The VFX Artists Podcast The VFX Artists Podcast

In this episode, I chat to VFX Comp Supervisor Ruth Meridjen about the state of the VFX industry in 2024 and the impact of the pandemic on production. The slow ramp-up of production and the greenlighting of projects are discussed. The future of the industry and the role of AI in filmmaking are examined, with a focus on the limitations and regulations surrounding AI. The importance of storytelling and the need for more unique and diverse stories are emphasized, as well as the need for VFX to s...

Exploitation of VFX Artists - With Senior CG Generalist Mark Woodcock | TVAP EP58In this episode, I chat to senior CG Generalist Mark Woodcock about the exploitation of Artists in the VFX industry, following his recent and ongoing dispute with IXOR Visual FX.Mark joins the podcast to enlighten us, for the purpose of informing and educating other artists in order to be aware and avoid similar situations.We hope you find this episode useful, and would encourage artists to fight and speak out ab...

The health of the VFX industry in 2024, with foudner of MOTUS Kurt Maclachlan | TVAP EP57In this episode, I chat to Kurt Maclachlan about the status of the VFX in 2024.We discuss where things are at currently, what needs to be done for a better future of the VFX industry and more!00:00 Introduction and Background02:48 Causes of the Strikes04:29 Key Concerns for Actors and Writers04:59 Impact on VFX Artists06:06 Duration of the Strikes07:48 Current State of the Industry08:09 Hiring and Recover...

The Man Who Wrote The Book on Compositing with Ron Brinkman | TVAP EP56When I embarked on my compositing journey, Ron Brinkmann's book, "The Art and Science of Digital Compositing," proved to be an invaluable resource. It provided a wealth of visual information and included a DVD with footage for hands-on practice. Even today, this book remains a seminal work and continues to be relevant for artists, thanks to its emphasis on developing the skill of visual perception.Therefore, it was a treme...

This week's guest is co-founder of FXGuide, arguably the first and foremost podcast and blog in our field. He also co-founded FXPhd which was my route into the industry so this was a massive honor for me.We dive deep into Neural Rendering (which Mike has been involved with since 1999) machine learning and practical applications within visual effects and filmmaking.We then discuss the ethics of machine learning and art, why there won't "a metaverse" and some of the most likely applicatio...

In this episode with Matt Merkovich of The Matchmoving Company, we talk about the importance of 3D tracking/matchmove in the VFX industry and what it means to be a matchmove artist. Matt is an expert user of Syntheyes and has been a great influencer in getting it where it is today. He also uses it for almost all of his work, spiralling almost three decades in the VFX industry.Matt believes #Syntheyes is by far the best 3D tracking software out there and has by far "the best 2D tracking ...