Hasta La Motion!

“LA MAISON DE CIRE” – Bande Annonce Officielle. Un Film réalisé par Jaume Collet-Serra et avec Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray et Paris Hilton. Un groupe d’amis se rendant au match de football de l’école devient la cible de deux assassins dans une ville abandonnée. Ils découvrent que ces hommes ont développé la plus grosse attraction du coin – la Maison de cire – en créant une bourgade peuplée de personnages de cire, confectionnés à l’aide des corps de visiteurs malchanceux. Les jeunes gens doivent maintenant trouver un moyen de s’enfuir avant de devenir eux-mêmes les acteurs de ce funeste théâtre…

Un Film de : Jaume Collet-Serra
Avec : Emma Lung, Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray, Brian Van Holt, Paris Hilton, Jared Padalecki, Jon Abrahams, Robert Ri’chard

Abonnez-vous : http://goo.gl/Bp3CiG

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I talked to ILM’s Scott Farrar about the history of the Transformers franchise, what some of the initial challenges were (their first bot designs didn’t work), and how that has changed leading up to Transformers: The Last Knight. Check it out at VFX Voice.

The gaming industry has undoubtedly come a long way from where it was initiated.From being a mere mode of entertainment back then, it has grown into something robust which garners huge amounts of traction.From millions of dollars in sponsors to colossal amount of individuals playing games, the lucrative industry is now professionally termed as ‘The esports Sector’ and enjoys a huge viewership.While games are popular both on PC (Personal Computers) and console, the former boasts of a larger scale of exposure on today’s date. Almost everyone who has played or heard of gaming has resorted to PC gaming at some point. In fact, most of them might be familiar with Prince of Persia (2D), Road Rash or DOOM as their initial games.Let’s take a look at the steady journey and sudden rise of PC Games.

THEN:

Back in the day, when video games were just coming into being, they were mostly made for consoles.The first graphical computer game adapted from Tic-Tac-Toe and named “OXO” was launched for EDSAC in 1952, while in 1962, Steve Russell created and released “SpaceWar!”, which  is often considered as the first ever game intended for a computer.The early games for computers were mostly “Interactive Fiction” or “Text Adventures”, where a user was required to enter commands through the keyboard in order to play the game.Although, till middle to late 1900s, PC games were mostly adaptations of console games and were not as much popular.
Soon in 1983, as there was an overflow of cheap and copied console games into the market, which resulted in a huge recession in the video gaming industry known as the “The Video Game Crash” or the “Atari Shock” in Japan. This paved the way for PC games and they gained popularity steadily.Taking the situation into consideration, some companies launched games which changed the way PC games were perceived.

Some of these include id Software’s “DOOM”, which revolutionized the first person gaming genre for PC and The Warcraft series from Blizzard Entertainment and their introduction to the virtual world of MMORPG with “World of Warcraft”, which still enjoys a score of players. The Counter Strike series from Valve ushered in a new era for how First Person Shooter (FPS) PC games are played, making Counter Strike 1.6 one of the most played FPS, PC game of all time, eventually followed by the immensely popular series of Medal of Honour and Call of Duty, opening huge scopes of competitive level of gaming throughout the globe.Finally, computer games started taking the high graphics into consideration in regards to respective computers.

NOW:

During mid 1990s, the PC gaming lost its popularity before regaining it in mid 2000s, with credits to digital distribution of games, which made it easier for consumers to get a game or even download or purchase expansions or updates and of course, the intervention of online gaming provided further boost to the industry.Gaming is a flamboyant, global industry which is growing rapidly in revenues, viewership and popularity and its professional arm is termed esports. In 1972, students from the Stanford University initiated the first ever professional gaming event, followed by Atari with their large scale gaming competition.Between 2000 and 2010, esports became a centre of attraction for major companies, who intended on creating an ecosystem for the sole purpose of esports or professional gaming.
Leagues like the Electronic Sports League (ESL), which was founded during the 90s, started gaining steady but good recognition throughout the gaming circuit. Major League Gaming (MLG) was the first one to facilitate players from Canada and America to compete against each other.

By 2005, PC users started moving towards multi-core CPUs, which allowed the users to run various tasks at once, thus in turn, facilitating more complex in-game graphics and physics.
In 2002, Valve launched Steam, which acts as a digital distribution platform where consumers can buy games online and also acts as a social networking platform for gamers to connect and play games over the internet. This eased the way for PC gamers to connect with others while gaming. It not only provided a platform for players to play with each other, but Steam’s Greenlight feature encouraged independent PC game designers to display their talent through the same platform, where hundreds of games are uploaded a day. Success stories of indie games like, Lovely Planet by Vidhvat Madan and Mike Bithell’s Thomas Was Alone stand in testimony to the same.

What might be NEXT:

PC gaming has come a long way from where it all began. There was a time when PC games were only mere copies of Console games, but now there are million dollar franchises that focus solely on PC games. With big players like Blizzard Entertainment trying to build a competitive ecosystem  with PC games like Heroes of the Storm, World Of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone over their engine, Battle.net, and many other companies following suit, the future of PC gaming seems to be a bright one.

With advanced technologies inclusive of Virtual Reality (VR), the world of PC gaming is likely to evolve by leaps and bounds.  Suave gadgets like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive will surely enhance the gaming experience of a user with the assistance of virtual reality.
Given the trend, the genre of games that enjoy the most popularity might also change in future, if not soon. Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas or MOBAs have been an immensely popular genre of game with big names like like Dota 2, League of Legends, Heroes Of The Storm. Hi-Rez Studios’ Smite brought in a change in the way MOBAs are played, making it a third person skill shot based game, while Blizzard Entertainment launched its brand new first person shooter named “Overwatch”, which deviates from the typical FPS pattern and mixes up with the MOBA genre, where objectives are the key

Final thoughts:
While PC gaming has seen a good resurgence after their initial douse, it still has a long way to go. While they were popular side by side of consoles like PS1 or PS2, PC gaming took a blow when PS3 was launched, although it is far from the day when PC gaming is literally challenged.
Games for PC are harder to develop than for consoles as the developers have to keep in mind the different configurations a user of a PC might play it in, while a console has the same central system for all users, although creating a PC game comes at a lower cost. The genre is getting more and more popular as it PC gaming raked in $30 billion in revenues in 2016 and big players like Facebook is also keen on delving into the scene.

Consumers are often boggled as which PC would be good for gaming and how to assemble a good one, while it’s easy to find a good console.

Whatever may be the case, PC games seem to have a good future prospect, as companies are even launching console versions of respective games after release in PCs.

The post The relentless flight of PC gaming: Then, Now and Next appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Aarambh which has been produced by Rose Audio Visuals may be only six episodes old but the mythological show has already become an integral part of several viewers’ weekend plans.

Airing only on Saturdays and Sundays in Star Plus, the Goldie Behl directed fiction is set in the age of Vedas and chronicles the intense rivalry between the Aryans and the Dravidans.

In a historical fiction like this one, the visual effects are at the cynosure of the work. But the VFX seen in Aarambh has been breath-taking and second to none. Whilst the epic war sequence made viewers squirm in their seats, the Sapta Sindhu depiction was a thing of wonder. And the experience only gets greater with each passing week.

As the viewership continues to soar like there’s no tomorrow, we go behind the scenes of Aarambh to find out the secrets of its wonderful VFX, the magnitude of efforts put in by the crew and what the show has in store for the fans in the coming weeks.

Here is what the VFX supervisor Abhishek Guha has to say.

How has it been working with Goldie Behl?

It was wonderful. Thanks to him that I got an opportunity to be a part of Aarambh. We had worked together for Drona which was in 2006 and that is when our association started. He remembered about me giving a few test shots for that. So we got back after so many years.

How do you organise the work at the studio?

For Aarambh, we are changing the VFX scenario that currently persists in Indian television. We are actually following the cinema process which is normally followed in feature films. The way the visuals effects are shot for those types of films, we try to replicate that. The equipment, shot-taking etc. This is the reason why you will find a lot of detailing and in-depth analysis in our show.

In case of postponing or late shoots, was the management tough? How was such situations handled?

A scenario of late shoots or the shoots getting postponed hasn’t happened till now. However, we are well prepared in the sense that our work during pre-production is strong enough such that everyone on the floor- right from the DOPs to the chief associates to the ADs to the director, everyone involved is very well aware of what is going to happen in the VFX shots. So even if there is a delay from anyone’s side, the shoot doesn’t halt. The people involved are always at par, always on the same page.

Which was the most challenging VFX sequence till now? How did you manage to achieve it?

Most challenging scene was when we shot 500-600 artists for the war scene and then multiplied that into thousands. However, considering that we have almost 300-400 VFX shots per episode for a show like ours which is a bi-weekend show, is challenging in itself as even a feature film doesn’t involve so much. We do it with blue screen or green screen backgrounds, but apart from that we also have several set extensions, map paintings, several 3D and transition elements involved.

Is there any particular software or technology that you use?

No. We are very specific that we are not going to stick to any particular software or any particular technology or any method. Given that Goldie Behl’s stories involve a lot of VFX, the scope of this show is too vast and we do a lot of visual effects work every day. So there isn’t any particular method or technique. We are open to all kinds of software as we have to make sure the deliveries are on time since there is a lot of pressure to deliver the shots to the channel. So whichever software gives us the best, high-quality output we prefer that.

We have come across a magnificent Sapta Sindhu scene where the seven rivers converge into one. How was it created?

We made a beautiful mat painting for that and it involved a lot of camera rotations.

What is the size of your team?

We have been assigned several studios where each of them has 100-150 people working round the clock.

Will we get to see any good VFX sequences in upcoming episodes?

There are a few sequences in the upcoming episodes which involve a lot of architectural changes, and several set-extensions being used.

Is there any character from Aarambh which you find as your favourite?

Personally for me there isn’t any favourite character or favourite scene. The entire project is so big that we are simultaneously doing four episodes of one hour each. So amid all this, I don’t find any sort of attachment to any particular character or scene or a VFX sequence.

What can the audience expect from Aarambh in the upcoming episodes?

I would only say that the viewers can definitely expect some visual experience which they haven’t before. But can’t divulge much as the audience will have to wait for what the writers and screenplay people will be writing. However, they are in for a visual treat.

We also approached the VFX producer Devendra Kumar.

Do you have to attend the shoot?

Yes we do go to the location and so does the VFX supervisor. We work according to the shoot and then carry out further execution.

How do you organise the work and manage? What is the methodology?

We start from the pre-production stage. We talk to the director, the DOP, do the storyboarding and based on that we shoot, make a plan and then execute the VFX. About our methodology of work, it is similar to that in the overseas and there is a cinematic feel to it.

Was it a tight budget project or sufficient budget?

Ours is a huge project which involves a lot of elements right from numerous set extensions to 3D and transition elements. The VFX of Aarambh is massive and also involves a large crew.

How is it working with Goldie Behl?

He’s a wonderful director and wanted to work along with him. We share a great camaraderie and also sync with him.

How is it working at Rose Audio Visuals?

I have joined here for this particular project. Since Aarambh began, I have been associated with this studio though I am in this industry since 1995, initially as a VFX supervisor. But Aarambh is like my pet project which I really wanted to work for specifically for two reasons that is writer K. Vijayendra Prasad and the director Goldie Behl. The overall experience thus far has been really wonderful.

The post An ‘awe-rambh’ experience: In conversation with VFX heads Abhishek Guha and Devendra Kumar appeared first on AnimationXpress.

One day I woke up and I saw everything in perspective… Directed by Fernando Livschitz www.bsfilms.me www.facebook.com/ferliv www.instagram.com/ferliv/