Climbing Barefoot Up the Razor Edge of Application Updates
I'm going to talk about how to stay on top of your key applications as they evolve. Our main software tools now have a significant number of updates and upgrades each year. This can be disconcerting,...
View ArticleGetting Our Piece of the Pi…for Real
I've been fairly silent on the VFX situation amid all the hubbub lately and I think I'm going to catch a lot of heat for this post. But I have to say it like I see it. I'm not happy … more »
View ArticleSkirting the Studio System
It seems everyone wants to make a studio-financed film, but for most of us that isn't working out very well. However, if you can manage to make your own movie that stimulates a lot of interest, you...
View ArticleWhy Rhythm & Hues? And How Do We Keep It from Happening Again?
UPDATE: 3/29/13. I'm told that I stirred up some rumors about which studio I was referring to when I mentioned that I knew of a VFX house that’s about to incur a loss on a project. I got the...
View ArticleEnding the VFX Crisis: What Has to Happen
UPDATE: 4/17. The past two articles have garnered an unexpectedly large number of important, articulate responses from industry people. There is as much — or more — useful information in these comments...
View ArticleAdobe: A Cloudy Issue?
How do you feel about Adobe's move to the cloud? So far, I have interviewed a semi-random group of Adobe Creative Suite users who both have and have not joined the Creative Cloud. Emotions run...
View ArticleYour Opinions on Adobe’s Move to the Cloud
If you've read some of the comments below my previous post, you'll see I've been called a lot of things — including an apologist for Adobe's new policies. If you've followed me a long time you know I...
View ArticleStraight Talk About the Cloud: Adobe Responds
Updated 12/18/13: Scroll down or click here. As promised, Bill Roberts, Adobe's director of video product management, has taken time in the limited space I've given him to address many of the...
View ArticleVFX Cloud Houses: What Do You Think?
It seems everything in VFX these days is complicated and controversial. I know of several VFX houses that are, or will be, opening in the cloud. That means you work from home, wherever that may be,...
View ArticleVFX Cloud Houses, Part Two: Scarecrow and Legion
My stomach does a little cringe when I think about all the artists out there who are trying to keep their heads above water after the massive purge over the last year. The unstable houses have fallen,...
View ArticleVFX Cloud Houses, Part 3: Growing Opportunities
Here are two more cloud houses that are, indeed, quite different. One is based in Vancouver and another in Albuquerque. Yup…in old New Mexico. They each work with remote artists. Both work major motion...
View ArticleThe Future of VFX Work: Managing Remote Artists
Several of the large VFX and animation houses have developed online work environments that allow artists and supervisors to communicate in words and pictures. Some are cloud-based and some are simply...
View ArticleShotgun: Should You Be Using It?
I'm not a pro filmmaker. I have no clue if Shotgun is any good or not. But I have friends and family who do make movies and do use Shotgun, so I asked around. And because my research didn't dig … more »
View ArticleRikaroo: Getting Your Film Seen by the Right People
Being a film maker today is both easy and incredibly difficult. Because of the casual, affordable access to technology, way too many people are making films today. The accumulation of crap has outpaced...
View ArticleOpportunity Knocks at Zerply
You may have noticed that I've been presenting ground-floor opportunities lately. They all have certain risks, but the rewards of getting in early can be substantial. My latest discovery is Zerply....
View ArticleThe Golden Pixie Awards
I know a lot of you are up to date on all the new 3D tools, but some of you are not. There are so many tools these days that it can be overwhelming. For example, when I first started … more »
View ArticleCrowdfunding Film Projects: Is It for You?
Since recommending — and regretting investing in — a Kickstarter project that hasn't turned out as advertised, I stopped recommending projects. I'll stick to that. But, as filmmakers, we must all be...
View ArticleWelcome to Peter Plantec’s Entirely Biased Golden Pixie Awards
Welcome to Peter Plantec's Entirely Biased Golden Pixie Awards. Yes, I started awarding Pixies almost 20 years ago at Animation Magazine. They are unique because I am beholden to no one. I tell it like...
View ArticlePeter Plantec’s Entirely Biased Golden Pixie Awards, Part Two
This is the second volley of awards. There are quite a few to give out this year because I've spent time researching and there is a lot of excellent out there. I'm also interested in your suggestions...
View ArticlePeter Plantec’s Entirely Biased Golden Pixie Awards, Part Three
I have always been a rule-breaker — as I believe many of you are. I follow civil rules, but tend to dislike doing things the way they've always been done. Thus you may have noticed I make up award...
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