Browsing Tag
DP Article
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The power of the crowd
Looking back: In DP 03 : 2015, Lighting Boy Studio realised the film project Le Gouffre. A Kickstarter campaign brought the animated film over the finishing line. An animago AWARD-nominated short film.
The law of the series | Retro article
Review: In DP 05 : 2010, we sought an expert discussion with Blue Byte, the German gaming industry giants. We asked Managing Director Odile Limpach and Producer Benedikt Grindel about the 7th instalment of the building strategy series The Settlers.
War of the Worlds | Retro Articles
Review: In DP 05 : 2005, ILM chased special effects through a brand new pipeline for Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds film. A test run with time pressure - in the middle of a big-budget production.
Between HFF and VHS | Retro article
Looking back: A special film school opened in Mannheim in DP 06 : 2014. The non-profit organisation Flimmermenschen views film as a holistic cultural phenomenon. An educational programme for students, hobbyists and newcomers to the industry.
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.
Maljaʼ tayʼ Avid
Review: In DP 05 : 2013 we learnt Klingon: "Cut with Avid" is called "Maljaʼ tayʼ Avid". J. J. Abrams made the sequel to the reboot - could Starship Enterprise nostalgics and blockbuster fans be satisfied at the same time?
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.
Colourful balls
Review: In DP 01 : 2013, a world-famous manufacturer of sugar water commissioned a commercial from Bent Image Lab. Grading artist Jalal Jemison was responsible for the bright red colour typical of the beverage brand. An interview.
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!
A new journey begins
Review: In DP 01 : 2013, Weta Digital went back to Middle-earth with Peter Jackson. For the prequel trilogy "The Hobbit", the New Zealanders transferred fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien's prequel to the big screen.
And here comes the new DP!
To infinity - and much... louder? Our audio tools overview makes a lot of noise! Earplugs, speakers and microphones set the tone. And the VFX artists give Buzz Lightyear a jump-start for his first solo adventure. Successful landing?
Studio Validations from Nvidia | Kostenloser Artikel
Brought to you by notebooksbilliger.de: In this in-depth interview with Senior Technical Product Manager Rick Napier we talked about Nvidia Studio. What is it and how does it work?
Back in Dinoland
Review: In DP 01 : 2016, "Jurassic World" celebrated its opening. We asked VFX supervisor Martyn Culpitt from Image Engine for a chat - about impressive CG environments and even more impressive CG dinosaurs. Who is the biggest pipeline eater?
Practical test of the Filmic Pro app with Frame.io!
Only for YouTubers? Master editor Oliver Peters gets behind the handset - and behind the editing suite and on-location camera. Can the Filmic Pro app inspire?
Flight Simulator | Workshop Report Wednesday
Aeroplanes in your stomach - and on the (virtual) runway? Alessandro Cucinotta guides you to where "Microsoft Flight Simulator X" and "Reallusion" tools provide lift!
Resolve 10 on tour
Review: In DP 01 : 2014, Resolve 10 went into open beta. We spoke to London-based videographer James Tonkin, who was on tour with Resolve 10 and Robbie Willliams. The perfect topic for the festival season!
New CG villains for Spider-Man 3 |
Review: In DP 04 : 2007, Spidey made his third appearance on the big screen and had to fight three villains at the same time. Imageworks created characters made of air, sand and black mass.
Todesfall in Celebration City
Review: In DP 07 : 2016, photo designer Jürgen Stein reported on his black and white work "Topview", which was created with Softimage and Arnold. More than just black and white painting?
Capturing Reality in Houdini
Review: In DP 02 : 2019, we take a closer look at photogrammetry in Houdini. Our Houdini expert clarifies whether this has resulted in a production boost for game developers.
My Dear Gnome
Review: In DP 06 : 2016, the animated short film "My Dear Gnome" impressed with a humorous board game of checkers. We spoke to the two makers.
Germany in Baselight
A look back: In DP 01:2019, we took a look at high-end grading with Baselight. We also spoke to Rotor Film about HDR material and the Amazon series "Deutschland 86".
Bigger & Better
Review: In DP 04 : 2009, effects company ILM realised gigantic robots for Michael Bay's second part of the tin-and-bending brothers from Transformers. "Mindbending" or "sand in the gears"?
Thousands of parts
Looking back: In DP 05 : 2007, the ILM team was looking for new ways to bring the Transformers to the big screen - and came up with a solution that had a decisive impact on the industry.
Framestore kills Tom Cruise
Review: In DP 06:2014, we looked to London - and to the effects of sci-fi gem "Edge of Tomorrow", in which Tom Cruise dies a thousand deaths.
glTF – the new standard for products | Retro articles
Looking back: In DP 01:2022 we presented a new standard for assets - that can do real-time? It can! That masters PBR? It masters it! That is open source and prominently supported? Yes, and again: Yes! Is glTF the file format prodigy?
UVPackmaster 2 for 3ds Max
A look back: In DP 05 : 2020, 3ds Max expert Mike Kuhn dealt with UV unwinding. An annoying task for many, but a meditative puzzle game for Mike.
Adventures in the alien ghetto
Review: In DP 06 : 2009, the sci-fi surprise hit "District 9" flashed us - with big green aliens that look like a cross between a shrimp and a grasshopper.
Magical effects
Review: In DP 05:07, Harry Potter 5, to which eleven studios contributed effects, was enchanting. These included heavyweights such as DNEG, ILM, Framestore and MPC.
Bloody ice magic
Review: In DP 06:2012, we visited the Polish studio Platige Image. Could the Poles, who are spoilt for success, manage the major project "The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings"?
The Matrix Reloaded
Looking back: In DP 03 : 2003 we hacked into the source code of "Matrix Reloaded". Ready to go back to the Matrix?
Houdini-style predetermined breaking points
Review: In DP 03 : 2019, Rainer Duda confronts the predetermined breaking point Houdini 17 aka "Codename Banshee" - and breaks it?
The Witcher by Platige
Blast from the Past: In 2020 we conversed with Platige Image about the hit-series “The Witcher”.
USD | Article
From Chaos Group: Universal Scene Description - in the flow of time, or fishing in the mud?
Plex – Open source pipeline for VFX
Review: In DP 03 : 2018, our author Alexander Richter stated: "There are countless pipelines for film projects. But how is a project ultimately set up and realised?
Unity’s rendering at its finest: Lightweight and High Definition
Blast from the Past: In issue 06 : 2018 of DP our author Alexandra Kaschny wondered 'Which hidden rendering powers are revealed with Unity 2018.1 and above?'
Smartes Rapid FX Prototyping in 3ds Max 2019
Review: In DP 05 : 2018, our author Rainer Duda stated that shape-shifting is possible with 3ds Max 2019. But what do the X-Men have to do with it?
Engine-Safari
Review: In DP 06 : 2018, our author Alexandra Kaschny focussed on the Big Three (not Five): Unity, Unreal, CryEngine. Which other engines are roaming the jungle?
Kyno as an editing assistant for Resolve
Review: In DP 04 : 2020, our author Uli Plank took a look at the management app Kyno - and its support for Blackmagic Design.
Direct modelling: modelling without obstacles
Review: In DP 01 : 2020, our author Rainer Duda took a closer look at the steep learning curve of VFX powerhouse Houdini - and revealed how the curve can be smoothed out.
4K production – what do you really need?
Review: In DP 02 : 2014, our author Michael Radeck went into the practical test with True 4K.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Blast from the past: Who is the most iconic video game heroine ever? Lara Croft, of course. In this interview, we take a deep dive into the lost city of Paititi – and the final installment of the reboot trilogy.
Does Alex make Toni unemployed?
A look back: How does audio AI work in practice? "Alex Audio Butler" consists of VST plug-ins that are designed to handle the sound mixing independently. The big players in the VST game: DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro and Adobe Audition.
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)!
On-Set Tools
Review: In DP 06 : 2016 we introduced four helpers that will help you to find out the exact position of the light emitter sun, preview LUTs in the browser, and always have a collection of knowledge with you.
Dark Awakening
Review: In DP 05 : 2010, the Finns from Remedy Entertainment moved to the north-west of America - research for Alan Wake. Could the new game concept match its predecessor Max Payne: The Fall of Pax Payne?
Making-of Krautscape
Review: In DP 04 : 2014, we let the engines roar in the racing game Krautscape by developers Mario von Rickenbach and Michael Burgdorfer - including procedurally generated racetracks. A game project from the Zurich University of the Arts.
Cloudy with a view of Houdini
Review: In DP 03 : 2014, we climbed into the opening scene of the bestselling film adaptation of The Book Thief. Rise Visual Effects Studios realised a long cloud sequence including a 3D tracking shot with Houdini. How do artists create the perfect cumulus cloud?
Love in times of global warming
Review: In DP 03 : 2014, we found out what happens when arctic pink creatures get involved with tropical fruit - and design students from HBK Braunschweig make 3D animation.
The CG monkeys are loose
Review: In DP 06 : 2014, Weta Digital set to work on the second instalment of Planet of the Apes. A conversation with VFX supervisor Dan Lemmon about primates, performance capturing and premium VFX.
When the Lucy gets the LIDAR…
Review: In DP 07 : 2014, "Lucy", together with director Luc Besson, tapped into the full brain power - and the VFX power of ILM, Rodeo FX and 4DMax. How did the sci-fi action film with Scarlett Johansson come about?
Spider webs vs. electric flashes
Review: In DP 07 : 2014, the most popular spider-man in film history was electrostatically charged. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro" was one of the most elaborate projects for Sony Pictures Imageworks in 2014. We caught up with digital effects supervisor David A. Smith.
Steampunk Panther
Review: In DP 02 : 2014, a steampunk panther caught the readers' eye - with emerald green eyes and filigree decorations. An animago submission by 3D artist Anna Huber.
Put in the right light
Review: In DP 04 : 2014, Depeche Mode went on a major tour - and Cologne-based post-production house the editors cgn was responsible for the high-quality post-production of the concert events. How do post-pros make the performers look as good as possible? Head editor Tobias Berbuer explains in an interview!
Historical Decay
Review: In DP 01 : 2014 game developer Naughty Dog threw its heroes into a post-pandemic scenario with The Last of Us - but how were the lighting, texturing and motion capturing created?
Rubinrote VFX
Review: DP 03 : 2013 took a closer look at the film adaptation of the young adult novel Ruby Red. We spoke to Professor Jürgen Schopper, Supervisor Mortimer Warlimont and VFX Producer Katja Müller about particle effects, the filmability of Spiegel bestsellers and the magic of VFX shots.
Bioshock Infinite
Review: In DP 03 : 2013, we asked Design Director and User Experience Specialist Billd Gardner why Bioshock Infinite had to be delayed. What happened behind the company gates at Irrational Games?
Of “Jaegers” and monsters
Review: In DP 06 : 2013, the VFX cracker Pacific Rim grilled the cinema summer. Compositing artist Michael Ralla tells us how Industrial Light & Magic tamed the Kaiju giants.
Visualising barley juice
Looking back: In DP 04 : 2013, we were thirsty for beer, because pilsner brand Warsteiner was celebrating its 260th birthday with an advertising campaign. The post-production studio nhb and the agency Kolle Rebbe created bottles in 3D for the Warsteiner brewery. Cheers!
Monster Uni
Review: In DP 05 : 2013, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios brought the prequel "Monsters University" to cinemas. Could the hair and cloth simulation keep up with its predecessor film "Monsters Inc."? Animation is a hairy business!
Happy endings are inappropriate | Retro article
Review: In DP 06 : 2012, Luis Alonso, Senior Technical Artist at BioWare, spoke at FMX (Film & Media Exchange) about the video game Mass Effect 3. DP grabbed Alonso to ask him a few questions.
On the hunt for facial expressions
Review: In DP 05 : 2019, we realised that elaborately produced cutscenes in video games are no longer a rarity. In Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake, MoCap specialist metricminds took care of the characters' facial expressions.
From another star | Retro article
Review: In DP 01 : 2010, Weta Digital created a wacky planet, alien life forms and humanoid screen heroes. For what? For James Cameron's Avatar!
Spider-Man | Retro article
Review: In DP 03 : 2002 came "With great power, great responsibility", as Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man film became a huge success. We spoke to the visual effects designers about the tension of latex suits - and of course VFXs.