VFX Notes
befores & afters
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Join director and VFX supervisor Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and befores & afters editor Ian Failes in a detailed discussion of the latest in visual effects.
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Feb 26, 2023
42. Behind the VFX of 'Wakanda Forever'
In the latest VFX Notes podcast, Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes discuss the visual effects in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Many VFX studios contributed to the film, principally Weta FX, ILM, Digital Domain and Cinesite, among others.
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Feb 21, 2023
41. 'All Quiet on the Western Front' gets the VFX Notes breakdown
Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters discuss the making of VFX Oscar-nominated 'All Quiet on the Western Front.'
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Feb 9, 2023
40. The insider guide to the art and tech of 'Avatar: The Way of Water'
Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes break down the big ticket VFX items in the new James Cameron film.
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Jan 16, 2023
39. Real and synthetic: the VFX of Top Gun: Maverick
Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes explore the extensive visual effects work in Top Gun: Maverick, which has largely not received any VFX coverage in the press so far. The use of real aerial photography mixed and matched with CG planes, environments and other elements is seamless.
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Dec 8, 2022
38. Upending the classic VFX approach: Everything Everywhere all at Once
Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes discuss 'Everything Everywhere all at Once' and its unusual approach to VFX.
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Nov 22, 2022
37. 'Avatar' changed performance capture, 3D and virtual production
Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters go back to 2009 and the release of James Cameron's Avatar, which changed the game in movie making in several ways, including stereo, virtual production and performance capture.
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Nov 9, 2022
36. Alien entities, day for night, and inflatable tube men: 'Nope'
Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters dive into Jordan Peele's NOPE, and the visual effects by MPC.
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Sep 26, 2022
35. That time Tom Holland got hit by a bluescreen car
This week on VFX Notes with Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes, we're looking at the stunning C-17 / car / skydiving sequence in Uncharted, featuring Tom Holland. An array of bluescreen shooting, wire work, robot arms, and even a bluescreen car stuffy, were used. VFX were crafted by DNEG.
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Sep 1, 2022
34. Part 2 of the VFX Notes podcast on RRR is here
This week on VFX Notes, Ian Failes and Hugo Guerra wrap up our coverage of the global phenomenon that is RRR. We discuss the tiger sequence, the Intermission fight, fighting with hoses, the use of Blender in the film, the tiger punch and the leopard throw, the prison break and the final forest fight.
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Aug 14, 2022
33. The VFX of 'RRR' - Part 1
In this new VFX Notes episode, Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes look into the making of this incredible film, including aspects of its production and some of the major VFX moments.
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Jul 27, 2022
32. OMG that goop in 'Stranger Things 3'
Melting rats, goop, the Tom/Bruce Monster and Starcourt Mall are all covered in VFX Notes, with Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes.
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Jul 11, 2022
31. Demodogs, Dart, Mind Flayer and the Gate in 'Stranger Things 2'
This week on VFX Notes, Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters head back into the Upside Down to look back at Stranger Things, series 2.
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Jul 4, 2022
30. Meet the Demogorgon from 'Stranger Things 1'
This week on VFX Notes, Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters head into the Upside Down to look back at Stranger Things, series 1
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Jun 27, 2022
29. The making of *that* batmobile chase
This week on VFX Notes, Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters jump into Wētā FX's visual effects for the stunning batmobile chase sequence in The Batman.
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Jun 17, 2022
28. The practical and digital effects of 1998's 'Godzilla'
This week, VFX Notes chats to 'Godzilla' visual effects supervisor Volker Engel about the 1998 Roland Emmerich film.
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Jun 10, 2022
27. Last Night in Soho
Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes go back in time on DNEG’s VFX for Last Night in Soho. We also explore some key mirror gags and VFX shots from history.
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Jun 2, 2022
26. Twister: We got cows!
Hugo and Ian are back for part 2 of our discussion of the practical and digital effects in Twister.
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May 26, 2022
25. Into the 'Doctor Strange' mirror dimension
In part 3 of our 'Doctor Strange' VFX Notes series, Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters delve into ILM's incredible work on the NYC mirror dimension scenes and Hong Kong reverse shots.
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May 19, 2022
24. Twister -- a meeting of the minds of practical & digital effects
Listen to part 1 of our discussion on the visual effects of Jan de Bont's 'Twister', a film that mastered the art of combining real and virtual effects.
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May 12, 2022
23. Doctor Strange: The Magic Mystery Tour
In part 2 of our 'Doctor Strange' discussion at VFX Notes, Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters break down Method Studios' work on the multi-verse sequence in the film.
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Apr 21, 2022
22. Doctor Strange, Part 1, including the freakin cloak
In part 1 of VFX Notes' 'Doctor Strange' series, Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes review the film and also cover the amazing VFX for the whips, the eyes, the freakin' cloak and the car crash.
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Mar 26, 2022
21. The VFX of 'No Time To Die'
Hugo and Ian talk practical and digital for the effects for 'No Time To Die'.
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Mar 23, 2022
20. The VFX of Spider-Man: No Way Home
Join Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes as we get into the VFX of not one but three Spider-Man in 'No Way Home'.
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Mar 18, 2022
19. The VFX of Free Guy
Catchphrase! Ian Failes from befores & afters and Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk explore this Ryan Reynolds film and the VFX behind it, including the incredible face replacement work.
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Mar 8, 2022
18. The VFX of Dune
Ian Failes from befores & afters and Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk explore the visual effects of Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune'.
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Feb 15, 2022
17. VFX supervisor Stef Ceretti joins us!
Stef Ceretti is a visual effects supervisor with some incredible credits, most recently on Marvel films Eternals, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Dr. Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy. Previously he worked at BUF and then in some London VFX studios. Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes have some fun asking Stef about all sorts of VFX things.
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Jan 30, 2022
16. The VFX of Tenet
Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes look back at last year's VFX Oscar winner, Tenet, and dive into the time-bending effects work.
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Jan 16, 2022
15. The VFX of Eternals
Ian and Hugo discuss the visual effects of Eternals, and we also look at some other big films crafted by what were traditionally 'indie' directors.
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Dec 25, 2021
14. The Matrix
Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes discuss the VFX of The Matrix. We go over bullet time, miniatures, the filming and behind the scenes. We also discuss the brand new The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience.
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Dec 10, 2021
13. 'Shang-Chi': A VFX and martial arts masterpiece
Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes discuss the visual effects in 'Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings'.
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Nov 24, 2021
12. The art of matte painting and invisible VFX with Craig Barron
Ian Failes from befores & afters and Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk are joined by Craig Barron, creative director at Magnopus, and co-founder and VFX supervisor at Matte World Digital.
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Nov 16, 2021
11. Your first look at Nuke's Unreal Reader
Ian Failes from befores & afters and Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk chat to Foundry Director of Product - New Technology Mathieu Mazerolle for a special exclusive interview about the new Unreal Reader for Nuke.
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Nov 1, 2021
10. Celebrating the 10th episode of VFX Notes!
We celebrate the 10th episode of VFX Notes, and discuss the VFX of Venom 2, Halloween Kills, The French Dispatch, and the state of play of WFH in VFX.
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Oct 20, 2021
9. Looking back at David Lynch's 'Dune'
Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes discuss the practical, miniature, matte painting and optical visual effects behind the 1984 film, Dune.
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Oct 1, 2021
8. David Fincher and the rise of invisible VFX
This week Ian Failes and Hugo Guerra discuss David Fincher, focusing on the incredible invisible effects work achieved by his team, including from Digital Domain, on films such as Zodiac and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
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Sep 11, 2021
7. Free Guy, Mortal Kombat, Super Mario, Final Fantasy and films based on video games
Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters dive deep into the art of films based on video games (and yes we talk about...Angry Birds 2).
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Aug 24, 2021
6. Looking back at '2010: The Year We Make Contact', and, Are miniatures dead?
Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters discuss the miniatures, practical effects and digital effects of 2010: The Year We Make Contact, and also ask, 'Are miniatures dead?'
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Aug 11, 2021
5. The Suicide Squad, Jungle Cruise, Old, and de-ageing VFX
Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters chat about the VFX in The Suicide Squad, Jungle Cruise and Old, and discuss the huge prevalence of digital de-ageing.
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Jul 27, 2021
4. Space Jam 2, Tomorrow War, Loki, and a look at LED volume filmmaking
Hugo Guerra from Hugo’s Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters do some deep discussion on the latest films and TV series, and talk about the latest in LED wall and real-time tech.
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Jul 12, 2021
3. Black Widow, SIGGRAPH preview, LUTs, CG vs. practical
Hugo Guerra from Hugo’s Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters discuss Black Widow, preview SIGGRAPH 2021, talk about why VFX artists need to know LUTs, and enter the discourse on CG vs. practical filmmaking.
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Jun 28, 2021
2. F9, stylization in animation, VFX forums and z-depth
Hugo Guerra and Ian Failes discuss what they've been watching (hint, it's fast and furious), look at the major leaps in sytlization in animation, discuss z-depth and talk about the best VFX forums on the web.
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Jun 9, 2021
1. Actor replacement, UE5 and what exactly is gamma?
Hugo Guerra from Hugo's Desk and Ian Failes from befores & afters discuss the ethics of actor replacement like in Army of the Dead, the latest on UE5 from Epic Games, a new Unreal Engine bridge in Nuke, what gamma means and the best VFX things to check out on the web right now.
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