Bold Prediction for the Future of FX

I came across an article today about the new Wacom Intous5 tablets. Now if you're just a hardcore horror buff and you don't know what I'm talking about, Wacom produces tablets used mainly be designers, artists, etc., but trust me once you get the hang of them you won't go back to using a mouse. Basically this tablet is a flat mouse pad that you use a stylus to draw or move the cursor with on your computer. Very handy if you're doing art or design work where you need superb control. By now you're thinking, who gives a shit, tell me more about horror crap. Okay, we'll get to that. Recently Wacom introduced their new series of tablets which offer up a lot of multi-finger control. Ooooo, "multi-finger control" perked you up, did it? It's not what you think. Basically you use your finger or fingers to do multiple functions. Think of the new personal tablets or smart phones that allow you to expand / reduce frames, click on items, etc. but with many more options. Like Minority Report but much cooler.

Okay, let me digress so we can tie this all together. Back when I was in college studying makeup FX for film / TV there were two camps, practical FX and computer FX. The two didn't like each other. Could be that way today but I see a lot more marrying of the two mediums than when I went to school. Back then the coolest stuff was creating your own lightsabers while we thought our shit didn't stink since the world was still primarily a practical FX one. Ah, but then the tide began to turn. Computerized visual FX have much greater range and can do things my practical colleagues could only dream of (I refer to my colleagues because I never was any good at practical FX). Take Rise of the Planet of the Apes for instance. In a practical world the FX would look not much better than they did when Tim Burton took a stab at his ill-fated remake back in 2001 (which he also combined computer FX to give his apes more range than their makeup would allow). Side note: excuse my overuse and probably misuse of parentheses (I like to use them if you hadn't noticed). Then you look at Rise and it's amazing what computers can do these days.

So back in the day, one camp was building FX with their hands and the other with computers. Now flash forward to the present. Wacom, and I'm sure there are other devices out there, are using the artist's hands to help create computer images. Flash forward another 5, 10, maybe 15 years from now, if you can, and visualize a world where the practical artist and the digital artist meet. Think of a device that would allow that artist to sculpt with their hands, adding details not with a mouse or stylus, but with their fingers and sponges like they still do on the practical side. No more dried, cracking hands covered in clay or casting agents (I used to hate that part) <-- There are those parentheses again!

As much as I was entrenched in the practical FX camp, I can see the future. Digital FX give filmmakers far greater range than practical FX, they are becoming cheaper and cheaper and nearly anyone with a computer can learn a great deal of them on their own, they allow the filmmaker to do thinks they only dream of whereas they once couldn't have afforded them, and if done right, the results are astounding.

In this bold new future, there will no longer be two camps, but one large conglomerate of artists. We will bring our hands, they will bring their computers, and in the end we'll all be happy... maybe.

Halloween Nights 11 of 13: House (2008)

Visual FX wiz, Jerime Kenne, reviews a movie with heart, soul and some nifty visuals, House (2008).

House (2008)
by Jerime Kenne

House (2008) Is the story of one couple with some marriage issues and another couple with just plain issues. Both couples have car trouble and end up in the same backwoods B&B one dark and stormy night. Soon they are introduced to the residents of this creepy B&B. Adding insult to injury they soon find out they are locked in with this overly odd family while a psychopath waits outside for them to fulfill his request of one dead body by morning. During the course of the movie you find out each person is dealing with their own personal hell due to their past transgressions and how they try to work through them. The movie ends with people dying and a twist that you will probably see coming.

I picked house for a few reasons, it’s considered an independent and because it has a nice marriage of practical and visual effects (VFX). This movie has about 150 VFX shots, and for the most part all of them are pretty good. Like any marriage sometimes there is trouble and this film is no different. I’m not going to bore you with a nerd rant about VFX so you’ll just have to see for yourself. Michael Madsen, Leslie Easterbrook, and Bill Moseley do make great additions to the cast when they are on screen making House a fun watch. I would RedBox it or Stream it from NetFlix if you get a chance.

Jerime gives House (2008)




Jerime continues to do visual FX for film / TV. He has another project coming up with Strange Stuff called Attack of the Alien Jelly Monsters From the Depths of Uranus. You can see his other work in Fearmakers' features Dismal and Savage as well as their sub-division Strange Stuff's Death of the Dead by going to the Facebook fan page and clicking on the "Shop Now" tab.