Check out this new X-Men themed television commercial for “Sky Fibre”. It’s pretty fun to see all of these mutants getting along and hanging out. And of course, Quicksilver is up to his old tricks. Sky Fibre is even faster than he is. Or is it?
Enemy Mine was a movie that was so ahead of it’s time in so many ways. The story is timeless, the Special effects were great for it’s day and it came from a time when not everything had to be a blockbuster. You just tell a good solid story, you make the viewer care and you are done. This is a movie that stays with you long after you watch it. Could a movie that focuses on just two characters with limited effects even be made today? Probably not and that’s a damn shame.
The special effects that were in the movie looked amazing at the time. Check out some of this movie’s SFX miniatures and a few behind the scenes shots. What a special movie. It is really unique compared to most Science Fiction in that it has such heart and humanity while both characters are so far from home.
via cineweekly
I love what I see of this cool proof of concept trailer called Ickerman. It looks like Blade Runner and part chase movie. Right from the get go we see this guy as a loner in a futuristic world. His clothes are from another time, he’s driving an old Ford, while all around him the futuristic vehicles are in pursuit of him. Here’s the synopsis:
Taking place in a futuristic megalopolis where new technologies and virtual reality are ruling society, ICKERMAN is an original story following a nostalgic teacher obsessed with 35 mm films and old cars. After a string of disturbing events, he falls into his imaginary world and starts acting like the characters he admires to deliver his best friend from the guru of this digital era.
The movie is to be directed by French filmmaking team Raphaël Hernandez and Savitri Joly-Gonfard. Ickerman is to be their first feature film. They are currently looking for funding, hoping to start shooting the full film in 2017. I know I would like to see what they can do after watching that trailer, which was shot in one night in Paris. The VFX were completed in just three months with one VFX artist working on it. The budget? Only 1,000 euro. I’m impressed. I hope they get the funding and make this movie.
via Geek Tyrant
I love seeing how much work goes into making sci-fi and fantasy movies look real. It’s like learning how the magician does the magic trick. I am more in awe of how the trick is done than what it looks like on stage. This Jurassic World VFX reel offers a great look at what went into making those dinosaurs so real. The recipe for success is in large part just grown-ups pretending to be dinosaurs. Best job ever! It’s more than that of course, but that is what stands out in this VFX reel and it is really fun to watch.
The more I see of this movie, the more excited I get. We don’t have a long wait now before Batman v Superman hits theaters. Empire Magazine has released some new photos from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on their iPad app, and DCEU Facts shared these on Twitter. I don’t think we have seen most of these.
The movie is less than two months away. I hope it is as amazing as it looks. We see Bruce Wayne visiting a bunch of dead loved ones, Wonder Woman deflecting something with her bracers, Superman in control of the Bat Signal and much more. There’s a lot here to digest. Love the atmosphere on that concept art too.
via Geek Tyrant
Here is a fun video of Wired taking a look at the Visual Effects used in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It is a fascinating look at how Industrial Light & Magic created those complex action sequences, breathtaking environments, and characters. It packs a lot of info into it’s three minute run time. It’s always fun to see how the magic is done. It doesn’t ruin the magician’s trick, it makes us even more in awe.
Star Trek production artist Rick Sternbach recently posted some amazing photos of the kit-bashed miniatures that were used for the ships seen wrecked after the Battle of Wolf 359 in TNG’s The Best of Both Worlds. The images here are of the models before the art department turned them into wrecks. It’s awesome that we get to take a look at these. I have always wondered about scenes like Wolf 359. This is a rare treat for Star Trek fans.
Discovered while looking for images from COSMOS in 1979, pawing through boxes of thousands of 35mm slides (remember film?). Apparently I/we shot a few dozen pix of the poor ships from Best of Both Worlds on ST:TNG. Models made from AMT/Ertl kits of different scales, plus bits like highlighter markers and other plastic chunks. IIRC we then took Dremel grinders and X-Acto saws to them and added some airbrush burn damage.
The first four images are some views of the New Orleans class USS Kyushu, Cheyenne class USS Ahwahnee, and the Springfield class USS Chekov. The second set of four features the proto-Nebula class USS Melbourne, and the Challenger class USS Buran.
I would have loved to see more of these on-screen in more detail, but the wreckage of Wolf 359 was pretty impressive. Hopefully he will show off more of these ships very soon.
This fun video shows off how robots evolved in movies and TV. Nowadays Sci-Fi flicks just aren’t complete unless they feature robots. That’s cool, because we love robots around here. Some of the best movies of all time have robots. The artwork is from Scott Park and Sploid turned his work into a cool video.
Sit back and enjoy the evolution of these synthetic beings. It makes me wonder what kind of robots we will see next.
via Sploid
Batman V Superman has the potential to be a massive hit. We have all been waiting for this one. In the meantime, check out DC Entertainment’s video of costume designer Michael Wilkinson providing some insight into the costume designs. There is also some Batman v Superman concept art in the video. There’s some cool stuff about Wonder Woman’s wardrobe and they talk about Kryptonian language being stitched into Superman’s new suit as well.
Doctor Who’s ninth season had some fantastic images. It showed us alien cities, new aliens, and much more. If you were wondering how the show’s VFX artists brought it all to life, check out this cool video from Milk Visual Effects. It will give you a glimpse into the process of making these scenes. Head on over to Milk’s Vimeo page to see the video. It is a fun look behind the scenes at this past season’s VFX.
Remember those hands with the eyes on Skaro? The snake man with the face that twisted like a puzzle? The Zygons? It’s all here. They don’t go into great detail on how these shots were done, but you will get a good idea how the scenes were shot, what was added digitally etc.
