Podcasts about cinesite

In this episode, Brian VanHooker chats with Neave Lifschits, lead animator on the the 2023 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Working for the VFX company Cinesite, Lifschits oversaw several sequences in the film, including Splinter's fight scene in the TCRI building and when Splinter throws a party for the Turtles. Sound engineering by Ian Williams. Follow TURTLE TRACKS PODCAST on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/turtle_tracks_podcast/

In this conversation, Kofi interviews Richard Clark, the head of visualisation and VFX supervisor at Cinesite, to discuss the role of visualisation in the industry. We explore the origins and evolution of visualisation, the use of real-time tools like Unreal Engine, and the impact of virtual production. Richard emphasizes the importance of quick workflows and the ability to think visually in the visualisation process. He also highlights the trend of studios taking back pre-production work and the potential for students to enter the industry through visualisation. Richard suggests exploring other areas of VFX, such as medical visualisation and motion graphics, to start earning and learning. He advises patience and mentions that the industry is slowly recovering from the effects of the strike. Richard shares his journey into the VFX industry, starting with his early interest in computer art and his experience working on various films. He discusses the potential impact of AI on the industry, noting that while AI has the potential to automate certain tasks, it may not replace the creativity and expertise of artists.Takeaways- Visualisation is a quick way of seeing and planning what a sequence or shot will look like before it is filmed or created.- Real-time tools like Unreal Engine have revolutionized visualisation by allowing for faster and more efficient workflows.- Visualisation departments in studios offer an end-to-end solution and allow for more flexibility and collaboration in the production process.- Students interested in entering the industry can explore visualisation in areas like architectural visualisation or working with companies that contract with the Ministry of Defense.- The industry is currently experiencing a slowdown, but there is potential for a surge in demand once production ramps up again. Explore other areas of VFX, such as medical visualisation and motion graphics, to start earning and learning.- Be patient as the industry recovers from the effects of the strike.Motion graphics is still in demand and can be a good career path for 2D artists.- Richard shares his journey into the VFX industry, starting with his early interest in computer art and his experience working on various films.- While AI has the potential to automate certain tasks, it may not replace the creativity and expertise of artists.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Background01:49 The Use Cases and Need for Visualisation07:07 The Evolution of Visualisation Tools10:58 Post-Vis and Tech-Vis28:30 The Future of Visualisation and the Role of Generalists34:22 Challenges in the VFX Industry38:56 Richard's Journey into the VFX Industry46:18 Exploring Opportunities in Other Areas51:50 The Potential Impact of AI in VFXYou can watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel. Subscribe & Watch all episodes on our YouTube Channel Visit our website Thank you for your support! We appreciate you!

Episode 206!? This week we are giving our thoughts on "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem"! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a 2023 American animated superhero film based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. A reboot of the Turtles film series, it was directed by Jeff Rowe, who co-wrote the screenplay with Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit, from a story he co-wrote with Brendan O'Brien, Rogen, and Goldberg. The film stars the voices of Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon as the titular Turtles, alongside an ensemble voice cast that includes Ayo Edebiri, Maya Rudolph, John Cena, Rogen, Rose Byrne, Natasia Demetriou, Giancarlo Esposito, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Paul Rudd, Post Malone, and Hannibal Buress. In the film, the Turtles go on a hunt for a mysterious crime syndicate, but trouble arises when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them. The story explores themes of family, acceptance, and conformity. Plans for an animated Turtles film with involvement by Rogen began in 2018. In June 2020, the project was officially announced, with Rogen, Goldberg, and James Weaver producing through their company, Point Grey Pictures, Rowe as director, and O'Brien as screenwriter. Kyler Spears joined soon after as co-director. Seeking to explore the teenage aspect of the Turtles, the filmmakers drew inspiration from teenage coming-of-age films. The majority of the cast was announced in March 2023. The animation was provided by Mikros Animation in Montreal and Paris and Cinesite in Vancouver and Montreal, and was primarily influenced by school notebook sketches. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the score. Mutant Mayhem was screened as a work-in-progress at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 12, 2023, and was released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on August 2, 2023. It has grossed $180 million worldwide and received positive reviews for its performances, screenplay, and stylized animation; several critics considered it the best Turtles film. A follow-up television series, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is set to premiere on Paramount+, and a sequel film is in development. Sign up for our newsletter! https://mailchi.mp/39f44a9e9866/newsletter Join our discord and help us build the community! https://discord.gg/EUtHXHjJWF Support The Wednesday Pull List! https://www.patreon.com/wednesdaypull Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What did we think of the latest TMNT movie in this 35+ year old franchise? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a 2023 American computer-animated superhero filmdirected by Jeff Rowe, who co-wrote the screenplay with Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit. It is the seventh theatrical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film and a reboot of the series. The film stars the voices of Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon as the titular team, alongside a supporting ensemble voice cast that includes Ayo Edebiri, Maya Rudolph, John Cena, Rogen, Rose Byrne, Natasia Demetriou, Giancarlo Esposito, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Paul Rudd, Post Malone, and Hannibal Buress. In the film, after years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtles set out to be accepted as normal teenagers through acts of heroism. The brothers go on a hunt for a mysterious crime syndicate, but trouble arises when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.  Nickelodeon announced Mutant Mayhem in June 2020, with Rogen, Goldberg, and James Weaver producing under their Point Grey Pictures banner, and Rowe as director. Kyler Spears joined as co-director soon after. The animation was provided by Mikros Animation in Montreal and Paris and Cinesite in Vancouver, and was primarily influenced by school notebook sketches. Seeking to explore the teenage aspect of the Turtles, the filmmakers drew inspiration from teenage coming-of-age films. The majority of the cast was announced in March 2023. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the musical score.  Mutant Mayhem was screened as a work-in-progress at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 12, 2023, and was released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on August 2, 2023. It received positive reviews, with praise for its vocal performances, script, and stylized animation; several critics have named it the best Turtles film.[5] It has grossed $64 million worldwide to date. A follow-up television series, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is set to premiere on Paramount+, and a sequel film is in development. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/secondary-heroes-podcast/message

Ian Failes from befores & afters chats to 'Matilda' production VFX supervisor Simon Stanley-Clamp, who also hails from Cinesite.

Cinesite visual effects supervisor Ben White about his studio's work for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, involving the Boston chase scenes.

In the latest VFX Notes podcast, Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes discuss the visual effects in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Many VFX studios contributed to the film, principally Weta FX, ILM, Digital Domain and Cinesite, among others.

In this episode, we chat to Rebecca Holdstock, senior matchmove and rotomation artist at Cinesite London about her VFX career, spiralling over a decade in some of London's well known and biggest studios, through to becoming a mother of two and the change that comes with being a working mother.I had the privilege of working with Rebecca at Cinesite on The Witcher season 2, and for the first time in my life, I was working with a mother, who was signing on in the middle of the day, on a customised working hours.This blew my mind, and triggered my interest in the topic to which we sat down to discus. Becoming a working mother, or choosing to become a working mother in any industry is often times a big challenge and decision that affects women in all sorts of life and industries. Whilst Rebecca's story focuses on the VFX industry, it very much is relatable to all women and working mothers in every industry, and will be for every generation to come.It therefore is a rightful and important subject to be discussing and brining it to light, to create awareness, and hopefully encourage and or prepare other women in the VFX and wider working industries.Chapters00:00:00  Ident        00:00:05  Introductions        00:01:40  A bit about Rebecca        00:02:31  Journey into the VFX industry        00:09:32  Getting foot in the door of the VFX industry        00:13:19  Settling in the Matchmove department        00:23:49  Motherhood and being an artist in the VFX industry        00:31:59  Managing kids and shots during early days of covid        00:51:46  Planing to start a family, vs having kids unexpectedly        00:54:10  What can be improved for women working in the VFX industry        01:03:15  Advice to any artists looking to start a family        01:05:59  What should women look out for, when applying to join a VFX studio  01:10:51  Conclusion   As always, if you liked this episode, please like, comment, subscribe and share!Listen to all episodes on our websitehttps://www.thevfxartistspodcast.com/#vfxindustry #workingmom  #vfxartist 

Find Pedro: https://www.https://www.complairvfx.com/Learn Compositing: https://www.cgspectrum.com/courses/vfx-compositingThis week, Maxine interviews Pedro Andrade, Head of Compositing as well as Founder of the Comp Lair podcast and The Next Level training program, a Compositing Supervisor training program he created. They talk about how Pedro started his podcast and The Next Level training program out of a desire to share knowledge, and exactly what tools, skills and perspectives helped Pedro jump from a compositor to supervisor position in only two years. Tune in to hear Pedro talk about embracing your unique perspective, the freedom of letting go of expectations, and the value in being prepared for opportunities that come your way.As a 2D Supervisor, Pedro has worked at companies such as DNEG, Cinesite, and Milk VFX. As former Head of Compositing at MPC, he managed 100+ people across London, Berlin, and Montreal, from junior artists to supervisors, on both episodic and film projects. Pedro's credits include House of the Dragon, Avengers: Endgame, The Boys (season 3), Doctor Who, and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Andy McNamara is Head of CG at Cinesite, but back in 2015 he was part of the legendary Rushes, a small but vital post-production facility in the heart of Soho that punched way above its weight with broadcast, pop promos, commercials, motion graphics and film work. One of Rushes' last jobs was the ground breaking UI work on Spectre. Andy tells us what core skills he thinks are needed and why first principles of photography are still essential in a world of increasingly complex software.

In this sponsored episode of VFX Futures, we talk to Cinesite CTO Michele Sciolette, Group Head of CG–VFX Holger Voss and Group Head of CG–Animation Hank Driskill to discuss the future of visual effects and feature animation.

Jill Smolin has seen things you people wouldn't believe. Early computer graphics techniques on Amiga computers. CG breakthroughs at Digital Domain. Mind-blowing stereoscopy techniques in filmmaking and the advent of ultra-high-definition streamed content. All these memories will be discussed in this podcast. Jill also talks about her background in theater and how a Canadian CG character drew her into the world of VFX, where she worked and taught Gnomon, Cinesite, Digital Domain. Jill also became important behind-the-scenes as a volunteer at SIGGRAPH, bringing in top Hollywood talent to discuss how they advanced VFX. It's a touching podcast in which Jill demonstrates an in-depth technical knowledge coupled with a genuine fondness for the many people with whom she's worked.

Vladislav Akhtyrskiy, a VFX compositing artist, supervisor and an engineer, whose portfolio features numerous Hollywood projects, including ‘Gravity', ‘Beauty and the Beast', ‘Midway', ‘Edge of Tomorrow', ‘Dracula Untold', ‘Iron Man 3' and many more. Vladislav started his career in animation as a digital compositing artist and soon became a Compositing and VFX Supervisor on various projects. In 2009 he joined MPC London. Vladislav worked with Cinesite and Framestore in London and Montreal, and in 2016 MPC Vancouver announced Vladislav as a Head of Compositing Department, responsible for delivery, department work, internal academy training, pipeline optimization and automation. After that Vladislav worked on automation for 2D workflow. As a speaker at SIGGRAPH, CGEvent, Total Chaos and other key industry events, he delivered dozens of masterclasses and presentations covering the latest trends and solutions. In 2019, after some time of active research, Vladislav presented his first prototype, and in 2021 his team officially launched Tech-Va.com and released a game-changing AI-based automation solution for Nuke, designed to pull the key, identify markers and train your own models in just minutes, reducing manual work while keeping full control over prediction results. FIND VLADISLAV ON SOCIAL MEDIA LinkedIn | Faceebook | Instagram ================================ SUPPORT & CONNECT: Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/denofrich Twitter: https://twitter.com/denofrich Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/denofrich YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/denofrich Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/den_of_rich/ Hashtag: #denofrich © Copyright 2022 Den of Rich. All rights reserved.

Vladislav Akhtyrskiy, a VFX compositing artist, supervisor and an engineer, whose portfolio features numerous Hollywood projects, including ‘Gravity', ‘Beauty and the Beast', ‘Midway', ‘Edge of Tomorrow', ‘Dracula Untold', ‘Iron Man 3' and many more. Vladislav started his career in animation as a digital compositing artist and soon became a Compositing and VFX Supervisor on various projects. In 2009 he joined MPC London. Vladislav worked with Cinesite and Framestore in London and Montreal, and in 2016 MPC Vancouver announced Vladislav as a Head of Compositing Department, responsible for delivery, department work, internal academy training, pipeline optimization and automation. After that Vladislav work on automation for 2D workflow.As a speaker at SIGGRAPH, CGEvent, Total Chaos and other key Industry events, he delivered dozens of masterclasses and presentations covering the latest trends and solutions.In 2019, after some time of active research, Vladislav presented his first prototype, and in 2021 his team officially launched Tech-Va.com and released a game changing AI-based automation solution for Nuke, designed to pull the key, identify markers and train your own models in just minutes, reducing manual work while keeping full control over prediction results.FIND VLADISLAV ON SOCIAL MEDIALinkedIn | Faceebook | Instagram================================PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://www.uhnwidata.com/podcastApple podcast: https://apple.co/3kqOA7QSpotify: https://spoti.fi/2UOtE1AGoogle podcast: https://bit.ly/3jmA7ulSUPPORT & CONNECT:Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/denofrichTwitter: https://twitter.com/denofrichFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/denofrichYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DenofRich

David Adan is an FT TD Lead at Cinesite whose list of credits include Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, American Gods, Mindhunter, Godzilla: King of Monsters, Terminator: Dark Fate, Lost in Space and many more. David's journey began in 1994 in Cuernavaca, Mexico, when at the age of 16, he started working as an intern at a local PR film. There, he discovered one of the first 3D softwares for PC and immediately started teaching himself how to use it. The local college didn't offer any studies in visual effects or animation. There were no internet tutorials either. So while studying Photoshop, editing and illustration in class, David learned animation on his own. Every night after school, he poured over any possible books or manuals he could find. Three years later, David decided to go seek training in the U.S. He found himself studying at Digital Hollywood in Santa Monica. He came back to Mexico City with a different perspective and began producing for television. In 2004, he sought his AutoDesk certification; and that same year, opened his own studio -- Studio 3D -- where he began teaching. Right around that time, David came in contact with Allan McKay, at the CG Workshop. In 2010, David decided to take his family abroad by accepting a contract with an architectural firm in Qatar. In the meanwhile, David started taking the FXTD Mentorship with Allan McKay. During this time, David had a chance to work on a couple of films: an Austrian student film called Herbst and a German low-budget production Timebreakers. It gave him an opportunity to utilize all the techniques he was learning in the Mentorship.  In 2014, David decided to make a change in his career by moving back to Mexico and pursuing visual effects. It took a few months of struggle and a dozen job interviews, including with Sony, before he was offered a full-time position at Flipbook Studio where he would finally get to create visual effects for films and television. In just 3 months at this new job, he's been involved in 6 television shows.  Most recently, David accepted a position at Cinesite, in Vancouver, where he became an FX TD Lead. In this Podcast, David talks about his journey as an artist, business owner and a family man; the career changes that took courage -- yet led him to his dream job; the skills he gained in other fields but ultimately used as a VFX artist; and the importance of following your passion. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/328/.

In this sponsored episode of VFX Futures, we talk to Cinesite CTO Michele Sciolette, Group Head of CG–VFX Holger Voss and Group Head of CG–Animation Hank Driskill to discuss the future of visual effects and feature animation.

Andrew has more than 25 years of experience in feature animation at Pixar and additional years at Warner Bros., DNEG, and Cinesite as head of animation. He has an impressive credit list that includes many prestigious animated blockbusters such as ‘Ratatouille', ‘Monsters University, ‘Toy Story', ‘Finding Nemo', ‘Cars', and ‘The Incredibles 1 & 2' to name a few.We'll discuss Pixar's early days and how it was to be a CG character animator in the 90s. His experience working with legendary directors such as Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton, Pete Doctor and John Lasseter. Pixar's culture in general, his departure from the studio and current ambitions for the future.If you'd like to watch this episode you can find it here:https://agora.community/content/a-conversation-with-andrew-gordonAlso, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!

In 'Part One' we have: The Boy Behind The Door Digital Release Date: 29th July 2021 Director: David Charbonier and Justin Powell Cast: Lonnie Chavis, Ezra Dewey, Kristin Bauer Van Straten, Scott Michael Foster and Micah Hauptman Credit: Kinogo Pictures, Whitewater Films, Shudder Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller Running Time: 88 min Cert: 18 Trailer: Here. https://youtu.be/3HEmC-ASveA Website: Here. https://theboybehindthedoor.com/ Twitter: @bbtdmovie https://twitter.com/bbtdmovie ------------ Jakob's Wife Digital Release Date: 19th August 2021 Director: Travis Stevens Cast: Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden, Bonnie Aarons, Nyisha Bell, Mark Kelly, Sarah Lind, Robert Rusler, Phil Brooks Credit: AMP International, Eyevox, Shudder Genre: Horror Running Time: 98 min Cert: 18 Trailer: Here. https://youtu.be/xA8ALfbP_hA Website: Here. https://www.amp-film.com/screeners/jakobs_wife.html ------------ Free Guy Release Date: 13th August 2021 Director: Shawn Levy Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Taika Waititi, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar Credit: Berlanti Productions, 21 Laps Entertainment, Maximum Effort, Lit Entertainment Group, TSG Entertainment, 20th Century Studios Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Running Time: 115 min Cert: 12 Trailer: Here. https://youtu.be/cttnRmcr_ME Website: Here. https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/free-guy Twitter: @FreeGuyMovie https://twitter.com/freeguymovie Facebook: Here. https://www.facebook.com/FreeGuyMovie/ Instagram: @freeguymovie https://www.instagram.com/freeguymovie/ ------------ Extinct Digital Release Date: 20th August 2021 Director: Director David Silverman Cast: Rachel Bloom, Adam Devine, Zazie Beetz, Ken Jeong Credit: China Lion Entertainment, Tolerable Entertainment, Huayi Tencent Entertainment, H. Brothers Entertainment, HB-Wink Animation, Cinesite, Sky Cinema Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy Running Time: 84 min Cert: PG Trailer: Here. https://youtu.be/bk0Q-zuUFfc Website: Here. https://timelessfilms.co.uk/programme/extinct ------------ *(Music) 'My World' by O.C. - 1997 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/eftv/message

Dottie Starling is a Visual Effects Supervisor, CGI artist and digital modeler. Through both her freelance VFX career and her work with production houses such as Cinesite, Asylum, and Wildfire VFX, Dottie has worked on countless blockbuster motion pictures including Titanic, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, 007's Die Another Day, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Ocean's Thirteen and Tropic Thunder. Dottie has also worked with digital effects on the Academy Award-winning 12 Years a Slave, Oldboy, Selma, and the New Orleans-filmed television series Scream Queens. She has recently finished supervising Amazon's original series Underground Railroad directed by Barry Jenkins. In this Episode, Allan McKay interviews VFX Supervisor Dottie Starling about the path to becoming a Supervisor, the most crucial skill for the job, the challenge of creating visual effects that support the story (and the director's vision), as well as her experience supervising Amazon's original series Underground Railroad directed by Barry Jenkins. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/312/.

Dottie Starling is a Visual Effects Supervisor, CGI artist and digital modeler. Through both her freelance VFX career and her work with production houses such as Cinesite, Asylum, and Wildfire VFX, Dottie has worked on countless blockbuster motion pictures including Titanic, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, 007's Die Another Day, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Ocean's Thirteen and Tropic Thunder. Dottie has also worked with digital effects on the Academy Award-winning 12 Years a Slave, Oldboy, Selma, and the New Orleans-filmed television series Scream Queens. She has recently finished supervising Amazon's original series Underground Railroad directed by Barry Jenkins. In this Episode, Allan McKay interviews VFX Supervisor Dottie Starling about the path to becoming a Supervisor, the most crucial skill for the job, the challenge of creating visual effects that support the story (and the director's vision), as well as her experience supervising Amazon's original series Underground Railroad directed by Barry Jenkins. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/railroad/

In our 84th podcast we interview Lead Animator, and iAnimate Alumni, Roy Stein. Roy has animated and lead teams at such studios as Blue Sky Studios, Bron Animation, and currently CineSite; and has worked on such films as Ferdinand, Leap, Little Prince, and The Willoughbys. Roy is also an inspiring Filmmaker, and with the help of many artist, released a short thriller, titled Too Late. It was great speaking with one of our alumni and seeing their experience and growth in the industry, working at large studios like Blue Sky Animation, as well as leading animation teams for the first time.

Dagens gäst är Peter Aversten, en visual effects artist. Han berättar om vägen från drömmen om att animera Disneyfilm i Örebro, till att jobba på effekterna till 'Låt den rätte komma in' och hans nuvarande karriär i England på bland annat Justice League, samtalet avslutas med tips till dig som vill in i branschen och Alains fråga. Välkommen till Dark Label Productions podcast. Vi älskar genre och indiefilm.

Today's conversation with Nate Barnard is really interesting in many ways. Nate's journey followed an unusual path from production management to CG supervision, certainly not typical of someone in his position. He got his start at Mainframe and has worked on series and features from Sausage Party to Cinesite's The Addams Family.  Nate was also CG Supervisor on Cinzia Angelini's short film Mila, a project 10 years in the making that Cinesite picked up to help finish last year. Currently working on the Addams Family sequel, he took time out over a few weeks to chat about his career.If you enjoy this podcast, please take the time to share, rate and comment!And if you have any suggestions for show guests or topics, please get in touch.Episode Recorded: 3/4/2021  &  3/15/2021Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a group of passionate, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.

Hablamos de FX, qué es y qué hace un FX TD con Luis Cancio Villalonga, actualmente FX TD en Electric Theatre Collective. Ha trabajado también en Cinesite, Dneg o The Mill entre otras. También hablamos de salarios y las recomendaciones para freelance de BECTU, aquí la tabla comparativa. Podéis enviar un mensaje de voz desde el enlace al final de este texto. O contactarme por los medios que pongo aquí debajo. adriancastroviejo.com @AdrianCastroV Music: Wait For Me (Paul Kalkbrenner Remix) by Moby, courtesy of https://mobygratis.com Music: The Right Thing (Cosmonauts Remix) by Moby, courtesy of https://mobygratis.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/charlascgi/message

This time, we're digging into Moon from 2009 and along the way we ask, what is on the Moon that humanity needs so badly, how is cloning simplified in this film and was this the beginning of Sam Rockwell's prominence in Hollywood? Let's dig in…. Moon Film Cast and Crew Directed by Duncan Jones: The son of the late musician David Bowie, Moon was Jones' first foray into major film-making. The success of this low-budget, critically acclaimed Indie film, earned him the opportunity to direct Source Code in 2011 as well as Warcraft and Mute. He may have stumbled a bit with his last two outings but it's not cause to place him in “director jail” just yet. While his next project remains unconfirmed, we can't wait to see what he does with his career. Starring Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell: Rockwell wasn't always known as the major Hollywood we consider him to be now, he was more known as a comedic actor or manic villain (see our previous discussion on Galaxy Quest) having previously appeared in films like Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, The Green Mile and Matchstick Men, but 2008/2009 is when he started to change those perceptions after appearing in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Frost/Nixon and Iron Man 2. He has gone to win an Academy Award (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and seems to be nominated for an award every year as he's appeared in Vice and Jojo Rabbit since 2017. Kevin Spacey as the voice of GERTY: While Spacey does not physically appear in the film, there are few actors who are able to deliver the even keeled yet chilling performance of Sam's robot caretaker. Before the sexual assault allegations came to light against him, Spacey was one of the most in-demand actors in the film industry. His credits are too numerous to list here as are his accolades, but his credit on this film adds a certain gravitas and credibility to the production that another actor might not have been able to pull off. Also starring: Dominique McElligot as Tess Bell Kaya Scodelario as Eve Bell (15 years old) Benedict Wong as Thompson Matthew Berry as Overmeyers Moon Visual Effects & Production Design While Moon itself has received critical acclaim, particular attention was paid to the look of the film including the Moon base where the film is primarily set and the special effects used to enhance the desolate Lunar setting. The Moon base itself was a full 360 degree set measuring almost 90 feet long and 70 feet wide and as our podcast hosts Chris and Sean point out, it looks lived in. Sam's living space is peppered with photos of his family as well as a Tennessee Titans poster, but the base is not as pristine as seen with other planetary bases in other films. There are parts of the habitat that are dirty with layers of Lunar soil all over the floor, GERTY is covered with dents as well as the occasional coffee ring and Sam is even left to piece together a table using bins filled up with Lunar soil. His requests for repairs go unanswered as the list seems to be endless for Sam. For a film of this budget ($5 million), the visual effects are modest, but impressive. Obviously, the filmmakers wouldn't have been able to afford computer graphics on the same level as a Marvel film. The company responsible for the computer graphics on the film, CineSite, has provided visual effects for blockbusters like Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, The Witcher and Independence Day: Resurgence, but often deals with productions of modest budgets. There are some obvious moments where the effects are clear such as seeing GERTY's extra arm maneuvering around to assist Sam at times. The Lunar rovers seen in the film are actually miniatures and as our hosts also point out, it is appreciated when a film production will go the extra mile to add a sense of realism to the experience. What is on the Moon? As seen in Moon, Sam is nearing the end of his three year contract for Lunar Industries Limite...

Superheroes, fantastic beasts, dinosaurs of the 21st century, and galaxies undiscovered. Cinesite is an award-winning digital entertainment studio with over 25 years of experience and work on hundreds of film, TV and streaming productions. Its visual effects and animation artists breathing life into filmmakers' visions. Cinesite's skilled artists and engineers work closely with filmmakers and studios to achieve the impossible, whether through complex visual effects or conceiving and realizing entire animated films. They tinker, mold, and craft to blow things out of the water -- sometimes literally. Cinesite makes this magic happen from its studios in London, Montreal and Vancouver; and since 2015 they have also welcomed the VFX masters at Image Engine Design (Vancouver) and Trixter (Munich & Berlin) to the Cinesite family.   Recent credits include No Time to Die (of the James Bond franchise, to be released in April 2020), Avenue 5, The Northwater, Fate: The Winx Saga. Other credits include: Rocketman, Avengers: Infinity War, Murder Mystery, Adrift, Ant-Man & the Wasp and Mary Poppins.   Cinesite is a supporter of Access VFX, a non-profit organization comprised of 40 leading companies which helps people get into the industry and focuses on actively pursuing and encouraging inclusion, diversity, awareness. Allan McKay interviews Cinesite's Head of Assets Tim Potter and VFX Supervisor Salvador Zalvidea about the direction of the industry, how to break into VFX and get great insights into compositing and the end of the pipeline. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/228/.

The third instalment in our series of talking to Runners where we find out the real deal on what it's really like to join a VFX studio at entry level. In this episode Cinesite Runners Charlotte and Vanessa chat about their experiences and Simon talks to Chee Yen and Katie, who are both current Runners at The Mill, about how they got their industry break and how it has differed from their expectations.

In our 25th podcast, and first of 2014, we speak with animation veteran Eamonn Butler. Eamonn kicked off his feature career at Walt Disney Animation Studios in their earlier stages of CG. There he worked on Fantasia 2000, Dinosaur, and was an Animation Supervisor on Chicken Little. Eammon has sinced moved over to the VFX arena and has been an Animation Supervisior on such movies as Iron Man 2, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Hellboy 2, and John Carter where he worked very closely with director Andrew Stanton. You can see his most recent work in Cinesite's first in-house short Beans. As you can see, he has a wealth of experience and knowledge, and it was great having him share some of it with us.