Final 10 Visual Effects Contenders Announced

From Oscars.org

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

The ones I worked on are in bold. Nolan's Interstellar might be a favorite for the statue, but the Academy also loves it some CG main characters, so Dawn of the Planet of the Apes stands a good chance too. Personally, I loved how Godzilla came out, and will be especially rooting for that one (although the variety of work done for Night at the Museum 3 was quite challenging to film as well).

THE MAZE RUNNER is now in theaters!

Although I have not seen it yet, I have high hopes that our previs came out well in the final picture. Congratulations to all the people who helped make the movie happen.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES crew screening

Just got back from an amazing experience at the Paramount Studios lot, where the crew screening was being held for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I worked on the film doing previsualization for two months while at The Third Floor, inc. The group of us at the time were all focused on the snowy mountaintop chase sequence between the Foot Clan, April, Vernon, and the turtles, and the sequence had a glut of over-the-top action that was fun to animate. It was a helpful challenge as well because we had to make lots of fast revisions, often in front of the second unit director, who would provide notes alongside us as we worked. The part I worked on that I liked the most was when Donatello slings Raphael (always my favorite turtle) into a Humvee at (0:54):



Visiting Paramount Studios was a dream come true for me and my longtime friend Paul, who I brought as my guest. He showed up a bit earlier than I did, and showed me a few landmarks on the lot before showtime. It was great to see the Robert Evans office, as well as the sound stages for Rear Window, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Coming to America, and many others. Before we went in to the theater, we got a shot near the famous arch that leads to the sound stages:

With fellow Vancouver Film School alum Paul Booth outside the gate to the Paramount sound stages (Hollywood sign in the far background).

 The Paramount Pictures theater was very nice and felt like a real theater you'd walk up to on the street, complete with a lobby. We saw it in 3D in what felt like the loudest theater I've ever been to (I guess it's known for that).

Inside the Paramount Theater lobby.

The original, classic Paramount logo.

Seeing the movie was entertaining, and I know it will blow the minds of young kids like the first ones did when I was a kid. Being a part of that cycle for the next generation of moviegoers was a treat, as it always is.

Update: So it looks like the public loved it! $65 million domestic gross ($20 million above projections). Nice to see people enjoyed it.

Godzilla previs article on Animation World Network

Roaring Through the Previs of 'Godzilla' (full article, with previs/final comparison pictures)

Here are excerpts that describe two of the parts that I helped with when I was on the previsualization team:

"Dan Sarto (AWN): In terms of the third act, what were the biggest challenges you faced in with the previs?

Eric Carney (The Third Floor): The sequence consists of Godzilla, who is fighting two other creatures, the Mutos, in San Francisco. We've seen Godzilla before, and he's kind of like a big lizard, so we had a fairly good idea of how he might move. But one of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to animate the Mutos. When we were given the designs of the creatures, they were still in development actually. There was a lot of exploration work with Gareth in order to figure how the Mutos would fight and how Godzilla would fight them.

We started to look at footage of animals - Komodo Dragons, bears, even some winged creatures. Gareth sent us a lot of reference material of real animals fighting. So we started out doing a lot of fight tests and sending them over to Gareth, figuring out what he liked and didn't like and developing it further. He had a vision for the film, that even though it's a monster movie, it would feel very grounded in reality. So with that in mind you have to think of these monsters just as big animals, and research how big animals fight each other. A lot of the things you might think would be cool for a monster fight aren't the kind of things real animals do. So there was a lot of exploration in finding the right tone."
---------

DS: Any highlights from your work on this project?

EC: It was a great project. In the end we had about 40 minutes of previs, once everything had been edited down. So there was a large amount of footage. The halo jump was definitely a highlight, and a lot of the imagery in the final sequence, the trailer, and the poster are close to the previs we did. Working with Gareth too was really a fantastic experience. He was a very collaborative director and a lot of the suggestions we put forward made it into the movie. Seeing the final product was great!

It really was. As mentioned in an earlier Godzilla post, the first Maya scene I animated after graduating from Vancouver Film School was a fight between two enormous monsters in downtown Vancouver. To think that the experience from back then would help inform the motion of the real Godzilla all those years later makes my head spin.

Edge of Tomorrow movie review

Now that Transformers 4 is out and sucking up box office attention like a black hole, I thought I'd mention this movie. It's a great surprise, and people should see it before it's out of theaters. Third Floor did the previs and motion design for the aliens, which translated in the film as erratic and menacing. I kept thinking of alternative ways for it to have ended, but overall it was a very well done movie that could have only been pulled off by a top-notch creative team. Congrats to the filmmakers.

Now I need to finally see Looper...

FX Podcast interview with Gareth Edwards

FXGuide.com podcast link, with interviewer Mike Seymour @mikeseymour
Link to transcript by Ian Failes

Fantastic interview with Edwards where he goes into detail the struggles directors have with previs on big-budget feature films. In my limited experience, many of them seem to come into it with a somewhat adversarial attitude, and some stay this way until the end, but most warm up to it quickly after finding out how fast their ideas can be visualized with a team of 3D artists who are also versed in filmmaking and  cinematography. He even mentions the "pitchvis" that was made to help get the film greenlit by producers, and which provided several moments that ended up in the final film.

Edwards humbly gives the proper credit to the people who helped get the film where it needs to be, including Eric Carney, who was the Third Floor supervisor on the project. This was great to listen to, and something that I hope becomes the norm for future directors as they openly discuss how helpful previsualization is to making modern, VFX-driven films.

An excerpt from the transcript:

The Power of Previs

“When we started this, I hated the idea of previs,” recalls Edwards. “I thought it was going to rob the film of its soul. The idea of trying to pick shots and decide exactly what we were doing six months before we even stood on the location or met the actors – I wasn’t really into that. Even though I used to do computer graphics, I just felt like that was the antithesis of what I wanted to do.”
But Edwards says his attitude to previs changed after working with The Third Floor and an in-house MPC team on crafting Godzilla’s major action scenes. “What I didn’t appreciate was that when you do previs, what you’re really doing is getting a chance to make a mini version of a movie without any interference from anybody – you’re completely given free rein – it’s just you and the previs guys.”

He also discusses the temptation to show everything about the monster up front, but for proper tension, there must be a "cinematic foreplay" to tease the audience, "and hopefully they won't hate you for it." When you see the movie, you definitely notice some unexpected choices that err to the side of preserving tension throughout the first two acts, for better or for worse. Learning his rationale for these choices from the interview was very interesting. I can't wait to see it again, knowing more about the theory behind the direction.

Other great, slightly paraphrased quotes

"Eric Carney, who was the The Third Floor previs supervisor, did an amazing job. There's a lot of people's DNA in this film, and I think the previs guys definitely should take some credit, because stuck to that previs a lot, and it was kind of like my crutch...When you have a video that you can hit play on and it kind of works, and you're excited about it and other people are, it's good to be able to circulate to get these shots. ..... so whenever we got to the set pieces we spent so long getting it right in the previs, so in those areas we would often just go back to the previs and get it pretty much exactly right."

"Previs became this Bible for what we were going to shoot."

Finally, here is his quote about making on a Godzilla sequel:
"We'll see what happens...I'm sort of itching to have another crack at it, because I feel like we can do something even much better next time."

Godzilla credits

Biggest international opening of 2014 so far, and the Big G isn't done destroying yet. Great work, previs team.

The previs credits, with a logo added. Previs lead Eric Carney was credited separately up the list.

Godzilla crew screening

Last night I finally saw Godzilla at the Warner Brothers lot. Phones weren't allowed, but there was a keepsake:

The only evidence.

The director, Gareth Edwards, gave a nice intro speech talking about how thankful he was for all the hard work the teams put in. Since he started from a visual effects background, he said he knew what it felt like to do so much work and have so much credit go to another person. Apparently the cast screening hadn't happened yet, and so other than the press, we were the first people it was screened for.

As usual, I can't go into any specifics that haven't already been confirmed by the film's marketing campaign, but I will say that I absolutely loved how it came out--and my expectations were very high going into it. Not only were the VFX jaw-dropping, but Bryan Cranston's performance kept me emotionally invested from the start. What can I say? Working on the movie turned me into a fanboy. When you go see it, be sure to see it on a huge IMAX 3D screen. Anything else is an injustice to the big guy.

Congratulations to everyone that worked on it. The Third Floor team got lots of names in the credits, which was great (you'll see mine on screen left). At the time I was on the project, we were working on the following sequences, with the shots I personally worked on in parentheses:

1. Godzilla approaching the Golden Gate sequence ('boat getting lifted on a big wave' shot, shots of soldiers reacting from the boats)
2. All hell breaking loose on the bridge (kids in the school bus looking out at the military preparing to fight, navy ships launching cruise missiles, soldiers scrambling around while the bridge bets blown up)
3. HALO jump (high angles on the group as they fell)
4. Very start of the Muto vs. Godzilla showdown in Chinatown

We also did some early motion design tests (6:30) of how Godzilla and the Mutos would fight, which was a lot of fun, even though they were animation exercises that weren't for any particular shots in the movie.

A final note to wrap up this post: Back in 2001, after finishing my Softimage 3.7 training in film school, I knew I needed some animation experience with the Maya program. My classmate Sony, a huge Godzilla fan, had built, rigged, and textured two giant monsters and a city block of Vancouver in Maya, and he asked me to animate them fighting. It was the very first thing I animated in Maya, outside of the Salty the Seal tutorial. Who would have thought that all these years later that experience would help to inform the motion of the latest Godzilla incarnation? What a weird coincidence...

La Brea and Melrose,  Los Angeles

New trailer for X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, and a spoilers S.O.T.U.

There was so much movie news the other week, I nearly forgot to write about the new trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past. It was the second Bryan Singer movie I worked on, after Jack the Giant Slayer, and since the X-Men comics series were my favorites growing up, working with these characters was the culmination of much geeky childhood enthusiasm (like The Avengers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles projects were). The movie will be overflowing with entertainment for fans of the comic, especially those who read the "Days of Future Past" series.

Speaking of geeky enthusiasm, the guys over at Schmoes Know noticed an unusual trait of the video: it managed to focus on the movie's broad themes, without spoiling any of the actual plot. That's not easy to do, and a relatively rare thing in the field of trailers. Historically, trailers have been heavy on spoilers and intentionally throw the juiciest parts of a movie out to attract viewers. The trailer for 1949's Casablanca is a typical example from its time, using heavy-handed devices like a campy voiceover, sensationalized score, and dominating overlaid text:

Considering the movie is among the best of all-time (and has the best screenplay of all time, according to story gurus like Robert McKee), it's almost odd the marketing for it seemed so desperate--at least compared to the more refined design tastes of today.

Flash-forward fourteen years, and you have Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds trailer (1963), which went completely in the opposite, minimalist direction. Using clips from the movie in a straightforward manner, the intensity it contains comes directly from the movie itself:


When the 1980s hit, computers were offering sleek new digital aesthetics, and the trailers of that decade relied on their eye-grabbing flash to push a new era of action films:


Contemporary advertising companies have taken the art of the movie trailers to another level, in part by creating multiple versions tailored for different outlets. Theatergoers are often treated to a two-to five-minute long trailer, often mimicking a three-act structure of its own. Like this trailer for The Dark Knight Rises shows, today's trailers can be long and story-driven without relying on much smoke and mirrors from the editing of the trailer itself. The quiet opening works well, and Hans Zimmer's score closes it out nicely at the end:



Now, onto the topic of spoilers. Working in previs is entirely about being shown the most dramatic and action-oriented sequences of a movie. You are exposed to a disproportionate amount of movie spoilers, and if you're lucky, they are for movies you are especially excited to see. Squaring this with my passion for helping make big Hollywood movies has not always been easy, and there are times where I try not to have certain moments given away for films I did not work on and am not familiar with the original material (comics, books, etc). It was fantastic to watch something like "Battlestar Galactica" without knowing any of the plot points ahead of time, but I doubt I'll care too much about knowing who the real "Winter Soldier: is when I get my socks knocked off by it.

Marketing for modern movies relies on new material being put out to keep websites abuzz with interest. At some point this is bound to reveal too much. How much is too much in your eyes?



_____
For further reading on trailers, the New York Times article "Dissecting a Trailer: The Parts of the Film that Make the Cut" is a must-read.

Buzzfeed's 12 Posters that Totally Spoiled the Movie

New TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES Trailer

Featuring the mountainside "batter up!" shots that I worked on (0:59):



This project was unique because of the exposure we had to the director and second unit director. Plus, it provided an opportunity to revisit the Turtles movies that I loved as a kid for work reference. You don't get that every day...

Congrats to the team on another fun upcoming release.

Divergent screening

Tonight the Divergent crew screening was held in Westwood Village. The movie was a fun ride, and I know it will give younger fans of the book what they're looking for. As one might would imagine, crew screenings have their own level of energy; maybe not as exuberant as a midnight showing full of superfans, but there's still lots of good cheer and sporadic bursts of applause throughout the credits. Even if you've been on a project a while, it's never a sure thing to get screen credit, and there's always a feeling of anticipation right up until you finally see the names for your company start scrolling up.

Note the other audience members holding up their phones at the bottom to photograph their names.

The sequences we worked on include: the Dauntless faction jumping off the train for the tests, Tris's mirror room test, Tris running/climping up to the platform/jumping onto the downtown train, the Dauntless rooftop jump off the train, the big Tris net jump, the zipline ride, the tightrope walk test, and Four's father test. They all ended up being extremely faithful to the previs, and as a result looked polished and well-planned (and in the case of the mirror room, very complicated to pull off).

Check out Divergent this weekend--and be sure to stay for the credits!

New trailer for THE MAZE RUNNER

Although there have still not been trailers for a few other Third Floor projects I worked on, this was the last project I worked on there. It was a small and fun crew that was given a nice amount of freedom. It's looking good so far, and I'm excited to see how it all comes out.

Release date: 14 September 2014

New GODZILLA trailer is here!

It seems like only a few weeks ago that Godzilla had its first teaser hit the web. Now, there's a full-length trailer for people to enjoy. Bryan Cranston's voice completely puts you in the horrifying atmosphere of the film.



If it wasn't already clear by now, the movie is a complete 180 degree turn from the 1998 film of the same name. I couldn't be more excited for it.

Final DIVERGENT trailer

The final trailer for Divergent is here. Part of my previs work seen in the trailer includes the mirror/dog, hole jump, train jump, and group punch sequences. Release date is March 21st, 2014.

300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE Trailer #3

The latest trailer for 300: Rise of an Empire has hit the interwebbing. Sequences feature in the trailer that I worked on include: the first segment with the triremes (Greek ships) preparing to face Artemesia, the Greek clifftop attack, and the fiery naval battle (with the Persian that swings the big cauldron). It's loosely based on historical events, and still has no actors of Persian descent in it, but it has lots of unique action in it and fans of the first one should like it as well. Its release date is March 7th, 2014.

New teaser trailer for GODZILLA

Some of my HALO jump shots appear in the trailer. Sometimes when you do previs on a project, you have a feeling the movie will end up being very good. This was definitely one of those projects. See for yourself...

DIVERGENT movie trailer and teaser

Divergent is an upcoming young adult novel adaptation about a post-apocalyptic alternate universe set in Chicago (wow, that's a mouthful). I worked as a previs artist on it earlier this year while at The Third Floor. Some of the parts I helped on were included in the teaser and trailer, including the train jumping, hole jumping, and the sequence with the "group punch" shot. It is set to come out 3/21/14.

Teaser:

Trailer 1:

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem to Open at Universal Studios, Hollywood in 2014

Well this is nice to hear. The Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem ride I worked on--which is running now at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL--apparently is planned to open right here in Hollywood for next year. This means I'll be able to see my work as it was intended! Here's the news article, and here are other times I've written about the VES award-winning ride.

Jack the Giant Slayer press screening

I finally saw Jack the Giant Slayer this week! Reviews are not out yet, so I'll keep my impressions brief and vague, but I was very happy with how the film came together. I had forgotten just how many previs shots I had worked on for it, but it seemed like dozens. Seeing the final versions of the shots that I worked on is still akin to an out-of-body experience, but I'm getting a bit more used to it with this being my second screening.

The performances were terrific, and the costumes and score impressed me a lot. Overall, it's a gorgeous movie to look at, and paced very well, in my opinion. Now that I've seen it, I can wholeheartedly (and honestly) recommend it, especially to those who were already curious about it. It opens in theaters this Friday, the 1st of March. Look for my name in the credits under the 'Previsualization by The Third Floor' section, on the left-hand side (as Joshua Lange). If you're quick enough to take a picture of it with your cameraphone, email it to joshlange at gmail dot com.

Celine Dion on China Central Television for Spring Festival 2013

(starting at 11:22)

This was something I briefly worked on at The Third Floor, inc. the last couple weeks. It was a new concept to work with, and the way the final came out on their LCD stage was impressive.

Back when the Titanic song came out, I remember working in a music store and selling album after album of the soundtrack. At this point, I think I've heard "My Heart Will Go On" over three hundred times. She puts on a great show, though.