VFX Retrofitting Star Trek Into Darkness
The Academy Tackles Storytelling in the Digital Age
Like Skyfall, Star Trek Into Darkness is a hybrid of the old and the new in completing its rite of passage reboot. Except that J.J. Abrams has the advantage of time travel, which he introduced in the first movie, for creating a parallel universe that allows him to break the rules of the beloved sci-fi franchise for the 21st century while still honoring its iconic spirit. Read more
Tech and storytelling converged during a fascinating series of discussions at the Academy on May 15 about Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, and Star Trek Into Darkness, hosted by screenwriter John August. Read more
Epic is not only Blue Sky’s best movie but also director Chris Wedge’s most personal, too: a swashbuckling, samurai action/adventure that takes place in a lush, microscopic forest world. It beautifully translates N.C. Wyeth for Alice in Wonderland meets The Adventures of Robin Hood. Throw in Seven Samurai and Gladiator for good measure with just a sprinkling of Avatar for seasoning. It’s familiar and new; naturalistic and fantastical. And it’s about looking beneath the surface and discovering hidden truths about life and nature. Read more
The official Planes trailer has taken flight, highlighted by Mark Mancina’s majestic score, accentuating the connection to Cars. Read more
Following the exciting WonderCon footage comes a new Pacific Rim trailer that delves further into Guillermo del Toro’s mother of all CG monster movies (opening July 12). Read more
With Iron Man 3 , Scanline has grown considerably with a full VFX arsenal, delivering 250 shots out of its L.A. and Vancouver offices, including the first major effects sequence: the Stark mansion House Attack. The sequence involves Mandarin’s armed helicopters launching a missile attack on Tony Stark’s mansion, sending both the mansion and Tony plummeting into the ocean below. Read more
The tech behind Pacific Rim, Frozen, Monsters University, and Oz the Great and Powerful will be on display at SIGGRAPH 2013. Held this year in Anaheim on July 21-25, the production sessions are part of the Computer Animation Festival. Read more
Watch the international trailer for The Congress, in which Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir) continues his trippy experiment with live-action and animation. Read more
The Christ metaphor is further accentuated in the latest UK TV spot for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (June 14). Read more
