Hasta La Motion!

The Digital-Tutors Team

MatchMover
Introduction to MatchMover
Nine Free MatchMover Lessons

Visual Guide
Four New Visual Guide Lessons

CINEMA 4D
Creating Cartoon Characters in CINEMA 4D

Toxik
Advanced Stereo Workflows in Toxik – Disparity
Compositing Stereoscopic Images in Toxik

Maya
Shader Recipes – Rendering Wireframes from Maya
Creating Facial Topology in Maya

After Effects
Compositing Stereoscopic Images in After Effects
Advanced Stereo Workflows in After Effects – Disparity

ZBrush
Sculpting a Realistic Bust in ZBrush
UV Master in ZBrush

Illustrator
Building a Logo in Illustrator – Papa’s Surf Shop
Recreating a Character Sketch in Illustrator

Softimage
Rendering Techniques in Softimage

Photoshop
Designing a Creature for 3D in Photoshop

See All New Releases for May »

Have a subscription? Sign in: http://www.digitaltutors.com/09/my_account.php
Interested in a membership? Visit: http://www.digitaltutors.com/09/pricing.php
Learn more at: http://www.digitaltutors.com/09/training.php

The long awaited sequel to Marvel’s "Iron Man" movie is finally here. Expected to be this summer’s blockbuster mega-hit, Iron Man 2 has been forecasted to have the biggest opening weekend of any film.

Continuing its collaboration with Marvel, Perception designed and developed key scenes throughout the entire film. The team first began by crafting a fully animated sequence that was used in the shooting of the Stark Expo sequence and was projected across a 70 foot screen behind Robert Downey Jr. Once the filming ended and the post-production phase began, Perception designed, animated, tracked and composited over 125 shots including… (details to be released after the release of the film on May 7th).

Using a combination of the Adobe Creative Suite of products and Maxon’s Cinema 4D for 3D animation, Perception put out full 2k renders for what would ultimately be a film output for IMAX presentations and normal theatrical release. All working on the Macintosh platform, Perception’s team of designers, compositors, animators and rotoscope artists worked tirelessly to deliver the entire package.

Perception and Marvel’s past collaborations included designing title sequences for 3 DVD features: Hulk Vs, Planet Hulk and their upcoming Thor-Tales of Asgard. "All of us at Perception are huge Marvel fans and collaborating on a project of this scale has been a goal since the company’s inception 9 years ago," says company co-founder and Executive Creative, Jeremy Lasky. "Having the opportunity to join forces with the Marvel team and Jon Favreau on a project of this scope was a dream come true." Danny Gonzalez, Co-founder and Executive Creative adds, "Working with the experienced and talented team at Marvel is a moment of Perception’s life that I will never forget. I look forward to collaborating with them on future projects."

Check out the film when it is released on Friday, May 7th, 2010 to see Perception’s work. The work is also featured in the not yet released "The Art of Iron Man 2" (available June 1st) and at www.perceptionnyc.com.

PR Contact, Cary Flaum at Perception

About PERCEPTION
Perception was founded in late 2001 by former R/GA creatives Jeremy Lasky and Daniel Gonzalez. With a notable heritage of design and visual effects for film and commercials, the company began with the philosophy that high-end graphics could now be accomplished on the desktop. Nearly a decade later, Perception has grown into an award winning, multi-disciplinary collective specializing in design, visual effects, and branding.

At its core is a cutting edge design lab that’s focused on crafting extraordinary creative solutions for their clients and creative partners. From the biggest IMAX screens to the smallest mobile devices, Perception consistently innovates across all media platforms. Client collaborations have flourished into a prodigious collection of international brands, major networks and top film studios across the planet.

Perception has provided groundbreaking solutions for clients such as Deutsch, NBC, Marvel Entertainment, Ammirati, FX Network, Digitas, Cramer-Krasselt, Wieden & Kennedy, Speed Channel, Merkley and Partners, The Vidal Partnership, CourtTV, MMB, Discovery Channel, SS+K, Brandbuzz, Sony, R/GA, MTV, AFG, Grey Worldwide, BBDO, IFC, Sundance Channel, ABC, Bravo, Miramax, WE Channel, AMC, the entire ESPN family, TruTV, Ogilvy and Mather, Playboy Entertainment, SNY, SpikeDDB, Time Warner, Showtime, Spike TV, Concept Farm and HBO/Cinemax.

Constantly evolving and ever building, the momentum has never stopped.

Dare to see different. Perception.

PERCEPTION 12 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 O (212) 563-3388 F (212) 563-3571

Deal enhances local capabilities and opens Australian shop for CIS.

Sydney, Australia, April 15, 2010: CIS Visual Effects Group announced today that it has acquired the assets of Postmodern Sydney. CIS, based in Hollywood (USA) and Vancouver, Canada, is an award-winning brand in the international visual effects industry.

Postmodern, established in 2001, is a fast growing design and visual effects business servicing high-end feature, commercial and television clients in Australia and throughout Asia. Recent projects for Postmodern include VFX for the Proyas/Summit Entertainment feature, “Knowing,” and the Spierig Brothers/Lionsgate feature “Daybreakers”. Recent commercial projects include McDonald’s “McHappy Day” for DDB Sydney and Macquarie Bank’s “Out of the Box” for Leo Burnett.

Andrew Robinson, Managing Director of Postmodern Sydney said, "We’re at a point in our business growth where we’ve got some amazing work under our belt but for some time we’ve been looking for a strong partner to help us spread our wings. For us that meant finding someone with great creative and technical credentials along with global recognition,“ he added.

“The CIS guys reached out to us late last year to talk about joining forces with them on an Australian shop,” explains Robinson. “We hit if off immediately with Don and his team, and their understanding of the Australian market. We look forward to bringing CIS technologies and capabilities into our creative pipeline for film studios, commercial production companies and television networks in addition to the independent feature market,” added Robinson.

Don Fly, President and General Manager of CIS, said, "We have been impressed with the quality of visual effects work coming out of Australia for many years. The depth of Australian creative talent and strong governmental support for the industry make entering the Sydney market very attractive. The Postmodern team has done some great work. They are a design led boutique company with a lot of talent and energy. We’re all very excited about working with them,” adds Fly.

The business will continue to operate as Postmodern from its existing premises with all key personnel remaining in-place. Plans are underway to build a new purpose-built Sydney facility later this year to house an expanded CIS-Postmodern operation.

###

About Postmodern

Postmodern Sydney, a visual effects and design company for Australian and international television commercials, drama and feature films, is based in Sydney, Australia and is renowned for its high-participation in the creative process. The management team is headed-up by Andrew Robinson together with Visual Effects Director James Rogers and Facilities Manager Angus Reid. The key staff has a long history in the film and television industry and active roles in the company. Their hands-on approach to each job forms the philosophical backbone of the company.

Recently, Postmodern has completed visual effects for the features “Australia”, “Death Defying Acts” starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, “Knowing” with Nicolas Cage, as well as “Daybreakers”, a major sci-fi feature starring Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe. Television and cinema campaign clients include: Samsung, eBay, McDonalds, ANZ, NAB, Coke, Toyota, Telstra, Lenovo, Citroen, and award-winning commercials for Kelloggs. Its operations are based in the historic Sydney Rocks district of Sydney.

www.postmodern.com.au

About CIS

CIS Visual Effects Group is an award winning international visual effects entity with facilities in Hollywood and Vancouver. The company services high-end feature film, television, commercial and gaming clients in the global marketplace. CIS Hollywood, founded in 1984, is one of the industry’s most respected visual effects facilities. In early 2008, the company launched CIS Vancouver. With its boutique accessibility, the company has the capacity to service its clientele wherever production is situated. CIS Visual Effects Group is a division of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc.

Current and recently completed CIS Vancouver work includes “Salt,” “Marmaduke,” “Invictus,” "Angels & Demons," ”Zombieland,” "The Uninvited," "Aliens in the Attic," "Changeling," “Tropic Thunder,” “Tooth Fairy,” and "Space Buddies.” CIS Hollywood’s current and recent project list includes “Sex and the City 2,” “Red Dawn,” “Green Hornet,” “Killers,” “Eclipse,” “The Men Who State at Goats,” "Watchmen," "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," "The Goods: The Don Ready Story," "The Informant," "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," “The Express,” "Meet Dave" and "Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor."

www.cisvfxgroup.com

Postmodern Contact: CIS Contact:
Andrew Robinson Rita Cahill rita.cahill@roadrunner.com
akro@postmodernsydney.com Ellen Pasternack epasternack@pacbell.net

Santa Monica, CA – April 14, 2010 – Company 3 announced today that it has added award-winning colorist Alex Bickel to its artist roster. Bickel joins Company 3 from New York City’s Outside Editorial, where as senior colorist he also served as head of the color department.

“Alex has a wealth of experience with a wide range of toolsets, and we’re very pleased to be bringing him on board,” commented Company 3 co-founder Stefan Sonnenfeld. “His expertise very nicely complements the technologies already in place at Company 3, with an eye toward bringing Company 3 talent to new locations and markets.”

Bickel made waves in the commercial grading industry by being the first to adopt new technologies in the demanding, high-end, HD/2K client-supervised commercial finishing environment. During his tenure at Outside Editorial, Bickel focused primarily on commercial projects for brands including Jaguar, Nike, Old Navy and Kia, to name a few. He also colored feature and short film projects that have gone on to premiere at the Sundance and SXSW film festivals, and have been nominated for an Independent Spirit award. Bickel won the Hollywood Post Alliance award for Outstanding Color Grading in a Commercial in 2008, and was nominated again in 2009, for his work on Jaguar’s ongoing broadcast campaigns.

Prior to Outside Editorial, Bickel worked as a colorist at Rogue Post for clients such as A&E, Bravo and MTV. Before Rogue, Bickel served as an editor and colorist for the on-air promos department at the Sundance Channel, and as a colorist for Pangolin Pictures. He remains dedicated to bringing his unique vision for telling stories through color to every project he tackles.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Company 3,” Bickel said. “The Company 3 name is synonymous with high-quality color-grading, and I’m very excited to be a part of that. Company 3’s robust technological capabilities open a lot of possibilities for collaboration at remote locations, and I’m looking forward to being part of that as well.”

About Company 3
Company 3 is a comprehensive post production facility for features, commercials and music videos. Known for our creative color artistry, pioneering technology and global reach, Company 3 is trusted to deliver a quality product every time.

Company 3’s incredible talent roster includes John Bonta, Sean Coleman, Siggy Ferstl, Billy Gabor, Dave Hussey, Tim Masick, Victor Mulholland, Stephen Nakamura, Mike Pethel, Tom Poole, Rob Sciarratta, Stefan Sonnenfeld and Matt Turner. Recent commercial projects are campaigns for Apple, Audi, BMW, Heineken, Nike, and others. Recent feature film credits include “Alice in Wonderland,” “Robin Hood,” “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” “The Hurt Locker,” “A Single Man,” “Public Enemies” and “Star Trek.” Company 3 www.company3.com is an Ascent Media www.ascentmedia.com company.

Legend 3D is the creator of a patented 2D to 3D conversion technology that seamlessly enhances filmmakers’ storytelling through pixel perfect™ 3D. Merging his expertise in graphic arts and neuroscience, Legend 3D’s founder, Dr. Barry Sandrew, developed the process that integrates sophisticated technology with skilled artistry, offering filmmakers incredible flexibility and customizable conversion of film, television, advertising, online and mobile content from 2D to 3D. The company is now deploying TACTIC across its San Diego studio to manage all of the digital assets in its conversion projects.

Designed by veterans of film, visual effects and video game productions, TACTIC gives studios an open, flexible solution that speeds the creation of digital assets across highly complex digital productions. Combining asset management, workflow management, project management and communication tools with a dynamic Web-based interface, cross-platform support and robust API, Southpaw enables vast teams of artists and animators to work with terabytes of digital assets the way they want to, rather than forcing them into a specific workflow. This significantly
speeds and secures the creation process, while minimizing the costs of training large teams on completely new and closed systems.

“We were originally using an inflexible system that was forcing us to work within the confines of its complicated interface and toolset,” said Barry Sandrew, founder, president and COO of Legend 3D. “We understood pretty quickly that our team was accustomed to working a specific way, and what we really needed was a smarter, more flexible solution to keep our assets secure and our teams productive. TACTIC gave us an easy-to-install, easy-to-use system that we could quickly customize to our specific workflow.”

“Having worked with some of the largest studios around, we’ve learned that no two productions are alike,” said Gary Mundell, CEO of Southpaw Technology. “We designed TACTIC from the ground up to speed the production process by adapting to any workflow. We look forward to working closely with our integrator IMT and the talented team at Legend 3D to further refine our solution to their individual needs.”

###