Failes - Masters of FX: behind the scenes with geniuses of visual and special effects

MASTERS OF FX

MASTERS OF FX

Behind the Scenes with Geniuses of Visual and Special Effects

Ian Failes

Forewords by James Cameron

Director of Avatar, Titanic, Aliens, and The Terminator

and Lorenzo di Bonaventura

Producer of Constantine, Red, and Transformers

First published in the USA 2016 by Focal Press

70 Blanchard Road, Suite 402, Burlington, MA 01803

Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

Copyright Octopus Publishing Group Ltd 2016

All images their respective copyright holders

This book was conceived, designed, and produced by Ilex Press Limited

Publisher: Roly Allen

Senior Project Editor: Natalia Price-Cabrera

Senior Specialist Editor: Frank Gallaugher

Assistant Editor: Rachel Silverlight

Commissioning Editor: Zara Larcombe

Art Director: Julie Weir

Designer: Grade Design

Senior Production Manager: Marina Maher

The right of Ian Failes to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Notices: Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

ISBN: 978-1-138-84596-1 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-72777-6 (ebk)

Typeset in DIN

Contents >

Strong background in effects animation and VFX problem-solving.

Special effects and miniature effects supervisor.

Known for ingenious combinations of miniature and optical effects, and later digital.

Incredible on-set experience with practical and digital expertise.

Part of the new wave of visual effects supervisors.

An innovator in digital compositing and disaster films.

Models, miniature effects, and all-out destruction.

Co-creator of Adobe Photoshop and digital pioneer.

Practical effects, virtual cinematography, and stereo pioneer.

Performance capture and real-world replication expert.

Pioneer from optical days to digital.

Physical effects, special effects makeup, and animatronic effects.

Leader in stop-motion animation and creature animation techniques.

VFX legend, immersive filmmaker, and high frame rate advocate.

Advancing the art in talking animals and believable creatures.

Beauty work, aging, de-aging, and digital makeup effects.

> by James Cameron

Leading Hollywood director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, and inventor

[1] James Cameron on the set of Avatar.

This book celebrates 16 masters of visual effects. I know most of them personally, and seven of them Ive worked with over the years. A few I consider close friends. Though they know me as a director, I actually started out in their game, doing visual effects on low-budget movies, so they also know me as someone who talks their language. This makes me both sympathetic and responsive to their needs but also demanding, because I know whats possible. Often the job requires knowing not just whats possible, but what CAN be possible, because we are constantly inventing to bring the impossible to life on the screen.

The masters in this book are collectively responsible for some of the most stunning images ever projected on the worlds screens. They have transported audiences to realms of fantasy and brought fantastic creatures and characters to life that are so iconic they are indelible parts of our shared global cultural dreamscape. And yet, though most of them are still actively producing astounding imagery, the tools and techniques they use now are not at all the ones they started out with. These masters have also pioneered the very techniques that make movies the dazzling experience they are today.