In visual effects (VFX), there are many challenges that commonly come up. There is also a necessary set of skills required to accomplish 99% of the projects we take on. In this class, we will take a look at many of the key effects techniques that are used in Autodesk® 3ds Max® software. We will cover initial shot setup, look at tips, tricks, and processes, and discuss scripting and other areas of effects. We will also talk about many commonly used effects such as fracturing, simulating rigid bodies, and creating explosions, fire, smoke, and magic effects. All of these are techniques from recent feature films and approached in a way to provide strong basic knowledge that you can apply to a majority of the challenges that come up day to day in visual effects. The class will cover earthquakes, building destruction, fire, smoke, explosions. We will also provide some advanced rendering and compositing techniques as well as theory and workflow information.

These days, the commonplace use of visual effects (VFX) in movies has raised audience expectations in terms of VFX quality, and has driven television productions to step up both the quantity and quality of VFX for almost every scripted television series. Due to the nature of television schedules and budgets, VFX artists share more in common than just similar toolsets with their colleagues in the architectural visualization industry; hence, efficient workflows in one field can be modified to benefit the other. Kim Lee (senior CG generalist from FuseFX New York) will present various case studies from a variety of current television series, showing how tools like 3ds Max software are used to create high-quality VFX, quickly and efficiently. Lee will show how the artists at FuseFX capitalize on capabilities like photogrammetry scanning, and MAXScript and python scripting—along with various 3ds Max software tools and plug-ins—to create award-winning VFX for many of the most popular shows. This session features 3ds Max.

Oregon-based LAIKA is a renowned animation studio that has inspired audiences with an unprecedented visual artistry. Animators breathe life into meticulously hand-crafted puppets on handmade sets. Visual effects artists seamlessly enhance performances with cutting-edge technologies. This unparalleled fusion of stop-motion and computer graphics has garnered the studio two Oscar nominations and worldwide acclaim. In this session, Mark Shapiro will discuss the upcoming feature The Boxtrolls, using rarely seen images and timelapses. Production puppets will be on display.

Join Russell Paul, award-winning visual effects artist, as he shares some of his experiences with design, visual effects (VFX), and visual communications. During this class, you learn about techniques to lay down ideas and create stunning visuals. Learn about visual communication techniques and how the the process of design has been impacted by modern technology.

In this class, we'll discuss how cloud-based collaboration tools such as Moxion and other third-party tools and Autodesk Flame software can help simplify and optimize remote collaboration such as live review sessions, and feedback processes in VFX Pipeline / Post-Production. This workflow focuses on Flame—a leading software system for compositing, color grading, and visual effects— and Moxion, a cloud-based platform designed for remote media review and collaboration.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, being able to work remotely has become essential for VFX artists. In this class, learn how Flame on the cloud will break hardware barriers, giving artists across the globe the opportunity to collaborate like never before.

After collaborating on the award-winning feature Arrival, Framestore reunited with visionary director Denis Villeneuve for the 2017 science-fiction sequel Blade Runner 2049. In this session, Framestore will discuss the visual artistry and tools that contributed to the film's distinct look, and, in the spirit of Blade Runner 2049, we'll touch upon the trends that are shaping the future of visual effects.

This class is intended for architectural visualizers and visual-effects artists alike. It aims to demonstrate Factory Fifteen’s unique position between these 2 industries by showcasing 2 projects—a proof-of-concept science-fiction drama, and a film showcasing a stadium for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Attendees will learn how Factory Fifteen’s work in film has cross-pollinated the firm’s work with architects, creating new digital workflows and sensibilities toward “selling architecture.” As well as providing an overview, the speaker will go in detail into the filming and 3D post-production (using 3ds Max software and V-Ray) of one hero shot from each project, as well as illustrating planning and execution at every stage. The first shot involves the design, build, and animation of a mechanical robot and its integration into film footage. Shot 2 involves an elaborate time-lapse sequence over 8 years within a World Cup stadium, from tournament mode to legacy mode, dramatically replacing footage with an evolving digital sequence that leads us to the year 2030. This session features 3ds Max.

Stiller Studios has 1 of the most advanced and VFX-friendly motion control/green screen setups in the world. Tomas Wall and Hugo Guerra will take you through the process of how the game cinematic, "Homefront: The Revolution" was created, using leading studio and motion control technology supported by Autodesk software—in preproduction, live on set, and in postproduction.

Layout in the animation and VFX (visual effects) industry utilizes a broad scope of tools to bring cinematic ideas to fruition. This session will be a deep dive into the benefits found using Maya software and Bifrost to boost creative film making and ultimately save time and money. In this course we will capitalize on the latest toolsets and features to compose content that aligns with the director's vision at an early stage of production.

It’s hard to escape the influence of visual effects in today’s media, and today’s top visualization shops are blurring the lines between feature film / television work and traditional architectural visualization (arch viz) work. Considering the common toolset used in both fields, it can be advantageous for visualization artists working in the architecture, engineering, and construction market to employ workflows developed in the entertainment field—not only from an efficiency standpoint, but also potentially from an aesthetic standpoint. Employing some of the media and entertainment approaches can inject an otherwise unremarkable arch viz animation with more visual interest, leading to investor or sales videos that are more compelling. In this class we will examine some production-tested approaches using both old and new tools in 3ds Max software to create things like large crowds of people and animated foliage, as well as workflows used for working with large scene files.

Weta Digital has a proud history of bringing groundbreaking films to the big screen. We’re known for performance-driven animated characters such as Gollum, Kong, Neytiri, and Caesar as well as well-known fantasy worlds like Middle-earth in Lord of the Rings and Avatar’s Pandora. Along the way, our work has earned six visual effects Academy Awards®, twelve Academy Sci-Tech Awards, and six visual effects BAFTA Awards, in addition to the 34 Visual Effects Society Awards awarded to us by our peers. In this talk, we’ll explore the innovation behind the magic and share an inside look at the proprietary pipeline we’ve built on top of Autodesk Maya that enables our artists to create their best work.

This class will cover the speaker’s experience in production of monumental sculptures with powerful technologies. We will find out what benefits 3D modeling, animation, simulations, and 3D printing provide to shape creation of the new era, and how advanced visual effects technologies can improve production of classical sculptures. We will show you several examples of actual projects and discuss the future of sculpture.

Join us for a bite of cinematic innovation as David Vickery, Visual Effects Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic, shares how their team brought dinosaurs back to life in this summer’s blockbuster film, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. This session showcases the combined efforts of the ILM creature effects and visual effects teams and how they used data and leading-edge technology to build the real SFX models to breathe life into the dinosaurs.

With all the challenges we’re facing during the pandemic, we’ve realized how constrained we can be when our access to our production site or office is limited. In this class, we’ll discuss how we can cost-effectively become productive again, and how we can increase our collaboration without compromising the quality of our work. Find out how Flame on Cloud can help you achieve this and incorporate this workflow with your visual effects pipeline, whether you’re in the office or off site.

This class will help digital artists become more employable in their industry, fast-track their career, and build a strong name for themselves in the competitive visual effects field. We will talk about how to develop unstoppable demo reels and attention-getting cover letters, along with tactics for managing and presenting yourself in the best light. We will cover how to develop contacts, stand out from other applicants, play the "game" when it comes to freelancing, and treat yourself like a business. You will learn to promote yourself and your work, create viral videos to gain recognition, and practice dozens of techniques to make your career unstoppable. The goal is to put yourself in more of an "industry celebrity" role where you are offered work based on word of mouth rather than having to apply for work and play the numbers game.

A modern VFX (visual effects) rendering pipeline is made up of many materials with detailed descriptions called looks. Looks need to be passed across different software products without loss of fidelity. Current workflows involve duplication across complex pipeline tasks that are hard and laborious to maintain. Arnold software lets you author asset looks in any supported software and then reuse the same looks in another software using the Arnold data format, which is fully extensible. Arnold furthers this approach by capitalizing on open-source back ends like MaterialX and USD, enabling users to build a very flexible, reusable, and connected pipeline. Arnold users can take advantage of this interoperability right out of the box. The data is always live, enabling users to make alterations (major or minor) at any point in the pipeline. In this talk, you will learn about setting up your pipeline to capitalize on reusability of looks. You will also see examples of taking your asset looks through different software.

For a number of years, the cloud has been a topic of acute interest for collaborative working and storage. But over the past 2 years, it's become much more than that. Now a mature, integrated system, the cloud presents a viable option for businesses that need additional compute capacity. At this moment in time the cloud, facilitated by a new integration tool from Escape Technology, offers an alternative to CAPEX spend for short-term projects or requirements. Whether you're rendering a building fly-through or the latest Hollywood blockbuster, there are always points in the project lifecycle that get tight on time. This is where burst capacity comes in. In the past the only option was to purchase or rent additional machines and licenses, but the cloud gives us a new facility. Spinning up virtual workstations, storage, and even render can give studios the extra resources they need without having to worry about purchase prices, space, cooling, and power. In this talk, delegates will learn about how the cloud has developed as a practical concept and is now being leveraged by major production companies and architects around the world. Lee Danskin, CTO at Escape Technology, will explore how cloud workflows can be used to augment - or entirely replace - an existing one. He will investigate the future of cloud working, including so-called ?born in the cloud? studios, and discuss the complexities of adding cloud burst capacity to an existing pipeline.