November 8, 2018

FIRST MAN: An Effects Odyssey

FIRST MAN Visual Effects Supervisor Paul Lambert, Special Effects Supervisor J.D. Schwalm and Miniature Effects Supervisor Ian Hunter on practical sets, models, miniatures, archive footage and invisible effects (VFX Voice)

ILM Launches TV Unit to Serve Episodic and Streaming Content

Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian and Superman prequel Krypton are the unit’s first projects (Variety)

Canadian Government Announces Funding For 3 Montreal Animation/VR Studios

The fast-growing animation, vfx, and new media industries in Montréal are getting a boost from the Canadian government. (Cartoon Brew)

Sapphire 2019 from Boris FX Packed with New Features, Improved Tools, and Faster Speeds

Major new plug-in release features overhauled Lens Flare Designer, trendy new effects and transitions, new Mocha masking tools, and GPU-acceleration for easier VFX creation (Creative Cow)

Epic Games Releases Unreal Engine 4.21

New release adds increased mobile optimizations to Android and iOS, up to 60 percent speed increases when cooking content, and more power and flexibility in the industry-leading Niagara effects toolset for real-time VFX. (Animation World Network)

How Nonny de la Peña, the “Godmother of VR,” Is Changing the Mediascape

Long considered a pioneer of virtual and augmented reality, de la Peña unveils her latest breakthrough (The Wall Street Journal)

Vancouver Event Recognizes Forgotten Women of Disney

Animators should draw inspiration from female trailblazers says author and historian (Vancouver Courier)

People on the Move

Framestore’s Visual Effects Won an Oscar, Built a Montreal Home Base

A lot of special-effects talent has come out of Quebec, but Framestore Montreal has lured at least one Montrealer, Chloe Grysole, home. (Cochrane Times-Post)

Ramsey Naito Named Nickelodeon EVP Animation Production & Development

Nickelodeon has named Oscar-nominated producer Ramsey Naito as Executive Vice President of Animation Production and Development (Animation Magazine)