meyemind.com - david schnee - vfxlog

Wolverine Trailer With The Day The Earth Stood Still

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:01:45 -0800

XMF can exclusively confirm that 20th Century Fox is hoping to release the first theatrical preview with December 12th's "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (XmenFilms.net)

"We are shooting for 12/12 on DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL now..." said the studio in a statement.

Were busy as you read this working away on some of those trailer shots... :)

Victory!

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:59:03 -0800

Beverly Hills Chihuahua still #1 with $17.5M

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:50:42 -0800

Ay, "Chihuahua!"

Disney's "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" was top dog in the domestic boxoffice for a second straight weekend, making a mutt out of the pre-frame favorite for No. 1 -- Warner Bros.' star-studded Middle East thriller "Body of Lies."

"Chihuahua" fetched an estimated $17.5 million this session, as a miniature weekend-over-weekend drop of just 40% groomed a 10-day cumulative boxoffice of $52.5 million. "Lies" truly underperformed expectations with a shocking $13.1 million bow good only for a third-place showing. (The Hollywood Reporter)

*Update* - Hollywood, The Economy, and Signs of the Apocalypse? hah, ouch.
"But out there at the box office, it is still morning in America. Four major movies opened on Friday, and they came on the heels of seven movies the week before, most of which did quite nicely, thank you. The fact that “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” has topped the box office for two weeks running and has taken in over $52 million may be one of the signs of the apocalypse, but not the kind that has anything to do with credit default swaps." (nytimes.com)

Anyone Remember Cloverfield?

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:01:15 -0800

Well Cloverfield is up for numerous Spike Scream Awards including:

THE ULTIMATE SCREAM
Cloverfield
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Iron Man
LOST
The Mist

BEST SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE
Cloverfield
I Am Legend
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Southland Tales
WALL-E

BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE
Anna Friel; “Pushing Daises”
Jessica Lucas; “Cloverfield”
T.J. Miller; “Cloverfield”
WALL-E; “WALL-E”
Anna Walton; “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”
Odette Yustman; “Cloverfield”

THE HOLY SHIT! SCENE OF THE YEAR
The Batmobile/Batpod Chase; “The Dark Knight”
The Big Rig Flips Over; “The Dark Knight”
Escape From Ten Rings Hideout; “Iron Man”
Iron Man’s First Flight; “Iron Man”
The Reverse Kill Shot; “Wanted”
The Statue Of Liberty/Empire State Building Attack; “Cloverfield”

BEST SCREAMPLAY
“Cloverfield;” Drew Goddard
“The Mist;” Frank Darabont
“The Orphanage;” Sergio G. Sanchez
“WALL-E;” Andrew Stanton, Peter Docter & Jim Reardon
“The Dark Knight;” Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan & David S. Goyer
“Iron Man;” Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Arthur Marcum & Matthew Hollaway

BEST ACTRESS IN A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE OR TV SHOW
Summer Glau; “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”
Tricia Helfer; “Battlestar Galactica”
Lena Headey; “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”
Milla Jovovich; “Resident Evil: Extinction”
Gwyneth Paltrow; “Iron Man”
Odette Yustman; “Cloverfield”

BEST F/X
Beowulf
Cloverfield
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Iron Man
Wanted

Speaking of Best F/X...
Here is some actual footage from Tippett's Cloverfield panel on the VFX at Siggraph 2008, your listening to VFX Supervisor Eric Leven, Compositing Supervisor Chris Morley, and Matchmove Supervisor Devin Brees. Crappy footage, but awesome stuff.

Bedtime Stories the Poster

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:19:57 -0800

Beverly Hills Chihuahua opens #1 with $29.3M

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:53:40 -0800

Disney's CG-heavy Chihuahua film Beverly Hills Chihuahua placed first in its opening weekend with $29.3M. Per VARIETY, it's the biggest opening for Disney in October ever. The film's vfx work was done by Tippett Studio, Cinesite, Image Engine Design, K.N.B. Effects Group, Kerner Optical, Proof, Realscan 3D and Svengali Visual Effects.

On the VFX:
"With years of experience in the field, visual effects crews have aced the task of manipulating doggie jowls so they convincingly appear to be speaking, although they do seem to have gone overboard with the eyebrows. Instead of striking a familiar expression and holding it, the way real dogs do, these characters digitally-enhanced faces appear to be in constant motion. Two completely CG characters a rat and an iguana (Paul Rodriguez) blend right in, though a mountain lion confrontation seems to have been rendered on the cheap." -Variety.com

VFXWorld Featured Article:
Beverly Hills Chihuahua: Tippett's Chattering Class of Pooches
Ellen Wolff discovers how Tippett refines its Furrocious tool and throws in a few other advancements for Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua ended up 41% Fresh (or Rotten, depending how you look at it) and a Metacritic score of 42.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua is Released!

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:44:53 -0800

in the USA 3 October 2008

visit Beverly Hills Chihuahua @ imdb.com

Box Office Results October 3-5, 2008
Number: 1
Weekend Gross: $29,300,465
Theatres: 3,215
Theatre Average: $9,114
Weeks in Release: 1
Total Gross: $30,657,030
Budget: $?
Running Time: 1 hrs. 25 min.
Distributor: Buena Vista
MPAA Rating: PG

Bedtime Stories

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:07:51 -0800

The Story - Today I get in bed with the next Adam Sandler movie Bedtime Stories. I'll only be on the show for 3 short weeks, but pimping bug eyes onto the pet guinea pig will be priceless.

The Logline - A harried architect's life is turned upside down when the lavish bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew begin to come true.

The Plot - The life of Skeeter Bronson, a hotel handyman, is changed forever when the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to mysteriously come true. He attempts to take advantage of the phenomenon, incorporating his own aspirations into one outlandish tale after another, but it's the kids' unexpected contributions that turn Skeeter's life upside down.

The Trailer

The Website

Phil Tippett to Receive the VES George Melies Award

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:48:54 -0800

Director and Visual Effects Supervisor Phil Tippett to Receive the
VES George Melies Award for Artistic Excellence

Founder of Tippett Studio and two-time Academy Award® and Emmy winner, Phil Tippett, has been selected by the VES Board of Directors as the recipient of the "George Melies Award for Artistic Excellence." The award will be presented at the 7th Annual VES Awards, which will be held at the Century Plaza Hotel in Beverly Hills on Saturday, February 21, 2009.

The Melies Award is designed to honor individuals who have "pioneered a significant and lasting contribution to the art and/or science of the visual effects industry by a way of artistry, invention and groundbreaking work." Phil Tippett is the embodiment of this award, holding an iconic place as the stop-motion animator of the Imperial Walkers in The Empire Strikes Back and former head of the ILM creature shop. Tippett was also at the forefront of digital animation, having supervised the dinosaur animation in Steven Spielberg’s groundbreaking blockbuster Jurassic Park.

"Phil Tippett has functioned as one of the major engines pushing the visual effects industry further than it was ever thought possible," said VES Executive Director Eric Roth. "Phil has become one of the giants of our industry by pioneering new ways to make the fantastical a practical reality. Much of what we see on our screens today would not have been possible in decades past and Phil has certainly led the way during that time," added Roth.

"It is always nice to receive recognition for doing something that you love. I have been doing exactly what I have always wanted to do - making movies and bringing impossible creations to life," said Phil Tippett. "I am honored to accept this award and am humbled that my work has been so recognized by my peers."

Tippett, who is the founder of Tippett Studio, has contributed significant visual effects to more than 60 feature films and commercials of multiple genres. After starting Tippett Studio from his garage in 1984, Tippett grew his company into a crew of artists, animators, engineers and production staff occupying five buildings in Berkeley, California. Over the years Tippett has won an Academy Award® for his work in Jurassic Park and a Special Achievement Award for Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.

Previous recipients of the George Melies Award were Robert Abel and John Lasseter.

Tippett Studio is currently in production on Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell and X-Men Origins: Wolverine for 20th Century Fox and have recently wrapped production on stereoscopic commercials for Electronic Arts' game Spore and Texas Instruments' DLP Projection, as well as the marketing campaign and feature film work for Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua

Coverage from Secrets Revealed at Siggraph 08

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:56:06 -0800

In front of around 2500 people, hell yeah we brought the energy and excitement during the Cloverfield panel. I heard yesterday afternoon from Morley over there that we rocked it, nice one gents!

posted by Eric Melin on August 13, 2008

Day two here tooling around in the Los Angeles Convention Center, running back and forth like a crazy man trying to cram as much stuff into a day as one man can. The only thing more popular than laptops and Starbucks at Siggraph this year is the double-feature panel featuring the visual-effects wizards behind "Cloverfield" and "Iron Man." Tippett Studio, who came off like excited, scrappy up-and-comers, and Industrial Light & Magic, who came off like the established old guard, split the bill today on a panel at Siggraph 2008 that revealed some of the secrets behind two of 2008's biggest FX-heavy blockbusters.

The Tippett team, headed by Eric Leven, gave the impression that the best kind of movie to work on is one with a limited budget and nothing to lose. Such a project was pitched to them as a kind of "Blair Witch meets Godzilla." Originally Cloverfield was budgeted at $25 million when they got the call from J.J. Abrams’ team to work up the monster, known affectionately as "Clover." Once the filmmakers got the original tests back from Tippett, the excitement they generated resulted in more money.

Director Matt Reeves had complete freedom and used a lot of trial-and-error when filming the monster movie's handheld look, so Leven and his team approached their job with the same volume of experimentation. Their A-number-one focus? To avoid making Clover look like a guy in a suit by steering as far away as possible from too much human-like movement.

It turns out that the jerky-camera aesthetic of the movie opened up a whole new bag of tricks for Tippett to use to make their monster seem more realistic. Screwing up the image only served to make the action seem more real. The monster was featured in blown-out lighting environments and out-of-focus and rack shots. Compositor Chris Morley captured an image of dust on his iPhone lens and overlaid that on the camera frame. Digital blood was smeared on main character Hud’s camera lens, and the Hud dummy used in the film was given to the Tippett team, who then smacked him around for hours on and into their own cameras.

The old-school pre-CGI idea of keeping most of your effects offscreen was a lifesaver for Tippett, saving time and money. It allowed the studio the ability to improvise, too, when word came from the production team at the last minute that they needed another effects shot. The new user-generated video craze helped Tippett as well, because the team looked at jarring camera moves on YouTube to get the feel for their own simulated camera movement just right.

Hal Hickel from Industrial Light & Magic revealed that there were only 40 shots in the entirety of Iron Man that actually showed the beautiful physical suits created by Stan Winston Studio. The rest of the film featured carefully melded versions of computer-generated graphics and the suits. Even star Robert Downey Jr. unknowingly contributed to the growing number of effects shots for ILM by staying away from the full body armor unless it was absolutely needed.

Hickel says that once Downey Jr. got a taste of the lighter-weight mocap suit, it was hard to get him to put the physical suit back on. But all is forgiven in Hickel's eyes because Downey Jr. gave ILM such a great character to work with. A guiding idea for a mechanical suit that flies with a tenuous human inside of it vs., say, a human-like all-powerful alien from another planet like Superman was this: Superman takes off fast and lands slow. Iron Man takes off slow and lands fast. Very important distinction.

Tippett Studio @ Siggraph 2008

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:42:38 -0800

Tippett's making its foray into the 3-D arena, starting to get the hang of this viral video business, and reveal the secrets within "Cloverfield".

I posted this up back in March - Cloverfield Reel Accepted at SIGGRAPH 2008 !?!

Siggraph 2008 is well underway, the first day of the expo starts today, and this afternoon @ 1:30pm Tippett Studio and ILM will reveal some secrets from a couple sweet movies this year...

Wednesday, 13 August
1:45 - 3:30 pm
Hall B
Theme: SIGGRAPH Core

From monster-ravaged streets to the not-so-friendly skies. Tippett Studios demonstrates the evolution of their "Cloverfield" monster, from tactical shot designs that obscured the bulk of the creature to transforming a multi-camera, hand-held shoot into a stunning final reveal. Then, Industrial Light & Magic unveils Tony Stark's lair, the complexities of building an ironman, and how they swapped metal for pixels, rigging, animating, and lighting, before taking him to the skies in "Iron Man."

Ben Snow
Hal Hickel
Doug Smythe
Industrial Light & Magic

Eric Leven
Chris Morley
Devin Breese
Tippett Studio

Here are a couple of articles I found this morning, the first on 3D...
Catherine Owens: 3-D starts in the mind - Siggraph speaker urges auteurs to study format

VFX house Tippett Studio -- whose credits include Disney's upcoming "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" -- is making its foray into the 3-D arena with two soon-to-be-released short format 3-D projects: A theatrical logo for Texas Instruments' DLP Cinema and a theatrical commercial for Electronic Arts' "Spore."

The next talks about the viral videos we created for Beverly Hills Chihuahua - Viva Chihuahua - from the digitalcontentproducer siggraph2008 blog.

SPORE's a Wrap!

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:21:41 -0800

It was a looong week (I put in around 70+ hours), but the crew took it home as we finished this one up just in the nick of time for our Friday crew screening of the freshly completed SPORE spot in 3D! @ Kerner Optical in San Rafael, CA. It looks pretty amazing in 3D on a big screen, that wacky 3D stuff really pops out at ya. The rest of the day was some what relaxing, came back for a crew photo and a BBQ, and we needed to finish prepping all the shots for digital delivery.

Things ended well and I look forward to seeing this spot out there wherever it will show up. It will definitely be playing in front of some 3D movies, but I'm not sure the plan to release a 2D version of the spot... If it shows up somewhere, I'll find it and post it up here though!

Wait so what is SPORE again? here is a brief intro into the game and it's 1rst stage of gameplay, the Cell Stage...

SPORE

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:15:40 -0800

How will you create the universe?

Today I'm helping out (just a couple of shots) on a spot for the highly anticipated video game SPORE, yeah I said it, highly anticipated... It is, I think. I don't know I don't play video games much anymore, the last game I played was at a friends house, it was Burnout Paradise on the PS3, it kicked some ass, before that I got into some Team Fortress 2 online. Way before that I'd have to go into the archives... Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Quake III, Quake II, Quake, Doom, and on into the ancient consoles and computer games from the past.

Anyhow, once this spot is released to the publics, I'll post it on zee blog. It's a groovy, abstract piece that I feel fits well with the game and the nature of it's content.

"With Spore you can nurture your creature through five stages of evolution: Cell, Creature, Tribe, Civilization, and Space. Or if you prefer, spend as much time as you like making creatures, vehicles, buildings and spaceships with Spore’s unique Creator tools.
CREATE Your Universe from Microscopic to Macrocosmic - From tide pool amoebas to thriving civilizations to intergalactic starships, everything is in your hands.

EVOLVE Your Creature through Five Stages - It’s survival of the funnest as your choices reverberate through generations and ultimately decide the fate of your civilization.

EXPLORE your world and beyond - Will you rule, or will your beloved planet be blasted to smithereens by a superior alien race?

SHARE with the World - Everything you make is shared with other players and vice versa, providing tons of cool creatures to meet and new places to visit." -spore.com

See some Movies and Screens right here...

Sounds pretty fun, you can download the Creator Creator now, and the game ships September 7th, 2008.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua the Trailer

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 06:48:43 -0800

the TRAILER

There has been nothing but love, praise, and anticipation around the interwebs for Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Just check out some of the quotes:

"It looks to be an endless migraine composed of forced cuteness and bad effects" -Scott Weinberg

"I have never been a fan of "children" films. It reaffirmed my claim when I saw the trailer Beverly Hills Chihuahua in front of Wall-E. My heart sunk to think this is what Disney has become, a shell of its former self since the mid 90s." -Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatan

"It was borderline offensive with the worst rap I've heard since Gerardo's "Rico Suave". Sometimes you see stuff that looks so bad it could be good, but this wasn't that. This film looks so bad it shouldn't be seen by members of human race. Hell, I wouldn't let a Chihuahua watch it.

It's from Walt Disney and it might just be the worst trailer I've ever seen. Walt must be spinning in his cryonic chamber full of liquid nitrogen." Toronto Mike

Wolverine Comic-Con 08 Teaser Footage!

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:44:22 -0800

~enough said? I think they did a pretty good job with this teaser, people sound pretty pumped for it. (even if it was made up of fan geekdom) I'm happy to see they used the bits that we did for it, get it Diamond Girl, go Diamond Girl, go. (Emma Frost) You see a brief flash of her changing into diamond form and deflecting some bullets, that was the shot we did, that I comped a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully we'll get to do the shot for real, since we rushed it out Comic-Con.