Images courtesy of Digital Domain and Marvel Studios.
Digital Domain had to come up with how effects simulations would work and look to show what happens when two universes collide with each other.
Living up to its title is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where filmmaker Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) infuses his horror sensibilities into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the sequel that stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Benedict Wong. Digital Domain was hired by Marvel Studios Visual Effects Supervisor Janek Sirrs (The Matrix) for a 100 shots that consist of the aftermath of two universes colliding with each other, a Sinister Universe version of the Sanctum Sanctorum, and the revelation of a hex conjured by Wanda and the attempt to capture her in the Mirror Universe. “For this show, it was a standard pipeline,” Digital Domain Visual Effects Supervisor Joel Behrens states. “We didn’t have to go outside of using our typical tools. We did V-Ray for lighting and rendering, Houdini for our effects, Nuke for compositing and Maya for asset builds.”
“We had the ground level of buildings built as set pieces and dressed accordingly per universe, and then they would do a LiDAR scan of that. We would get the geometry from the LiDAR data, build out the actual extensions based off the ground-level buildings and maintain that architectural look that was already established with the ground level, and run our destruction simulation, which in this case was a pseudo anti-gravity destruction.”
—Joel Behrens, Visual Effects Supervisor, Digital Domain
Filmmaker Sam Raimi brings his signature comedic spin on the horror genre to the MCU with the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
High-resolution digital doubles of Wanda and Doctor Strange were created by Digital Domain and shared with other vendors.
The Mirror Trap proved to be the most challenging look to develop and required 20 other versions of Wanda to appear in the various reflections.
On his way to find the Sinister Sanctum Sanctorum inhabited by the antagonistic and alternative version of himself, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) traverse through two different realities of New York City that have collided together and are ripping each other apart. “There were a lot of effects simulations and visual design that needed to happen to come up with that look,” Behrens reveals. “On a backlot location in London, there was a basic intersection and street that you see multiple times throughout the movie in various universes. We had the ground level of buildings built as set pieces and dressed accordingly per universe, and then they would do a LiDAR scan of that. We would get the geometry from the LiDAR data, build out the actual extensions based off the ground-level buildings and maintain that architectural look that was already established with the ground level, and run our destruction simulation, which in this case was a pseudo anti-gravity destruction.”
Plates were shot in Iceland, while portions of the grand staircase and foyer were practically built for the Sinister Sanctum Sanctorum.
“You can’t have it [the set of destroyed buildings] drifting away too quickly. Otherwise your buildings are gone by the end of the shot. It was finding that balance of how to keep interesting motion up there, along with these large, smoky, viscus-liquid tendrils that pull away from the buildings as well as the pieces of debris. Then, on top of that you’ve got the incursion from the other universe colliding and floating through space, whether in real-time or in a slightly slow-motion fashion to heighten the interest of the motion.”
—Joel Behrens, Visual Effects Supervisor, Digital Domain
Animation and motion tests were conducted for the debris. “You can’t have it drifting away too quickly. Otherwise your buildings are gone by the end of the shot,” Behrens remarks. “It was finding that balance of how to keep interesting motion up there, along with these large, smoky, viscus-liquid tendrils that pull away from the buildings as well as the pieces of debris. Then, on top of that you’ve got the incursion from the other universe colliding and floating through space, whether in real-time or in a slightly slow-motion fashion to heighten the interest of the motion.” As with all of movies by Sam Ramai, a certain automobile is seen floating in the background. “Some of the floating objects like the Oldsmobile Delta 88 were hung off of a large crane arm on wires to have them slightly spinning and drifting through a scene,” Behrens remarks. “It was taking a look at that and matching it. Sam and Janek wanted everything to have a hyper-real, more than slightly slower than real-time look in this universe from the incursion. We tended to go with a heavier slow-motion, high-frame-rate-shutter look for these elements like the Brooklyn Bridge or the subway that is crashing through the ground behind them or the Empire State Building.”
Plate photography was shot in Iceland of the black sand beaches to create an otherworldly feel for the Sinister Sanctum Sanctorum.
A car that cameos in the films of Sam Raimi is an Oldsmobile Delta 88.
Different iconic landmarks appear in the Sinister Universe, such as the Brooklyn Bridge in a Victorian Steampunk Gothic style sliding through the ocean.
The Sinister Sanctum Sanctorum was treated as if it was a haunted house.
A haunted house aesthetic was given to the original model of the Sanctum Sanctorum to create the Sinister Universe version. “We didn’t modify the silhouette or the shape of the building, but changed the materials it was made out of, such as using large, weathered pieces of stone that had large cracks in them,” Behrens states. “We had vines that went up the side, and it looked like it had been a 16th century mausoleum that has seen a lot of age and wear over time.” The building is slowly being pulled apart by a massive dark void. “You have this large chunk in the upper right-hand corner that is slowly pulling rocks apart from the construction along with these sinewy, inky tendrils that come off of it,” Behrens adds. “Then, once you go inside the Sanctum there is some weird universe stuff going on. Inside the foyer you’ve got the Grand Staircase, and behind it is this odd otherworldly beach where the surf is rolling up and [there’s] a gigantic, red ominous moon.” Plates were shot in Iceland, while on set Cumberbatch walked on a mirror that had some actual sand on it. “It was a fairly complex simulation to tie in with the surf edge as waves break on the beach,” Behrens says, “and we had these tributaries around the staircase that we wanted water to pool in so Doctor Strange would walk through the water. They played him dry for wet, so we also had to try to make his boots look like that they were getting wet from the water he is walking through.”
“[O]nce you go inside the Sanctum there is some weird universe stuff going on. Inside the foyer you’ve got the Grand Staircase, and behind it is this odd otherworldly beach where the surf is rolling up and [there’s] a gigantic, red ominous moon. … It was a fairly complex simulation to tie in with the surf edge as waves break on the beach, and we had these tributaries around the staircase that we wanted water to pool in so Doctor Strange would walk through the water. They played him dry for wet, so we also had to try to make his boots look like that they were getting wet from the water he is walking through.”
—Joel Behrens, Visual Effects Supervisor, Digital Domain
Doctor Strange encounters Wanda in an orchard that is an illusion, disguising a darker reality that builds upon the Marvel Studios television series WandaVision. “WandaVision had that digitized, almost pixelated television look for the hex as it got dropped and revealed what was actually happening in the world,” Behrens notes. “For this one they wanted it to be more natural and organic. We decided to tie it more into her smoky red magic and the dark hole magic. The idea of this wall of her magic that reveals the universe was tricky because we didn’t want it to be like a simplified wipe-away or dissolve. We had this swirling stuff that, as it wiped over certain branches of the trees, the smoke would cling and almost pull away, so you got this interaction between the wall and the objects that it intersects with as it was revealing that.” The trees appear significantly different in the post-hex world. Comments Behrens, “They went from a fairly normal, healthy trees to these twisted, decayed trees.” Practical trees were constructed around the actors, with the rest being a digital set extension. “We struggled with drifting fog that didn’t look too much like smoke because they didn’t want it to feel like a burnt-out forest that the characters were standing in,” Behrens says. “There is a lot of talking back forth in that scene. We ended up doing background extensions and atmospheric simulations as well as the CG dark hole.”
“Some of the floating objects like the Oldsmobile Delta 88 were hung off of a large crane arm on wires to have them slightly spinning and drifting through a scene. … [Director] Sam [Raimi] and [Marvel Visual Effects Supervisor] Janek [Sirrs] wanted everything to have a hyper-real, more than slightly slower than real-time look in this universe from the incursion. We tended to go with a heavier slow-motion, high-frame-rate-shutter look for these elements like the Brooklyn Bridge or the subway that is crashing through the ground behind them or the Empire State Building.”
—Joel Behrens, Visual Effects Supervisor, Digital Domain
A swap gas-like fog that has a pinkish-orange color drifts around the trees.
A portion of the post-hex orchard was practically built around the characters.
It was important to avoid the real orchard appearing as a forest ravaged by a wildfire.
In order to imprison Wanda in the Mirror Universe, Doctor Strange conjures a Mirror Trap. “There were all sorts of permutations, such as being glassier, but we went for it being more mirror-like and reflecting a digital environment as well as a digital-double version of our actress,” Behrens explains. “When shooting the footage on greenscreen for Wanda, we had a few witness cameras for some of those reflections; however, because these mirror pieces were at different angles and magnifications of her, we ended up using a digital double for quite a bit of that.” The decision was to have a lot less distortion in the mirror images. “We needed to see clearly what is happening with Wanda,” Behrens explains. “We had spikes built out of this mirrored glass as well so you could see her reflections, in which we used a combination of both digital-double and plate reflections. It was tricky coming up with the look because you didn’t want it to feel like a flat chrome surface. So we were trying to put imperfections on the front glass, smudges, a bit of dust and dirt, scratches, small cracks, things that were grounded in reality, because the initial passes did not look good when they were strictly a purely reflective material. It looked incredibly CG. It’s always about those imperfections and realism that you can add to those pieces that hopefully fit it in there and make it feel realistic.”
A shot taken from the pilot episode outside the Fortress of Solitude.
A creative partnership and friendship forged 28 years ago at MGM has Visual Effects Supervisor John Gajdecki (Stargate: Atlantis) and Visual Effects Producer Matthew Gore (Battlestar Galactica) working together again on the second season of The CW production Superman & Lois. Co-creator and showrunner Todd Helbing (The Flash) has produced a unique spin on the superhero genre where at the heart of the story are the family struggles of Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin), Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) and their twin sons (Jordan Elsass, Alex Garfin) who have inherited the patriarchal supernatural abilities.
“We know that the artists are good and the art is built into the people. This team manages the process so tightly that we can deliver shots without panic two days before they’re on TV.”
—John Gajdecki, Visual Effects Supervisor
Superman & Lois is a testament to logistical prowess of the visual effects team that manages without panicking to deliver shots two days before they are on television.
Even though Superman & Lois is spun off of Supergirl, the look of the series is uniquely its own.
Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) must not only fly, he must fly through elements such as smoke, fog, clouds and dust. Bigger ambitions resulted in a 25% increase in visual effects shots in Season 2.
A major part of the visual language are Cooke Xtal Xpress lenses, which were emulated in the visual effects shots.
It was important to be able to produce feature-quality visual effects shots within a television schedule.
Water was poured onto Tyler Hoechlin when shooting the scene where Superman rescues a submarine in Episode 201. The submarine was created in Maya, with Houdini water and lots of clouds and smoke from the stock library added in Nuke.
The Kent family farmhouse is dilapidated and the barn has burned down in the Bizarro World version. Even though there are assets and locations that carried over from Season 1, modifications still had to be made.
A particular expression comes to mind for Gajdecki when describing how the show operates. “You hear people saying, ‘Armchair generals talk strategy, but the pros talk logistics.’ ‘Can we get the weapons to the front? Will there be food for the soldiers when they get there?’ We know that the artists are good and the art is built into the people,” Gajdecki states. “This team manages the process so tightly that we can deliver shots without panic two days before they’re on TV.”
“At the beginning of the season, we said that we wanted to take this up another level and try to get as close to feature quality as we could, knowing our limitations. But every time Superman does something, there is usually a CG component to it that adds to the schedule and budget issues. John mentioned to me that he had an in-house team on Project Blue Book, and so we proposed that. The in-house team has shined and been great in helping us to get this on the air.”
—Matthew Gore, Visual Effects Producer
Necessity led to a creative solution for Season 2 of Superman & Lois. “We have a tight network schedule, so it’s tough to try to do what we’re trying to do,” Gore notes. “At the beginning of the season, we said that we wanted to take this up another level and try to get as close to feature quality as we could, knowing our limitations. But every time Superman does something, there is usually a CG component to it that adds to the schedule and budget issues. John mentioned to me that he had an in-house team on Project Blue Book, and so we proposed that. The in-house team has shined and been great in helping us to get this on the air.”
15 different vendors worked on Season 2, including Zoic Studios, Refuge VFX, Boxel Studios, Frame Lab Studios, Barnstorm VFX, Tribal Imaging, Od Studios and Lux VFX.
The more shots were broken up over multiple vendors, the more often they would come back to the in-house team as the final 2D. “I see us as the final line of digital defense,” Gajdecki remarks. “Everything comes in and we do the comps, and we’ll put that photographic pass on it to make sure that the lens flares feel right and that the camera move looks like it fits between the shot, before and after, and the contrast, smoke and dust levels are matching. When Superman flies in and comes to a stop, something else has to keep going otherwise it doesn’t feel right. With some artists it is hard to explain why that’s wrong. We came up with the term energy transfer and suddenly people went, ‘Okay, I see it now.’”
“I see us [the in-house team] as the final line of digital defense. Everything comes in and we do the comps, and we’ll put that photographic pass on it to make sure that the lens flares feel right and that the camera move looks like it fits between the shot, before and after, and the contrast, smoke and dust levels are matching. When Superman flies in and comes to a stop, something else has to keep going otherwise it doesn’t feel right. With some artists it is hard to explain why that’s wrong. We came up with the term energy transfer and suddenly people went, ‘Okay, I see it now.’”
—John Gajdecki, Visual Effects Supervisor
There is mutual cooperation between the different departments which allows for seamless integration between practical and CG elements.
Tyler Hoechlin was put through the deepfake process to apply Bizarro’s face. Deepfake technology was critical in being able to create the Bizzaro version of Superman.
Bigger ambitions have meant that the visual effects count increased from 2,300 to 2,500 shots for Season 1, to an additional 25% for Season 2. Also expanded are the number of vendors, which can be a many as 15 depending on their availability. Among the contributors are Zoic Studios, Refuge VFX, Boxel Studios, Frame Lab Studios, Barnstorm VFX, Tribal Imaging, Od Studios and Lux VFX. “We have an honest relationship with our vendors,” Gore notes. “In my conversations with them, are you available and can you do this work? They’ll tell you flat-out. It won’t be like the shop that wants to take the work and figure it out. They’ll say, ‘We don’t have these artists available for those weeks, but we have these who are available.’ We’re constantly trying to fill what somebody can do.” Even though there are assets and locations that carried over from Season 1, modifications still had to be made. “The [Kent family] farmhouse ended up in Bizarro World, so even though the farmhouse didn’t change between seasons, there was a whole new farmhouse and barn,” reveals Gajdecki. “The barn has burned down and the farmhouse is dilapidated.”
Villainous Ally’s acolytes prepare to travel through the portal to Earth Bizarre in a greenscreen plate of the actors on the dressed studio floor. The portal was created in Houdini and comped in Nuke with smoke elements.
A greenscreen plate of Superman and Tal-Rho on the volcano’s edge. The Maya model of the interior of the volcano was comped with Houdini lava, live-action volcano splashes and lots of smoke and embers to produce the final shot.
“There is stuff that we can’t talk about for the series finale that might come as a text from Todd Helbing with a photo that says, ‘We’re going to do this,’” Gore comments. “We went, ‘Okay. Cool. Let’s figure out how.’ A lot of times Todd will give us a heads up that something big is out there, so we can at least start thinking about it even if we don’t get a full outline or a script yet. At least we know conceptually this is something that we have to try to fit into the schedule.”
“Anything that we need we get. When we shoot greenscreens, the line producer says, ‘It’s Gadjecki Rules.’ They light it for us and get the exposures and interactive light that we need. Our shots look good even though we have little time because we shoot the pieces so well and production is behind us.”
—John Gajdecki, Visual Effects Supervisor
Gajdecki has a particular philosophy towards visual effects. “Every shot that we do has to look like that the art department directed it and the camera operators operated the camera. We are sensitive to the inputs from the other departments to make sure that we put in the same chaos that would be in a real shot.” The cooperation is mutual, he says. “Anything that we need we get. When we shoot greenscreens, the line producer says, ‘It’s Gadjecki Rules.’ They light it for us and get the exposures and interactive light that we need. Our shots look good even though we have little time because we shoot the pieces so well and production is behind us.”
The term ‘energy transference’ was coined for the scenes where Superman flies in and comes to a stop, to explain why the energy all around that action must continue.
Episode 208 features a portal. Comments Gajdecki, “Upon hearing that there was going to be a portal, we got all of the reference together, numbered all of the references, put it out in front of our executives, got on the Zoom and asked, ‘Todd, is any of this close to what you’re thinking?’ He might have 50 images to look at, and we start to talk about the nature of the portal, what’s the portal doing and the behavior. We go from there and start narrowing down the focus.” Superman gets affected in a dramatic way. “There had to be some component of him getting shredded as he enters it,” Gajdecki adds. “Then we had this whole other thing where once he’s inside there, what does it look like? It goes back to who does what. Our in-house team started a look in Episode 201 where Bizarro is flashing to stuff. We need some cool flash that is supposed to sell that it’s him traveling through the portal. The in-house team was tasked with that. They came up with a look. It evolved to a certain point, and we knew that we wanted it to feel like it had depth to it. That was our other challenge. Todd wanted it to feel that he is breaching something, but we also wanted to sell that there is something behind it, and then he had to shred in there at some point. We didn’t want it to be holes underneath and you see through him. We wanted a substance there, but didn’t want it to be bone and skin because it’s CW.”
Only 10% of the shots don’t have a custom 3D element.
Adding to the shot count was number of deepfakes associated with the character of Bizarro, who is revealed to be an alternative dimension version of Superman. “We let everyone know that the AI approach was not going to be a one-size-fits-all answer to all the Bizarro shots,” Gore explains. “We had numerous discussions with Todd that if a shot was going to ‘break’ the AI, we were going to have to apply more traditional methods to get the sequences to where he wanted them to be. For example, there were a couple shots where we needed to go all CG on Bizarro in order for him to be able to appear in the same shot as Tyler during some of the fight scenes. We massaged the cuts with Todd. Boxel Studio took on all the work that the AI couldn’t do. The in-house team came up with the look for Bizarro’s eyes and then worked with Tribal Imaging in Calgary, Wild Media Entertainment in Toronto/Vancouver, Kalos Studios, Animism Studios and Refuge VFX to make sure no matter who took Bizarro to final, the look for Bizarro’s eyes and makeup was going to be consistent in all the comps across the various episodes. It was also a great learning experience working with this new AI toolset. And to be clear, not every scene in the Bizarro story arc was achieved using AI.
The chase involving the Velociraptors combined plate photography from Malta and Chris Pratt riding a stationary motorbike on a massive rolling road in the U.K.
Prehistoric beasts have had a constant presence in the life of David Vickery, who served as Visual Effects Supervisor on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World: Dominion. “I’m still working on dinosaurs! Not the film ones, but for promotional media, advertisements and public relations related stuff.” Any concerns of repeating himself were alleviated by working with a different director, crew and script. “There are always new challenges.” About 1,450 visual effects shots were created, with ILM being responsible for 1,000 shots while the rest were handled by Lola VFX and Hybride. “[Director] Colin Trevorrow had a one-on-one relationship with the storyboard artist, and those storyboards were handed over to us to create animatics. I worked closely with the previs and postvis teams [provided by Proof].” Collaborating with Production Designer Kevin Jenkins was easy as he is a former art director at ILM. “Kevin clearly understands visual effects and worked a lot in 3D, so he could hand those designs over to us,” Vickery observes. “Because of our previous working relationship, Kevin trusted me to take incomplete designs to ILM and to continue their evolution.”
“There are probably more animatronics in Jurassic World: Dominion than in Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World combined. … [T]he digital dinosaurs we had were an exact match for the physical animatronic dinosaurs that we had on set. It didn’t matter where they positioned the rig because the range of motion was exactly the same as the range of motion in the digital dinosaur. The goal being to get a plate that gave us practical animatronics that could move and perform on set and be digitally extended without us having to replace it.”
—David Vickery, Visual Effects Supervisor
‘Digital archeology’ was conducted to return the original T-Rex from Jurassic Park to her former glory.
1,450 visual effects shots were created, with ILM being responsible for 1,000 shots while the rest were handled by Lola VFX and Hybride.
An entirely new feather system was constructed in Houdini by ILM to deal with creatures such as the Pyroraptor.
Chris Pratt reprises his role of Owen Grady in Jurassic World: Dominion.
Jurassic World: Dominion was the first Hollywood production to recommence shooting during the pandemic.
Five weeks into principal photography for Jurassic World: Dominion, the pandemic caused a global lockdown. “Nobody knew what was going to happen when COVID-19 hit and we had to start shooting again during the pandemic,” Vickery states. “It was hard to understand how we were going to be able to communicate with each other, because suddenly we had to stay distant, were all wearing masks and couldn’t all cluster around the director’s monitors. We had tech scouts where the DP, John Schwartzman, was still isolating before he was able to come back onto set. We were deploying all sorts of new techniques such as wearing Bolero headsets rather than the usual walkie system.” Travel restrictions caused a few key scenes to be reimagined, such as Velociraptors chasing a motorcycle driven by Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) through the streets of Malta. “We had array photography and LiDAR data from location, which was then projected and manipulated rather than being a fully CG environment. Once we got back in the U.K., Chris rode a stationary motorbike that was placed on a massive rolling road that was 25 feet wide. The bike was rigged so it could weave left and right.”
“There was a cool bit of what I called ‘digital archeology.’ We had 3D SoftImage files but didn’t even have the software. However, we managed to get those NURBS files into Maya and convert them into polygon meshes. We also referenced all of Stan Winston’s photography. It’s a beautiful piece of recreation of that original T-Rex model.”
—David Vickery, Visual Effects Supervisor
A different approach was adopted for Mosasaurus attacking the crab boat. “Our editors scoured through 16 seasons of The Deadliest Catch program, correlated and created an edit from outtakes,” Vickery reveals. “The goal was to use the natural aesthetic of the footage that we had and integrate the CGI elements into it. The crab pod is something that we added in as well as the Mosasaurus and a bunch of spray.” Shifting weather patterns had to be accommodated. “When we were shooting at a lumber yard and had to put two huge Apatosaurus in the background, the whole sequence was shot in the morning in bright sunlight and no snow,” Vickery says. “Then it started snowing at lunchtime and we had to reshoot the entire scene again because the snow was going to change the look of our plates. We had a huge team of effects artists at ILM whose job was adding digital snow and dust.” An entirely new feather system was constructed in Houdini by ILM to deal with creatures such as the Pyroraptor. “It relied on the geometry of the feathers being described as a curve for the quill and a flat piece of polygonal geometry for the feather itself,” Vickery explains. “The feathers had to be able to interact with environmental elements. “On set we had the special effects team with air movers, some snow and atmospheric effects, but we had to recreate the same effect in post to be able to integrate the Pyroraptor.”
When designing dinosaurs the first point of reference is the holotype.
A massive animatronic was constructed for the Giganotosaurus.
There are probably more animatronics in Jurassic World: Dominion than in Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World combined.
“There was a moment on set where Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and DaWanda Wise are with the biggest animatronic that I’ve ever seen in my life. Bringing all of those things together was amazing!”
—David Vickery, Visual Effects Supervisor
There was a close collaboration between the art department, visual effects and creature effects to make sure that there was seamless integration of CG and practical elements.
The goal was to get a plate where the practical animatronics could move and perform on set and be digitally extended without it being replaced.
Production Designer Kevin Jenkins created clay maquettes that were scanned and given to ILM to make sure that the models were anatomically correct before being 3D printed by John Nolan and the creature effects team.
Each instalment of the franchise introduces new dinosaurs. “The Giganotosaurus was a real dinosaur,” Vickery remarks. “You look for the holotype, which is often a partial specimen so scientific that experts have to guess the rest. Some of the dinosaurs look so bizarre, like the Therizinosaurus, which is this huge theropod that is covered in feathers and has one-meter-long baseball bat-like claws on the edge of its fingers.” A massive animatronic was built for the Giganotosaurus. “There are probably more animatronics in Jurassic World: Dominion than in Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World combined.” Jenkins collaborated with Trevorrow and paleontologist consultant Steve Brusatte to develop concepts that were turned into clay maquettes and then scanned. The scans were given to ILM which made sure the model was anatomically correct before handing them off to John Nolan, the head of the creature effects team, for 3D printing. “This meant that the digital dinosaurs we had were an exact match for the physical animatronic dinosaurs that we had on set,” Vickery notes. The process helped to minimize the amount of CG. “It didn’t matter where they positioned the rig because the range of motion was exactly the same as the range of motion in the digital dinosaur. The goal being to get a plate that gave us practical animatronics that could move and perform on set and be digitally extended without us having to replace it.”
“From a simulation perspective, [with feathers] you’re dealing with a huge amount of geometry that is deforming and moving on a frame-by-frame basis, and is reacting to external forces like the wind, but also to the way that the creature is moving. Creatively, ever since Jurassic Park, fans and paleontologists have been crying out to see feathers on dinosaurs, and we will deliver this time.”
—David Vickery, Visual Effects Supervisor
Restored to her former glory is the T-Rex from Jurassic Park. “There was a cool bit of what I called ‘digital archeology,’” Vickery recalls. “We had 3D SoftImage files but didn’t even have the software. However, we managed to get those NURBS files into Maya and convert them into polygon meshes. We also referenced all of Stan Winston’s photography. It’s a beautiful piece of recreation of that original T-Rex model.”
Feathers proved to be the biggest creative and technical challenge. “From a simulation perspective,” Vickery comments, “you’re dealing with a huge amount of geometry that is deforming and moving on a frame-by-frame basis, and is reacting to external forces like the wind, but also to the way that the creature is moving. Creatively, ever since Jurassic Park, fans and paleontologists have been crying out to see feathers on dinosaurs, and we will deliver this time.”
The on-set special effects team deployed air movers, snow and atmospheric effects so the feathers of the Pyroraptor interacted with environmental elements.
All of Stan Winston’s photography was referenced in the recreation of the original T-Rex model from Jurassic Park.
Seeing the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchises come together was a career highlight for Vickery. “There was a moment on set where Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and DaWanda Wise are with the biggest animatronic that I’ve ever seen in my life. Bringing all of those things together was amazing!”
Amongst the winged creatures re-created are the Hatzegopteryx.
Going beyond the Hollywood portrayals is the Apple TV+ natural documentary series Prehistoric Planet, which travels back 66 million years to the Late Cretaceous period when dinosaurs reigned supreme. Serving as executive producers are filmmaker Jon Favreau (Iron Man) and Mike Gunton, Creative Director, Factual at BBC Studios. Directing the five episodes are Adam Valdez and Andy Jones who respectively worked as a visual effects supervisor and animation supervisor on The Lion King and The Jungle Book for Favreau. Collaborating closely together were digital artists from MPC and cinematographers from BBC’s Natural History Unit.
Tyrannosaurus rex and juvenile go for a swim in the episode ‘Coasts.’
A Mosasaurus as it would have appeared during the Late Cretaceous period, which occurred 66 million years ago.
Progressing from The Lion King and The Jungle Book was not a huge leap for Jones. “Wildlife, natural history and what the BBC has been doing for years was our goal for a lot of the shots. In Jon Favreau’s mind, he always wanted it to feel as naturalistic and realistic as possible,” Jones notes. Nuances have to be incorporated into the animation to believably convey the emotional state of the creature. Explains Jones, “You want to lean away from anthropomorphism as much as possible because right away people will say, ‘Oh, we’re watching animation.’ Mammals share such a common bond with us, even elephants and giraffes have this look of concern for their kids, and we try to use some of that sparingly. We looked at larger lizards and birds a lot. The way birds care for their young is different. There is not this nuzzling.”
“The whole point is when you look at natural animals, they do things that are so weird and wonderful, so why not just portray that because it’s fascinating on its own? While the BBC Natural History Unit is obsessed with scientific accuracy, they’re also storytellers and know how to make things compelling; that was a real balancing act.”
—Adam Valdez, Director
Success is found in the subtle details. “You could say that the work we do is like a thousand of tiny traces on a thousand tiny items, and if it all stacks up correctly, you get a win,” Valdez remarks. “Sometimes you don’t know what those things are until you’re in the midst of it. One of the things that we’ve learned over the last couple shows was that human audiences will project a lot onto characters for you. You don’t have to lean too hard in any visual storytelling. That’s the magic of the medium. Sometimes it’s a moment of stillness that could convey the idea that the animal might be thinking or feeling the event that just happened.” The events had to fit within natural order of things. Valdez adds, “The whole point is when you look at natural animals, they do things that are so weird and wonderful, so why not just portray that because it’s fascinating on its own? While the BBC Natural History Unit is obsessed with scientific accuracy, they’re also storytellers and know how to make things compelling; that was a real balancing act.”
A herd of Dreadnoughtus are inserted digitally into live-action plate photography.
Mongolian Titanosaur and Barsboldia gather around a watering hole.
The rules of wildlife documentary filmmaking were applied when conceptualizing and executing scenes.
A male and female Barbaridactylus were created by MPC, which was the sole vendor for Prehistoric Planet.
As interesting as creating realistic dinosaurs was the process of making the show. “The trick was how do you make something that feels like you went and got the footage hiding out for eight weeks or hiding the track cameras all over and bringing the footage back,” Valdez states. “It’s a painstaking editorial process. What you learn is it’s not like BBC Natural History Unit [to] just go somewhere and film randomly. They know what’s interesting and what the dynamics are at a certain time and place. The Natural History Unit brought us deeply researched stories and our role was to go, ‘Okay, you have a notion, but what we’re going to do is make an animatic that is so tight that you know exactly where to go to get shot by shot.’” Shots were determined by the reality of documentary filmmaking. Valdez comments, “If you shot a hunt like a movie with eight camera positions, that’s not how they get those once-in-a-lifetime moments. They get them rarely [with one camera]. It was our job to make an animatic that felt 100% like they had shot it, and then give them a shopping list: go get these backgrounds, and precisely match the lens and how the camera is moving.”
“We went through quite a bit making the T-Rex because we definitely wanted to nail our version of what we really think the T-Rex is today. It was the first asset that we built and to show off what the series would be. Him and the baby T-Rex. As much we know about them in terms of fur, coloration, and the idea of what these babies would have been like, we needed our Baby Yoda!”
—Andy Jones, Director
Edmontosaurus and juvenile appear in Prehistoric Planet, with Andy Jones and Adam Valdez sharing directorial duties.
Biomes determined the creatures, not the other way around, with the episodes titled ‘Coasts,’ ‘Deserts,’ ‘Freshwater,’ ‘Ice Worlds’ and ‘Forests.’ “That gives you one point of view on the nature of life and planet as a working ecosystem together,” Valdez observes. “Animals are our way in, whether it’s chimps, lions or dinosaurs. That’s why you see it framed the way that you do. Paul Stewart was in charge of ‘Coasts’ as the writer, producer and natural history partner. All of those particular stories have to do with the fact that where the land and sea meet you have a lot of dynamics. You have a lot of biodiversity, food source, territory and raising young. That’s the framing concept for the whole show.” The final sequence in ‘Coasts’ deals with the birth of a baby Tuarangisaurus. “For a Tuarangisaurus to make a baby that’s 12 feet long and 25% of the body mass of the mother is a massive investment, so they’re going to raise one at a time,” Valdez explains. “Then it turns out that the family shows some investment around the young as well. They found fossil evidence that backs all of this up. You find evidence of these sea creatures in the sands and earth where there was previously the Western Interior Seaway, a huge stretch of water that divided North America which had huge coastlands. The show hints on these ideas all the way through.”
“If you shot a hunt like a movie with eight camera positions, that’s not how they get those once-in-a-lifetime moments. They get them rarely [with one camera]. It was our job to make an animatic that felt 100% like they had shot it, and then give them a shopping list: go get these backgrounds, and precisely match the lens and how the camera is moving.”
—Adam Valdez, Director
A pack of Pachyrhinosaurus are hunted by the Nanuqsaurus.
When it comes to proper pronunciations of dinosaurs’ names, Jones laughs. “It’s never set in stone how to pronounce it until Sir David Attenborough says it! The Deincheirus was one of the fun dinosaurs in the series for me because it’s such a weird-looking animal with a big duck bill and massive claws. This is one where scientists would say, ‘He had these massive claws that probably could be used to defend himself in some sort of battle with males.’ But what else could these claws be use for? Let’s tell a story that’s not about fighting.’ We know that he probably ate seagrass or some sort of grass or some sort of vegetation. Those claws would be used to rip up and dig up the grasses and roots. Dealing with all of the flies is another thing. His claws could scratch a little bit, but his arms are so small that he can’t reach his whole body. The Deincheirus spots a scratching tree post to go up and start using that to scratch. For the ending of the episode, we wanted to tell the story of what happens when you eat so much food; his bowels get loose, he fertilizes the entire place and moves on. The Deincherius is a great character!”
“Deincheirus was one of the fun dinosaurs in the series for me because it’s such a weird-looking animal with a big duck bill and massive claws. This is one where scientists would say, ‘He had these massive claws that probably could be used to defend himself in some sort of battle with males.’ But what else could these claws be use for? Let’s tell a story that’s not about fighting.’ We know that he probably ate seagrass or some sort of grass or some sort of vegetation. Those claws would be used to rip up and dig up the grasses and roots. … For the ending of the episode, we wanted to tell the story of what happens when you eat so much food; his bowels get loose, he fertilizes the entire place and moves on. The Deincherius is a great character!”
—Adam Valdez, Director
Biomes determined the creatures, not the other way around, with the episodes titled ‘Coasts,’ ‘Deserts,’ ‘Freshwater,’ ‘Ice Worlds’ and ‘Forests.’
A baby Triceratops is portrayed as ‘naturalistically’ as possible, rather than rely on anthropomorphism to convey emotion.
Events involving the Corythoraptor had to fall within the natural order of things.
Prehistoric Planet showcases what scientists currently believe to be the actual behaviors of dinosaurs rather than the Hollywood portrayal of them.
For Director Adam Valdez, animation is a balance of aesthetics and physics.
In a lot of the shots, the feet of the dinosaurs were framed out because in numerous natural history documentaries, you don’t see the feet touching the ground.
‘Ice Worlds’ is a serious episode that explores family dynamics and the relationship between predator and prey. “It’s similar to ‘Deserts’ in the sense that you have these extreme environments, and it requires animals to go to greater lengths to survive,” Valdez observes. “You have this match that creates this endless loop of predation. and [questions] how does the prey species survive constantly being hunted. You have to figure out as a family group. The pack of Pachyrhinosaurus are rhino-like creatures that resemble Triceratops. They’re huge and powerful. The Nanuqsaurus don’t stand a chance attacking the group. But they are significant predators that are also big. What happens in the winter is that predators will work together as a team. You have a team of predators and a family group. It becomes a war of attrition, a siege. If we hound this family enough, eventually they’ll make a mistake, and we’ll take advantage of that mistake. It’s heavy. It’s like a standoff. You have to sit there and see who will last longer through the storm and winter that is around them.”
Going through the most iterations was an iconic dinosaur. “We went through quite a bit making the T-Rex because we definitely wanted to nail our version of what we really think the T-Rex is today,” Jones reveals. “It was the first asset that we built and to show off what the series would be. Him and the baby T-Rex. As much we know about them in terms of fur, coloration, and the idea of what these babies would have been like, we needed our Baby Yoda!”
Precise previs was created so that the cinematographers for the series knew exactly what needed to be shot for the plate photography.
The experience that the BBC Natural History Unit has in shooting hundreds of thousands of hours of real animals was leveraged when choreographing scenes.
The Cretaceous Period had enough similarities to today’s Earth that the production could fill a lot of the backgrounds on today’s Earth.
Family dynamics is a prominent theme explored in Prehistoric Planet.
For Jones, figuring out the motion of the creatures was a major task. “When I first saw the design of the giant pterosaurus, I thought there was no way that thing could fly,” he explains. “It’s the size of a giraffe. Figuring that out and having people watch it and believe it, is cool. Shooting at Palouse Falls was so much fun. We knew the environment when we prevised it, so we had a good layout. Actually, getting the shots was way challenging because we were hanging people on ropes to get the cameras in the positions that were needed. It was a fun sequence all around.”
Cinzia Angelini grew up in the 1970s in Milan, Italy, inspired by Japanese cartoons and the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Disney classics, which she studied frame by frame. Renowned director, animator and Head of Story at Cinesite Studios, Cinzia has worked for major animation studios in Europe and the U.S. for more than 25 years. Her body of work includes Balto, Prince of Egypt, The Road to Eldorado, Spider-Man 2, Minions, Despicable Me 3 and The Grinch. Cinzia wrote and directed the acclaimed CG animated short film Mila, a war story that centers on the plight of civilian children, and is currently directing HITPIG, an Aniventure animated feature produced at Cinesite.
Creating Mila was a life-changing experience, inspired by the stories my mother told me about how she felt as a child during the bombings of Trento in World War II. I wanted to use the medium I love, animation, and shine a light on the terrible realities for millions of children and families around the world who are caught in the crossfire of war. Audiences have embraced Mila’s messages of hope, imagination and perseverance and I’m so encouraged that there is a growing appetite for honest and authentic stories.
I fully embrace the power of animation. Hollywood might applaud socially relevant features, but it still views animation as essentially little more than “entertainment.” It has enormous potential to affect fundamental change in how we approach each other and how we deal with societal challenges. I believe that stories told through the magic of animation can move people and influence our future generations like nothing else can.
If Mila can change even one decision maker’s experience about the consequences of war, then all our efforts were well worth it.
The Mila theme is resonating with people around the world.Our team had 350 artists who gave their time and talent from 35 countries, the largest independent virtual studio collaboration ever created. And a surprising number of those volunteers have their own personal experience with war or in their family histories, which also moved them to want to be a part of this project. The strong theme of the film ended up being the secret for its success. Mila is more than a film; it’s a story within a story.
Inclusion and diversity were key elements in assembling the Mila team, and I’m proud that a significant percent of women were in leadership positions.
Finding ways to harness the talents of so many artists and filmmakers versed in different styles of work, cultures and languages made the final film that much richer. The entire process has been challenging and incredibly rewarding. It helped me improve as an artist, influenced how I collaborate with colleagues and showed me strength of our global interconnectivity in new and inspiring ways.
I’ve always embraced risk as an opportunity to innovate, grow and become stronger.Risk takers challenge the norm and push the boundaries of their professions. I keep leaning into the unknown, because even if things don’t work out as planned, you learn so much from the journey.
Ask Me Anything – VFX Pros Tell All
Join us for our series of interactive webinars with visual effects professionals. Ask your questions, learn about the industry and glean inspiration for your career path.
Images courtesy of DNEG and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Tom Holland as treasure hunter Nathan Drake negotiates a daisy-chain of crates falling from a C-17 cargo plane in a complex mix of practical and visual effects from DNEG.
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who led a Spanish expedition of five ships in 1519 to seek a western route to the Moluccas (Spice Islands). Magellan perished along the way and only one ship made it back, in 1522, but it was the first craft to circumnavigate the world. Flash forward five hundred years, and Ruben Fleischer’s Uncharted spins a fictional tale about a present-day search for two lost treasure-laden ships from Magellan’s fleet. The Sony Pictures movie is a prequel of sorts to the tremendously popular Uncharted video game series, developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The film’s treasure hunters included Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) and Victor Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg), along with Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali) and Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas).
The On-Set and Overall VFX Supervisor was Chas Jarrett. DNEG was the primary VFX vendor, completing 739 shots over 23 sequences, with teams led by Visual Effects Supervisor Sebastian von Overheidt (DNEG Vancouver) and Visual Effects Supervisor Benoit de Longlee (DNEG Montreal). Other contributing VFX vendors included The Third Floor, RISE Visual Effects Studios, Soho VFX and Savage Visual Effects.
Crates falling from the C-17 cargo plane was part of a continuous 90-second ‘oner’ sequence that mixed bluescreen, wire rigs, robot arms and digi-doubles.
Holland reaches out while a KUKA robot arm holds a crate and large fans supply the wind for the shoot. Live-action filming for the sequence took place at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, Germany, outside Berlin.
DNEG was tasked with handling various jaw-dropping sequences, including a 90-second shot in which Nate and Chloe – along with cargo crates and a Mercedes Gullwing car – fall out of a C-17 cargo plane while flying over the South China Sea. Von Overheidt considered the shot “a fun challenge. We called this sequence ‘the oner’ because it’s constructed as one continuous 90-second shot.”
“[For the falling out of a C-17 cargo plane scene] we had several practical elements with the actors hanging on wires and interacting with a stand-in car prop. We combined the practical elements with long stretches of full-CG moments. Some sections required either close-up digi-doubles to hold up, or even a transition between plate and digi-double right in camera with nowhere to hide. Mix that with the disorienting camera, and you have quite a complex puzzle to solve.”
—Sebastian von Overheidt, Visual Effects Supervisor, DNEG
Von Overheidt adds, “We had several practical elements with the actors hanging on wires and interacting with a stand-in car prop. We combined the practical elements with long stretches of full-CG moments. Some sections required either close-up digi-doubles to hold up, or even a transition between plate and digi-double right in camera with nowhere to hide. Mix that with the disorienting camera, and you have quite a complex puzzle to solve.”
To begin creating the sequence, von Overheidt reveals, “We received LiDAR scans and HDR photography of each individual cargo crate and all the other props like the Mercedes Gullwing, as well as a full scan of the C-17 interior, which was built as a set. From there we built the entire daisy-chain of crates and the C-17 interior. At the same time, we also worked on a fully digital version of the Gullwing and the C-17 exterior model with some custom modifications compared to a standard model. Ruben had asked us to create a billionaire’s version of the well-known plane.”
The exterior model of the C-17 cargo plane was built with some custom modifications befitting a super-billionaire’s souped-up version of the plane.
“[Tom Holland] indeed got thrown around quite a bit. All the crates on the exterior were mounted on top of KUKA robot arms so that they could move on a full gimbal in a programmed sequence. They were also modified with extra padding or using softer materials, so that Tom Holland and the stuntmen could jump in between them, holding onto the netting of crates. It gave a great realistic-looking reaction for most of the shots, so we got away with a lot of head replacements on the shots with Holland’s stuntman. In quite a few shots we still went for a full digital-double solution because we wanted the performance even more violent or the camera to be more dynamic than what was shot.”
—Sebastian von Overheidt, Visual Effects Supervisor, DNEG
Once camera, object and body tracking were done, Layout Supervisor Kristin Pratt and DFX Supervisor Gregor Lakner and their teams blocked the entire sequence out, “which is also the crucial step where we’d analyze each shot and figure out what CG extensions need to be added,” von Overheidt says. This also involved finding solutions for any discrepancies between the 3D-scanned crates and the ones used on set. “Our job was to piece this all together while finding the best transitions into CG and amp up the action and movement.” There were also some entirely full CG shots. He adds, “The environment was stitched based on multi-camera array footage shot at around 7,500 feet and then augmented to look a bit more desolate in terms of islands. All the clouds and wind FX and debris are CG.”
Lighting in the open sky was a challenge. “The plates were shot on a soundstage with stationary lighting, but our characters fall tumbling through an environment with only one light-source, the sun,” von Overheidt explains. “DFX Supervisor Daniel Elophe and the team broke this mammoth puzzle down into manageable sub-sections which were assembled to one long shot in compositing at the end.” The team around Lighting Supervisors Sonny Sy and Chris Rickard and Compositing Supervisor Francesco Dell’Anna kept track of changing light directions and found creative solutions to make it all work with the plates, while allowing for a free choreography of the camera and the animation, done by Layout Lead Steve Guo and Senior Animator Patrick Kalyn. “The result works really well and we ended up getting the best of both,” von Overheidt says, “seeing the sun rotating on high-action free-fall moments while coming back into a more character-focused lighting when there is dialogue and we’re locked into practical photography.”
Greenscreens assisted with the construction of a 500-year-old Magellan ship. The ships were highly detailed and complex assets built for every form of action called for in the making of Uncharted.
Tom Holland got his share of shaking and stirring thanks to a robot arm. Von Overheidt comments, “He indeed got thrown around quite a bit. All the crates on the exterior were mounted on top of KUKA robot arms so that they could move on a full gimbal in a programmed sequence. They were also modified with extra padding or using softer materials, so that Tom and the stuntmen could jump in between them, holding onto the netting of crates.” They were thrown around randomly by the robot arms to get the sense of snaking of the daisy-chain. Von Overheidt adds, “It gave a great realistic-looking reaction for most of the shots, so we got away with a lot of head replacements on the shots with Holland’s stuntman. In quite a few shots we still went for a full digital-double solution because we wanted the performance even more violent or the camera to be more dynamic than what was shot.”
To build Magellan’s two ships, sets were split into different stages, LiDAR scanned, pieced together and combined with the overall design.
The scenes with Magellan’s ships (the Trinidad and the Concepción) and the huge helicopters carrying them required extensive VFX, but the scene wasn’t created entirely full CG. Von Overheidt notes, “There was actually a lot of great footage shot on big sets. This sequence really had everything in it. The scenes were shot on several stages resembling different parts of the ships, which we were extending with CG. The helicopters we had designed are based on some classic cargo helicopters, but even beefier.”
In the case of the Concepción, the set was split into four different stages – the stern, the main deck including helm, the bow and the crow’s nest with a partial mast, according to von Overheidt. “Our CG Supervisor Ummi Gudjonsson and Build Supervisors Chris Cook and Rohan Vaz started by assembling the various on-set stages for which we had received LiDAR scans, piecing them together, lining them up to each other and combining them with the overall design of the ship.”
Von Overheidt continues, “The same process went into the Trinidad and any other set, like the helicopters. Throughout the boat battle sequence we picked about a dozen hero shots based on the criteria [of] which ones would reveal the most problems, and we would constantly check whether our model of the ships lined up to those shots. The tricky part is that practical sets aren’t perfect. They may not be symmetrical, or the same section may have different dimensions across the different sets. In addition to that initial step, it then requires careful planning and a lot of work to get to the detail level of a good practical set. The ships were highly detailed, and complex assets were built for every form of action, including total destruction. Both ships were fully-rigged sailing ships with ropes, cloth banners, sails, flexing masts and yardarms, flapping doors, all the cannons, etc. [There were] a lot of moving parts which helped to bring across some of the crazy movements and crashes the ships would do in the sequence.”
“There was actually a lot of great footage shot on big sets [for the scenes with Magellan’s ships and helicopters carrying them.] This sequence really had everything in it. The scenes were shot on several stages resembling different parts of the ships, which we were extending with CG. The helicopters we had designed are based on some classic cargo helicopters, but even beefier.”
—Sebastian von Overheidt, Visual Effects Supervisor
Between the two ships and helicopters, around 20 mercenaries, Braddock (Tati Gabrielle), Hugo (Pingi Moli) and the Scotsman (Steven Waddington) all become part of different fights which were augmented with head replacements or full digi-doubles. Von Overheidt explains, “The journey of the flight was across [some] 330 shots, so we built a massive environment that we used to block out the sequence. Ruben wanted an action-packed sequence. Especially, the shots where we see the boats and helicopters moving through the Karst landscape had to be dynamic and exciting, and we wanted to feel their weight and impact on the helicopter’s flight dynamics.”
Von Overheidt adds, “Now, real-world physics obviously weren’t a priority on this sequence to begin with, but we still aimed towards that feel for a plausible animation and also staging the camera in a way that it would guide the audience through the disorienting action and make the ships look massive at the same time. We basically had to stick to real-world physics while also constantly breaking it at the same time. The entire sequence was a close collaboration between our layout team and the animation team led by Animation Supervisor Jason Fittipaldi and Animation Lead Konstantin Hubmann, and [On-Set and Overall] VFX Supervisor Chas Jarrett, himself whose roots are in animation.
The CGI helicopters were based on classic cargo helicopters but made beefier. They had unusually heavy loads to carry – Magellan’s ships – across the South China Sea, with footage shot in Thailand serving as the South China Sea.
“Generally speaking, working with big practical sets is great for visual effects because you have real references to match to – the real material, the real lighting and how the camera captures it. Even if you end up replacing parts of it anyway, it’s a great start. Actors feel more comfortable interacting with a real environment as well. The trade-off is that matching into complex practical sets can be quite the puzzle for visual effects.”
—Sebastian von Overheidt, Visual Effects Supervisor, DNEG
Magellan’s ships, carried by helicopters, waged battle in the air.
“For the South China Sea environment, we had received extensive footage from a practical shoot in Thailand. Film Production mounted a multi-camera array under a helicopter and flew through the landscape also shooting at different lighting conditions during the day,” von Overheidt says. The original plan was to use this material as practical backgrounds and only extend plates or create specific shots full CG. “As we were creating a digital version of the environment, we soon realized that our team, led by Environment Supervisor Gianluca Pizzaia and Environment Lead Matt Ivanov, was able to create one big environment which would cover the entire flight path throughout the sequence. And straight out of rendering it looked pretty much photorealistic. We presented our results to Ruben, who got excited about it. Everyone was confident that this would be the way to do it. It gave us and Ruben so much more freedom to find great cameras and shot composition that we decided to go full CG on the environment all the way through.”
Von Overheidt continues, “It allowed us to move the camera anywhere we wanted and fully customize the environment to our needs. It made the whole process a lot more efficient as well. Throughout the third act, there is also a progression in lighting from afternoon to sunset. Compositing Supervisor Kunal Chindarkar and Compositing Lead Ben Outerbridge made sure we transitioned seamlessly into these different lighting conditions and moods as we reached the final shot of the Conception sinking and Nate and Sully flying into the sunset.”
Asked if the filmmakers let the look of the Uncharted video games influence the visuals of the movie, von Overheidt comments, “Not from a visual effects perspective, no. I can’t speak for the Production Art Department though. I used to game quite a bit but never played Uncharted before, so when I joined the show, it was actually the first time I checked it out, mainly to understand the characters and some of the main levels. My main influence for creating images comes from photography and graphic design. I get most of my inspiration from actually being outdoors. We had some great artwork from the production team and the Thailand footage to look at. We would also often look at references for all kinds of scenes, like crazy skydiving stunts or video footage of heavy-lifting helicopters.”
Looking at the melding of the big-scale practical and digital in Uncharted, von Overheidt concludes, “Generally speaking, working with big practical sets is great for visual effects because you have real references to match to – the real material, the real lighting and how the camera captures it. Even if you end up replacing parts of it anyway, it’s a great start. Actors feel more comfortable interacting with a real environment as well. The trade-off is that matching into complex practical sets can be quite the puzzle for visual effects.”
With the help of bluescreen, Pingi Moli (Hugo), Tati Gabrielle (Braddock) and Steve Waddington (The Scotsman) appear to walk down the ramp of the C-17’s cargo bay onto a busy operations base.
“Bad Travelling” is the animation directorial debut of David Fincher.
There are sinister underpinnings to human nature which are mined narratively to create stories filled with destructive conflict and satirical humor for the Emmy-winning Netflix animated anthology Love, Death + Robots, executive produced by filmmakers David Fincher (The Social Network) and Tim Miller (Terminator: Dark Fate). The nine shorts curated for Love, Death + Robots Vol. 3 are examples of drastically different visual styles from the likes of Patrick Osborne, David Fincher, Emily Dean, Robert Bisi and Andy Lyon, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Tim Miller, Carlos Stevens, Jerome Chen and Alberto Mielgo, with animation provided by Pinkman.tv, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Axis Studios, Blur Studio, Titmouse, BUCK, Polygon Pictures and Blow Studio.
“In Vaulted Halls Entombed” is a military adventure that descends into Lovecraftian horror.
“When 3D animation came out, it allowed us to do certain things that we couldn’t do in 2D animation. The same with a lot of the game engines. You are able to express an entire world, adjust things in real-time and change the light if you want. It’s not baked into things like it is usually.”
—Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Supervising Director
“Jibaro” is the only episode that is not based on pre-existing material.
Returning as the supervising director from her previous outing on Vol. 2 is Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda 2 & 3), who worked with a mixture of new and veteran collaborators as well as making her own contribution with the muscle-flexing action adventure “Kill Time Kill.” Notable first-time participants are David Fincher making his animation directorial debut with the monstrous seafaring tale “Bad Travelling” and Patrick Osborne helms the macabre-funny, post-apocalyptic sequel “Three Robots: Exit Strategies.” Returnees include visual effects veteran Jerome Chen helming “In Vaulted Halls Entombed,” where a special forces team encounters an ancient evil, and Oscar-winner Alberto Mielgo envisioning a fatal romance between a deaf Renaissance knight and a lethal siren in “Jibaro.” Inventive animation styles are found in “Night of the Mini Dead,” which uses tilt-shift photography to make everything look tiny, Mobius and psychedelic-flavored “The Very Pulse of the Machine,” and in the painterly impressionism of “Jibaro.”
As to whether real-time technology and game engines are impacting the type of stories being told, Nelson does not believe this to be the case. “I don’t know if it’s types of stories that it has affected,” she explains. “It’s the look and how much you can deal with certain levels of complexity. When 3D animation came out, it allowed us to do certain things that we couldn’t do in 2D animation. The same with a lot of the game engines. You are able to express an entire world, adjust things in real-time and change the light if you want. It’s not baked into things like it is usually.” The impact of game engines like Unreal and Unity cannot be ignored. “I’m so old that I was on the cusp of the desktop revolution, and it used to be when I started in the business you had to have a lot of money to be able to do 3D animation,” recalls Miller. “Then desktop technology and software came along and it democratized the process, which allowed us to start Blur borrowing $20,000. I thought that was amazing, but game engine technology is going to be a paradigm shift again. You don’t need heavy machines to render. Even lots of cheap PCs are still expensive and need some technical infrastructure. Now guys can do minutes-long shorts in their basements at home and you can see it on the web. You see a lot of interesting artists doing great things by themselves or with small teams. Game engine technology is super freaking exciting. I feel like that I’ve been waiting for it a while, but now it’s here.”
“Kill Team Kill” is a kindred spirit of Predator, Commando and Escape from New York.
“[G]ame engine technology is going to be a paradigm shift again. You don’t need heavy machines to render. Even lots of cheap PCs are still expensive and need some technical infrastructure. Now guys can do minutes-long shorts in their basements at home and you can see it on the web. You see a lot of interesting artists doing great things by themselves or with small teams. Game engine technology is super freaking exciting. I feel like that I’ve been waiting for it a while, but now it’s here.”
—Tim Miller, Director
“Mason’s Rats” revolves around a Scottish farmer battling with weapon-wielding rats determined to steal his crops.
“Night of the Mini Dead” was created by using tilt-shift photography which makes everything look tiny.
When it comes to her own short, where a squad of soldiers in Afghanistan encounter a CIA experiment gone horribly wrong, Nelson decided to channel a fondness for a particular cinematic era that made action icons out of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Jean-Claude Van Damme. “For ‘Kill Team Kill,’” she says, “my inspiration was cartoons from the 1990s and action movies from that time, like Predator, Commando, and G.I. Joe cartoons. They were good fun at the time, and the story by Justin Coates had that feel to it, so that’s where that came from.” Handling the animation was the studio responsible for The Boys Presents: Diabolical and The Legend of Vox Machina. “I got to work with Titmouse, and they’re an amazing studio with a wide variety of different styles. I got to work with Antonio Canobbio and Benjy Brooke who helped to find this look. It’s a 2D style, so it has to be animatable. The character designs themselves are covered with veins and packets of ammo which are hard to animate, but we got the benefits of amazing animators from all over the world, and you can see that level of expertise in it.”
“[For ‘Jibaro’] we used real scans of armor that you might see in museums. When you see the armor, it feels almost unbelievable that you can fit a person inside. The cool thing about this is we don’t actually need to fit a person inside because these aren’t real characters. You can just have their neck. We were using real Renaissance armor. We were redesigning it a little bit, but the cool thing is that we’re seeing something that is historically accurate. I feel that is extremely new and fresh.”
—Albert Mielgo, Director
“Swarm” was adapted by Miller from a short story by Bruce Sterling, and revolves around human factions with conflicting views as to whether advancement should be achieved through genetic manipulation or cybernetic enhancement and technology. Adding further complications is the discovery of an insectoid race that may be of a higher intelligence than humanity. “We have a set of eight-sided dice and roll them!” laughs Miller when describing how he decides upon the animation style, character design and world-building. “It was interesting that we had this short which is almost entirely in zero-G, but we were still going to do some motion capture for that,” notes Miller. “Then the pandemic hit and motion capture was not an option anymore. I didn’t want to get caught in the uncanny valley either, so I decided to stylize the characters to a certain degree, which helps the story not be quite as horrible as it would be otherwise. I loved making the show. It was a challenge to think about the physics of how people move through zero-G, and anything with lots of creatures is a good time. I get a lot of vicarious enjoyment from knowing the animators and creature designers are going to enjoy the process of making this.”
Mocap was combined with CG keyframe animation to produce “Swarm.”
“[For ‘Kill Team Kill’] it’s a 2D style, so it has to be animatable. The character designs themselves are covered with veins and packets of ammo which are hard to animate, but we got the benefits of amazing animators from all over the world, and you can see that level of expertise in it.”
—Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Supervising Director
“The Very Pulse of the Machine” is a love letter to French comics great Jean “Moebius” Giraud.
“Three Robots: Exit Strategies” features the neurotic XBOT 4000, dimwitted and enthusiastic K-RVC, and the brilliant and deadpan 11-45-G examining the demise of humanity.
Self-taught as an artist, Mielgo (The Windshield Wiper) utilizes the principles of painting, in particular lighting, when producing animated shorts such as “Jibaro.” “I create a simple image by removing what is not necessary for the eye to understand,” he says. Themes rather than the premise influence the animation style. “In terms of the girl, I wanted her to be a walking treasure, and in order to do that I was doing research on folklore jewelry from Northern Africa, China, India and Pakistan. In the case of the guys, I prefer the Renaissance rather than the Medieval in terms of design. We did something interesting, which is we used real scans of armor that you might see in museums. When you see the armor, it feels almost unbelievable that you can fit a person inside. The cool thing about this is we don’t actually need to fit a person inside because these aren’t real characters. You can just have their neck. We were using real Renaissance armor. We were redesigning it a little bit, but the cool thing is that we’re seeing something that is historically accurate. I feel that is extremely new and fresh.”
Sheena Duggal is an acclaimed visual effects supervisor and artist whose work has shaped numerous studio tent-pole and Academy Award nominated productions. Most recently, Duggal was Visual Effects Supervisor on the box office blockbuster Venom: Let There Be Carnage and was a BAFTA nominee this year for Best Special Effects for her work on the Oscars VFX-shortlisted Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Sheena is the only woman VFX Supervisor to earn that level of recognition from the Academy this awards season. She was the first woman to be honored with the VES Award for Creative Excellence, bestowed in 2020.
The lack of female visual effects supervisors is definitely the result of a lack of opportunity and unconscious bias – and that is fixable. Earlier in my career, I was told that the goal was to promote the male supervisors, and watched as guys who had worked under my VFX supervision were promoted up the ranks and given opportunities on large VFX shows. It never occurred to me that my gender would hold me back, and I was always surprised when it did. I am a strong believer in diversity and inclusion, not just because I am a bi-racial woman, but because I believe that greater diversity leads to freer thinking and greater creativity.
Good girls get nowhere. Be disobedient, be persistent, never take disrespect thrown your way… be smart and graceful and remember you are equal.
Never stop fighting for the right to be the best you can be. Women spend too much time being congenial, and it’s time for us to speak up about our achievements and the opportunities we’ve created for ourselves. We’re talented, we’re here, and we’re ready.
Even if women break though the glass ceiling, they end up on a glass cliff where they can be pushed off, because there, is no cadre of women to cheerlead in support that is equivalent to a “boy’s club.” We need to be building an industry culture and a structure that supports women in the field and sets them up for success. I take my opportunity to be a role model and a voice for other women seriously; I want to not just open doors, but bust through them.
Change can happen fast if everyone is motivated. We need to do it now.
In having this inevitable conversation, we can’t exclude men or accuse them if we want to create the change we want to see. We must do it together. Women are almost always expected to solve the systemic problems we did not create or perpetuate in a patriarchal culture. A lot of well-meaning people lack self-awareness or fail to understand their role in enabling sexism or great inequities. If meritocracy fails to work, then uplifting women needs to be a conscious choice. I would ask all men in VFX to go through implicit bias training and be active problem-solvers and advocates for women, because people still give men’s voices more credibility. It takes a lot of people to create success for an outlier.
Ask Me Anything – VFX Pros Tell All
Join us for our series of interactive webinars with visual effects professionals. Ask your questions, learn about the industry and glean inspiration for your career path.
Michelle de Swarte portrays Natasha who has a fateful encounter with a mysterious baby seeking to control her life.
Upon reading the synopsis for the HBO and Sky horror comedy The Baby, one gets a distinct impression that anxiety about motherhood drives the narrative created by Lucy Gayme and Siân Robins-Grace. The summary states, “Controlling, manipulative and with violent powers, the baby twists Natasha’s life into a horror show. Where does it come from? What does it want? And what lengths will Natasha have to go to in order to get her life back? She doesn’t want a baby. The baby wants her.” When this observation gets mentioned to VFX Producer Anne Akande and Visual Effects Supervisor Owen Braekke-Carroll both of them laugh in agreement. “It’s certainly a dissection of many angles of motherhood!” states Braekke-Carroll. “There is symbolism and scenes that absolutely tap into practical and real fears of breast feeding and abandonment. We were tasked with bringing some of the juicer parts of the script into the visual medium. It’s quite literal in many ways.”
Bobbi (Amber Grappy), Natasha (Michelle de Swarte) and Mrs. Eaves (Amira Ghazalla) stand in horror at the violent chaos that ensues in The Baby.
“We weren’t pushing [visual effects] beyond anything because the show was one that we knew early on was grounded in reality. The baby is a baby. There are a lot of misconceptions about what this baby is and what his agenda is. There are a few moments where we have some heightened reality and he is still a baby, but a bit different.”
—Anne Akande, VFX Producer
Gayme and Robins-Grace had a clear and descriptive vision of the reality and tone of the series. “Siân and Lucy were keen from the outset on getting a realistic and grounded tone throughout the series, and this influenced how we then approached the body of work,” remarks Akande. “We were involved early in the process to ensure that the shoot methodology would be effective and give visual effects enough material to pull off some of the more dramatic scenes. Beyond that giving the guidance, they were also collaborative, open and willing to take feedback on the best way forward via visual effects to hit each story point.” The visual effects work for the eight episodes consisted of just under 650 shots by Framestore, Jellyfish Pictures, Freefolk and Goldcrest. “We weren’t pushing it beyond anything because the show was one that we knew early on was grounded in reality,” notes Akande. “The baby is a baby. There are a lot of misconceptions about what this baby is and what his agenda is. There are a few moments where we have some heightened reality and he is still a baby, but a bit different.”
A key location is a seaside cottage at the base of a cliff, directly fronting the shoreline.
This beachside cliff was LiDAR scanned, recreated through DMP/CG, then combined with plate photography.
Nicole Kassell helmed the pilot, Faraz was responsible for three episodes, and Stacey Gregg and Ella Jones each directed two episodes. “It’s always interesting working with different directors across a series, and in this case they did all have different approaches to handling the visual effects,” states Akande. “Nicole Kassell had a lot of experience in visual effects and had a hands-on approach from storyboards, concept, previs through to execution. Others brought their comedy experience to help drive the storytelling beats, and there was also some experimentation using different shooting techniques and machinery on set. All of this brought an interesting mix that fused with the tone of the show, creating a unique place for The Baby in the comedy/horror genre.” Storyboarding and concept art were produced for all of the key creative beats.
“We definitely knew that we needed a digital asset. By casting twins, we were able to double our shooting hours. The babies absorbed the nature of the set quickly, and we saw them grow up over the course of six months of shooting with them. That left us with a strange, hybridized methodology over time, whether it be face replacements from plates with a CG body, a stand-in prosthetic baby with a head replacement being pushed around in a pram, or one digital arm, plate head and a prosthetic body. There was also an army of stand-in babies.”
—Owen Braekke-Carroll, Visual Effects Supervisor
The cottage and immediate gardens were built on the site of a small quarry which provided the immediate base of the cliff and surroundings.
“To compensate for [the unpredictability of the babies] on set, we ended up treating almost every frame with the baby cast in it as a potential visual effects shot. This included taking large volumes of data and notation for most scenes and essentially treating them as a CG creature in the scene.”
—Anne Akande, VFX Producer
“Concept art for key moments, such as our Demon Baby nightmare scene, was developed by the Framestore art department and was crucial in helping settle the creative vision as much as possible before shot execution,” remarks Braekke-Carroll. “From the storyboards, some key shots were turned into previs.” Scripts for the eight episodes were broken down to determine what shots required visual effects. “We worked closely with the art department throughout the shoot to help find the right combination of set, location and bluescreen,” explains Akande. “A key location in the script that we return to many times is a seaside cottage at the base of a cliff, directly fronting the shore line. Locations were unable to find a site that hit all the required points, so visual effects were tapped to make this work. The cottage and immediate gardens were built on the site of a small quarry, which gave us the immediate base of the cliff and surrounds. A secondary location along the site of a dramatic coastline in Newhaven [England] was the basis for the extension. This beachside cliff was LiDAR scanned, recreated through DMP/CG, then combined with plate photography to combine the two locations together.” Deaths are plentiful throughout the story, but the focus is on the aftermath rather than the actual act of violence. “There is an implied causal link between the baby and a death,” states Braekke-Carroll. “But he’s not necessary physically holding the knife.”
Due to the unpredictable nature of the babies on set, every shoot day could wildly deviate from the plan and the visual effects team would be required to help.
“The sheer nature of the amount of time that we were going to have a baby onscreen and on set meant that a lot of things we had planned for would sometimes go flawlessly without any help from us,” notes Braekke-Carroll. “On another occasion, the entire day might need to be completely changed and require our input for all sorts of reasons.” Identical twins were cast in the title role. “We definitely knew that we needed a digital asset,” remarks Akande. “By casting twins, we were able to double our shooting hours. The babies absorbed the nature of the set quickly, and we saw them grow up over the course of six months of shooting with them.” Digital doubles were avoided as much as possible. “That left us with a strange, hybridized methodology over time, whether it be face replacements from plates with a CG body, a stand-in prosthetic baby with a head replacement being pushed around in a pram, or one digital arm, plate head and a prosthetic body,” states Braekke-Carroll. “There was also an army of stand-in babies. When it comes to performance with our hero twins, that became a hybridized process where we used a combination of digital passes, keying tools, reprojections and face tracking from source plates. Then also leaning on machine learning additional 2D layering to change the performance.”
“It’s always interesting working with different directors across a series, and in this case they did all have different approaches to handling the visual effects. Nicole Kassell had a lot of experience in visual effects and had a hands-on approach from storyboards, concept, previs through to execution. Others brought their comedy experience to help drive the storytelling beats, and there was also some experimentation using different shooting techniques and machinery on set. All of this brought an interesting mix that fused with the tone of the show, creating a unique place for The Baby in the comedy/horror genre.”
—Anne Akande, VFX Producer
The eyes were difficult to get right. “The animation of the performance of the baby isn’t quite straightforward,” remarks Braekke-Carroll. “The eyes are quite loose and gaze differently. We took parts of plates for the area around the eyes for the micro-performance and combined that with CG or machine learning layers.” A wealth of material was gathered from reference photography. “We could be working on something in Episode 104 and there’s a performance that nails it in Episode 102,” states Akande. “Everybody on set was invested in getting us the material. It could be the first two seconds before the take, and that was needed for the face replacements. We also learned about which baby is good at being still or restless. The one thing that we tried to educate people on is that the babies are a member of the cast. If you replace a cast member with a stand-in for 30 shots, that becomes visual effects. Every time a baby was in a shot, the first port of call was our hero baby. The real performance will always be better than the alternative. CG was the last resort, and that was what we let the showrunners and executive producers know from the beginning.”
Face-generation camera setups were orchestrated that proved to be useful as animation reference and being utilized for machine learning. “Anytime we were using a digital baby performance and we would also be running a machine learning output as well,” explains Braekke-Carroll, “rather than treating that as a facial replacement solution we had it as an additional layer setup that could be incorporated partially or fully in with the other renders for the other parts. A lot of the shots that you will see won’t necessarily be a machine learning output, but there will be parts of the lips, eyes or cheek that will give it an extra degree of photographic verisimilitude that you get from that output.” One of the most difficult visual effects tasks was to have a baby falling asleep or sleeping. “We had to find a bunch of solutions and ended up shooting a lot of high-frame-rate plates of the baby and played them back at normal speed,” adds Braekke-Carroll. “We looked for a nice section where it felt like they were sleeping. A machine learning dataset was built just of the baby’s eyes. The high-frame-rate photography gave it a gentle effect, rather than trying to animate too much micro eye movement.”
The show had one primary asset, which was the baby digital double. The bulk of the baby work was handled by Framestore.
In some cases, shots were a combination of high-frame-rate plate photography, digital-double parts and a machine learning layer on top.
Point-of-view shots take place within the birth canal and womb. “We had a free remit to take B camera, get all of the jars of Vaseline, PCB tubing, probe lens, lights, blood, sputum and pus,” reveals Braekke-Carroll. “We took all of the bits and pieces and gelled them up. We got some nice closeup photography inspired by the scenes in The Tree of Life. I was pushing against building a CG interior because, tonally, I didn’t think that it fit the episode. From that photography, visual effects added a layer of fine particulate and endoscopic lensing. There is also the diffusion of the water and cloudiness. But the actual content of the walls was practical photography.”
“The one thing that we tried to educate people on is that the babies are a member of the cast. If you replace a cast member with a stand-in for 30 shots, that becomes visual effects. Every time a baby was in a shot, the first port of call was our hero baby. The real performance will always be better than the alternative. CG was the last resort, and that was what we let the showrunners and executive producers know from the beginning.”
—Owen Braekke-Carroll, Visual Effects Supervisor
The unpredictability of the on-set babies posed the biggest challenge across the series. “To compensate for this on set, we ended up treating almost every frame with the baby cast in it as a potential visual effects shot,” explains Akande. “This included taking large volumes of data and notation for most scenes and essentially treating them as a CG creature in the scene.” The best moment was literally saved for last. “We’re looking forward to the final sequence underwater,” states Braekke-Carroll. “It’s a beautiful and unexpected scene that wraps up the story and bookends the series nicely.”
South Korea-based Gulliver Studios created the dramatic effects for the surprise Netflix hit series Squid Game, which returns for a second season in 2024. (Image courtesy of Netflix)
Aninterestingbellwetheristhe2022VisualEffectsSociety AwardnominationsthatplaceLokiandFoundationattheforefrontwithbothbeingsingledoutfortheirstunningenvironmental workforLamentisandTrantor.“Wewereaskedtocreatemeteoreffectsfromscratch,”statesDigitalDomainVisual EffectsSupervisorJeanLuc-DinsdalewhendiscussingLamentis anditsmoonLamentis-1.“Wewentthroughmultipleversions ofprovidingthemeteors,theimpacts,andthedustanddebristhatfliesaroundthem.Thatwasthentweakedandpopulated throughout the episode because the meteors are a constant threat, but not always the focus of the sequence.”
Trantorisliterally50differentcitiesstackedontopofeach other.“Everylevelwasbuilthundredsofyearsbeforethenext one,sotherewasalotofconceptingandarchitecturalresearch that went into how Trantor and its multilevel structure was designed,”explainsDNEGVisualEffectsSupervisorChrisKeller. “Wecreatedalloftheseinterstitialelementsbetweenbuildings, likebridges,platforms,megastructuresspanning1,000meters, throughtheskyceilingofacertainlevelintothenextlevel.Then you’llseehyperlooptrainsand,ifyoulookcarefully,flyingvehicles. All of that had a certain logic.”
Part of the futuristic appeal of Star Trek:Discovery is the amount of attention and detail put into creating believable UI. (Image courtesy of Paramount+)
Originally,Ampersandwasgoingtoberealbutwaschangedto CGbecauseDisneyhasa‘noprimate’rule.“StephenPughand JesseKawzenuk,ouramazingvisualeffectssupervisors,madeitsoeasyforme,”recallscinematographerCatherineLutes.“Iwas constantlylaughingatthepuppetAmpthatwehad.Ithelpedwith thewaythatthelightwasfalling,andthat’sagoodreferenceaswell forvisualeffects.Stephensaidthatcamerashouldn’tdothingsthat a monkey wouldn’t do. If the camera is a little bit stilted or doesn’t move smoothly, that’s great because that’s what would happen if youweretryingtofollowanactualmonkeyrunningormoving.”
One question is whether The Book of Boba Fett can carry on the Emmy-winning ways of The Mandalorian. (Image courtesy of Lucasfilm)
Nostalgia reigns supreme as Ewan McGregor and Haden Christensen reprise their roles from the StarWars prequels for Obi-WanKenobi. (Image courtesy of Lucasfilm)
Oscar Isaac becomes a part of the MCU for the first time, along with Ethan Hawke, in the Disney+ series Moon Knight. (Image courtesy of Disney)
Raised by Wolves is seen as a better exploration of an Alien-inspired universe than the prequels directed by Ridley Scott. (Image courtesy of HBO)
There is no shortage of monsters to be found in The Witcher, such as a powerful vampire known as a Bruxa. (Image courtesy of Netflix)
The Wheel of Time features a wide gamut of visual effects from creatures, magic and world-building done in a grounded fashion. “One thing that was important for me from the beginning was that this world feel authentic and real,” explains The Wheel of Time creator, executive producer and showrunner Rafe Judkins, “even for the actors and crew, trying to go to places, as much as we can put stuff in-camera, even if we end up augmenting or enhancing it later with visual effects.”
The fact that the sixth season is the grand finale for The Expanse may see Emmy voters finally honor the body of work with a nomination. “The most challenging thing is wrapping your head around things that may not sound that difficult initially, like deorbiting maneuvers where you slow going forward to be able to drop,” notes Bret Culp, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor of The Expanse. “We’ve done a good job and, as a result, it has been made clear to us that we are favorites with a lot of people at NASA and have an open invitation to visit the JPL [Jet Propulsion Laboratory].”
The usual suspects include Lost in Space, which has been rightly lauded for being able to turn practical locations into alien worlds and making biomechanical robotic beings that are empathetic and menacing. “The most challenging visual effects sequence in the finale of Lost in Space was creating the horde of killer alien robots and sprawling wreckage of their crashed ship,” remarks Lost in Space Visual Effects Supervisor Jabbar Raisani. “The entire episode had to be filmed on stage, and we decided to shoot against black. As both the director of the episode and the VFX Supervisor, I relied heavily on shot planning with our in-house previs team which maintained close collaboration with the production designer to maximize our efforts and bring the series to its epic conclusion.”
“The most challenging visual effects sequence in the finale of Lost in Space was creating the horde of killer alien robots and sprawling wreckage of their crashed ship. The entire episode had to be filmed on stage, and we decided to shoot against black. As both the director of the episode and the VFX Supervisor, I relied heavily on shot planning with our in-house previs team which maintained close collaboration with the production designer to maximize our efforts and bring the series to its epic conclusion.”
—Jabbar Raisani, Visual Effects Supervisor, Lost in Space
For those looking for major robot battles, Season 3 of Lost in Space will not disappoint. (Image courtesy of Netflix)
The Battle of New York scene from 2012’s The Avengers was used as a flashback in Hawkeye, which was released as a limited series in 2021. (Image courtesy of Disney)
A welcome return to the world created by Gene Roddenberry is Patrick Stewart reprising his signature role of Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Picard. (Image courtesy of Paramount+)
Returning for sophomore seasons are Star Trek: Picard and Raised by Wolves, with the former mining the fan adoration for the Starfleet officer portrayed by Patrick Stewart and the latter infusing Alien mythology into the android survival tale produced by legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott. The hardest sequence to design, create and execute for Raised by Wolves was the outerspace sequence between Mother and the Necro serpent in Episode 208,” reveals Raised by Wolves Visual Effects Supervisor Raymond McIntyre Jr. “The flying Necro serpent is lured away from killing Campion by Mother, who leads the serpent into outer space in order to attempt to kill it. This scene was added deep into postproduction, and visual effects was tasked with designing an entire sequence from scratch as no live-action footage existed. Visual effects designs included the flying serpent, lighting design in outer space, nebulas, the planet Kepler 22B seen from this viewpoint, Mother’s new kill scream and a visualization of the failure of the EMF dome protecting this area of the planet. Execution involved creating realistic camera motion for each shot, and beauty lighting with sun flares, allowing for dirt on the lens to show up during flares, all while rendering fully CG shots.”
Making their debuts are Obi-Wan Kenobi, which has Ewan McGregor reprising his role as the legendary Jedi Master from the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, an exploration of life on the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain Christopher Pike; both of them serve as prologues to the original movie and television series and have the best chances to get nominations for their respective franchises, especially if a proper balance is struck between nostalgia and canon expansion.
Then there is a matter of art imitating life that will resonate with some while being too close to the bone for others, where the viral mayhem portrayed is even more devastating and required extensive invisible effects to paint out modern-day life. In Sweet Tooth, a pandemic causes hybrid babies that are part human and animal, with the adolescent protagonist being half deer, while Station Eleven focuses on humanity trying to rebuild society after a virus has decimated the population, and See envisions a future where blindness has reached epidemic proportions.
A favorite to win at the Emmys is Foundation, which features stellar environments throughout the AppleTV+ series. (Image courtesy of Apple TV+)
A planet gets destroyed amongst the purple haze in the Disney+ series Loki.(Image courtesy of Marvel Studios)
A surreal situation for the cast and crew of Station Eleven was shooting a story about a pandemic during one. (Image courtesy of HBO)
Animal/human hybrids populate the world of Sweet Tooth because of a deadly virus. (Image courtesy of Netflix)
Serving as dark social commentary on the growing financial divide is Squid Game, which combines elements of The Most Dangerous Game, childhood games and Dickensian debt into a rating sensation for Netflix, and is a strong contender to upset the voting establishment. “The game spaces in Squid Game were unique and something we had never experienced before,” states Cheong Jai-hoon, Visual Effects Supervisor of Squid Game. “What we wanted to achieve from the settings of Squid Game was a fabricated yet realistic look, and it was quite challenging to balance the two conflicting characteristics. Especially in Episode 107, characters play the game of Glass Stepping Stones from high above the ground, and we had to create an environment that would make the viewers immerse in the fear and tension. We put the most effort into deciding the depth from the stepping stones to the ground and the overall scale of the whole setting. We could have easily exaggerated, but we strived to find the right balance between what seemed fake and realistic, as it was more difficult than we thought.”
Also, present is the author only outdone by the Bard himself when it comes to number of film and television adaptations of his works. Lisey’s Story was conceived by prolific horror maestro Stephen King, who has supernatural unrest intersecting with personal trauma. Comic book adaptations are not in short supply. A superhero who has a sharp wit and archery skills is paired with a like-minded protégé in Hawkeye, which channels Shane Black’s penchant for Christmas, action sequences and odd-ball comedic pairings. For those wanting an irreverent take on the genre, James Gunn helms the small screen adaptation of Peacemaker, where an extremist murderer embarks on a quest for peace. Moon Knight introduces the Marvel Studios equivalent of Batman, but with an Egyptian god reincarnation twist that raises questions about the mental sanity of the main character.
Superman & Lois reimagines The Daily Planet colleagues as a married couple trying to balance domestic life and a rogues’ gallery of high-flying adversaries. “If Superman is fighting someone in the air where they would both be horizontal, it was much more time efficient and easier on the actors if they can be vertical,” states cinematographer Stephen Maier, who added a physical camera shake for the sake of realism. “The stunt team will often go away to design or rehearse something, do their previs that they film on their iPhones, cut it together and show it to us. We have a close collaboration with special effects in regards to atmospheric smoke and haze. The gags that they come up help to exemplify the strength of Superman, such as him lifting a car.”
Considering the growing demand for content and the acceptance of visual effects as the primary work tool of potential nominees reflect how far the production quality of television and streaming shows have come in being able to expand the scope of creatives with a theatrical sensibility. It is because of this that the Primetime Emmy Awards has become as fascinating to watch as the Academy Awards as both showcase the very best of what can be achieved when talented digital artists get to contribute to the storytelling. Undoubtedly, the eventual winner will encapsulate the highest of level of creative and technical ingenuity achievable under current circumstances and will serve as a building block for what is to follow.
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to sign up)
Event Details: This is an outdoor event in the covered garden space.
12 Vandam St, New York, NY 10013
Food, drinks, and laughter. Plus enter to win prizes from a few of our sponsors: BorisFX – 1-year subscription to Mocha Pro $595 value || 1-year subscription to Silhouette $795 value ActionVFX – $490 Annual Pro Plan (15 elements per month, plus direct access to 30+ (normally-paid) free collections as a perk of being a Pro subscriber) GridMarkets – 2 winners will receive 500 Gridmarket’s Credits.
VES Members and a Guest FREE with RSVP by Friday, August 12, 2022 at 8:00 pm!
$30 at-the-door (Cash only)
All attending this event need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable for any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this “live event” infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees, and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation. ***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
Topic of Discussion:
Join us Thursday, July 28th to learn how to make the most of the Member Assistance Program (MAP), and how to win some prizes at the Summer Party in August. We’ll be on for a few hours. All are welcome to come and go throughout the night!
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Netflix’s THE GRAY MAN
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Sunday, July 24, 2022 at 7:00PM SVA Theatre
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click here for full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend Screening of Universal Pictures’ NOPE
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Saturday, July 23, 2022 at 7:00PM SVA Theatre
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click herefor full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Sony Pictures’ WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Monday, July 18, 2022 at 7:00PM SVA Theatre
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click here for full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Pre-Release 3D Screening of Universal Pictures’ and Illumination Entertainment’s MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Tuesday, June 28, 2022 at 7:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click herefor full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ ELVIS
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Monday, June 27, 2022 at 7:30PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click herefor full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Pixar Animation Studios’ LIGHTYEAR
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Sunday, June 26, 2022 at 2:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click herefor full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Universal Pictures’ JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Saturday, June 25, 2022 at 7:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click herefor full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Advance Screening of Netflix’s THE SEA BEAST followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. Panelists will include Writer / Producer / Director Chris Williams
Click here to RSVP (be sure to choose which screening you wish to attend.) Tuesday, June 21, 2022 at 6:30PM The Paris Theater
4 W 58th St., New York, NY 10019
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
I would like to invite you to SVA’s Industry Mixer to celebrate the School of Visual Arts’ BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation, and Visual Effects graduating Class of 2022.
This event is invite-only and RSVP is required. If you would like to add someone to the list, please let me know.
I hope you are able to join us for food and drinks to celebrate a year of hard work and meet the graduating students.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Wednesday, May 11, 2022 at 7:30PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click here for full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
Topic of Discussion:
The role of acquiring talent comes by many names, Recruiter, Artist Manager, Talent Acquisition, etc, but the question is the same: how do you find good people and how do you keep them? Join VES NY in conversation with recruiters from Crafty Apes, Chicken Bone FX and Pixar Animation Studios.
Please RSVP and register for a seat at the zoom table!
Meet our guests:
Melissa Blakey’s journey began in a tiny little Connecticut seaside town, where the only access to “Hollywood” was the big movie theater complex, about a 45-minute drive away. It was during one of those many movie outings that she suddenly became curious to learn what goes on behind-the-scenes. After two decades of VFX Producing, she transitioned into recruiting. Melissa is thrilled to be a part of growing the Crafty Apes team globally, aiding in the launch of multiple locations, and seeking out the best talent our industry has to offer. In her spare time, she’s heading to the beach with her son, traveling, and dabbling in meditative hobbies such as cooking and gardening.
Mindy Berardini joined Pixar Animation Studios March 2021 as a Recruiter. Before Pixar, Mindy was at Blue Sky Studios and has been working in Talent Development for 10 years. She’s recruited for roles for the entire animation pipeline but currently supports departments like Layout, FX, Sim, Lighting and Rendering.
Emma Everett is the Director of Talent & Culture at Chicken Bone FX Studios. She is responsible for recruiting visual effects professionals, talent planning and retention, company culture, and marketing. Throughout her career, Emma has always been driven by a drive for success balanced against a people-first ethos. She has worked in multiple industries taking best practices with her everywhere she goes. Outside of work, Emma enjoys nature, good food, and family with her two young daughters and husband. She is passionate about social issues related to Aspergers/Autism and homelessness.
VES Members and Their Families are Invited to an Opening Weekend Screening of Universal Pictures’ and DreamWorks Animation’s THE BAD GUYS.
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Sunday, April 24, 2022 at 2:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click here for full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Columbia Pictures’ MORBIUS.
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 2:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click herefor full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Universal Pictures’ AMBULANCE
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Friday, April 15, 2022 at 8:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click herefor full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Columbia Pictures’ MORBIUS.
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Monday, April 11, 2022 at 7:30PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click here for full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
Join us for our first Live@5!!! in the new year. Come and meet your new board members, bring up important topics of discussion, and catch up with old coworkers. RSVP for a link to the Zoom invite here.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Sony Pictures’ SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME.
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP) Friday, January 21, 2022 at 7:30PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click here for full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a Pre-Release IMAX® Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS. All VES members and guests must show photo ID & proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for admission and masks must be worn at all times in indoor public settings.
** Please help protect the mysteries inside of the Matrix and do not reveal plot points or twists in your social posts. Do not post any teases in advance. Social: Thursday, December 16 @ 6:30PM (PST), 9:30PM (EST) – Review: Tuesday, December 21 @ 8:00AM (PST), 11:00AM (EST)
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of United Artists’ NO TIME TO DIE.
Friday, October 29, 2021 at 7:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP)
***VES Members: Please enter your first and last name in the “Attendee 1″ fields***
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click here for full requirements for all attendees.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES MEMBERS SIGN UP BELOW (login required) Attendee #1 is the VES member / Attendee #2 is the VES member’s guest.
NOTE: Per New York City guidelines, proof of vaccination will be required and masks indoors.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), we willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this event infers implied consent of myself and my party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
Join us Thursday Sept. 30th for a social Zoom room to catch up with your local artists and friends. You don’t need to be a member to join. Click on the poster or the link below to sign up! Cheers!
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Marvel Studios’ and Walt Disney Pictures’ SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS.
All those entering SVA Theatre need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. The only exception to the above will be for guests under the age of 12, or those who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of the exemption, in addition to either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event, or a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the event. Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. The NY State Excelsior Pass is an acceptable form of proof. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The name on the ID must match the name on the proof of vaccination / negative test. Guests under 18 may use a school photo ID or must be accompanied by an adult who meets the above requirements.
Everyone entering SVA theatre must wear acceptable face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times. Masks may be removed briefly in order to drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages.
Click here for full requirements for all attendees.
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP)
Wednesday, September 15, 2021 at 7:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
***VES Members: Please register your name as “Attendee 1″***
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES MEMBERS SIGN UP BELOW (login required) Attendee #1 is the VES member / Attendee #2 is the VES member’s guest.
NOTE: Per New York City guidelines, proof of vaccination will be required.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), we willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this event infers implied consent of myself and my party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Opening Weekend Screening of Marvel Studios’ and Walt Disney Pictures’ BLACK WIDOW. Theater rules require that nobody will be admitted without proof of vaccination or a negative test within the past 72 hours. Masks must be worn at all times and no food or drink is permitted except water.
Each attendee must present a photo ID and a photo of your vaccination card, or a NY State Excelsior Pass. Unvaccinated guests must present evidence of a negative test within the past 72 hours and will be required to sit in a different area of the auditorium, socially distant from other guests.new
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP)
Saturday, July 10, 2021 at 8:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we ask that you or your guests do not attend VES events if you are experiencing any symptoms or if you have been exposed to the virus.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
By signing up for this on-site, in-person screening/event sponsored by VES (Visual Effects Society), you willingly accept any potential inherent risks associated with COVID-19. VES cannot be held liable from any consequences that may transpire from said risk. Therefore, signing up for this screening/event infers implied consent of yourself and your party and hereby indemnifies and holds harmless VES, its directors, its employees and any other affiliated persons from any adverse medical or financial impact that may result from our participation.
Join us this Thursday for a social Zoom room to catch up with your local artists and friends. You don’t need to be a member to join. Click on the poster to sign up!
VES NY is happy to announce the first of our web speaker series. An interview with Hal Hickel, Animation Supervisor at ILM. We’ll talk about career paths, inspirations, robots, whatever strikes our fancy. VES Members can register to view this webinar on Zoom; We’ll also be streaming live on our NY Section Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/VESNewYork.
When: Monday April 12, 2021 at 8:00pm EDT
Please login to register in advance for this webinar.
Join us for a special town hall panel on Friday, February 12th from 3-4pm EST. We will take your questions and concerns regarding changing work landscapes and new opportunities.
You are invited to the east coast, VES Netflix Party on Wednesday, October 28th, 8PM ET. And once again, you choose the movie!
Click on the image below to votefor the movie we will screen(member login required). Chat with your fellow VES colleagues from all over the east coast, including New York, Montreal, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana.
Look for your Netflix Party url and instructions email about an hour or so before showtime.
See you there!
Brought to you by your Montreal, New York, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana Board of Managers and members.
Join the Visual Effects Society and the Post NY Alliance for a two-part event Post Break: VFX Solutions to Covid problems Part I & Part II. How can Visual Effects help production & post in a post-covid Landscape? These two panels will join Visual effects experts and have conversations geared towards post production. The initial panel will be an overall view of what is being asked of Visual Effects and what that means for production and post. The second panel would be covering and discussing new technology and new tools Visual Effects can offer.
Leslie’s dreams of being an artist began when she was three years old, drawing on the walls and furniture of her childhood home in New York City. In time, her artistic pursuits led her to the School of Visual Arts, where she majored in computer art before landing in the world of VFX. Now a 12 year veteran of the industry, the roster of studios she has worked for is numerous. Some highlights include several years at Psyop, Look FX, MPC, and now Crafty Apes. Leslie has worked on commercials, game cinematics, films and TV shows as a compositor, producer, and supervisor, with credits including VFX designer for The Knick, Midsommar, Deadpool 2, Boardwalk Empire, Marvel Runaways and most recently 3 seasons of Star Trek Discovery. In addition to her day job, she has also spent the last six years helping to grow the VFX community in New York, and has been heavily involved on the VES New York board as a past chair officer. But she still makes time for her artistic passions, including illustration, painting, and photography, along with taking care of her three adorable pet rats.
David Eschrich, CG Supervisor / On-Set Supervisor / VESNY Co-Chair
David Eschrich is a seasoned CG supervisor with extensive experience across episodic, feature film and commercial. A self-taught artist, he built his own portfolio and left a career in finance to become a highly sought after artist and now supervisor in the NYC VFX industry. He has worked for top NYC shops including The Mill, Look Effects, Brainstorm Digital, The Molecule and Alkemy X, and is currently at Zoic studios. His credits include work on films and episodics such as Noah, Warrior, Iron Fist, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Homeland and The Lost City of Z. David is an active member of the visual effects community and currently serves on the VES New York board as Co-Chair.
Robert Keyghobad, Virtual Productions Producer
Robert Keyghobad began his career in Hollywood working for former Sony Pictures
Entertainment CEO Peter Guber. Over the past 20 years, Robert set up several major studio
deals including the acclaimed HBO series “Carnivále,” and the detective comedy “Honey
Vicarro” with Jenny McCarthy at 20th Century Fox and Fox Broadcasting Corporation. Robert
has also worked on numerous projects with artists such as screenwriter-producer David S.
Goyer (Man of Steel), pilot director David Nutter (Game of Thrones), and producer David
Heyman (Harry Potter).
After working on director Robert Zemeckis’ “A Christmas Carol,” and Disney’s “Tron Legacy,”
Robert took a position with video game developer Electronic Arts (EA) at its worldwide virtual
production studio in Vancouver, Canada. In this role, Robert oversaw all aspects of EA’s
worldwide physical and virtual production. From there he worked as Consultant/UPM on the
Starz sci-fi drama series “Incursion,” created by Steven DeKnight (Spartacus); as Virtual
Production Producer for Legendary and Universal Studios on “Warcraft”; and as Production
Consultant/UPM on Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s virtual reality short, “Carne y Arena” for
Prada/Legendary Entertainment.
Robert then took an executive consulting position at Netflix, and in that capacity covered over
50 International Original series. He returned to the freelance market and is currently consulting
for Amazon Studios.
Dan Pack, Managing Director
Dan Pack has been working in NY production and post for nearly the past 20 years. As a founding partner and Managing Director of Brooklyn-based Silver Spoon, Dan Pack oversees all production, client relationships and R&D, notably in the ever expanding field of virtual production. Dan and his team have contributed their motion capture and animation services to numerous commercials, video games, television shows, and features, with recent innovations in real-time character animation, broadcast AR and LED wall production. Prior to Silver Spoon, he held the position of Director of Business Development for Click 3X, and served as an Executive Producer for ASB, a global 3D previz shop. He began his career as a production assistant at Aero Film before joining Grey NY as a producer.
Join the Visual Effects Society and the Post NY Alliance for a two-part event Post Break: VFX Solutions to Covid problems Part I & Part II. How can Visual Effects help production & post in a post-covid Landscape? These two panels will join Visual effects experts and have conversations geared towards post production. The initial panel will be an overall view of what is being asked of Visual Effects and what that means for production and post. The second panel would be covering and discussing new technology and new tools Visual Effects can offer.
Jim Rider is a NYC-based visual effects supervisor with 30 years of experience in the industry. After starting his career in New York in commercial production, Jim moved to Los Angeles in the ’90s, where he specialized in motion control camera work and models/miniatures, shooting fun things like spaceships for Star Trek and submarines for Titanic. As the industry moved toward more digital visual effects, Jim transitioned to Flame and Nuke compositing, working as an artist and VFX supervisor at facilities such as Method, Gravity and The Mill. As an independent visual effects supervisor, Jim is able to bring his extensive on-set experience as well as post-production knowledge to help clients solve problems and bring their projects to life. Jim’s recent credits include The Plot Against America, The Deuce and Fahrenheit 451.
Julie Long, Visual Effects Producer
Julie Long is an award-winning Visual Effects Producer for Film and Television. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch, she began her career at CHRLX, an animation and design studio in New York. She went on to join the initial VFX team at Shade New York, where she discovered her passion for producing. In her four years at Shade, she led her team to Emmy nominations and awards for their work on Marvel / Netflix’s Daredevil and HBO’s Westworld. Following Shade, Julie explored working production side, joining the VFX production team for Sci-Fi’s Happy! Season 2. Missing direct collaboration with the artists and working on multiple projects at a time, she decided to return back to the vendor side and helped establish the Episodic Department at Framestore New York, alongside Creative Director, John Kilshaw. Julie’s passion for visual effects is deepened by her team’s enthusiasm for the work and collaborating with creatives to help realize their vision
Greg Anderson, Sr. VFX Supervisor/Head of Studio
Greg Anderson is currently Sr. VFX Supervisor and Head of Studio for the New York office of FuseFX, a global visual effects studio for television, features and commercials. He started the office in 2014 and since then, it has grown to over 70 employees. In his role as VFX Supervisor, most recently, he supervised the visual effects for the Netflix limited series, When They See Us, written and directed by Ava DuVernay. He has directly supervised the visual effects for several hit Marvel television shows as well; Luke Cage, The Punisher and Iron Fist. In addition, he has overseen the work on several other award-winning shows like The Blacklist, The Get Down and Mr. Robot; the last of which, he and his team were nominated in 2018 for an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role. Originally from St. Louis, Greg attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned a B.S. in Art and Design and an M.S. with a focus in Design and Computation, both from the School of Architecture and Planning. He started his career at Sony Pictures Imageworks designing the visual effects for several blockbuster, Oscar-nominated features including Starship Troopers, Hollow Man, Spider-Man and Matrix Revolutions. He then transitioned into advertising as a visual effects supervisor and director of campaigns for Target, Nissan, Microsoft, and many others. In 2009, he co-founded his own design/vfx studio called burn.crash.repeat., producing promos for MTV, Comedy Central and OWN. This experience led to his current position with FuseFX. Greg is a member of both the Television Academy and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Lotta Forssman, VFX Supervisor / VESNY Board Member
Lotta Forssman is a VFX supervisor at The Molecule VFX. She grew up in Sweden prior to graduating College at Ohio University with a major in Video Production and minor in film. She was introduced to the world of Post-production at her first internship on a Swedish Game Show. She started as a PA then got experience as an Assistant Editor and Motion Graphics Artist before making a move into Visual Effects. In 2009 she moved to New York and in 2010, joined The Molecule team as an artist. From there she transitioned to a VFX editor and worked her way up to a Visual Effects Producer and now, Visual Effects Supervisor. Experience being the best teacher, Lotta credits her understanding of the full process to her having had many seats within the company.
Some of the projects Lotta has overseen as VFX Supervisor have been Ballers for HBO, Good Cop, Master of None & Gypsy for Netflix, Red Oaks for Amazon and most recently the Apple series Dickinson.
Leah has 15 years of TV/Film Production experience beginning her career in production for commercials in 2005 before moving to post in 2008, then finding her passion for visual effects in 2011. She has worked as a VFX Producer on TV, Feature Films and commercials for several companies including Framestore, Method, Alkemy X and Zoic where she was nominated for a Creative Arts Emmy. For the past 2.5 years Leah has been working as a VFX Producer on the show side recently completing 2 seasons of WARRIOR for Cinemax. Once shooting resumes, she will be in production for HBO’s, The Gilded Age. In her spare time, Leah enjoys photography, music and spending time with her family, including her new 10-month old baby boy, her husband & their rescue dog, Clark.
You’re invited to our exclusive webinar Common VFX workflows with CityEngine and Houdini. We’re excited to be joined by the hardworking team who recently released CityEngine 2020, Simon Haegler and Taisha Fabricius from Esri. We will also be joined by special guest Ellie Ansell, Groom/CFX TD at One of Us, who will talk about her work with CityEngine for Netflix’s The Witcher.
In this 1 hour webinar, we will showcase VFX workflows, diving deeper into exporting a CityEngine scene to Houdini and rendering it with Karma using the new CityEngine USD exporter. Click here to check out some great new features in CityEngine 2020!
VES members, please log in and RSVP below. Non-members can RSVP here. Webinar info will be sent out prior to the event.
You are invited to our second VES East Coast Netflix Party! You choose the movie!
Click here to vote for the movie. Then on Wednesday May 27 at 8PM we will watch together and join an online chat with our fellow VES colleagues from New York, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana.
FINE PRINT: NETFLIX SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE. DON’T HAVE AN ACCOUNT? SIGN UP AT NETFLIX.COM FOR A FREE 30 DAY SUBSCRIPTION. NETFLIX PARTY CHROME EXTENSION REQUIRED TO BE INSTALLED. THIS IS AN UNMODERATED EVENT. PLEASE BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER.
You are invited to the first-ever, east coast, VES Netflix Party! Click here to vote for the movie. Then on Wednesday April 29 at 8PM we will watch together and join an online chat with our fellow VES colleagues from New York, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana.
FINE PRINT: NETFLIX SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE. DON’T HAVE AN ACCOUNT? SIGN UP AT NETFLIX.COM FOR A FREE 30 DAY SUBSCRIPTION. NETFLIX PARTY CHROME EXTENSION REQUIRED TO BE INSTALLED. THIS IS AN UNMODERATED EVENT. PLEASE BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER.
You are invited to the join the ves-newyork Slack workspace to help you connect to your fellow section members and engage in discussions ranging from general, jobs, events, 2d and 3d vfx, all the way to the topic on everyone’s mind covid19.
This Slack workspace is open to all New York VES section members that wish to participate. To start our rollout we are requesting you “sign-up” via the VES website reservation system. There you can register for the ves-newyork Slack workspace with a different email than the one that you use for your VES account, if you so wish. As rsvp requests come in, we will be extending the invite from Slack to your preferred email.
Thank you.
First, sign in the VES website using the MEMBER LOGIN with your VES credentials on the left. You’ll then see “Welcome, USERNAME” if your login was successful. The signup features will not show up if you’re not logged in.
Reload the Slack Signup Event page and enter 1 and only 1 RSVP. Enter your Full Name and and the Email Address that you would like to use for the Slack invite, and press CONFIRM RSVP.
Please note, your member credentials will be auto populated in the Send RSVP confirmation to widget below; please leave that information as is. That info will not be used for the Slack Invitation.
As you may know, over the last couple of years, we have been working hard to put together a one-of-a-kind event that would gather cross-industry pioneers from around the globe, and bring to you the most advanced real-time tools, technologies and practices that are changing the way we live and do business.
By this time, we should have been polishing the last details with our venues, preparing signs, printing out programs and badges, sending you directions… But 2020, it seems, has decided otherwise.
Still, we know that this community has the power, even – or maybe especially – in this disruptive time, to transform our practices and maintain communication across industries – together and in real-time. After all, digital agility is part of our DNA here at RealTime Conference, as we have been working with a 100% remote community from day 1. Since the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted our original plans for trans-Atlantic convenings, connected in real-time, we have been working relentlessly to pivot to bring you a 100% virtual RealTime Conference, without sacrificing the richness of our program, and remaining as engaged and interactive as possible. And we are grateful to have been blessed with such a supportive community of partners, speakers, and collaborators that is the RealTime family.
In the spirit of fellowship, community, solidarity, and faith in the future, we are waiving all registration fees, and invite you to join us, at no cost, at the RealTime Conference in real-time online.
This is your opportunity to connect, learn, and share with leaders and cutting-edge innovators who are forging the future of real-time engagement. You may be under the impression that real-time technology only impacts a few industries, but our incredible RealTime family, featuring top-tier speakers from companies such as Intel, Epic Games, Google, Facebook, Adobe, Activision, Foundry, Weta Digital, Magnopus, Spatial, Daimler, 3Lateral, Oculus VR, Digital Domain, Pixar, and more… will be sharing with you extraordinary real-time’s enabling technologies and present-day applications on their own infrastructure, business, and resources. Topics will touch on everything from “Crafting Real and Virtual Architecture in Real-Time” and “Fostering Customers Engagement Though Real-Time Interactive Experiences” to “Bringing Real-Time Pipelines to Movie Making” and “The Real in Real-Time Photoreal Digital Humans”.
Last, but not least, a panel will address a sensitive topic as of today: “How to address the current climate and what studios, producers and companies could do to combat this in the future by making the most of real time technology”.
While we are still tweaking the hows & abouts of this online conferencing, please bear with us, and check our websitefor updates!! We’ll be back soon with more details as to how to register and a full program of keynotes and panel discussion.
This event has now been cancelled to be rescheduled at a later date.
Join the VES for a studio tour of FX WRX and a discussion of the in-camera process for visual effects. The technical and creative workflow with be explored through case studies and an open conversation with directors, artists and technicians.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID19, we ask you or your guests who may show any symptoms or who might have been exposed to the virus do not attend VES events.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Pixar Animation Studios’ ONWARD
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID19, we ask you or your guests who may show any symptoms or who might have been exposed to the virus do not attend VES events.
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP and see venue information) Monday, March 9, 2020 at 7:30PM
Please join the VES New York Section for the 6th Annual VES Awards Celebration as we celebrate the finest achievements in visual effects artistry – from New York’s VFX community to the VES Award winners around the globe. This year, the Visual Effects Society’s New York Section is proud to present the 2020 VES NY Empire Award to Academy Award Winner and Director of NYU’s Future Reality Lab, Ken Perlin.
Ken Perlin, Academy Award Winner and Director of NYU’s Future Reality Lab will receive the 2020 VES Empire Award in recognition of his achievements in visual effects.
A professor in the Department of Computer Science at New York University, Perlin directs the Future Reality Lab, and is a participating faculty member at NYU MAGNET. His research interests include future reality, graphics and animation, user interfaces and education. He is chief scientist at Parallux, Tactonic Technologies and Autotoon, and is an advisor for High Fidelity. He received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement for his noise and turbulence procedural texturing techniques, which are widely used in feature films and television, as well as membership in the ACM/SIGGRAPH Academy, the 2008 ACM/SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award, the TrapCode award for achievement in computer graphics research, the NYC Mayor’s award for excellence in Science and Technology and the Sokol award for outstanding Science faculty at NYU, and a Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation.
Cocktail attire
$55 for VES members; $95 for non-members
Online ticketing is now closed.
You can still join us tonight and purchase tickets at the door.
Now that the 18th Annual VES Awards season is underway, we once again invite VES members to participate in our Nomination Panels. The Nomination Event will be held worldwide on January 4, 2020.
Any active VES member who can travel to one of the cities listed below may participate.
This is your chance to determine who will ultimately walk up to the podium on January 29, 2020, to collect a coveted VES Award. A single vote may make the difference between being nominated… or not… and that vote could be yours!
Past participants know that this is the must-attend event of the awards season. Not only will you view some of the most amazing visual imagery of 2019, you’ll get to see exclusive behind-the-scenes footage while participating in the single best networking opportunity of the year. It’s a chance to see old friends, meet the best and brightest in the visual effects field, and learn new techniques that you can apply to your own craft. All of that, plus the satisfaction of knowing that you have participated in choosing what will ultimately be the Nominations announced to the press for the 18th Annual VES Awards.
Judges who register to participate will receive information about specific times and locations from their local section representatives once their applications are received. If you are ready to make a difference, please submit your Panel Judge Application BELOW. Make sure you check the box indicating which of the Nomination Event locations you are applying for.
The Nomination Event is a full-day event held on Saturday, January 4, 2020 around the globe. Nominees will be announced on Monday, January 6, 2020. We look forward to receiving your Judge Application to make this year’s Nomination Event a success!
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Lucasfilm’s STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER followed by a live interactive Q&A with the Filmmakers.
Panelists will include Director J.J. Abrams as well as Visual Effects Supervisors Roger Guyett and Patrick Tubach, moderated by VES 1st Vice Chair Jeffrey A. Okun, VES. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP and see venue information) Saturday, December 21, 2019 at 2:00PM
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Netflix’s THE IRISHMAN followed by a live interactive Q&A with Visual Effects Supervisor Pablo Helman, moderated by VES Fellow Paul Debevec, VES. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below (VES members must login to RSVP and see venue information)
(RSVPs close at 12:00PM on Friday, December 6) Sunday, December 8, 2019 at 2:00PM
VES Members: If you would like to signup for this event, please log in to RSVP. Attendee #1 is the VES member / Attendee #2 is the VES member’s guest. RSVPS for non-members are now closed
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ DOCTOR SLEEP Please RSVP below Friday, November 15, 2019 at 8:00PM
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Warner Bros. PicturesTHE GOLDFINCH
Please RSVP below Tuesday, September 17, 2019 at 7:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
The School of Visual Arts Invites New York VES Members and Their Guests to a Pre-Release Screening of DreamWorks Animation’sABOMINABLE followed by a Q&A with Director Jill Culton
Please RSVP below Tuesday, September 10, 2019 at 8:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Night Screening of Warner Bros. PicturesIT CHAPTER TWO
Please RSVP below Friday, September 6, 2019 at 8:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Millenium Films’ ANGEL HAS FALLEN
Please RSVP below Monday, August 26, 2019 at 8:00PM Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Universal Pictures’ GOOD BOYS
Please RSVP below Monday, August 19, 2019 at 8:00PM Beatrice Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
This film is Rated R for strong crude sexual content, drug and alcohol material, and language throughout – all involving tweens.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of 20th Century Fox’s THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN
Please RSVP below Saturday, August 17, 2019 at 4:00PM Beatrice Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
We thank our sponsors Molecule, Alkemy-X, Framestore, Crafty Apes, FuseFX, Cadence Effects and Nice Shoes for helping make this event possible. We also thank our Raffle sponsors BorisFX, Foundry and SideFX.
We thank our sponsors Molecule, Alkemy-X, Framestore, Crafty Apes, FuseFX, Cadence Effects and Nice Shoes for helping make this event possible. We also thank our Raffle sponsors BorisFX, Foundry and SideFX.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Universal Pictures’ FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW
Please RSVP below Wednesday, August 7, 2019 at 8:00PM Beatrice Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ THE LION KINGfollowed by a live interactive Q&A with the Filmmakers
Panelists will include Director Jon Favreau, Visual Effects Supervisor Rob Legato, and Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, ASC, moderated by Michael Fink, VES. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Saturday, July 27, 2019 at 2:00PM SVA’s Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESLIONKING, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Screening of 20th Century Fox’s STUBER
Please RSVP below Tuesday, July 16, 2019 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Screening of Columbia Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME
Please RSVP below Saturday, July 13, 2019 at 2:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of Disney•Pixar’s TOY STORY 4
Please RSVP below Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Focus Features’ THE DEAD DON’T DIE
Please RSVP below.
Thursday, June 20, 2019 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenues) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend3D Screening of Columbia Pictures’ MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL
Please RSVP below Saturday, June 15, 2019 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
June 12th – doors open 7:00PM (CEST) and there will be beer and pizza!
ZOOM stream starts at 7:30PM (CEST)
Masterclass starts at 8:00PM (CEST)
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The VES invites you to our 3rd MEGABRAIN Masterclass where you can learn and share your knowledge with colleagues in the VFX industry. The idea is not to simply present show reels – but to teach actual techniques that help every artist to improve their skillset. This event will take place on June 12th 7:00PM at multiple locations and will also be streamed via ZOOM.
RSVP for your specific location on the appropriate event pages please:
Efficient facial rigging tools for emotionally believable digital humans
presented by Volker Helzle – Head of Research & Development at Filmakademie
Live from Munich Using Machine-learning to classify a VFXElements Library
presented by Jonas Kluger – Pipeline TD at ARRI
Live from Berlin Camera Technology: Sensors, Noise Properties, and Raw Processing
presented by Charles Poynton, PhD
We are overbooking to compensate for no-shows.
Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis.
An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
VES-Members and their registered guests only (except for Ludwigsburg and Cologne). No admission without registration – also at the streaming locations!
The event will also be recorded for everyone who can’t make it.
The event will be streamed live from (and to) Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg. For the first time we also provide direct access to the ZOOM stream for ALL VES MEMBERS around the world!
VES Germany is a proud Partner of the FMX Conference in Stuttgart.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of 20th Century Fox’s and Marvel Studios’ DARK PHOENIX
Please RSVP below.
Monday, June 10, 2019 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenues) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Paramount Pictures’ ROCKETMAN
Please RSVP below Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening ofWarner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Entertainment’s GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers
Panelists will include Visual Effects Supervisor Guillaume Rocheron, MPC Senior Animation Supervisor Spencer Cook, Method Studios Visual Effects SupervisorDaryl Sawchuk and Double Negative Visual Effects Supervisor Brian Connor, moderated by VES Board member Richard Winn Taylor II, VES. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 2:00PM SVA’s Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESGODZILLA, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Pre-Release 3D Screening of Universal Pictures’ and Illumination Entertainment’s THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2
Please RSVP below Saturday, June 1, 2019 at 4:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Summit Entertainment’s JOHN WICK 3: PARABELLUM
Please RSVP below Monday, May 27, 2019 at 7:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Screen Gems’ and Sony Pictures Entertainment’s BRIGHTBURN
Please RSVP below Monday, May 27, 2019 at 4:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ ALADDIN
Please RSVP below.
Saturday, May 25, 2019 at 7:00PM
Park Avenue Screening Room
500 Park Ave., Lobby Level (at the corner of 59th St.) New York, NY 10022 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Entertainment’s POKEMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU
Please RSVP below Saturday, May 18, 2019 at 8:00PM SVA’s Beatrice Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Please join us as fellow VES member Ari Rubenstein shares the pipeline and remote-based workflow used to produce his short film “The Blues Crab”. The production took over 2 years with a crew of 60 spanning 15 countries and was the first film to be lit and rendered entirely within a Compositing application using the production renderer Vray for Nuke.
Foundry’s own Matt Mazerolle, the Athera Senior Product Manager, will be joining us as well to show how to use the latest version of Nuke in the cloud.
Seating is limited.
The event will be held near the Flatiron. Street address will be emailed to registered attendees before the date.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers
Panelists will include Visual Effects Producer Jen Underdahl, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Russell Earl, Digital Domain Visual Effects Supervisor Kelly Port, and Associate Visual Effects Supervisor Mårten Larsson, moderated by VES Board member Jeff Kleiser. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below.
Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 6:00PM
Park Avenue Screening Room
500 Park Ave., Lobby Level (at the corner of 59th St.) New York, NY 10022 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESENDGAME, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Screening of Annapurna Pictures’ MISSING LINK
Please RSVP below Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 2:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Paramount Pictures’ PET SEMATARY
Please RSVP below Sunday, April 14, 2019 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ DUMBO
Please RSVP below Sunday, March 31, 2019 at 6:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Screening of Paramount Pictures’ WONDER PARK
Please RSVP below Monday, March 18, 2019 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN MARVEL followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers.Panelists will include Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck as well as Additional Visual Effects Supervisor Janelle Croshaw Ralla, moderated by Bill Taylor, VES, ASC. (Panelists will be announced as they are confirmed.)
Please RSVP below.
Sunday, March 10, 2019 at 2:00PM
Park Avenue Screening Room
500 Park Ave., Lobby Level (at the corner of 59th St.) New York, NY 10022 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESCAPTAINMARVEL, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Please join the VES New York Section for the 5th Annual VES Awards after-after party as we celebrate the finest achievements in visual effects artistry – from New York’s VFX community to the VES Award winners around the globe. This year, the Visual Effects Society’s New York Section is proud to present the 2019 VES NY Empire Award to Bob Greenberg and the 2019 VES NY Empire Innovator Award to Jonah Friedman and Andy Jones.
Bob Greenberg, Founder and Executive Chairman of R/GA, will receive the 2019 VES Empire Award in recognition of his trailblazing work in the advertising and communications industry for nearly four decades.
Under his tutelage, R/Greenberg Associates and R/GA Digital Studios have been on the forefront of the rapidly changing visual effects industry since the 1970s and evolved from a world-class movie title shop, to a digital studio, to a major digital advertising agency. Today RGA is an all-in-one full-service agency, product and service innovator. R/GA developed leading-edge motion graphics live-action film and video production and created groundbreaking visual effects for movies such as ALIEN,PREDATOR, SE7EN and has a body of work spanning 400 feature films and 4,000 television commercials. Bob has won almost every industry award for creativity including the Academy Award, D&AD Pencils, Cannes Lions lifetime achievement Lion of St. Mark, the CLIP Lifetime Achievment Award, and has been inducted inot the Advertising Hall of Fame, Marketing Hall of Fame, and the Creative Hall of Fame, and more.
Jonah Friedman and Andy Jones will receive the 2019 VES Empire Innovator Award for their technological innovations that have dramatically influenced and elevated the status of the visual effects industry in New York City.
Cocktail attire
$55 for VES members; $95 for non-members
(For facilities purchasing 6 or more tickets, please call 818.981.7861 for special pricing)
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of DreamWorks Animation’s and Universal Pictures’ HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD
Please RSVP below Saturday, February 23, 2019 at 5:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of 20th Century Fox’s ALITA BATTLE ANGEL
Please RSVP below Sunday, February 17, 2019 at 8:00PM
SVA’s Beatrice Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART
Please RSVP below Sunday, February 17, 2019 at 4:00PM
SVA’s Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
17h Annual VES Awards
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
The Beverly Hilton Hotel
9876 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
5:30 Reception
6:45 Dinner and Awards Presentation
CBS All Access cordially invites VES members and a guest to attend the Live Premiere Event for season two of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY on in New York City. (VES members must login in order to RSVP)
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Pre-Release 3D Screening of Paramount BUMBLEBEE
Please RSVP below Tuesday, December 18, 2018 at 8:00PM
SVA’s Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of Sony Pictures Animation’s SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
Please RSVP below Sunday, December 16, 2018 at 8:00PM
SVA’s Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
The NY VES sincerely thanks our annual Platinum Sponsors: Alkemy-X, ShadeFX, and The Molecule, plus our Silver Sponsors: East Side Effects and Big Film Designs for helping make this event possible.
The NY VES sincerely thanks our annual Platinum Sponsors: Alkemy-X, ShadeFX, and The Molecule, plus our Silver Sponsors: East Side Effects and Big Film Designs for helping make this event possible.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Screening of Netflix’s MOWGLI followed by a live interactive Q&A with Director Andy Serkis, Animation Supervisor Max Solomon and Members of the Visual Effects Team T.B.A. moderated by VES Board member Richard Winn Taylor II, VES. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 2:00PM Dolby Screening Room NYC 1350 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESMOWGLI, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Universal Pictures’ and Illumination Entertainment’s DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH
Please RSVP below Sunday, November 18 2018 at 4:00PM
SVA’s Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Pre-Release Screening of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET followed by a Q&A with Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Kersavage, Character Look Development Supervisor Michelle Robinson and Head of Effects Animation Cesar Velazquezmoderated by VES Board member Charlie Iturriaga. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Saturday, November 17, 2018 at 2:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESRALPH, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Paramount Pictures’ OVERLORD
Please RSVP below Monday, November 12, 2018 at 9:30PM
SVA’s Beatrice Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend Screening of 20th Century Fox’s BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Please RSVP below Sunday, November 4, 2018 at 7:30PM
SVA’s Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Universal Pictures’ HALLOWEEN
Please RSVP below Wednesday, October 31, 2018 at 10:00PM
SVA’s Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
VES Members & Visual Effects Professionals – Come join the VES New York Board, your fellow Members and other visual effects professionals for some good conversation, a beverage or two, and meet new contacts.
VES Members & Visual Effects Professionals – Come join the VES New York Board, your fellow Members and other visual effects professionals for some good conversation, a beverage or two, and meet new contacts.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ BLACK PANTHER followed by a live interactive Q&A with Writer/Director Ryan Coogler, Visual Effects Supervisor Geoffrey Baumann, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Craig Hammack, Additional Visual Effects Supervisor Jesse James Chisholm and Special Effects Supervisor Dan Sudick moderated by VES Board member David Tanaka. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below.
Saturday, October 20, 2018 at 3:00PM
Park Avenue Screening Room
500 Park Ave., Lobby Level (at the corner of 59th St.) New York, NY 10022 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in San Francisco) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESWAKANDA4EVER, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of 20th Century Fox’s BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE
Please RSVP below Monday, October 15, 2018 at 8:00PM
SVA’s Beatrice Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Annapurna Pictures’ THE SISTERS BROTHERS
Please RSVP below Sunday, September 23, 2018 at 8:00PM
SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Universal Pictures’ THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS
Please RSVP below Sunday, September 23, 2018 at 5:00PM
SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Sony Pictures’ WHITE BOY RICK
Please RSVP below Saturday, September 22, 2018 at 8:00PM
SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of 20th Century Fox’s THE PREDATOR
Please RSVP below Saturday, September 22, 2018 at 5:00PM
SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
NY VES Members, Guests and Industry Non-Members are invited to
Pub Night & Membership Drive at The Gray Mare.
VES Members – Come join the VES New York Board, your fellow Members and other visual effects professionals for some good conversation, a beverage or two, and meet new contacts.
NON Members – Come and meet current members and get needed contacts for help in getting recommendation letters. Two letters of recommendation are needed to apply to the VES.
The VES Fall membership drive ends September 15th.
Snacks! will be served. VES Members get drink tickets!
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Columbia Pictures’ ALPHA
Please RSVP below Saturday, August 25, 2018 at 8:00PM
SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Night Screening of STX Entertainment’s THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS followed by a live interactive Q&A with Director Brian Henson, Actors and Puppeteers Bill Barretta and Drew Massey with Visual Effects Producer Melissa Brockman, Compositing Supervisor Caleb Knueven and CG Supervisor Efram Potelle moderated by VES Chair Mike Chambers. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
This film is Rated R, and is not intended for children. Click here to watch the trailer.
Please RSVP below Friday, August 24, 2018 at 10:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESHAPPYTIME, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Focus Features’ BLACKkKLANSMAN
Please RSVP below Friday, August 17, 2018 at 8:00PM
SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of 20th Century Fox’s THE DARKEST MINDS
Please RSVP below Saturday, August 11, 2018 at 8:00PM
SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
Please RSVP below Saturday, August 11, 2018 at 5:00PM
SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Paramount Pictures’ MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT
Please RSVP below Friday, August 10, 2018 at 8:00PM
SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Screening of Sony Pictures’ THE EQUALIZER 2
Please RSVP below Saturday, July 28, 2018 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of Universal Pictures’ SKYSCRAPER
Please RSVP below Saturday, July 14, 2018 at 7:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of Sony Pictures Animation’s HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION
Please RSVP below Saturday, July 14, 2018 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Take the G/M/J train to Flushing Ave stop. Located in the large white Pfizer building on Flushing Ave. The Flushing Ave location is only open 8AM-4PM so use the second entrance through the parking lot on Tompkins Avenue. Come to the 3rd floor, walk right off the elevator and all the way down the hall.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ ANT-MAN AND THE WASP followed by a Live Interactive Q&A with Director Peyton Reed as well as Visual Effects Supervisor Stephane Ceretti moderated by VES Archives Committee Chair Gene Kozicki. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Saturday, July 7, 2018 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESWASP, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Universal Pictures’ and Blumhouse Pictures’ THE FIRST PURGE
Please RSVP below Friday, July 6, 2018 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Special Fathers’ Day Opening Weekend Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Pixar Animation Studios’ INCREDIBLES 2
Please RSVP below Sunday, June 17, 2018 at 6:00PM
SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Special Fathers’ Day 3D Screening of Universal Pictures’ and Amblin Entertainment’s JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM followed by a Live Interactive Q&A with Director J.A. Bayona, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor David Vickery, ILM Animation Director Jance Rubinchik and ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Alex Wuttke with moderation by VES London Section Secretary Gavin Graham (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Sunday, June 17, 2018 at 2:00PM
SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in London) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESJURASSIC, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Global Road Entertainment’s HOTEL ARTEMIS
Please RSVP below Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
NY VES Members, Guests and Industry Non-Members are invited to
Pub Night at The Gray Mare.
Come join the VES New York Board, Members and other visual effects professionals for some good conversation, a beverage or two, and new contacts. Bring your co-workers and introduce them to the VES.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Opening Weekend Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Lucasfilm Ltd’s SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY followed by a live interactive Q&A with Overall Visual Effects Supervisor Rob Bredow, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Pat Tubach, ILM Roto/Paint Supervisor Beth D’Amato and Hybride Visual Effects Supervisor Joseph Kasparian with moderation by VES Board member David Tanaka. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.) * Limited Seats available – Please arrive early – Show starts on-time
Please RSVP below Sunday, May 27, 2018 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in San Francisco) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESSOLO, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of 20th Century Fox’s DEADPOOL 2
Please RSVP below Sunday, May 20, 2018 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR followed by a Live Interactive Q&A with Visual Effects Producers Jen Underdahl and Lisa Marra, Weta Digital Visual Effects Supervisor Matt Aitken, Industrial Light + Magic Visual Effects Supervisor Russell Earl and Digital Domain Visual Effects Supervisor Kelly Port with moderation by VES Board member Jeff Kleiser. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.) * Limited Seats available – Please arrive early – Show starts on-time
Please RSVP below Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 3:00PM Park Avenue Screening Room
500 Park Ave., Lobby Level (at the corner of 59th St.) New York, NY 10022 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESINFINITYWAR, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Paramount Pictures’ A QUIET PLACE
Please RSVP below Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Amblin Entertainment’s READY PLAYER ONE
Please RSVP below Sunday, April 7, 2018 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of Universal Pictures’ PACIFIC RIM UPRISING
Please RSVP below Sunday, March 25, 2018 at 7:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ A WRINKLE IN TIME followed by a Live Interactive Q&A with Visual Effects Supervisor Rich McBride and Previs Supervisor Chris Batty with moderation by VES Board member Lisa Cooke.
Please RSVP below Saturday, March 17, 2018 at 3:00PM Park Avenue Screening Room
500 Park Ave., Lobby Level (at the corner of 59th St.) New York, NY 10022 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in San Francisco) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESWRINKLE, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of 20th Century Fox’s RED SPARROW
Please RSVP below Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 9:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Please join the VES New York Section for the 4th Annual VES Awards after-after party as we celebrate the finest achievements in visual effects artistry – from New York’s VFX community to the VES Award winners around the globe. This year, the Visual Effects Society is proud to present the VES Empire Award to beloved VFX supervisor Lesley Robson-Foster.
Lesley Robson-Foster – this year’s Empire Award honoree
Revered by broadcasters and directors, admired by the VFX industry, Lesley is a force of nature in her world. She has dedicated her professional life in the pursuit of perfection and she has come pretty close. In the process she has managed to push the envelope in some of the most prestigious television series in recent decades.
Lesley Robson-Foster’s career began at BBC television and continued at ILM until she eventually went on her own as a freelance visual effects supervisor.
She has shared her talents in NYC and LA on television series and feature films, including Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, The Wire, Ugly Betty, HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce, The Great Gatsby, Boardwalk Empire, Martin Scorsese’s Vinyl and Steven Soderbergh’s The Knick, Mosaic and Logan Lucky.
Most recently she worked with Amy Sherman Palladino on Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Reed Morano’s feature I Think We’re Alone Now and is currently working on the movie based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book The Goldfinch.
It is with great pride that the New York Section is able to honor Ms. Robson-Foster with the 2018 VES Empire Award.
Cocktail attire
$50 for VES members; $90 for non-members
(For facilities purchasing 6 or more tickets, please call 818.981.7861 for special pricing)
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening Of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ BLACK PANTHER
Please RSVP below Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
2018 VES Awards When: Tue Feb 13, 2018 05:30pm to 11:00pm PST
Tickets & Sponsorship Information
For more information and to purchase tickets and/or sponsorships please use the links below. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact MTA Events at 818-814-6670 or ves@mtaevents.com. Thank You
16th Annual VES Awards
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
The Beverly Hilton Hotel
9876 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
5:30 Reception
6:45 Dinner and Awards Presentation
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening Of Columbia Pictures’ ONLY THE BRAVE
Please RSVP below Sunday, January 28, 2018 at 3:00PM Beatrice Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Lucasfilm Ltd.’s STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI plus a live interactive Q&A.
Panelists will include Writer/Director Rian Johnson, ILM San Francisco Visual Effects Supervisor Eddie Pasquarello, ILM Vancouver Visual Effects Supervisor Dan Seddon, Cinematographer Steve Yedlin, ASC and Editor Bob Ducsay with moderation by VES Chair Mike Chambers. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Sunday, December 17, 2017 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESLASTJEDI, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Screening of 20th Century Fox’s and BlueSky Studios’ FERDINAND
Please RSVP below Saturday, December 16, 2017 at 2:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening Of Fox Searchlight’s THE SHAPE OF WATER
Please RSVP below Saturday, December 9, 2017 at 2:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening Of Focus Features’ DARKEST HOUR
Please RSVP below Sunday, November 26, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Screening of Walt Disney Studios’ and Pixar Animation Studios’ COCO
Please RSVP below Sunday, November 26, 2017 at 4:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening Of 20th Century Fox’s MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
Please RSVP below Friday, November 17, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening Of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ THOR: RAGNAROK
Please RSVP below Tuesday, November 7, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating,
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening Of Warner Bros. Pictures’ BLADE RUNNER 2049
Please RSVP below Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please be sure to bring your VES membership card. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening Of 20th Century Fox’s KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
Please RSVP below Friday, September 29, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening Of Focus Features’ VICTORIA & ABDUL
Please RSVP below Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening Of Paramount Pictures’ MOTHER! followed by a Q&A with Visual Effects Supervisor Dan Schrecker
Please RSVP below Monday, September 25, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a 3D Screening of GHOSTBUSTERS followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers.
Click here to RSVP Sunday, September 17, 2017 at 7:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
As part of After School Special: The 2017 School of Visual Arts Alumni Film & Animation Festival, we are pleased to present a special free 3D screening of last year’s hit paranormal comedy, Ghostbusters (2016), followed by a Q&A with three of the film’s visual effects artists, Arsen Arzumanyan (BFA 2012 Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects), Elizabeth Martin (BFA 2015 Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects), and Jun Zee Myers (BFA 2004 Computer Art). Preceded by the cinematic premiere of the new Betty Boop short Betty Goes A-Posen (2017), by Mike Carlo (BFA 2002 Animation) of Titmouse Animation and Frank Caruso (BFA 1985 Media Arts) of Hearst’s King Features. The Q&A will be moderated by current student Sunhea Oh (BFA 2018 Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects).
Synopsis: Following a ghost invasion of Manhattan, paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann, and subway worker Patty Tolan band together to stop the otherworldly threat.
Ghostbusters is rated PG-13, and some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13. Children under the age of 5 will not be admitted.
…. And come early to enjoy virtual reality and music video experiences in the lobby.
Ticket Information
All After School Special festival screenings are free and open to the public. General Admission RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated, but not necessary, and do not guarantee admittance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening.
If you would like to attend this event, but require assistive devices and/or accommodations, please email svatheatre@sva.edu or call 212-592-2980 at least one week prior.
Concessions Information
A limited amount of free popcorn and water will be offered at all screenings. Otherwise, concessions are not available for purchase at SVA Theatre. Guests are welcome to bring food and drink. Glass bottles and alcohol are not permitted.
Please contact svatheatre@sva.edu with questions. Guests subject to change.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a Screening of TASHI’S TURBINE Documentary followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers.
Click here to RSVP Sunday, September 17, 2017 at 5:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
As part of After School Special: The 2017 School of Visual Arts Alumni Film & Animation Festival, we are pleased to present a special free evening of documentaries, including the documentary feature Tashi’s Turbine (2015) by Amitabh Joshi and Erik Spink (MFA 2013 Social Documentary alumni), followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. The film will be preceded by the short documentaries Hali (2016) by Peter Hristoff (BFA 1981 Fine Arts) and Skull + Bone (2017) by Victoria Rivera (BFA 2011 Film and Video). The Q&A will be moderated by current student Ana Montgomery Neutze (MFA 2018 Social Documentary).
Synopsis: Tashi Bista dreams to install a makeshift wind turbine in Namdok, a remote village nestled high amongst the Himalayas of Nepal. Namdok, battered by wind and cold has been in darkness for centuries. Wearing Ray Bans to shield his eyes from the dust and just a leather jacket to insulate him from the bitter cold he surveys the village. He grew up in this region without electrical power. He is determined to bring lights to Namdok in an effort to prove himself to the skeptical village community. Tashi’s Turbine is a character driven film that shows the impact of one man’s dream for light, in a village waiting for development.
The films shown at this event are not rated by the MPAA, and some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 8. Children under the age of 5 may not be admitted.
…. And come early to enjoy virtual reality and music video experiences in the lobby.
Ticket Information
All After School Special festival screenings are free and open to the public. General Admission RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated, but not necessary, and do not guarantee admittance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening.
If you would like to attend this event, but require assistive devices and/or accommodations, please email svatheatre@sva.edu or call 212-592-2980 at least one week prior.
Concessions Information
A limited amount of free popcorn and water will be offered at all screenings. Otherwise, concessions are not available for purchase at SVA Theatre. Guests are welcome to bring food and drink. Glass bottles and alcohol are not permitted.
Please contact svatheatre@sva.edu with questions. Guests subject to change.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a 10th Anniversary 35mm Screening of RATATOUILLE followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers.
Click here to RSVP Sunday, September 17, 2017 at 2:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
As part of After School Special: The 2017 School of Visual Arts Alumni Film & Animation Festival, we are pleased to present a special free 10th anniversary screening of the Academy Award-winning Disney·Pixar family favorite, Ratatouille (2007), followed by a Q&A with Pixar animation and visual effects artists Ye Won Cho (MFA 2002 Computer Art), Andrew Dayton (BFA 1998 Computer Art), and Maria Lee (BFA 1988 Media Arts). The movie will be screened on 35mm film. Preceded by Jesse Willmon’s (MFA 2006 Design) Draw me a [blank] (2016) videos and the animated short Bluehilda (2017) by James Sugrue (BFA 2007 Animation) of Titmouse Animation. The Q&A will be moderated by current student Denian Ouyang (MFA 2018 Computer Arts).
Synopsis: A rat who can cook makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famous restaurant.
Ratatouille is rated G and is considered appropriate for all ages.
…. And come early to enjoy virtual reality and music video experiences in the lobby.
Ticket Information
All After School Special festival screenings are free and open to the public. General Admission RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated, but not necessary, and do not guarantee admittance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening.
If you would like to attend this event, but require assistive devices and/or accommodations, please email svatheatre@sva.edu or call 212-592-2980 at least one week prior.
Concessions Information
A limited amount of free popcorn and water will be offered at all screenings. Otherwise, concessions are not available for purchase at SVA Theatre. Guests are welcome to bring food and drink. Glass bottles and alcohol are not permitted.
Please contact svatheatre@sva.edu with questions. Guests subject to change.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a 20th Annuversary Midnight Screening of THE GAME.
Click here to RSVP Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 11:59PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
As part of After School Special: The 2017 School of Visual Arts Alumni Film & Animation Festival, we are pleased to present a special free 20th anniversary midnight screening of David Fincher’s brilliant thriller, The Game (1997), in honor of its late cinematographer Harris Savides (BFA 1982 Film and Video). Preceded by a special introduction by SVA cinematography faculty member Dejan Georgevich.
Synopsis: After a wealthy banker is given an opportunity to participate in a mysterious game, his life is turned upside down when he becomes unable to distinguish between the game and reality.
The Game is rated R, and some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 17. Children under the age of 8 will not be admitted.
…. And come early to enjoy virtual reality and music video experiences in the lobby.
Ticket Information
All After School Special festival screenings are free and open to the public. General Admission RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated, but not necessary, and do not guarantee admittance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening.
If you would like to attend this event, but require assistive devices and/or accommodations, please email svatheatre@sva.edu or call 212-592-2980 at least one week prior.
Concessions Information
A limited amount of free popcorn and water will be offered at all screenings. Otherwise, concessions are not available for purchase at SVA Theatre. Guests are welcome to bring food and drink. Glass bottles and alcohol are not permitted.
Please contact svatheatre@sva.edu with questions. Guests subject to change.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a 20th Annivesary 35mm Screening of TITANIC followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers.
Click here to RSVP Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
As part of After School Special: The 2017 School of Visual Arts Alumni Film & Animation Festival, we are pleased to present a special free 20th anniversary screening of the Academy Award-winning blockbuster, Titanic (1997), followed by a Q&A with the film’s Oscar-winning sound mixer, Mark Ulano (1975 Film and Video). The movie will be screened on 35mm film. The Q&A will be moderated by current student Sage Love (BFA 2019 Film).
Synopsis: A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
Titanic is rated PG-13, and some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13. Children under the age of 5 will not be admitted.
…. And come early to enjoy virtual reality and music video experiences in the lobby.
Ticket Information
All After School Special festival screenings are free and open to the public. General Admission RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated, but not necessary, and do not guarantee admittance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening.
If you would like to attend this event, but require assistive devices and/or accommodations, please email svatheatre@sva.edu or call 212-592-2980 at least one week prior.
Concessions Information
A limited amount of free popcorn and water will be offered at all screenings. Otherwise, concessions are not available for purchase at SVA Theatre. Guests are welcome to bring food and drink. Glass bottles and alcohol are not permitted.
Please contact svatheatre@sva.edu with questions. Guests subject to change.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a Screening of Gillian Robespierre’s LANDLINE followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers.
Click here to RSVP Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 5:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
As part of After School Special: The 2017 School of Visual Arts Alumni Film & Animation Festival, we are pleased to present a special free screening of Landline (2017), the newest film by director Gillian Robespierre and editor Casey Brooks (both BFA 2005 Film and Video alumni), followed by a Q&A with both. Preceded by the first episode in Elisa-Sofia Fioretti’s (MPS 2016 Directing) short-film series, Through Your Eyes (2017). The Q&A will be moderated by current student Isabel Montes (BFA 2018 Film).
Synopsis: In 1995, a teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan discovers that her father is having an affair.
Landline is rated R, and some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 17. Children under the age of 10 will not be admitted.
…. And come early to enjoy virtual reality and music video experiences in the lobby.
Ticket Information
All After School Special festival screenings are free and open to the public. General Admission RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated, but not necessary, and do not guarantee admittance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening.
If you would like to attend this event, but require assistive devices and/or accommodations, please email svatheatre@sva.edu or call 212-592-2980 at least one week prior.
Concessions Information
A limited amount of free popcorn and water will be offered at all screenings. Otherwise, concessions are not available for purchase at SVA Theatre. Guests are welcome to bring food and drink. Glass bottles and alcohol are not permitted.
Please contact svatheatre@sva.edu with questions. Guests subject to change.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a 3D Screening of DOCTOR STRANGE followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers.
Click here to RSVP Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 2:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
As part of After School Special: The 2017 School of Visual Arts Alumni Film & Animation Festival, we are pleased to present a special free screening and Q&A with SVA alumni animators and artists from Cartoon Network — the studio behind such hits as Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and Teen Titans Go! Guests include Hilary Florido (BFA 2007 Cartooning), Kat Morris (BFA 2008 Animation), and Mike Roth (BFA 1999 Animation). Join us for an afternoon of old favorites and new, never-before-seen work. Preceded by the animated short, Cartoons and You, by Mark Newgarden (BFA 1982 Media Arts), the co-creator of the infamous “Garbage Pail Kids”. The Q&A will be moderated by current student Shannon Baney (BFA 2020 Animation).
Some material shown in this screening may be inappropriate for children under the age of 8. Children under the age of 3 may not be admitted.
…. And come early to enjoy virtual reality and music video experiences in the lobby.
Ticket Information
All After School Special festival screenings are free and open to the public. General Admission RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated, but not necessary, and do not guarantee admittance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening.
If you would like to attend this event, but require assistive devices and/or accommodations, please email svatheatre@sva.edu or call 212-592-2980 at least one week prior.
Concessions Information
A limited amount of free popcorn and water will be offered at all screenings. Otherwise, concessions are not available for purchase at SVA Theatre. Guests are welcome to bring food and drink. Glass bottles and alcohol are not permitted.
Please contact svatheatre@sva.edu with questions. Guests subject to change.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a Screening Special Premieres 2017: A Showcase of New Film, Animation & VFX Work.
Click here to RSVP Friday, September 15, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
As the Friday night screening of After School Special: The 2017 School of Visual Arts Alumni Film & Animation Festival, we are pleased to present “SVA Premieres” — an evening of exceptional live action, documentary, and animated shorts by School of Visual Arts‘ most recent graduates from nine different academic departments, including films nominated for Student Academy Awards. Following the event, join the filmmakers and artists in the lobby for drinks and dessert. (A by-invitation-only reception will precede the screening. For questions related to that, please email premieres@sva.edu.)
The SVA Premieres 2017 Screening includes:
The Astronomical, Astrological and Mythological (excerpt) by Kijin Jang, MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Desde El Principio by Miguel J. Soliman, MPS Directing Dykes, Camera, Action! (excerpt) by Caroline Berler, MFA Social Documentary Fishy by Joseph Sulsenti, BFA Animation KCLOC by Ninaad Kulkarni, MFA Computer Art Nymph by Miwa Sakulrat, BFA Film Playground Warfare by Christin Scarborough, BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects Under Your Spell by Mikey Asanin, MPS Fashion Photography Untitled by Fuzhong Yang, BFA Photography and Video
Virtual Reality experiences in the lobby include:
As Above So Below by Daniel Finn, BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects
Meow No Want by Nina Park, MFA Computer Art
The films included in the evening are not rated by the MPAA. Parents are strongly cautioned – some material may be inappropriate for children under 13, and children under the age of 5 will not be admitted.
Ticket Information
All After School Special festival screenings are free and open to the public. General Admission RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated, but not necessary, and do not guarantee admittance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening.
If you would like to attend this event, but require assistive devices and/or accommodations, please email svatheatre@sva.edu or call 212-592-2980 at least one week prior.
Concessions Information
A limited amount of free popcorn and water will be offered at all screenings. Otherwise, concessions are not available for purchase at SVA Theatre. Guests are welcome to bring food and drink. Glass bottles and alcohol are not permitted.
Please contact svatheatre@sva.edu with questions. Guests subject to change.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a 3D Screening of DOCTOR STRANGE followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers.
Click here to RSVP Thursday, September 14, 2017 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
As part of After School Special: The 2017 School of Visual Arts Alumni Film & Animation Festival, we are pleased to present a special free 3D screening of the Marvel Entertainment blockbuster, Doctor Strange (2016), followed by a Q&A with two of the film’s visual effects artists, Jesse Flores (BFA 2010 Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects) and Paul Liaw (BFA 2002 Computer Art). Preceded by the world premiere of the short film End of the Line, Inwood (2017), written and co-directed by Efraim Acevedo Klein (BFA 2012 Film and Video). The Q&A will be moderated by current student Derrick Forkel (BFA 2018 Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects).
Synopsis: While on a journey of physical and spiritual healing, a brilliant neurosurgeon is drawn into the world of the mystic arts.
Doctor Strange is rated PG-13, and some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13. Children under the age of 5 will not be admitted.
…. And come early to enjoy virtual reality and music video experiences in the lobby.
Ticket Information
All After School Special festival screenings are free and open to the public. General Admission RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated, but not necessary, and do not guarantee admittance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening.
If you would like to attend this event, but require assistive devices and/or accommodations, please email svatheatre@sva.edu or call 212-592-2980 at least one week prior.
Concessions Information
A limited amount of free popcorn and water will be offered at all screenings. Otherwise, concessions are not available for purchase at SVA Theatre. Guests are welcome to bring food and drink. Glass bottles and alcohol are not permitted.
Please contact svatheatre@sva.edu with questions. Guests subject to change.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a Screening of Bill Plympton’s REVENGEANCE followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers.
Click here to RSVP Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at 7:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
As part of After School Special: The 2017 School of Visual Arts Alumni Film & Animation Festival, we are pleased to present a special free screening of Bill Plympton (1969 Cartooning) and Jim Lujan’s newest animated feature, Revengeance (2016), followed by a Q&A with the two directors. Plympton will appear live, and Lujan will appear via Skype. The film will be preceded by the award-winning animated short film Late (2014), by Christi Bertelsen (BFA 2002 Animation).
Synopsis: A low-rent bounty hunter named Rod Rosse, The One Man Posse, gets entangled in a web of danger when he takes on a job from an ex-biker/ex-wrestler turned U.S. senator named “Deathface.”
Revengeance is not rated by the MPAA, and some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13. Children under the age of 5 will not be admitted.
…. And come early to enjoy virtual reality and music video experiences in the lobby.
Ticket Information
All After School Special festival screenings are free and open to the public. General Admission RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated, but not necessary, and do not guarantee admittance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening.
If you would like to attend this event, but require assistive devices and/or accommodations, please email svatheatre@sva.edu or call 212-592-2980 at least one week prior.
Concessions Information
A limited amount of free popcorn and water will be offered at all screenings. Otherwise, concessions are not available for purchase at SVA Theatre. Guests are welcome to bring food and drink. Glass bottles and alcohol are not permitted.
Please contact svatheatre@sva.edu with questions. Guests subject to change.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a Screening of DISABILITY & VISIBILITY followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers.
Click here to RSVP Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 7:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
The Blind, Seen (2016) is the autobiographical story of photographer David Snider (BFA 1992 Photography) and his blind parents. Anelisa Garfunkel’s (MFA 2016 Visual Narrative) We Will Ride (2016), being given its theatrical premiere, follows disabled riders fighting for public transportation improvements in Boston. Finally, the NYC premiere of the feature documentary Tin Soldiers (2015), by Ben Duffy (Film and Video) & Michael J. Sassano (BFA 2011 Film and Video), highlights members of the adaptive sports community. The Q&A will be moderated by current student Wega Chen (BFA 2018 Design).
The films shown at this event are not rated by the MPAA, and some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 8. Children under the age of 3 may not be admitted.
…. And come early to enjoy virtual reality and music video experiences in the lobby.
Ticket Information
All After School Special festival screenings are free and open to the public. General Admission RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated, but not necessary, and do not guarantee admittance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening.
If you would like to attend this event, but require assistive devices and/or accommodations, please email svatheatre@sva.edu or call 212-592-2980 at least one week prior.
Concessions Information
A limited amount of free popcorn and water will be offered at all screenings. Otherwise, concessions are not available for purchase at SVA Theatre. Guests are welcome to bring food and drink. Glass bottles and alcohol are not permitted.
Please contact svatheatre@sva.edu with questions. Guests subject to change.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a Screening of ART OF THE PRANK Documentary followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers.
Click here to RSVP Monday, September 11, 2017 at 7:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
As part of After School Special: The 2017 School of Visual Arts Alumni Film & Animation Festival, we are pleased to present a special free screening of the documentary Art of the Prank (2017), followed by a Q&A with the film’s subject, the godfather of the media hoax, Joey Skaggs (BFA 1982 Media Arts). Preceded by the short film Hello Norman (2014), co-written by Maëlle Doliveux (MFA 2013 Illustration as Visual Essay). The Q&A will be moderated by current student Katy-May Hudson (MPS 2018 Directing).
Synopsis: Art of the Prankis an emotional and humorous journey following the evolution of Joey Skaggs, Godfather of the media hoax, as he tries to pull off the most challenging prank of his career. This is interwoven with amazing archive footage of his earlier escapades-all reported as fact by prestigious journalists. The resulting twists and turns provide unprecedented insight into Joey’s work as an artist, activist and social satirist.
Art of the Prank is not rated by the MPAA, and some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13. Children under the age of 5 will not be admitted.
In honor of September 11th, Lance Cain’s (1990 Film and Video) A Few Days After will be on view in the lobby before and after the screening.
Ticket Information
All After School Special festival screenings are free and open to the public. General Admission RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated, but not necessary, and do not guarantee admittance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening.
If you would like to attend this event, but require assistive devices and/or accommodations, please email svatheatre@sva.edu or call 212-592-2980 at least one week prior.
Concessions Information
A limited amount of free popcorn and water will be offered at all screenings. Otherwise, concessions are not available for purchase at SVA Theatre. Guests are welcome to bring food and drink. Glass bottles and alcohol are not permitted.
Please contact svatheatre@sva.edu with questions. Guests subject to change.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Lionsgate’s and Millennium Films’ THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD
Please RSVP below Saturday, August 26, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening Of Columbia Pictures’ THE DARK TOWER
Please RSVP below Friday, August 11, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening Of The Weinstein Company’s WIND RIVER
Please RSVP below Thursday, August 10, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening Of Focus Features’ ATOMIC BLONDE
Please RSVP below Friday, August 4, 2017 at 7:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to 3D Screening of STX Entertainment’s VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS, plus a live interactive Q&A with the filmmakers.
Panelists will include Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Stokdyk, Visual Effects Producer Sophie Leclerc, Rodeo FX Associate Visual Effects Supervisor Peter Nofz and Weta Digital Visual Effects Supervisor Martin Hill with moderation by VES Board member Bill Taylor, VES, ASC. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Sunday, July 30, 2017 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESVALERIAN, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Please join us for great food, cold beverages, and raffle prizes that you won’t want to miss.
Members and Non-Members are welcome, so come out and mingle with the entire NY VFX Community! Tickets are required for this event. Please purchase and reserve at the link below:
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening Of Columbia Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING
Please RSVP below Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend Screening of 20th Century Fox’s WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, plus a live interactive Q&A with the filmmakers.
Panelists will include Senior Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Letteri and Director Matt Reeves with moderation by VES Board member Jeff Kleiser. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESWARFORTHEPLANET, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Paramount Pictures’ TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT
Please RSVP below Friday, June 30, 2017 at 9:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Night 3D Screening of Universal Pictures’ and Illumination Entertainment’s DESPICABLE ME 3
Please RSVP below Friday, June 30, 2017 at 7:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
It’s been a while since we’ve all gotten together! Please join the VES NY for another Pub Night.
Location will be at the Loreley Beer Garden. We can hang outside at the Garden or by the tables that will be reserved on the main floor.
Open to members and non members. Drink tickets will be given to VES members. Snacks will be provided.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend Fathers’ Day Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Pixar Animation Studios’ CARS 3
Please RSVP below Sunday, June 18, 2017 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Universal Pictures’ THE MUMMY
Please RSVP below Monday, June 12, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ WONDER WOMAN
Please RSVP below Saturday, June 10, 2017 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Q&A immediately following with Bong Joon Ho (Director/Co-Writer), Jon Ronson (Co-Writer), Darius Khondji (Cinematographer), Erik-Jan de Boer (Visual Effects Supervisor) and Catherine George (Costume Designer).
For 10 idyllic years, young Mija (An Seo Hyun) has been caretaker and constant companion to Okja—a massive animal and an even bigger friend—at her home in the mountains of South Korea. But that changes when a family-owned multinational conglomerate Mirando Corporation takes Okja for themselves and transports her to New York, where image obsessed and selfpromoting CEO Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) has big plans for Mija’s dearest friend. With no particular plan but single-minded in intent, Mija sets out on a rescue mission, but her already daunting journey quickly becomes more complicated when she crosses paths with disparate groups of capitalists, demonstrators and consumers, each battling to control the fate of Okja…while all Mija wants to do is bring her friend home.
Deftly blending genres, humor, poignancy and drama, Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer, The Host) begins with the gentlest of premises—the bond between man and animal—and ultimately creates a distinct and layered vision of the world that addresses the animal inside us all. Okja, which also stars Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins and Giancarlo Esposito, will premiere exclusively on Netflix on June 28.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend Screening of 20th Century Fox’s ALIEN: COVENANT
Please RSVP below Saturday, May 20, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD
Please RSVP below Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOL. 2
Please RSVP below Friday, May 12, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Night Screening of Universal Pictures’THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS
Please RSVP below Friday, April 14, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of Sony Pictures Animation’s SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE
Please RSVP below Sunday, April 9, 2017 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Please bring your VES membership and photo ID for entry, and guests must check-in with the VES member. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Screening of Walt Disney Picture’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Please RSVP below Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 2:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ KONG: SKULL ISLAND
Please RSVP below Saturday, March 25, 2017 at 9:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend Screening of 20th Century Fox’s LOGAN
Please RSVP below Saturday, March 4, 2017 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Please join us for the Annual VES Awards Judging Nomination Event, Saturday, January 7th, 2017, at The Mill NY.
This is your opportunity to view and vote on the best VFX work in the world and to help decide the nominees for the 15th Annual VES Awards. We are looking forward to see as many of you as possible so please put this on your calendar and register right now, using the link below to join us for one of the main VES events of the year.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Lucasfilm Ltd.’s ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY plus a Q&A.
Panelists will include Executive Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor John Knoll and Animation Supervisor Hal Hickel with moderation by VES 1st Vice Chair Jeffrey A. Okun, VES. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Sunday, December 18, 2016 at 3:00PM Park Avenue Screening Room
500 Park Ave., Lobby Level (at the corner of 59th St.) New York, NY 10022 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESROGUEONE, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Pre-Release Screening of Columbia Pictures’ PASSENGERS, plus a live interactive Q&A with the filmmakers.
Panelists will include Visual Effects Supervisor Pete Dionne, Co-Producer Greg Baxter, Film Editor Maryann Brandon and Production Designer Guy Hendrix Dyas with moderation by VES Board member Jeff Kleiser. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Saturday, December 17, 2016 at 3:00PM
Dolby 88 Screning Room 1350 6th Ave. (Avenue of the Americas), New York, NY 10019 Click here for a map.
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESPASSENGERS, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
It’s Business Time: A Personal Finance Discussion for VFX Professionals
Thursday, December 8, 7pm-9pm
School of Visual Arts
133/139 West 21 Street, NYC
Featuring:
Kelli Grant– Personal Finance and Consumer Spending Reporter, CNBC
Dale Siegel – Mortgage Broker, Award winning author of “The New Rules for Mortgages”
While many of us have a great deal of knowledge when it comes to UV Maps, HDRIs and inverse kinematics, some of us are less familiar with Roth IRAs, 401-Ks and LTV ratios.
In our ongoing effort to educate our members, the NY Section of the VES is proud to present a panel discussion on some of the financial matters that VFX professionals face in today’s world:
– What are the benefits of being freelance vs. staff?
– Is it possible to buy property as a freelancer or young staffer?
– Do I need an accountant?
– As a freelancer, should I incorporate?
– Can we talk about credit and debt, please?
– What’s the best way to get health care coverage outside of a full-time job?
– Whats the best ay to get started with long term financial planning?
– Will I ever be able to retire?
New York VES Members and a Guest are Invited to a Screening of Paramount Pictures’ ARRIVAL
Please call (800) 905-6918 to RSVP (be sure to specify the date, time and location of the screening you’d like to attend) Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 1:00PM
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating. Click here for more studio screenings.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
Please RSVP below Monday, November 21, 2016 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
From director Mark Osborne and Netflix, THE LITTLE PRINCE is a feature length animated film inspired by the French novella Le Petit Prince, first published in 1943 by poet, author and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Osborne’s film uses four types of animation: hand drawn 2D animation, CG animation, paper cutout animation and stop-motion animation to bring this fable of friendship, love, loss and loneliness to life. THE LITTLE PRINCE is voiced by Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Mackenzie Foy, Marion Cotillard, James Franco, Albert Brooks, Benicio Del Toro, Ricky Gervais, Bud Cort, and Riley Osborne with Paul Giamatti. THE LITTLE PRINCE includes an original score and songs by Hans Zimmer & Richard Harvey featuring Camille.
VES Members and a Guest are Invited to Join Seth Rogan for a Very Special Screening of SAUSAGE PARTY
Click here to RSVP Sunday, November 13, 2016 at 5:00PM
Auditorium on Broadway at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT)
1871 Broadway (between 61st & 62nd Streets), New York, NY 10023 Click here for a map
Cocktail reception immediately following the screening
Empire Hotel Rooftop – West Terrace
44 West 63rd Street (between Broadway and Columbus), New York, NY 10023
Courtesy of Columbia Pictures and Annapurna Pictures
DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox Invite VES Members and Their Families to an Advance Screening of TROLLS
Join us for a reception before the feature with Filmmakers Mike Mitchell, Walt Dohrn and Gina Shay.
Click here to RSVP
Thursday, November 3, 2016 at 6:00PM
(Reception with filmmakers begins at 5:00PM)
Walter Reade Theater
165 W. 65th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam), New York, NY 10023-6905 Click here for a map.
This invitation is absolutely non-transferable The use of cell phones or recording devices during screenings is strictly prohibited. This screening will be monitored for unauthorized photography and recordings. If you attempt to record any footage or audio without authorization, you consent to your immediate removal from the screening room, a physical search of your belongings and person, and the forfeiture of any Fox-distributed content found on you which may include the confiscation of recording equipment. Unauthorized photography or recordings may also subject you to criminal and/or civil liability. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Night Screening of Columbia Pictures’ INFERNO
Please RSVP below Friday, October 28, 2016 at 7:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ THE ACCOUNTANT
Please RSVP below Sunday, October 23, 2016 at 7:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Sony Pictures’ and MGM’s THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Please RSVP below Friday, September 30, 2016 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
VES Members and Their Guests in New York are Invited to a Pre-Release Screening of Lionsgate’s and Summit Entertainment’s DEEPWATER HORIZON, plus a Q&A with the filmmakers.
Panelists will include Director Peter Berg, Special Effects Supervisors Burt Dalton and Matt Kutcher and Lead Post-Vis Artist at ILM Keith Johnson with moderation by VES Board member Dan Schrecker. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 3:00PM
New York Institute of Technology’s Broadway Theater
1871 Broadway (between 61st & 62nd Streets), New York, NY 10023 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Synopsis:
On April 20th, 2010, one of the world’s largest man-made disasters occurred on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Directed by Peter Berg (LONE SURVIVOR), this story honors the brave men and women whose heroism would save many on board, and change everyone’s lives forever. Click here to watch the trailer.
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, James Franco, Marion Cotillard, Benicio Del Toro, Ricky Gervais, Paul Rudd, Paul Giamatti, Albert Brooks, Mackenzie Foy and introducing Riley Osborne
Directed by: Mark Osborne
From director Mark Osborne and Netflix, “The Little Prince” is a feature length animated film inspired by the French novella Le Petit Prince, first published in 1943 by poet, author and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Osborne’s film uses four types of animation: hand drawn 2D animation, CG animation, paper cutout animation and stop-motion animation to bring this fable of friendship, love, loss and loneliness to life.
THE LITTLE PRINCE focuses on a young girl we come to know as “The Little Girl,” who is being prepared by her mother for the very grown-up world in which they live. As The Little Girl adjusts to a new home, school and surroundings, her world is suddenly interrupted by an eccentric, kind-hearted neighbor we come to know as “The Aviator.” The Aviator introduces her to a new world where anything is possible, a world that he himself was initiated into long ago by “The Little Prince.” It’s there that The Little Girl embarks on a personal odyssey into the universe of The Little Prince, a world where it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
THE LITTLE PRINCE was produced by Aton Soumache, Dimitri Rassam and Alexis Vonarb with Jinko Gotoh and Osborne serving as executive producers. The international team of artists and actors working on the film includes Jeff Bridges (“The Aviator”), Rachel McAdams (“The Mother”), Mackenzie Foy (“The Little Girl”), Marion Cotillard (“The Rose”), James Franco (“The Fox”), Albert Brooks (“The Businessman”), Benicio Del Toro (“The Snake”), Ricky Gervais (“The Conceited Man”), Bud Cort (“The King”), and Riley Osborne (“The Little Prince”) with Paul Giamatti (“The Teacher”). THE LITTLE PRINCE includes an original score and songs by Hans Zimmer & Richard Harvey featuring Camille, production design by Lou Romano, Alexander Juhasz and Céline Desrumaux, stop-motion creative director Jamie Caliri, character design by Alexander Juhasz and Peter de Seve, editing by Matt Landon and Carole Kravetz, sound design by Tim Neilson, and an adapted screenplay by Irena Brignull and Bob Persichetti, based on a story conceived by Osborne.
Please RSVP below Friday, August 19, 2016 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Focus Features and Laika Entertainment Invites VES Members and a Guest to a Special Advance Screening of KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS followed by a Q&A with Director Travis Knight
Please arrive early, as noone will be admitted after the film has begun.
From animation studio LAIKA comes an action-adventure set in a fantastical Japan. Clever, kindhearted Kubo (Art Parkinson) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town. But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), and sets out on a quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen samurai warrior father. With the help of his shamisen – a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Ralph Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Rooney Mara), to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family, and fulfill his heroic destiny. The film, produced by Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner, also features the voices of George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Brenda Vaccaro.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ SUICIDE SQUAD
Please RSVP below Friday, August 12, 2016 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Screening of 20th Century Fox’s ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE
Please RSVP below Sunday, August 7, 2016 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Columbia Pictures’ GHOSTBUSTERS
Please RSVP below Sunday, July 24, 2016 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Paramount Pictures’ STAR TREK BEYOND, plus a Q&A with the visual effects team.
Panelists will include Kelvin Optical Visual Effects Supervisor Stefano Trivelli, Visual Effects Producer Ron Ames, Atomic Fiction Visual Effects Supervisor Ryan Tudhope with moderation by VES Fellow and Founders Award winner Bill Taylor, VES. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Saturday, July 23, 2016 at 3:00PM Beatrice Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESSTARTREK, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ THE BFG
Please RSVP below.
Saturday, July 16, 2016 at 3:00PM
Park Avenue Screening Room
500 Park Ave., Lobby Level (at the corner of 59th St.) New York, NY 10022 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ THE LEGEND OF TARZAN
Please RSVP below Friday, July 15, 2016 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ THE LEGEND OF TARZAN
Please RSVP below Friday, July 15, 2016 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Sony Pictures’ THE SHALLOWS
Please RSVP below Tuesday, July 5, 2016 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Sony Pictures’ THE SHALLOWS
Please RSVP below Tuesday, July 5, 2016 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 2D Screening of Pixar Animation Studios’ and Walt Disney Pictures’ FINDING DORY
Please RSVP below Thursday, June 30, 2016 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 2D Screening of Pixar Animation Studios’ and Walt Disney Pictures’ FINDING DORY
Please RSVP below Thursday, June 30, 2016 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of 20th Century Fox’s INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE
Please RSVP below Sunday, June 26, 2016 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening Weekend 3D Screening of 20th Century Fox’s INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE
Please RSVP below Sunday, June 26, 2016 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Universal Pictures’ WARCRAFT
Please RSVP below Friday, June 17, 2016 at 7:30PM SVA Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Universal Pictures’ WARCRAFT
Please RSVP below Friday, June 17, 2016 at 7:30PM SVA Silas Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
Please RSVP below Saturnday, June 11, 2016 at 1:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
Please RSVP below Saturnday, June 11, 2016 at 1:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of 20th Century Fox’s X-MEN: APOCALYPSE
Please RSVP below Sunday, May 29, 2016 at 12:00PM SVA Beatrice Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of 20th Century Fox’s X-MEN: APOCALYPSE
Please RSVP below Sunday, May 29, 2016 at 12:00PM SVA Beatrice Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
Please RSVP below.
Sunday, May 15, 2016 at 2:00PM
Park Avenue Screening Room
500 Park Ave., Lobby Level (at the corner of 59th St.) New York, NY 10022 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ THE JUNGLE BOOK
Please RSVP below.
Sunday, April 24, 2016 at 2:00PM
Park Avenue Screening Room
500 Park Ave., Lobby Level (at the corner of 59th St.) New York, NY 10022 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ THE JUNGLE BOOK
Please RSVP below.
Sunday, April 24, 2016 at 2:00PM
Park Avenue Screening Room
500 Park Ave., Lobby Level (at the corner of 59th St.) New York, NY 10022 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Whether it is for cinema, broadcast or web, a good color grade makes an enormous difference on the end result of a piece. Color can affect the entire mood, feel & tone on the final piece.
Nice Shoes invites VES members to join along with master colorists for a night to discuss ‘The Art of a Color Grade.’
VES members can learn the true art and value of color grading from a colorist’s perspective. Nice Shoes is thrilled to give VES members an opportunity to hear from master colorists what is involved in actually color grading.
Colorist & Nice Shoes Partner Chris Ryan will lead the night’s class by introducing new techniques, technology, and best practices that Nice Shoes colorists employ. We will then open this up for a Q&A w/ VES members, giving you an opportunity to ask questions, for best workflow practices, or anything related to the color grading.
We will then do a few break-out rooms with additional Nice Shoes colorists, where we can show you some case studies and get into detail about the grade on particular projects. Nice Shoes will also discuss the best practices to prep for your color grade.
Whether it is for cinema, broadcast or web, a good color grade makes an enormous difference on the end result of a piece. Color can affect the entire mood, feel & tone on the final piece.
Nice Shoes invites VES members to join along with master colorists for a night to discuss ‘The Art of a Color Grade.’
VES members can learn the true art and value of color grading from a colorist’s perspective. Nice Shoes is thrilled to give VES members an opportunity to hear from master colorists what is involved in actually color grading.
Colorist & Nice Shoes Partner Chris Ryan will lead the night’s class by introducing new techniques, technology, and best practices that Nice Shoes colorists employ. We will then open this up for a Q&A w/ VES members, giving you an opportunity to ask questions, for best workflow practices, or anything related to the color grading.
We will then do a few break-out rooms with additional Nice Shoes colorists, where we can show you some case studies and get into detail about the grade on particular projects. Nice Shoes will also discuss the best practices to prep for your color grade.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a 3D Screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
Please RSVP below Sunday, April 10, 2016 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ ZOOTOPIA
Please RSVP below Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 4:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ ZOOTOPIA
Please RSVP below Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 4:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Join the VES New York Section for the 2nd Annual VES Awards after-after party as we celebrate the finest achievements in visual effects artistry – from New York’s VFX community to the VES Award winners around the globe.
Cocktails Food Entertainment VES Awards Highlights Networking Door Prize
Honoring: Chris Wedge with the VES Empire Award
An Oscar winning film director, producer, and co-founder of Blue Sky Studios, Chris Wedge is a creative innovator who has made extraordinary contributions to animation and entertainment here in the New York area and around the world. After starting Blue Sky in 1987, Chris went on to direct Bunny, which took home the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 1998. He followed this up by directing Blue Sky’s first two feature films, Ice Age and Robots, and has since served as an executive producer on a number of other Blue Sky Films. More recently, Chris directed Epic (2013), and just completed his first live action/hybrid film Monster Trucks, due in 2017.
Join the VES New York Section for the 2nd Annual VES Awards after-after party as we celebrate the finest achievements in visual effects artistry – from New York’s VFX community to the VES Award winners around the globe.
Cocktails Food Entertainment VES Awards Highlights Networking Door Prize
Honoring: Chris Wedge with the VES Empire Award
An Oscar winning film director, producer, and co-founder of Blue Sky Studios, Chris Wedge is a creative innovator who has made extraordinary contributions to animation and entertainment here in the New York area and around the world. After starting Blue Sky in 1987, Chris went on to direct Bunny, which took home the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 1998. He followed this up by directing Blue Sky’s first two feature films, Ice Age and Robots, and has since served as an executive producer on a number of other Blue Sky Films. More recently, Chris directed Epic (2013), and just completed his first live action/hybrid film Monster Trucks, due in 2017.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of 20th Century Fox’s DEADPOOL
Please RSVP below Sunday, February 21, 2016 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of 20th Century Fox’s DEADPOOL
Please RSVP below Sunday, February 21, 2016 at 7:30PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Columbia Pictures’ THE 5TH WAVE
Please RSVP below Saturday, February 6, 2016 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening of Columbia Pictures’ THE 5TH WAVE
Please RSVP below Saturday, February 6, 2016 at 8:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, plus a Q&A with the visual effects team.
Panelists will include Visual Effects Supervisors Roger Guyett and Pat Tubach, Special Effects Supervisor Chris Corbould and Creature Effects Supervisor Neal Scanlan with moderation by VES Chair Mike Chambers. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Sunday, January 10, 2016 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESSTARWARS, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
New York VES Members and Their Families are Invited to a 3D Screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, plus a Q&A with the visual effects team.
Panelists will include Visual Effects Supervisors Roger Guyett and Pat Tubach, Special Effects Supervisor Chris Corbould and Creature Effects Supervisor Neal Scanlan with moderation by VES Chair Mike Chambers. (All panelists’ participation based on availability.)
Please RSVP below Sunday, January 10, 2016 at 3:00PM SVA Theater at the School of Visual Arts
333 W. 23rd Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 Click here for a map
Please tweet your questions after the screening in order to participate in the Q&A panel (which will take place in Los Angeles) immediately following the screening. (be sure to include the hashtag, #VESSTARWARS, in your tweet.)
Screenings are overbooked to compensate for no-shows. Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. An RSVP does not guarantee seating.
Ken Perlin, Academy Award Winner and Director of NYU’s Future Reality Lab will receive the 2020 VES Empire Award in recognition of his achievements in visual effects.
Now that the 18th Annual VES Awards season is underway, we once again invite VES members to participate in our Nomination Panels. The Nomination Event will be held worldwide on January 4, 2020.
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Please join the VES New York Section for the 5th Annual VES Awards after-after party as we celebrate the finest achievements in visual effects artistry – from New York’s VFX community to the VES Award winners around the globe. This year, the Visual Effects Society’s New York Section is proud to present the 2019 VES NY Empire Award to Bob Greenberg and the 2019 VES NY Empire Innovator Award to Jonah Friedman and Andy Jones..jpg)
Bob Greenberg, Founder and Executive Chairman of R/GA, will receive the 2019 VES Empire Award in recognition of his trailblazing work in the advertising and communications industry for nearly four decades.
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