conigs

Scott Squires over at Effects Corner has a good write up on the current state of VFX shops and that two more are shutting their doors: Image Movers & Core Pictures.

It’s a shame so many good shops are shutting their doors. But The industry is so fragile. Everyone is trying to underbid the next guy and margins are extremely thin. It doesn’t help that there’s always the push from studios (or clients) to get something twice as good for half the price & half the time. 

I just worry that commercial (as in commissioned by agencies or clients, not necessarily broadcast) motion design might suffer a similar fate. 

Last week I was working on a retail spot where we needed a product that wasn’t shot on-figure. But we did have a shot of a similar product. It just needed a little work. This is what I mean by “a little:”

I’m pretty pleased with the end result. It was a fun task to work on, though I hope I don’t have to do it too often…

I just found out about Ramen, an open-source, node-based compositing application today. It looks promising, if for no reason other than to get node-based workflows in the hands of more people.

I’ll have to give this a try tonight when I get home… Maybe. The only way to get the software is to download the source and compile it yourself. I’m pretty sure that means I’ll be messing around with installing dependencies for a while before I ever get to try it out.

If and when I get around to compiling, installing, and playing with this, I’ll post a review.

(via @Kashaan & @BoundaryVFX)

Justice / Lenny Kravitz “Let Love Rule” from Alanedit on Vimeo.

This is such a great concept for a music video.

My feelings about the Philips Cinema 21:9 display aside, Carousel, the current promotional video they are showing, is an amazing piece of Steadicam & VFX work.

There was a lot of 3D match-move tracking, rotoscope work, and especially planning involved in this piece!

[via Mark Christiansen at ProVideo Coalition]

UPDATE: Clutter free version can be found on Beam.tv. Production was done by Stink Digital.