Editorial: The VFX Dilemma

This is what most modern blockbusters would look like without
VFX.

2012 was a great year for animation, we saw a plethora of exciting animated films and some of the most stunning computer-generated creations ever conjured up on-screen in big budget blockbusters like The Avengers, The Hobbit and Life of Pi. Yet, amidst the awe, between the breathless delight of movie-goers, the artists behind a large portion of these films are struggling. It's a tough market; the work has to be done superbly, it has to be done quickly and, as Oscar winning director Ang Lee hopes, it often has to be done cheaply. As such, the visual effects artists behind creations like The Hulk and Richard Parker often have to work exhaustingly long shifts for little practical reward.

Oscar Results: Brave and Paperman Win

Directors Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman accept their Oscar. ©A.M.P.A.S.

Yesterday was the night of the 85th annual Academy Awards. Hosted by an animator, it was a big night for animation - yet also a rather bittersweet one given the current turmoil in the animation and VFX industry, highlighted by a protest in Hollywood just prior to the ceremony.

Brave Wins Big at VES Awards

At yesterday's 11th annual Visual Effects Society Awards, Pixar's Brave got some much deserved awards recognition, taking four of the prestigious awards home from the ceremony at the Beverly Hilton.

Watch: Behind the Magic Clip Shows How ILM Created The Hulk

The Avengers, everybody loves it. It's funny, it's exciting, it's epic, it's touching and it looks absolutely great; a key part of almost all of those criteria is The Hulk. As the clip we got a couple of weeks ago showed, ILM are the whizzes responsible for a lot of the fantastic visual effects present in Joss Whedon's superhero blockbuster, and they've rolled out a series of videos highlighting the pinnacle of that: Hulk.

The video, which is actually Part 2 (check out Part 1 here), shows how the geniuses over at ILM (who debuted in the feature animation world with 2011's Oscar winning Rango) married together Mark Ruffalo's charismatic mo-cap performance with sensitive and detailed animation. Check it out above.

I adored the visual effects and exquisite character animation in Life of Pi (check out my interview with the film's animation director here) but The Avengers is a major contender for the Best Visual Effects Oscar come 24th February.

Interview: Erik-Jan de Boer, Oscar Nominated Life of Pi Animation Director

Last week, the morning after the Oscar nominations were revealed - with Life of Pi amassing the second most nominations with eleven (behind only Spielberg's Lincoln) - I had the opportunity to interview one of the key people behind one of the film's most spectacular aspects: its visual effects. Life of Pi seems almost locked to take home the Best Visual Effects Oscar, so I was very excited to get the chance to speak to the film's newly Oscar nominated animation director, Erik-Jan de Boer of Rhythm & Hues studio.

Rhythm & Hues have received previous Oscar nominations for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and Wardrobe and The Golden Compass (winning for the latter) and have cemented themselves as arguably the top VFX house around for creating believable and realistic animal characters. They've outdone themselves, however, with their endeavours in Life of Pi, creating - alongside the magnificent ocean scenes and a great many other animals - a full, photo-realistic and utterly convincingly animated tiger with Richard Parker.

My thanks to Scot Byrd at Rhythm & Hues for setting the whole thing up, and lots of thanks to Erik for taking time out of his day (particularly given how hectic it surely was after the studio had just earned another Oscar nomination) to answer my questions so graciously.

Topics covered in our exclusive interview include the approach to Life of Pi's visual effects and how Richard Parker was created, the different techniques to creating VFX compared to creating an animated movie, whether Rhythm & Hues would ever consider following in ILM's footsteps - who branched out to feature animation last year with Rango - by making their own animated film (spoiler: they are!), working with director Ang Lee, the Oscars and more! Check it out below.