Curtis, B. (2016). Hollywood’s Turn Against Digital Effects – The New Yorker. [online] The New Yorker. Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-turnagainstdigitaleffects [Accessed 21 Nov. 2016].
Analysis of the VFX history and the need of producers to go back to the practical effects.
Dirks, T. (n.d.). Visual and Special Effects Film Milestones. [online] Filmsite.org. Available at: http://www.filmsite.org/visualeffects.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2016].
Article outlining the major milestones throughout the history of the movies.
Purpose of this project was to create a simulation of a viscous fluid and see how it would interact with an animated 3D object. Furthermore I added environment into the scene to make it look more realistic rather than the usual studio look approach I took with the other artworks. The fluid slides down the figure in layers and coats it in a interesting way. I also created a material that I added to the fluid to make it look interesting.
„Antoine Magnien is a Parisian CGI artist who keeps his eyes on the world wide open. As well as holding a double degree in Cinema (ESRA) and Graphic Arts (ESPAA), he is imbued with a broad visual culture that he has honed over the years; his discernment and creative sensibilities put to use in every projec. A total perfectionist, he focuses on the smallest detail in his interpretation of photorealism. After an initial dive into the world of multi-media, Antoine received his first advertising commission in 1999 for BNP Paribas, from the agency BETC. He has since received awards for many campaigns that subsequently followed; including Amnesty International in 2011, Naturalia in 2013 and more recently for Babybel in 2014.“
(Text from: watchout.fr)
An artist who works mainly with fluid simulations and 3D objects focusing on their interaction. Using various materials he conveys the desired message in a right way. In his artworks he creates situations that would be challenging or even impossible to recreate in reality. Utilizing fluid simulations and their interaction with 3D objects he creates works that are very satisfying to look at. Furthermore, by using the right lighting and materials he conveys the right emotions or appropriate setting for the desired purpose.
According to film critic A.O. Scott superheroes movies peaked in quality in 2008 and have been in decline ever since. The movies he is most likely talking about are the Dark Knight and Iron man which marked the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Othe films were released to expand the Cinematic Universe which I talked about in the previous article. Even though each one of these movies dominated the big screen there was something lacking in each one, be it too much mindless action, the purpose of making money or the feeling of the movie being mass produced. Many people believe that this was the revolutionary era for people reading comics but the MCU has so many issues that they wish it got back to how things were back in 2008.
Lets start with Iron Man which starrs Robert Downey Jr. who’s a playboy, inventor and a milionaire. What the fans really wanted was to see Iron Man facing the public after being unmasked. The director (Jon Favreau) uncovered that he was adapting the “Demon in the Bottle” story arc for the sequel where Tony Stark is an alcoholic. Everything was fine until the news about Disney buying Marvel for $4 bilion surfaced. As we all know Disney is a company that is founded on the movies that are family friendly which was the biggest problem since superhero movies were meant to be completely different. Even after Stan Lee assured everyone that everything is going to be fine since Disney had a lot of money to back up the future franchises things went completely the opposite way. The Iron Man 2 was change in such a obvious way from the original that it was way too obvious that it was meant to be just a propaganda for the later released Avengers. The promised part about Tony dealing with alcoholism was shaved down to just a couple of jokes. The Avengers became revolutionary at the comic book history since it was Marvels response to DC’s Justice League. Over the course of three years Stan Lee set up five popular characters with their complete backgrounds and adventure and after they brought them together we had a understanding of who they really were. After Disneys setting up of the universe they had an idea to give each character at least two movies in order to give them more bnackground and stability. However, this idea quickly faded as the Thor’s character didnt even go into Norse mythology, Captain americas original timeline (World was 2) didnt get enough screen time and instead of giving Iron Man more background screen time for Nick Fury and The Black Widow was added.
Marvel´s The Avengers directed by Joss Whedon was based on the novel ‘Push’ by sapphire was believed to be a total fiasco but it became a mega-hit in the opening week. The movies Iron man, The incredible Hulk, Iron man 2, Thor, Captain America:The first avenger were basically a $100 milion-plus chain of feature-length trailers over the course of 3 years. Furthermore, each of the afromentioned movies have their sequels already in work as part of the Marvel cinematic Universe which Marvel and Paramount pictures set up in 2005.If that’s still not enough there are still decades of comic books to for the Avengers to draw the story and inspiration from. Jim Emerson argues that the movie’s superpower is that it was ‘critic proof’. This term might be frequently used to signify a movie that people want to see without concerning themselves with if its good or bad.
“A movie like “Marvel’s The Avengers” doesn’t need critics and critics don’t need it. Of course, it’s perfectly reviewable in mainstream journalistic/consumer guide terms (story, character, action, effects, acting, etc.). My own hunch is that it’s not going to be subjected to much in-depth critical analysis. Not of its aesthetics, anyway. Somebody might write about how it changed the movie business (if it does), or study the mythology of the “Marvel Cinematic Universe,” or examine the technologies used in making it, but they’re not going to study the filmmaking, which is serviceable but little more. ” (Emerson,2012)
The primary goal of the movie is to attract the viewers by being visually interesting and having a lot of action sequences. If that’s all there is to it there is no need for criticism.
A big part of the movie and its identity is CGI which is present in the majority of the movie. The most heavy CGI part is near the end of the movie when aliens invade Manhattan and the Avengers try to work together to stop the threat from destroying the world. The sequence includes a lot of alien ships invading the city and also a gigantic flying carrier which is on the avengers side but gets destroyed at the end. The movie is designed to appeal to the audience which knows what to expect from it.
Source : http://www.rogerebert.com/scanners/the-avengers-and-the-amazing-critic-proof-movie
Purpose of this test was to see if I could achieve something thats very uncommon. The particles behave like smoke at first but after a while they turn into solid objects/particles. This effect is achieved by first creating a smoke effect and generating points from the voxel grid of the effector. The smoke is then simulated and at some point the frame freezes and is turned into particles which are behaving according to physical laws. With the help of gravity they fall down and collide with the ground spreading everywhere while also coliding with the neighbouring particles.
An animation studio that uses the means of animation to create fantastical works that are meant to evoke emotion and passion. By utilizing the latest techniques they create situations that are sometimes abstract, fluid in motion and interesting to observe. They use various materials and „substances“ to achieve this effects including transparent, translucent or reflective materials.
„NIKOPICTO is an award-winning art production studio, specialized in 3D-CGI print,animation and character design. We have collaborated with the most important agencies in Europe USA and Asia bringing major international clients projects to life. With emotion and fun, unique colors and design we illustrate and animate, driven by passion and attention to the finest details.
With 15 Years industry experience in Paris, London, Los Angeles and now China, our creative director also loves to design characters, toys and to direct stories through animated short films winning awards in film festivals around the world.“
(Text from nikopicto.com)
BA Maximilián Dudáš 