Newton is an awesome plugin for After Effects that simulates 2D physics. As someone who has worked with 3D programs such as Cinema 4D where simulating physics is very smoothly built in and advance, this plugin is a great crossover. Instead of key-framing a ball bouncing for example and trying to make it look as real as possible, Newton allows you to tweak real world physics properties of your objects and simulate real physics. It is great for having things that react to gravity such as objects falling. You can set objects as static and all objects will collide with each other automatically, which is very handy. The plugin has tons of possibilities, which I look forward to exploring, and I have been using some on my third project.
The program is $250 but you can get a free trial and try it for yourself. Here is the website, and here is where you can download it. I highly recommend you check it out.
Gravity is definitely one of the most Visually stunning films ever made. It's one of those movies where you feel like you are actually there in the moment and it just seems so real.
And yet 95% of the movie was CG. Almost everything you see was generated in post production using advance 3D software. The only things that were practically shot in production were the actors. But everything else from Space suits to ships to satellites and more were CG elements.
This behind the scenes look at Gravity explains the process of what it was like to make this movie, knowing that majority of it was going to be CG.
Everyone always blogging and talking about the big blockbusters with huge budgets and amazing special effects that really stand out to the audience. But what about the smaller budget movies that have visual effects that people don't notice. The visual effect that are subtle that are hidden from the viewer. Wes Anderson does a great job of this is "The Grand Budapest Hotel". For the people that don't know who Wes Anderson is, a American director and screenwriter. His films are known for their distinctive visual and narrative style. You might know him for the academy award for best animated feature for "Fantastic Mr. Fox" back in 2009. In the video below it shows the small sets that they went through from green screen to miniature sets but it shows more than just the miniature sets that went into this movie.
For a big blockbuster like gravity it is no surprise that it has won seven awards and was such a hit in the box office. Alfonso Cuarón’s 3D space epic "Gravity" leads the 86th annual Academy Awards with seven wins, including the prize for best visual effects. Gravity has taken in $704.9 million globally including $270.5 at the domestic box office and $424.4 internationally. The video below talks about the film from script to screen and it really shows the narrative behind the dramatic story.
A few weeks ago, thanks to Ithaca College's Student Activities Board, I had the opportunity to attend a free screening of the 2013 film Ender's Game. Directed by Gavin Hood, this film follows the journey of Ender Wiggins, played by Asa Butterfield, as he works his way through Battle School, a military academy designed to train young men and women to fight alien invaders. As a core part of the training offered at Battle School, students are broken up into teams that simulate a battle against one another in battle school. Although Ender enters the school as an outside, he quickly rises through the military ranks and becomes a commander for his own battle squad. After proving his unparalleled leadership and ability, Ender is told to assembly a squad for a final simulation. In this simulation, Ender is to destroy the Formics, the rival aliens, and their home planet. After completing this mission, Ender is told by Colonel Graf, played by Harrison Ford, that the simulation was an actual battle and that Ender has eliminated the Formics. Ender's Game ends on a cliff hanger when Ender discovers a single alien egg, has a change of heart, and races of to recolonize another planet with it.
Although I enjoyed the plot of Ender's Game, what really impressed me were the special effects and CGI. Set in the future, this film relied heavily on CGI to create the technology seen throughout the film. In particular, I was impressed by the intense action sequences that took place inside the battle room. According to the above video, a single shot in Ender's Game may contain upwards of 20,000 layers. This video helps to explain the inherent challenges of creating a gravity-free environment. Although the actors were placed on wires, the special effects team for Ender's Game mainly sculpted the entire environment, including the characters bodies, around the faces of the actors. By doing this, they are able to create bodies that react in a realistic way with the physics of zero-gravity. All this is just one example of the effects in Ender's Game, there are many others that demonstrate that this film is at the forefront on visual effects technology.
I recently saw Alfonso Cuarón's "Gravity" at the Ithaca cinema and I have mixed emotions about the film. The title sequence was quite simple. The screen reads "Gravity" as the camera dollies in and an intense, loud synth noise turns into a shot of the earth from space and complete silence. The beginning of the movie is extremely intense and one is easily distracted and annoyed by any small rustlings of candy or popcorn in the theater. Throughout the movie, one can imagine what space is like and the audience is watching the movie from space. The lack of sound is beautiful and forces the audience to become bewildered with the though of space exploration. The sounds, or lack of sound, is unlike many space movies and are realistic because in space, sound cannot travel. The shadows and lighting are great and I would like to see a behind-the-scenes video of how "Gravity" was filmed. The animation of the satellites and spaceships were very intricate and realistic. The complexity of the earth shots and movement of the astronauts was extremely realistic and was truly groundbreaking for space movies.
The only problem I had with the movie was the script and Sandra Bullock. Clooney's performance was amazing and his character was genuine. Bullock, however, lacked knowledge of her role and had many cliche one-liners. I think, visually speaking, the movie was amazing but Bullock could've easily been replaced by a more worthy actress. Cuarón didn't seem to offer much direction and Bullock seemed awkward during long takes and unnatural. The ending was quite farfetched as well. Apparently, it's pretty easy to navigate top of the line space technology with little to no training. I suggest everyone sees the movie and formulates their own opinion.
