Star for Stuttgart | Retro article
Review: In DP 06 : 2014, we went into conversation with performance capturing pioneer Andy Serkis - chatting about Planet of the Apes. An encounter at FMX 2014.
More locations, more VFX!
Looking back: In DP 03 : 2015, we found out that Rise Visual Effects Studios has been around since 2007 - eight years later, in 2015, it even had four locations. Founder Florian Gellinger explained to us how the expansion of the VFX business was achieved.
A memorable VFX project
Review: In DP 06 : 2013, we spoke to VFX supervisors Thilo Ewers (Pixomondo) and Paul Lambert (Digital Domain) about the science fiction film Oblivion - and about Tom Cruise's 3D model.
Back to the 70s – Cloud Atlas
Review: In DP 02 : 2013, we tracked down the mega-production Cloud Atlas - with export director Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski siblings in the director's chair. How did Rise manage the massive visual effects of the three-hour epic - and how did the VFX artists transform today's Glasgow into the San Francisco of the 1970s?
Interview zu Cloud Atlas
Review: In DP 02 : 2013, we spoke to Florian Gellinger, founder of VFX studio Rise, about the David Mitchell film Cloud Atlas. The sci-fi epic was realised by: the Wachowski siblings.
Medieval murderer
Ubisoft built on the success of Assassin's Creed with a second installment in the series. The content mix for the sequel: Renaissance Italy, modern 3ds Max technology and a pompous trailer debut. The reward: an animago AWARD in the "Best Postproduction" category!
After the social collapse: Making-of Tom Clancy’s The Division
the "Best Motion Design" category was added to the animago AWARD in 2016. At the time, it was important to the animago team to introduce a separate category for this, as motion design work differs from the other submissions in terms of a different storytelling approach and a special look. Last year, the motion design trailer for the second part of the game "Tom Clancy's The Division" won the coveted prize in this special category. The design studio Antibody, which created the trailer for Ubisoft, tells us what was important for the design.
Communicating knowledge with fun: The Story of Martin Luther
Many of us first learnt about Martin Luther's story and the associated reformation of the church at school. Usually recited by a history or religion teacher mumbling to himself, which meant that the monk's revolutionary actions lost all excitement. So it was time to produce an entertaining yet accurate version of the events to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Tumblehead Animation Studio took up the challenge and won the animago category "Best Visualisation" with the film "The Story of Martin Luther".
Finns Fleckengang: The Stained Club
People in a club have something in common. In the case of "Stained Club", these are stains on the children's bodies that harbour a deeper meaning. The animated graduation film from the Supinfocom Rubika college in France is in the tradition of youth film classics from the 1980s such as "The Goonies" or "E.T.". With its challenging theme and touching message, it won over the animago jury last year, who awarded it the prize for best newcomer production.
A haven of peace in the zombie storm – Making-of “Grant” cinematic trailer
Goodbye Kansas Studios created a series of cinematic trailers for the game "Overkill's The Walking Dead" in which the four main game characters are introduced in various scenes. With "Grant", the team won the animago AWARD in the "Best Game Cinematic" category last year.
Portrait of a genius – 3D portrait still
Portraits of very well-known personalities are always a great challenge because everyone knows the face of the person portrayed and mistakes quickly become apparent. Alexander Beim impressed with his 3D portrait still of Albert Einstein and won the public vote in the "Best Still" category and thus an animago AWARD. Here, the 3D artist explains how the image was created.
Lovecraft in Köln – Making-of „The Colour“
The ifs internationale filmschule köln is an artistically and academically orientated training and further education institution for media professionals. On the initiative of the NRW state government and the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, it was founded in 2000 as a non-profit limited company whose sole shareholder is the Film- und Medienstiftung. Its reputation as one of the best film schools in Germany is based in particular on the support it provides to students, its teaching and project work and not least on numerous awards, including a student Oscar. One project we found great is "The Colour", based on a Lovecraftian short story - and we ask the students how they came up with it and what it's like to study at the ifs.
Creature Design: It’s the inner beauty that counts
Why should only busty ladies or muscle-bound beauties become calendar girls and boys? No, creatures also have a right to sexy shoots! A team from the Film Academy took on this noble endeavour in their diploma project and designed a pin-up calendar with famous monsters from film history, including a behind-the-scenes clip with the Goblin King from "Lord of the Rings".
“Richard the Stork” Making-of
Are you already looking for a suitable Christmas present for your children? "Überflieger - Kleine Vögel, großes Geklapper" - a beautiful animated film for little film fans - was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in October. In this article by DP author Rayk Schroeder, you can find out how the film was made at Rise.
Designing a Puzzle with Cinema 4D
Not everyone has the patience for puzzles. But this tutorial series, in which a 3D puzzle is created, is a great exercise if you want to train your spline skills.
Cinematic Art from Poland
It is unbelievable what quality Platige Image delivers when it comes to game cinematics. Here is the latest reel from the CG artists in Warsaw.
How to Slice Up 3D Models in a Cool Way
Destroying something is easy, but making it look stylish while doing so is a true art. Juris Malasenoks of Zulu8 demonstrates a technique in this C4D tutorial for breaking geometry apart effectively.
“Valerian” Rodeo FX Breakdown
There are some huge space VFX to see in Rodeo FX's new breakdown reel.
“The Dark Tower” Breakdown Reel by Rise
Many set extensions as well as smoke and gunfire effects were needed to create the world of the gunslinger conceived by Stephen King. Here are some of the shots worked on by Rise in the breakdown video.
“Mindhunter” VFX Breakdown
An absolute series recommendation at the moment: “Mindhunter”—produced by David Fincher. Here is Artemple's VFX breakdown video.
Edius 9 Is Coming in Early November
The focus of release 9 is on editing HDR material. Here is an overview of the features.
17 Free LUTs for LOG Footage
The LUT package sponsored by Premium Beat is called Wanderlust. It contains 17 specially made look-up tables tailored to LOG film material.
Free Storyboard Program
Storyboarder, developed by film-production company Wonderunit, is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux and can be downloaded free of charge.
Back in the animago Trailer Saddle in 2017
Thomas Richter created our animago trailers and the event clip last year. And because he enjoyed the task so much, he took it on again in 2017. He has now completed his degree in “Digital Filmmaking” at the SAE Institute Munich. Here he explains how the course content prepared him for the film industry and what has happened in his career since then.
“Garden Party” in Full Length
From today—for two weeks—our 2016 animago AWARD-winning film “Garden Party” is finally online in full length. Enjoy this macabre fun!
DW Studio Showreel 2018
DW Studio received an animago AWARD nomination this year for its ModMic 5 visualisation spot. Here is the latest showreel from the team in Wales.
animago AWARD & CONFERENCE Event Clip 2017
Anyone who attended this year's animago event can see whether they appear anywhere in the new event clip. Everyone else can see what was going on at the Gasteig on September 7 and 8.
Free Octane Material Pack for C4D
These 15 material maps for Cinema 4D can be used to design various surface looks.
Off to the Dream Laboratory: The ITFS Trailer 2018
It’s really not that long now: Get through Christmas, New Year’s Eve and the bunny festival once, and we can go to the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film again! Here is the new trailer.
animago AWARD Still Trailer 2017
As in every animago year, this one also had a trailer showing the best 3D stills submitted to the animago AWARD contest.
New SAE Campus in Hanover
The new semester at the SAE Institute began in September. Right on time, the university’s new campus in Hanover was able to open.
Render 300% Faster – with This C4D Physical Render Tip
In this tutorial, Greyscalegorilla.com reveals how to reduce rendering time considerably.
The Winning Sculpting of the animago Exhibition!
It’s a T-Rex! We congratulate Linda Thai, whose work received the most votes in our online vote and who is now the new owner of the Oculus headset including Touch controllers.
HP’s New Z Workstation Range
The new HP Z8, Z6 and Z4 workstations are enormously powerful and expandable. Here is an overview of all the important data.
Making-of videos from the Film Academy: “Shine”
At the animago CONFERENCE, the team explained how the animated film "Shine" was created. Anyone who couldn't be there can now catch up on the knowledge via 5 making-of videos.
Free High-Res Model of a Human Head
Eisko is a company that produces digital doubles. Here they are making the scanned 3D head of a woman available as a free download.
“Ghost in the Shell” – Breakdown by MPC
MPC was one of the VFX vendors for the live-action adaptation of the anime “Ghost in the Shell”. Here is the impressive breakdown video of the shots created by the team.
Introduction to C4D R19 ProRender
Radeon ProRender has been integrated into Cinema 4D since Release 19. EJ Hassenfratz gives an introduction to the render engine in this tutorial.
Making Of the “The Strain” Graphics Package
The final season of the FX series “The Strain” came to an end at the weekend. Motion-design agency Onesize from Amsterdam created the promo teaser and other graphics work for the final season and shows here how it was done.
Motion Graphics Handbook Released
In our motion graphics focus in DP 02 : 17, Timo Fecher already gave useful tips for creating motion-design work. Now, after a long period of work, his handbook has been published.
Oculus VR Sculpting Contest @animago Exhibition 2017: Let’s vote!
We have selected the best 10 sculpting works, that were created during the animago exhibition at the Milkroom Studios booth. Now it's your turn: Which contribution should win the Oculus Rift and the controllers?
animago AWARD Trailer 2017
Here is the fantastic new trailer with a compilation of this year’s animago AWARD participants.
These are the animago AWARD winners 2017!
The animago trophies were awarded yesterday in Munich's Gasteig. These are the lucky winners.
The animago Special Issue 2017 Is Here!
And not, as usual, only after the awards ceremony, but before the event on September 7 and 8!
DP at the animago Exhibition on September 7 and 8
The animago Exhibition at the Gasteig is free. The DP team will also be there with a stand and, among other things, will hold a VR sculpting contest in cooperation with Oculus.
animago CONFERENCE Programme at a Glance
Who, when, what, where? Here we have the schedule for this year’s animago CONFERENCE on September 7 and 8.
Free HDR Bundle
The Free HDRR Bundle 4 by graphics and animation artist Noah Witchells can be downloaded free of charge for lighting purposes.
animago Exhibition 2017: Highlights at Gasteig Munich
Parallel to the animago trophy award ceremony and the two-day CONFERENCE programme, the exhibition can be visited free of charge on 7 and 8 September. There will be lots of photo, scribbling and sculpting fun and hardware prizes!
animago CONFERENCE Highlights 2017
Just under one month until the animago AWARD & CONFERENCE! We already have plenty of program items to announce for this year's conference at Munich's Gasteig. Here is the overview.
Houdini Customer Reel 2017
The new Houdini Customer Reel features great work to admire, including from Disney, Rise | Visual Effects Studios, Framestore and Sony Pictures Imageworks.
animago Nominee “In a Heartbeat” Online in Full
This year, "In a Heartbeat" from Ringling College is nominated for an animago AWARD in the "Jury’s Prize" category. Freshly released, the delightful and courageous animated short is now online in its full length.
animago AWARD 2017: Vote for the Best Still
Public Voting Time! Select your favourite computer-generated image. Which one deserves to win the animago trophy in the category “Best Still”?
These are the 2017 animago AWARD nominees!
We have found them! These 33 projects are animago-nominated. This year's animago jury made their choice at the NEC premises in Munich.
HFF-Filmkunst: Debut film and freeze-scenes making-of
Helena Hufnagel explained in DP 02:16 how an elaborate freeze VFX shot was created for her short film "Willa" at the HFF Munich. Now the director's first feature film, "Einmal bitte alles", will be released in cinemas on 20 July. We are giving away two tickets to see the film in the cinema of your choice (also open air).
Your Loyalty Is Rewarded! – 50% animago Discount for DP Subscribers
Today we would like to thank our DP subscribers for their loyalty and trust! Of course, we have come up with something special so that we might meet you in person: Starting today, we are giving all our subscribers a 50% discount on their animago AWARD & CONFERENCE ticket.
Win an Oscar in 2018? Submit to German Films Now!
German Films is calling on all film rights holders to submit their works for selection as the German entry for the Oscar category "Best Foreign Language Film" by July 25.
animago Early-Bird Tickets!
Here we go! Discounted early-bird tickets are available for the animago event 2017 on September 7 & 8. If you order a DP product in the shop, you can even get the ticket for half price!
Third Ape Round for Weta
The final part of the "Planet of the Apes" trilogy opens in German cinemas on August 3. This video shows some of the technology behind the epic VFX work for which Weta was responsible.
Looking Back at animago 2016: “Best Still” Category – Architecture
Last year, we once again received great CG stills for the animago AWARD. Here is an overview of some participants on the theme of "architectural visualizations" (including interiors).
Import Refractive Indices into Cinema 4D
With this free Refractive Index Importer plug-in, refractive indices can be imported as curve data, applied to objects and modified.
Free Baselight Student Version
FilmLight wants to give the next generation of color graders access to Baselight and has therefore released a free version of the grading software, with some restrictions on its use.
Trailer for Disney’s New Feature Film “Coco”
Anticipation is famously the greatest joy—and so we are already looking forward to November 30, 2017. That is when Disney's latest work, the animated film "Coco," opens in German cinemas.
ZBrush 4R8 Streaming Event on June 13
On Tuesday, June 13, 2017, Pixologic will present the new features of ZBrush 4R8 at a live event. In Central European Time, the event starts at 9 p.m.
Final “Wonder Woman” Trailer
On June 15, concentrated female power hits cinemas with the DC comic adaptation "Wonder Woman." Here is the final trailer with plenty of action. In one of the upcoming DP issues, we will talk about the VFX with MPC supervisor Jessica Norman.
What You May Not Have Known About Our Next Cover Hero …
He is just so adorable: You could not resist his charm either and chose Baby Groot from "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" as our cover star for the upcoming DP issue 04 : 17. We take a closer look at the tree character here: 5 facts about Groot.
Talk Videos from the First CityEngine User Meeting
This year, the "European CityEngine User Meeting" organized by vrbn took place in Copenhagen for the first time. The six videos of talks from the one-day event provide a comprehensive overview of working with the procedural modeling engine.
animago AWARD Deadline Extended!
The day after tomorrow would actually have been the last chance to take part in the animago AWARD 2017. But we are giving you a little more time—with the current temperatures, everything is moving a little more slowly. The new submission deadline is June 19—participation is free as always!
Comeback After 10 Years: The C4D Roll-it Plug-in
Roll-it was a practical Cinema 4D plug-in for object-rolling tasks whose development lay dormant for ten years. Now it is back and compatible with C4D R16 and higher. And free too!
Fabric Engine 2.5
Fabric Software has released version 2.5 of the Fabric Engine development framework. The developers listened to the wishes of many users: The front end of the Canvas visual programming system was revised.
Sneak Peek – DP 05 : 17
Funding for the digital media industry—what does it look like in detail, and which bodies award funds for which types of projects? That is just one of our focus topics in the upcoming DP issue. We also show you the best pipeline standards and tricks for working efficiently.
Jury for the animago Special Architecture Prize
Last year, we held this special category for the first time in cooperation with the architecture trade magazine DETAIL. And architectural visualizers can look forward to it again this animago year: This expert jury will assess their submitted moving-image work.
FMX 2017: Compositing Tips & Tricks fromHugo Guerra
The talks at FMX 2017 were packed, and at times you could no longer get in. Fortunately, many were recorded. Here is the Nuke compositing workshop with Hugo Guerra from The Foundry.
Dutch James Bond Substitute: Agent 327
Agent 327 is a comic series by Dutch artist Martin Lodewijk; the Blender Institute now wants to realize the 3D film version with the cult character. Here is the first three-minute teaser.
Our animago expert jury 2017
There are just under two weeks to go until the submission deadline for this year's animago AWARD. Here we introduce you to this year's animago jury members, who bring CG experience and expertise from their work at ILM, Disney, Mackevision, Arri or Trixter.
Dell’s First HDR10 Monitor—and More Hardware
The UltraSharp 27 4K HDR monitor (UP2718Q) has a 4K display and provides a color depth of 1.07 billion colors. Dell has also added a VR-ready workstation and an 8K monitor to its range.
150 Free HDRs from NoEmotion HDRs
The free HDRs may be used for private and commercial projects. Various times of day and seasons are available.
John Knoll in an FMX Interview
Anyone who could not experience John Knoll's talk about "Rogue One" live at the FMX Conference 2017 no longer needs to be sad. AWN conducted a longer interview with the VFX supervisor at FMX; here is the video.
Meshmixer 3.2 Available
Meshmixer from Autodesk is a tool for working with triangle meshes; it can be used to clean up 3D scans, work with various materials and prepare 3D-print models. These are the new features.
Cinema 4D Plug-ins for Various Tasks
Looking for practical C4D plug-ins? On this page, you will find various ones—including tools to make it easier to create traffic simulations or surfaces.
FMX 2017 – figures and impressions
The DP team flew all the way out to Stuttgart last week. For the first time in the 22-year history of FMX, the event organised by the Filmakademie was sold out, with visitors coming from ever more distant countries to attend FMX.
Save Money with Maxon on “Star Wars” Day
Second day of FMX, and make a note of this offer from Maxon tomorrow for "May the 4th": On "Star Wars" Day, there is a 30 percent discount on all licenses and upgrades for 24 hours!
New Version of the Blender Fork Bforartists
Bforartists is a fork of the open-source software Blender that has set itself the goal of making the interface and workflow more artist-friendly. Version 0.9.2 has now been released.
Web Content for DP Issue 03 : 17
Here comes the additional content for the current DP 03 : 17! The best Modo tips and tricks from the last two years, more about the Thinfilm shader and the large Resolve workshop series.
So much cattle stuff!
Review: In DP 03 : 2017, Warner Brothers reached for "Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them", because J.K. Rowling was finished with Harry Potter after volume seven. Off we went to the beasts (wherever they are to be found)!
Free Arnold Dust Shader
Zeno Pelgrims has created a useful dust shader for Arnold for Maya (MtoA) that can be downloaded free of charge.
Cologne Cathedral Time Travel in 360 Degrees
Cologne Cathedral from today back to the Roman Empire: Faber Courtial realized this time-travel trip in 360 degrees for WDR.
Meet the Graphorns
Image Engine worked on 88 VFX shots for "Fantastic Beasts and where to find them", with the Canadian studio responsible for the three-headed Graphorn family and Swooping Evil as well as several other sequences. Due to the high complexity of the tasks, Image Engine worked on the project for around a year with a team of 1OO people, despite the relatively small number of shots.
FMX Trailer “Elemental” Making-of
The Filmakademie team behind the 2017 FMX trailer "Elemental" has released a making-of video with footage from the shoot and numerous breakdown shots.
Live Stream of the Opening of the 24th ITFS
Anyone who cannot attend the opening of the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film live on Tuesday, May 2, does not have to miss out. Here is the link to the live stream!
The Yard VFX Showreel
The Yard VFX used to be called Plug Effects. The studio near Paris has now released its latest showreel.
3ds Max 2018 Is Here
Here is an overview of the most important new features in the new 3ds Max version.
Free Trial Version of Ziva VFX for Maya
Make creatures wobble: With Ziva VFX from Ziva Dynamics, the muscle and skin simulation system for Maya, believable life comes to the CG creature.
Sneak Peek – DP 04 : 17
For the 04 : 17 issue of Digital Production, the editorial team will once again prepare two focus topics: "Earth & Air Simulation" and the professional existence topic "Starting a Studio." Here we show you what is planned thematically.
FMX 2017: Multimedia from the Animationsinstitut
Here is an overview of what the Animationsinstitut will present during FMX week and which VR experiences visitors can try out.
Alt.vfx Showreel
Alt.vfx has studio locations in Brisbane, Sydney and Los Angeles. Here is the company's current, highest worth-seeing showreels.
Back Again at animago in 2017: The Architecture Visualization Award
Anyone who would like to have their CG works from the architecture genre evaluated by professionals from this industry should send us their films by May 31, 2017.
Perfect Sugar World
Sulkybunny from Bristol created this delightfully animated music video for the song "Perfect World" by Katie Melua.
Behind the Scenes at ILM: “Kong: Skull Island”
ILM delivered the VFX for the latest King Kong film outing. Wired looked behind the scenes and shows some impressive breakdowns of the various full-CG creatures.
“Trainspotting 2” VFX Breakdown
Yes, even arthouse cinema has 400 VFX shots nowadays. Union Visual Effects from London shows in this reel which visual effects it realized for the new Danny Boyle film.