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Awesome Vfx

Behind the Scenes of Resident Alien

Behind the Scenes of Resident Alien

Resident Alien is one of our current must-watch TV series. The science fiction comedy features wonderful performances, lots of laughs, and some great visual effects. This behind-the-scenes footage from season three gives us a look at the costumes, makeup, props, and digital VFX that help bring the show to life.

FLITE

FLITE

This science fiction short film tells an original story while demonstrating what’s possible with state-of-the-art computer graphics. Oscar-winning VFX artist Tim Webber of Framestore used Unreal Engine to create FLITE, which follows the story of a woman imprisoned in her hi-rise apartment building and the stranger who helps her make a daring escape from the tower.

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Motion Extraction Video Effects

Motion Extraction Video Effects

In this short video from Posy, he shows off a neat visual effect that takes ordinary footage and highlights solely the parts that move. The resulting footage is artful and reveals aspects of each scene that might otherwise be overlooked. Best of all, Posy shows us how easy it is to replicate the effect yourself.

Lancer 21

Lancer 21

This science fiction short film from Dan Ciraulo’s Dark Path VFX drops us into an encounter between a large spaceship and an unknown vessel. A group of fighter pilots is sent to confront the non-responsive craft and investigate its origin. But what they find when they get there is shocking. (Thanks, Rob!)

Editing a Bike Together

Editing a Bike Together

Filmmaker Quek Shio Chuan is a master at video editing and compositing. In this clip, he shows off his dream bike build, which comes together piece by piece without tools – just his hands and some very precise editing using DaVinci Resolve Studio. He also shared the editing timeline.

Building a Giant Video Wall

Building a Giant Video Wall

The Mandalorian revolutionized the way visual effects are made with the use of a gigantic video wall and CG backgrounds created by Unreal Engine. Since then, the tech has found its way into smaller productions. This video from Live Production Mastery shows how such a wall comes together from 560 LED panels to create a virtual production space.

Captain Disillusion: Empty World Videos

Captain Disillusion: Empty World Videos

There’s a trend on TikTok where people have posted videos of typically populous locations that appear utterly devoid of people. They’re images straight out of dystopian science fiction, but they’re not real. Captain Disillusion explains the VFX techniques that go into producing these convincing “Empty World” illusions.

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Movie Miniatures Are Making a Comeback

Movie Miniatures Are Making a Comeback

Before the 2000s, models, and miniatures were commonplace in moviemaking. But with the advent of CGI, it’s become something of a lost art. Vox sat down with expert prop and modelmaker Simon Weisse to learn about the renaissance brewing with filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, John Favreau, and master of miniatures Wes Anderson.

Stop-Motion Video Tricks

Stop-Motion Video Tricks

Insta360 shows off some slick stop-motion shots captured with the help of its Insta360 Flow smartphone gimbal and selfie stick combo. Be sure to watch the whole video for a shot-by-shot explanation by photography and post-production expert Winga.

Debunking the Card Through Glass Trick

Debunking the Card Through Glass Trick

It’s been some time since Captain Disillusion debunked a video, but this one was worth the wait. This time, he took on an illusion in which a magician appears to push a card through a glass window to an orangutan. After putting a few theories to the test, it doesn’t add up – but Cap’s sleuthing eventually reveals the truth.

Observations I

Observations I

VFX artist Teun van der Zalm takes us on an immersive journey through a simulated nebula formation. Thanks to modern graphics hardware and software, he created this striking visual from an incredible 15 billion particles illuminated with 250 virtual lights. Watch it in full screen in a dark room if you can.

Low-Budget Practical Movie Effects

Low-Budget Practical Movie Effects

These days, many visual effects are produced using computer animation. Artist and filmmaker Markus Rothkranz looks back at some low-budget practical effects he created in the 1980s and 1990s. The tricks include miniatures, multiplane backgrounds, mirrors, and set pieces made from everyday objects.

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How Early Movie Special Effects Work

How Early Movie Special Effects Work

Today, movie studios have powerful computers dedicated to creating visual effects. But in the early days of motion pictures, special effects had to be created practically, in-camera, or via editing. Film Riot looks back at classics like Metropolis and The Wizard of Oz to see how they pulled off their memorable illusions.

Visualizing All the World’s Ants

Visualizing All the World’s Ants

Scientists estimate that roughly 20 quadrillion ants are marching around the planet. Then they said visualizing them all was “unimaginable. VFX artist Wren from Corridor accepted that challenge and came up with a way to generate a massive virtual ant pile. The 2.5 million ants-per-person ratio is gonna keep us up at night.

Faking Moving Vehicles in Movies and TV

Faking Moving Vehicles in Movies and TV

Making a parked car look like it’s driving can be as simple as projecting a moving background. But making it shake, dive, and roll produces a more realistic illusion. Insider visited NAC Effects to learn how they use motion control rigs to simulate movement and combine those with old-school effects like towing and airbags.

How Movies + TV Shows Shoot Underwater Scenes

How Movies + TV Shows Shoot Underwater Scenes

While Avatar: The Way of Water shot its underwater scenes by training actors to hold their breath, there are lots of other tricks that moviemakers use to create the illusion of underwater action. Insider explores some of the visual effects techniques – both practical and digital which bring underwater scenes to life.

The Real Story of Joel Haver

The Real Story of Joel Haver

We know Joel Haver from his animated sketches like the Toilet Paper Bears and It Came from the Fridge. But it turns out that Joel is way more involved in Hollywood than you might think. The guys from Corridor are here with the exclusive true story of Joel and the personal suffering he endures to entertain us all.

Weezer: What Happens After You?

Weezer: What Happens After You?

Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo shows off his multitude of talents in this wild music video by director Peter Quinn. The tricky visual effects shots make it appear that Rivers has cloned himself and performed all of the instruments on the track What Happens After You? from the band’s 2022 seasonal release SZNZ: Autumn.

FRAN Digital Re-aging Tech

FRAN Digital Re-aging Tech

VFX artists have been making actors look younger or older for a while, but the effect is costly and labor-intensive. Researchers from Disney, ETH Zurich, and UW-Madison are showing off an AI tech called Face Re-aging Network (FRAN), which can perform the feat in five seconds per frame. It seems better at aging than de-aging, though.

The Magic of Neural Radiance Fields

The Magic of Neural Radiance Fields

CGI technology keeps getting more impressive. But it still takes a lot of time and effort to create photorealistic environments. Wren from Corridor Crew introduces us to a tech called Neural Radiance Fields, aka NeRFs, which can produce a texture-mapped 3D environment with realistic lighting from 2D photographs.

Spider-Man: Everyone’s Home

Spider-Man: Everyone’s Home

With the help of AI image generation tech, Corridor created this short fan film in the style of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The crossover imagines that The Avengers (and a whole lot of Spider-Men variants) found their way into the Spider-Verse as a result of the events of Doctor Strange’s actions. Go behind the scenes here.

Low-gravity Stunt Rig

Low-gravity Stunt Rig

Movies and TV often use wires and CGI to make it look like actors are moving in low-gravity environments. This rig works differently, connecting a stuntperson to a counterweight on a metal armature via a rotating belt. The resulting effect is impressive, though we imagine it would be tricky to erase the rig in post-production.

All About the Alpha Channel

All About the Alpha Channel

Digital images typically have three color channels – red, green, and blue, and sometimes a fourth, Alpha channel, which defines transparency. Captain Disillusion the ways they can be created, and how the improper use of the Alpha channel can mean the difference between a seamless composite image and disaster.

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