PSVita Demo At Eaton Centre

During lunch me and a few buddies of mine went out to eaton centre and here's what we stumbled upon!

Still Compositing - The War

So this is one of those stills that I went all out on. Pretty basic compositing done solely inside of After Effects. 

Original Still - Notice I had a mustache back then! :D

Color Correction

Final Composite

I wanted to make this look, 'out of this world', literally like from another planet yet have a down-to-earth feel to it. 

Stereo Hearts Music Video Is AMAZING!

I don't watch a lot of music videos. Period. All in all, my sister just put Gym Class Heroes' Stereo Hearts ft. Adam Levine. What can I say? The song is pretty good; probably one of the few that actually make sense nowadays. But that's not the point of this post. I went on YouTube and searched up a music video for this song and what I found was nothing short of awesome. 


Stereo Hearts' music video is one of the best I've ever seen...creatively I mean. VFX in music videos is growing rapidly and they're just trying to bridge the gap between film visual effects and other popular media we see on TV. So far, they've done a pretty good job!


The main idea in my POV is I suppose the shadows.

Colorful Smoke in 3Ds Max

So I was playing around with Sitni Sati's Afterburn for 3DS MAX today, and came up with weird-alien-looking smoke. It was pretty fast only 100 frames long at 29.97 fps so I had to time stretch it in After Effects -- and then you can very well imagine what that would do to a simulation that goes from 100 frames to 250 -- very laggy! 


I'll pay attention to that next time! -- Hopefully! :D

3DS MAX Particles Tutorials

Simulating particles isn't always fun, especially when you're just starting out and have no idea where to start from. Although you can use almost any 3D package to create fluids like smoke, dust etc. I use 3DS MAX ... simple because I find it to be more versatile when it comes to simulation control. 

So there I was browsing around, looking for some good project-based tutorials. That is when I came across www.3dxo.com. Specifically, THIS is where you need to go for your 3DS MAX Fluids.

You'll find tutorials by VFX-Guru Allan McKay and a link to this AMAZING Fireball Effect tutorial. 

Okay, so be sure to give this a site a go! It's helped me a lot and I'm sure you'll find it to be of good use. 

The Dark Knight Rises Theatrical Trailer

I am obsessed with this trailer. Period. 

The most heart-pounding trailer I have ever seen! I just can't wait to watch it this summer, hopefully I'll catch it in IMAX. XD

VFX Showcase - Apocalypse Later, Surf Now

Came across this fantastic VFX clip done by Artist Kieth Turner. Check this out!




Apocalypse Later, Surf Now from Keith Turner on Vimeo.

2011 in Visual Effects

Just. Watch. It!

Still Compositing - The Apache Project

I'll admit it, I do a ton of b.s. on my computer in my spare time (Don't Ask!) LOL! -- That include's Still Compositing. Instead of just taking pictures, I prefer to take videos instead and by using the Freeze Frame feature in After Effects I choose whichever point in time I like best and set my imagination free.

Credits go to a friend: Wajahat Siddiqui :D

So I didn't have a helicopter model on hand at that time and felt like I needed to do something in under an hour. Then, it dawned on me: GOOGLE! I went online, looked for a free Apache AH-64 model. I'm really not sure if this is the same blog I used for the model but it came with a MAYA version as well as 3DS MAX (My package of choice). 


Then came the fun part, VideoCopilot's Action Essentials 2. I use it wherever I can because it makes my work more surreal and gives it a dreamy kinda look. Added some VideoCopilot's Optical Flares - you really can't go without this, it's an amazing plug-in and can do wonders. Lastly, I used Magic Bullet's Looks for color correction on top of the built-in Curves feature in AE. Not sure which preset I used, but I think if you look under 'Cinematics' you should be able to find a 'Blockbuster' Look -- 2 thumbs up! -- It's EPIC! 
Preferably you can use Magic Bullet's Mojo but Looks comes with these (mentioned above) presets that should be more than enough.


Check out the final composite below! :D

I don't own the rights to this Apache model. Google it. It is freeware.

Making of Dragon Tattoo's Titles

We really shouldn't be surprised at how far The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has come since it's release. Aside from the film as a whole, David Fincher is at its best from the start of the movie.

io9 was allowed an exclusive look at Blur Studio's stunning work on the film's title sequence. CLICK HERE to go ONE-ON-ONE with Blur's Creative Director Tim Miller

Lucas Martell's Pigeon: Impossible

To be honest, you haven't seen anything quite like this! It's over 2 years old and I just caught wind of it by following Lucas Martell on Twitter (@LucasMartell). The title is self-explanatory, Pigeon: Impossible! 

It's an animated short (the first of the many episodes created by animator and director Lucas Martell) and it's loads of fun. I'll enforce fellow YouTuber's comments by saying, "This guy should own Pixar" because this is one helluva short film. Think Mission: Impossible, but with a Pegion! LOL!