Dvein: The Vein/Magma

Dvein is back with this brilliant liquid inspired music video for The Vein’s new single: Magma.

And here you can see the process behind this incredible piece!

Digic Pictures Demo Reel 2013

Epic new reel from Digic Pictures.

Adobe · CMO by VeracityColab

How awesome is it to see amazing simple shapes moving just beautifully? Quite awesome. Adobe CMO Explainer by VeracityColab is a must watch, and it was done in a week!

HALO 4: Forward Unto Dawn – Title Sequence + Q&A – Polynoid

In December of last year Halo 4 came out and the world rejoiced. Along with it came a web series called Forward Unto Dawn which was a live action VFX set that brought the Halo universe to life. It opened with 5 fantastic title sequences created by Polynoid a German Design/VFX house.

From the Press Release:

Polynoid’s microfilms illustrate the intense relationship between Cortana, an artificial intelligence entity and indispensable aide to Master Chief, the long-time hero of the Halo series. Set aboard a spacecraft, the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, as it drifts towards imminent doom, Cortana must battle to awaken Master Chief from cryo-stasis before it’s too late.

“For us, Cortana was the centerpiece around which we spun our story,” said Polynoid’s Jan Bitzer. “When we started working out the scenes and shots, we did it under the premise that Cortana is the only ‘alive’ being we could play with.”

With elegantly framed shots, drifting cameras and gloomy lighting, Polynoid emphasized the soul-crushing loneliness aboard the nearly empty spacecraft. To effectively communicate the passing of time, Polynoid switched from the relative calm of zero-gravity to intense time-lapsed action.

“[The time lapse sequence] was technically the most challenging. We spent a lot of time tweaking it; always trying to improve every shot simultaneously to guarantee a consistent quality for the overall piece,” Bitzer noted.

Polynoid and Blacklist collaborated with 343 Industries every step of the way, carefully guarding production from the massive press surrounding “Halo 4.” “Polynoid are gamers, and this was a dream opportunity,” said Blacklist Executive Producer Adina Sales. “This project was a perfect fit for our team.  343 was looking for a sophisticated interpretation and they encouraged us to push the artistic lense.  Polynoid had a clear vision from the outset and we were determined to deliver in spades.  We’re very proud of the results.”

Here you can see a detailed making of that goes through their entire process from conception:

Don’t forget to check out their site page for the sequence for some stills and styleframes!

We dropped them a line to do a little Q&A with Polynoid’s Jan Bitzer and Fabian Pross.  Here’s a snippet but click ‘Full Interview’ to view the entire thing!

Fabian Pross on the FX:

We used Softimage ICE for almost all our effects work. The rampancy is actually not simulated, but a combination of procedural modeling and some keyframes.

Jan Bitzer on the Asset Development

343 Industries provided us with most of the CG assets which we had to bring together on an equal production level. Some elements where very high poly and had to be optimized, while others were simplified game assets and needed detail work.

 

Full Interview

To This Day is live!

Over a month ago To This Day project asked animators and motion artists to pitch in to animate one of Shane Koyczan‘s spoken word poems to confront bullying, a lot of you did. And here is the final result.

To This Day is a project based on a spoken word poem written by Shane Koyczan called “To This Day”, to further explore the profound and lasting impact that bullying can have on an individual.

Schools and families are in desperate need of proper tools to confront this problem. We can give them a starting point… A message that will have a far reaching and long lasting effect in confronting bullying.

Animators and motion artists brought their unique styles to 20 second segments that will thread into one fluid voice.

This collaborative volunteer effort demonstrates what a community of caring individuals are capable of when they come together. To This Day was Produced by Giant Ant

2013 Short of the Week Awards: Animation

SOTW announces the winners of the 2013 Short of the Week Awards: Animation. Check out a roundtable discussion from the winners and all of the excellent nominees. So many great films online!

To This Day Project: Call for animators with big hearts!

There are only 5 days left for animators and motion artists to commit to be part of this anti bullying, animated, spoken word poem: “To This Day Project”! written by Shane Koyzcan, listen to the full poem and join at: http://tothisdayproject.com/