand. I'd like to...

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Overtime and misc

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:42:24 PDT

A few recent reports: From @neonmarg Study: “working more than 11 hours a day increased the risk of heart disease by 67 percent” http://bit.ly/fxl36H Working overtime hurts health ABC news Full...

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Global VFX Workers - next step

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:32:32 PDT

Not long ago I posted about a possible global VFX worker guideline or seal of approval. Please read it if you haven't already. I received some good responses directly from people. So if we had a...

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VFX Deal Memo

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:25:53 PDT

When starting a project you should see about getting a document detailing your work agreement. This is sometimes called a deal memo. Sometimes it’s a full contract. This is so you and the visual...

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VFX Interactions

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:49:34 PDT

Interactions Most visual effects are designed to integrate with live action images. Whether you're creating a cg creature, cg background, physical model addition or even 2 live action elements, the...

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Canada's IATSE local 891 VFX survey

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:47:19 PDT

Canada's IATSE local 891 VFX union has done a survey of VFX artists that's worth checking out.

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VES handbook thoughts?

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 10:01:20 PDT

Now that the VES visual effects handbook has been out several months it would be great to get some specific feedback. Sometime in the next 2-3 years it will likely be updated slightly. Keep in mind...

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Unions, VFX working hours and environments

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 11:41:41 PST

If you have a safe working environment today then you likely have a union to thank for it. 100 Years ago was the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. This info graphic shows some of the safety...

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Union update

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:48:20 PDT

Today the union had an info meeting in Burbank and Vancouver. If you have not attended an IATSE Union info meeting yet I would strongly suggest you contact the point person directly to get the...

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Global VFX Workers

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:13:18 PST

Paddy Eason from the U.K asked in a previous posting about the possibility of a global union for vfx workers. The following are some notes I wrote this last weekend. Some this refers back to a...

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What makes a good visual effects artist?

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:39:34 PST

First off of course are all the standard things that any good worker would be doing (being on time for work, etc) The following are some characteristics that are useful for the visual effects...

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IATSE VFX has public meeting March 13 in Burbank

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:29:59 PST

IATSE is holding another Public VFX Meeting to try to answer questions about a potential visual effects union. "we will be holding another picnic on Sunday March 13 at 1:00 pm at Johnny Carson Park...

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How do these things tie together?

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:23:43 PDT

Early last week I posted about what was going on in Wisconsin and how that tied into Unions, the Middle Class and Visual Effects. A couple of posters took issue with my posting so let’s review a few...

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Unions, the Middle class and visual effects

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 18:51:18 PDT

For those of you who may not be aware the American Middle Class is under attack by the rich and the powerful. The corporations are pushing ahead in the name of greed. For those of you who don't...

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VES Handbook for Kindle - Back soon

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:05:17 PDT

The Kindle version of the VES Handbook was up for a short time a month or two ago but it was discovered that the Table of Contents was missing (a critical feature). Focal Press pulled it to fix the...

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US Health Care

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:09:24 PST

Health care: In a recent posting one of the commenters suggested that I was being a bit over the top regarding issue of health care. As I noted there all the information I provided was based either...

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IA VFX Union note

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:04:40 PST

I met with Jimmy Goodman of the IA last week. They are planning to have a blog setup within the next 2 weeks to keep people informed. This would be one vfx union that covers the U.S. and they are...

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IBEW VFX Union meeting

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:11:57 PST

IBEW Announcement Attention all Visual Effects Artists, Practitioners, Aficionados, & Mavens: IBEW Local 40 will be hosting its’ 4th Informational Meeting for those working in the Motion Picture...

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Film incentives

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:20:49 PST

Here are a couple of references to those interested in film incentives. I included these in response to a comment but thought I should also make it full post. Report on the impact of incentive...

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VFX Union - What Next?

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 11:34:06 PST

Reminder: I’m a member of the Board of Directors of the Visual Effects Society. What I write here on the blog though is only coming from me as a fellow VFX artist and in no way should be...

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IA Visual Effects Union Announcement

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:02:37 PST

fxguide has posted the official announcement of the IA regarding setting up a VFX union.

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VES Handbook up for a Prose award

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 12:21:20 PST

I've been notified the VES Handbook is up for a Prose award, which is nice recognition for all of those who worked on it. Richard Kerrigan wrote a review on Animation World Network here. Oddly on...

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Reminder - VFX Union meeting Nov 7

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 09:44:29 PDT

From the IBEW Attention All Visual Effects Practitioners in Southern California: IBEW Local 40 will be holding its’ 3rd Informational Meeting for those working in the Visual Effects portion of the...

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VFX Union IA update

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:09:48 PST

Just a reminder here I'm trying to provide information for VFX artists to make informed decisions. As noted in an earlier post the IBEW is having a meeting for people interested in a VFX union to...

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VES Handbook of Visual Effects now available in Kindle

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:45:11 PDT

VES Handbook of Visual Effects now available in Kindle electronic form!

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VFX union. IBEW Meeting

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:40:28 PDT

VFX Union Info Meeting tonight

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 12:40:03 PDT

IBEW Local 40 Informational Meeting for Visual Effects Industry It's in Burbank (LA, CA) tonight (Oct 16) at 6pm. I don't know any of the details except the posting at fxguide which lists the...

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Tom Cruise and VFX

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 21:30:56 PDT

For those who haven't seen it there's posting on TomCruise.com regarding vfx information. My Effects Corner blog is listed along with a lot of various blogs, companies, schools, etc. Worth checking...

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Rotoscoping hair

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:34:51 PDT

I forgot that Focal Press (the publishers of the VES Handbook) asked me to write a short article for them a few months ago. It's online at one of their sites. Rotoscoping Hair Article <-...

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VES business for film and VFX artists event

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 15:53:19 PDT

The Visual Effects Society is having an educational business event for artists. 1099 forms, payroll, insurance and other issues will be covered. Open to non members as well (for a fee) Oct 5, 2010...

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VES Annual Meeting

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 01:30:48 PDT

For those VES Members in Southern Calif. don't forget there's the VES Annual Membership Meeting. (This is a members only meeting. Sorry, no guests) When: Tomorrow, September 23,...

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Price of VFX Education

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:54:05 PDT

VFXSoldier has a good posting about VFX education. As VFXSoldier points out all of these VFX schools are in it for profit, which is fine, but be aware of what the true costs are, especially to what...

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Unions and freelancing issues

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:37:03 PDT

How Companies Turn People Against Unions (org link from the Animation Guild Blog) Ugh: the 'free' in freelanceMore than 40% of contract workers report trouble getting paid. Average owed:...

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VFX artists don't need to be taken advantage of

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 15:28:27 PDT

Variety had an article about another VFX company in Montreal not paying their vfx artists: “The latest bad news from the vfx biz comes from Montreal's Fake Studio, part of the Camera e-Motion Group....

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Wages In The VFX, Animation, And Games Industry

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:47:05 PDT

VFXsoldier has a very interesting read regarding wages and unions among other things. Click here for the link.

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Vfx helps U.K. post-production stay afloat

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:50:22 PDT

For those that don't think the incentives have anything to do with VFX: From Variety article Vfx helps U.K. post-production stay afloat "While most entertainment business sectors in the U.K. are...

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Incentive and film program updates

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:54:44 PDT

Every week there seem to be new updates on state or country incentive and film programs. Clint Eastwood makes UKFC plea - Entertainment News, Top News, Media - Variety Here's a snippet:Scottish-born...

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Sad but true..

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 12:37:53 PDT

A cautionary tale: From @VFXSoldier twitterArt Institute graduate spent 70K on degree, can't find video game job, takes up stripping instead. Believe me, you don't want to see most vfx artists...

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Ray Harryhausen and Chuck Jones exhibitions closing soon

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:36:03 PDT

Just a reminder for those in L.A. the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a special exhibit on Ray Harryhausen that opened in May and will be closing Aug 22. Free. More info on the...

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Could unionization save vfx facilities?

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:59:34 PDT

Could unionization save vfx facilities? is a posting by vfxsoldier. There are those who argue that any type of unionization will drive the nail in the coffin for US VFX production. Since it's...

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Escape Studios competition extended

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:34:18 PDT

I was recently contacted by Escape Studios, which offers VFX training in the UK and online. I thought readers might be interested so here's the info from them: We're currently running a competition...

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VES Handbook Released

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:11:35 PDT

The VES Handbook of Visual Effects is now shipping. I know at least a couple of people I spoke to thought "why do we need another vfx book?" Once they saw the scope and depth of the handbook they...

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Globalization and VFX

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:50:24 PDT

Globalization and VFX One of the issues facing VFX companies and artists is the issue of globalization. Given the tax incentives and cost of living variance around the world most film studios are...

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VES Handbook of Visual Effects

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:51:17 PDT

I'm told the VES Handbook should be available July 30 (currently listed as Aug 13 on Amazon). 960 pages of info written by 88 vfx professionals. (I wrote a few articles and was a co-editor) Full...

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The Tragic Plight of Hollywood VFX Sweatshops

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 19:01:07 PDT

The Tragic Plight of Hollywood VFX Sweatshops is from a retweet by @alba of a tweet from Erik Van HornIt's a posting on sinisthesia.blogspot.com and is worthwhile read for anyone in the vfx industry...

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Getting the most out of your VFX budget

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 22:27:53 PDT

Getting the most out of your VFX budget If you were to ask most directors, producers and studios how to get the most out of their VFX budget the knee jerk reaction would be to hire the cheapest VFX...

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VFX soldier posting

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 24 May 2010 19:47:11 PDT

VFX soldier posting Interesting read. I have a few articles in progress, one that covers some of the same things, but this covers it well.

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VFX filmmaker

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 24 May 2010 10:28:31 PDT

Lee Stranahan has started a VFX blog at http://vfxfilmmaker.com/ He recently wrote a humorous article for the Huffington Post. Just watch out if you see me on Melrose.

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Hollywood's VFX Sweatshops

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:44:00 PDT

The latest Time magazine has an article on the VFX business. Very worth reading. "A major point of contention between VFX shops and studios is the issue of change orders. When a director revises...

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VFX Wages

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:56:00 PDT

One of the issues discussed in relationship to the town hall meetings (besides hours worked) is the wage issue. Certainly a number of people who search visual effects on the web are looking for...

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Notes to Store 1.32 released for iPad

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 13 May 2010 02:05:31 PDT

Notes to Store version 1.32 just released for iPad. Faster, easier brush color and size selection. 16 user defined color presets and other new features.

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Animation Guilde -Persuasion

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Wed, 12 May 2010 13:08:19 PDT

The Animation Guild Blog has a posting regarding their union.

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Previsualization Society

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 09 May 2010 23:09:12 PDT

For those involved with previs (creating or using it) you should check out the Previsualization Society. They formed last year and already have several hundred members. Previs has traditionally been...

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How VFX is perceived by at least one DP

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sat, 01 May 2010 21:48:52 PDT

The International Cinematographers Guild magazine has an interview with a DP regarding visual effects: "It's definitely true that the technology is improving constantly. But I don't understand why...

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Rhythm & Hues Studios is announcing Apprenticeship Programs

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:02:34 PDT

(I received this and am posting it here. I know nothing more than what's listed. - Scott) Rhythm & Hues Studios is announcing Apprenticeship Programs as follows: Animation Apprentice...

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VES Handbook of Visual Effects

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:50:45 PDT

We're still finishing the VES Handbook but it's already listed on Amazon. My understanding is it's supposed to be out this summer (July?). I don't know if the VES has special rates or other options...

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Notes To Store 1.2 for the iPad

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:49:22 PDT

My iPad app, Notes To Store has been updated to version 1.2 Faster paint, more background images (darker grids, full lined spiral and legal pads), and photos added in the app can now be full size of...

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3D Stereoscopic Visual Effects - web event

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:15:30 PDT

Free webinar on 3D Stereoscopic Visual Effects Limited 'seating' but there will be a recording. 10am this Friday. Put on by Lee Stranahan with speakers Jason Goodman and Daniel Smith He's also...

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Response

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:40:13 PDT

There have been some good comments regarding some of my posts. As Steve Molin commented: “I think the heart of your post is that the relationships between artist, VFX company and studio are...

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Unions

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:38:57 PDT

(I’m not a lawyer or a representative for a union so take this with the grain of virtual salt. As always I’m trying to provide a point of reference and possible ideas to discuss.) There’s been a...

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Visual effects service - The Big Picture

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 12:29:56 PDT

(Note: I’m on the board of the VES but all posting to this blog are mine own and do not represent the VES) (As always, I could be wrong about anything) If we’re re-examining the current VFX...

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VFX TownHall Meeting thoughts

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 23:54:23 PDT

Here are some random thoughts and ideas regarding some of the issues brought up in the vfx townhall meetings. I heard the original townhall broadcast live and caught the tail end of the next one. I...

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Notes To Store for the iPad

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:53:06 PDT

Just completed an iPad app that was accepted by Apple. It's called Notes To Store and allows treating the iPad like a spiral notebook (actually multiple notebooks). You can type in notes (virtual...

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VFX TownHall Meeting

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 18:14:56 PST

From Lee Stranahan: (twitter: Stranahan) Online Town Hall registration is open - totally free, Monday March 29th, amazing panel Link Info from the site: VFX Online Townhall an open disccusion of...

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VFX companies continue to fall

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:20:58 PDT

Last year we saw a few VFX companies close their doors (The Orphanage, Illusion Arts, Pacific Title, etc)We're now seeing a few more, or in the case of Image Movers, a planned closing.Image...

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More VFX wage issues

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:06:40 PST

There's been more posting and other things around the web regarding the state of VFX artists.Here's a couple more related links:Some Inconvenient VFX Industry Truths by Richard KerriganA Visual...

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Motionographer interview with Lee Stranahan

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:48:23 PST

More followup to the previous post regarding the VFX letter to James Cameron at Motionographer.

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Open Letter To James Cameron: Fairness For Visual Effects Artists

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:11:52 PST

For those who haven't seen this yet, Lee Stranahan has posted an open letter to James Cameron regarding the state of the VFX artists working on today's movies.Click here to read.There seems to be a...

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Commotion

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:50:35 PDT

Matthew Ingram has written up a great posting about Commotion here. [Update: I think this site is gone so may re-post it here if I can] Thanks Matthew! Commotion was a software packages I wrote for...

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More VFX wage issues

effectscorner@mac.com (Scott Squires) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:37:07 PST

More bad news for Visual Effects Artists around the world. (and bad news for VFX vendors as well).Keep in mind that most of the top money making movies of all time are heavy VFX movies. (Titanic,...

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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) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:49:57 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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