Film? Television? Production? Post? Visual effects? Animation? Stereoscopic 3D? Interactive design? By answering Yes, all of the above, The Molecule keeps its eyes beyond the horizon.
In this article, Tim Wilson talks with da Vinci user Ron Anderson in his Part Three look at Blackmagic Design's acquisition of da Vinci Systems. Ron Anderson’s relationship with da Vinci has also taken places over several decades, starting as a customer, and evolving into demo artistry even while he continues working with da Vinci systems at Atlanta’s Cinefilm.
How can a creative business survive, much less prosper, these days? DigitalFilm Tree's Zed Saeed offers a possible solution that combines embracing new, disruptive, low-cost technologies, and investing wisely to add value.
Even all-digital, file-based films are still shown mostly on film. That's why Mike Lehman is helping indie filmmakers get their work onto the worldwide standard for theatrical exhibition.
Visual Effects Supervisor William Powloski helped create one of the most eye-popping worlds ever seen on TV, as part of a feature film aesthetic on a TV budget and schedule. Although it was canceled after only two seasons, it remains one of the most beautiful and innovative programs to ever air on US television. In an extended version of the original article in The Visual Effects Issue of Creative COW Magazine, here is an exclusive look at how he and his team helped pull it off.
By working in the area between what you see, and what you can see, Brian Gardner is helping re-write the rules of 3D filmmaking - right before your very eyes. In this article, he tells how some of these new rules played out in his work on the amazing movie, Coraline.
FotoKem opened as a film lab in 1963, and has continued to evolve and expand. Here are some of the tools they're using as the industry, and their business, now adds another dimension.
Running 4300 miles across the world's largest desert sounds impossible. But once Academy Award-winning director James Moll heard that three guys were going to try, he knew he had to hear - and tell - their story. In this Creative COW Magazine expanded interview, James talks about the incredible journey of both the runners and the filmmakers, while also offering insights into filmmaking, storytelling, and the frame.
Correcting dialogue is one of the most important parts of the old saying, fix it in post. They're part of a process called ADR -- Additional Dialogue Recording, or Automated Dialogue Replacement -- that has been going on since movies had audio, and is still being done today, from the smallest indie films to the biggest blockbusters. Here's an overview of the world of ADR, some of the Cows who are working in this field, and where to go when you are ready to ADR to your own productions.
After 3 years working on their labor of love, Harry and his partners tasted the full range of film festival experiences, some more magical than others...
Cinematographer and Creative Cow leader Todd Terry has shot countless television commercials and industrials using both 35mm film and depth-of-field converted video. In this Creative Cow Magazine Extra, from The Visual Effects Issue, learn how depth of field converters allow you to attach 35mm lenses even to video cameras with fixed lenses, how they work, and which one might be right for you.
John Galt, Panavision Senior Vice President of Advanced Digital Imaging, led the team that created the Genesis camera, was responsible for the F900 Star Wars camera, and continues to play a leading role in guiding future digital cinema technologies. In this Creative Cow Magazine Extra, join us for a wide-ranging conversation, as John cuts through what he calls the intentional obfuscation of marketing pixels, and considers the range of options that are becoming available to digital filmmakers.
Nuke, the new compositing tool from The Foundry, is rapidly becoming a favorite in high-end film production. Its price also offers an easy entry for indie producers who want to create better work, faster and more powerfully. This guided tour of Nuke for AE users, along with tips for leveraging your AE experience in the brave Nuke world of VFX creation will help you discover Nuke.
Creative Cow Contributing Editor Zed Saeed has helped create pioneering Final Cut Pro workflows for major feature films and episodic TV production. This year, he and the team at DigitalFilm Tree faced their biggest challenge yet: posting 3 major shows, for 3 different networks, every week -- with the same small team that used to do just one. How do they do it? World-class workflow management.
In this expanded version of an interview first published in Creative Cow Magazine, Dave describes a possible future for filmmaking -- faster, less expensive, and more creative -- as cameras and metadata come together.
On-set circumstances changing fast? Improvise! In this Creative COW Magazine article Mark Allen discusses how he overcame the complications in a recent short film production by improvising the visual effects.
Looking for smooth shoots even on extreme locations? Want a pain-free post? 24P, film look, Depth of Field converter, advanced compositing and sound design -- its all here. In this Creative Cow Magazine extra from the Workflow 3.0 issue, Carl Larsen shows you how to avoid problems through planning, along with invaluable tips for cinematic storytelling on a tight schedule.
Steve is a Senior Compositor and 2D Technical Director with over 20 years of production experience. His credits include over 60 films including as Traffic, Blade: Trinity,Ray, Batman & Robin, U-571, Air Force One, TV shows including Deadwood, and over 70 commercial spots. In this Creative Cow Magazine Extra from the Visual Effects issue, Steve talks about invisible effects in projects he has worked on, with ideas you can use for your own projects.
A wild ride of an edit: shot on film, projected onto five screens. In this Creative COW Magazine article Mike Sullivan discusses some of the problems such as lighting and color interaction he faced in a project he did for National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming.
When one of the worlds biggest rock and roll bands, Oasis, celebrated a careers worth of achievement, the film playing behind Rock-n-Roll Star was created by Creative Cow author Nel Johnson and the team at Studio Skylab. Learn the After Effects techniques that helped them complete the project under a ridiculous deadline, while wowing Oasis and a worldwide audience. As Nel puts it, We locked ourselves away, cranked up the music, and went nuts. In this Creative Cow Magazine Extra, we take a closer look at the story, starting with the creation of the films unique look.
Elvis Presley Enterprises took its video production in-house - into Graceland, one of the most famous houses in the world. But with 14TB of archived film and video, they're already running out of room...
A Creative Cow Exclusive! DigitalFilm Trees Zed Saeed has helped create pioneering digital workflows built around FCP, custom-designed for large-scale productions. Their biggest challenge so far has come on The Forbidden Kingdom, an epic film partnering Jackie Chan and Jet Li for the first time -- with production and post in China, Korea, Australia, and multiple locations in the US. Heres a look at how they put it all together with FCP, Xserve, XML, Color, file-based workflows...and hard, hard work.
Film look software will never offer the same impact on your work that film-style shooting will. Software will also always take longer than shooting right the first time. Longtime film shooter Kim Segel shows you the tools and techniques to maximize film looks, even on paupers budgets.
With HD, Thomas says he ''has the ability to finesse color, exposure and contrast in the color correction suite. I used to look down my nose at video but RAW 4:4:4 is more creative, efficient.'' In this Creative COW Magazine article, Thomas Burstyn takes a look at the Arriflex D-20 as he films Sci-Fi's Tin Man.
For his article in the Creative Cow Magazines Commercial Issue, film compositor, VFX artist, animator and Creative Cow Contributing Editor Steve Wright (Ray, Traffic, Blade: Trinity, Never Die Alone and 60 others), told how the computer graphics animation technology we see in film today actually originated in the world of commercial advertising. (He knows. He was there.) In this Creative Cow Magazine Extra, Steve provides even more details, including the demo reel for CGI pioneers Robert Abel & Associates, and a great spot that Steve created for Volkswagen...with cows!
Expert film compositor Pete OConnell takes you through the world of Cineon files, including exactly what they are, how they work, and how to work with them in Adobe After Effects. If you work with film files or want to, you need to read this article.
High Bandwidth/Large File Warning: Due to the fact that this article deals with film images, the image sizes are large and this article contains 32MB of images in the HTML file.
Want to know why you should be using a mixer and an external mic instead of your cameras onboard mic? After years shooting for clients including National Geographic, NFL Film and Oprah, as well as production for his own company, hell give you the background you need to make your work sound its best.
Interchangeable lenses and powerful, accessible controls make the Canon XL H1 the choice at Fantastic Plastic. In this Creative COW Magazine prosumer hd digital video camera review, Todd Terry discusses the real world pros and cons of the Canon XL H1.
Building cinematic composites takes more than software. It takes careful planning, understanding the drama in every shot, and a sense of magic. In this Creative COW Magazine extra, we share our conversation with director Mark Allen, discussing his short film, Least Likely, a 60-second science fiction epic. Weve got the film here, along with some HD images from it. Prepare to be amazed.
For years, I've known David McGiffert as an FCP user making his own documentaries. But I had no idea that he had over 40 Hollywood features under his belt until I saw his name in the credits for 'An Officer and a Gentleman.' He wouldn't tell me any of these stories. He finally broke his silence and gives Creative COW readers the story.
You already know that your digital camera has higher-than-HD resolution -- even higher than film res sometimes -- and the pictures can look amazing. It turns out that your still camera actually works better than an HD video camera for creating time-lapse photography. Marco Solorio tells you how to put it all together.
After we remarked in the January/February 2007 issue that this would be the year of the COW, Barbara Summer Burstyn wrote to tell us about the film she and her husband Tom had made, with cows playing a central role in its theme. Its a fascinating story that sheds light on the challenges of documentary filmmaking.
In this Creative COW Magazine article independent filmmaker Bryan Kinnaird takes you on a journey through the production process of the Villikon Chronicles and shares what it has taken for him to become the filmmaker he is today.
In this Adobe Illustrator review from The Creative COW Magazine, Tim Wilson looks at the ways that Adobe's Illustrator CS3 is designed with video and film artists in mind.
Navigating the challenges of independent productions. Low budgets don't have to mean low quality. They do mean that you'll have to work harder, longer, and smarter. What you lack in money and crew, you have to make up with hard work and passion.
A talk with Markus Rothkranz: producer, director, filmmaker, storyteller, effects artist, model maker, matte painter - well, let's just say that he does most everything...
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