Proof CEO Ron Frankel to Speak about Previs and Postvis at FMX

For those attending FMX this year in Stuttgart, Germany, the Proof, inc. CEO Ron Frankel will be presenting there on May 7th. He will go in depth on the work done on Guardians of the Galaxy and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. For more details, click this link for the FMX post.

2015 VFX "Bake-Off" Recap

This weekend I attended the Visual Effects "Bake-Off" at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. It was fascinating and entertaining look at the best visual effects in film for 2014, as presented by the visual effects supervisors and vendors who produced the final results. Previs was mentioned at times as well, which was nice. At this point in filmmaking, previs settles so many storytelling, art direction, and composition decisions early on, which allows the final vendors to concentrate more of their limited time on producing photorealistic effects.

Going in to the bake-off, the finalists to choose from for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects are (bold = projects I worked on):

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Godzilla
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Maleficent
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
Transformers: Age of Extinction
X-Men: Days of Future Past

After watching so many incredible shots throughout the bake-off, it was clear this is a very tough, competitive year. I have a feeling Marvel Studios will emerge with only one nominee. Transformers will probably be left out again. I have not seen Maleficent, but I know it did very well at the box office, which makes it a strong contender against other kid-friendly movies like Guardians and Godzilla. When all the dust clears, I think the finalists will be:

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Godzilla
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar

New interview on the TALKING MOVIES podcast

Recently I was on a podcast talking about the previs and animation work that I have done on films here in Los Angeles. Topics covered include: The Avengers, Divergent, Godzilla (2014), Night at the Museum 3, Furious 7, and The Thief of Bagdad (1940).

Talking Pictures w/Paul Booth and Josh Lange, Previs for Divergent and Godzilla 11/03

Writeup about Proof, inc. in the Los Angeles Times this week/release dates for 2014

The Los Angeles Times has a nice writeup today of Proof, inc, the previsualization company where I am currently working on the upcoming film, Night of the Museum 3.:

Los Angeles Times: Previsualization firm Proof helps filmmakers plan for complex scenes

Be sure to look out for Night of the Museum 3 in theaters when it releases on December 19, 2014.

If you are interested to know where else you can see some of the fun projects I've worked on recently, here is a rundown for the release dates in 2014 (bold = available to see now):

300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE   In movie theaters NOW. Released March 9, 2014. (uncredited)

DIVERGENT   In movie theaters NOW. Released March 21, 2014.

DESPICABLE ME: MINION MAYHEM   theme park ride, in 3D. Open NOW at the Universal Studios theme parks in Los Angeles and Orlando, Florida.

GODZILLA   opens in theaters May 16, 2014.

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST   opens in theaters May 23, 2014.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES   opens in theaters August 8, 2014.

THE MAZE RUNNER   opens in theaters September 19, 2014.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 3: SECRET OF THE TOMB   opens in theaters December 19, 2014

It's good to be busy. Be sure to check back to this blog for updates with details on what I worked on within each project. Keep in mind that, due to confidentiality agreements, I am not able to write about anything that is not already public knowledge. That said, please come back often and please leave comments when you do!