Wow. Previous 'hero' Dr. Weil was on "The Colbert Report" last night. What a great interview-- it's obvious that Stephen is a fan of Dr. Weil's.
I particularly liked the bit where Stephen pulls out Kevin Trudeau's book. Hilarious.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Two Heroes Meet
Wow. Previous 'hero' Dr. Weil was on "The Colbert Report" last night. What a great interview-- it's obvious that Stephen is a fan of Dr. Weil's.
I particularly liked the bit where Stephen pulls out Kevin Trudeau's book. Hilarious.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Vexation: "Honestly"
If you find yourself saying 'honestly' often, you're probably lying too much.As in, "Hey, Bill, what did you think of that CD I lent you?" "Well, Frank, honestly, I didn't like it very much." In this and in many cases, 'honestly' is being used as a euphemism for 'you're not going like what I'm going to say, but here it comes anyway.'
But it also is an unconcious admission that you lie a lot. For many, it's a euphemism for 'I'm a bit deceptive with a lot of the things I say, but for a change of pace, here comes a bit of honesty.'
Yep, that's Honest Abe.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
The Future of Television
The great folks over at The AVClub have a great article about the future of the American television seasons. Noel Murray and Scott Tobias have a fantastic in-depth discussion about 1hr dramas , 1/2 hour comedies, 13-episode seasons, 24-episode seasons, and more.Personally, I think that quality network dramas (i.e. "Lost") would benefit significantly from switching to a 13-episode season. Yes, this means less money for the studio, but creatively it would mean significantly less 'filler' episodes, you know, episodes that do not forward the main mythology of the series. More meat, less fluff.
In its waining years, "The X-Files" had far too many 'filler' episodes. I mean, those last three years were all 'filler,' weren't they?
- Is the American TV Season Outmoded? (The AVClub)
Friday, April 06, 2007
You Talkin' To Me?
Who is this man? What is he doing? To whom is he aiming that giant squirt gun? What happens before this photograph? After this photograph? And how does he get his mouth that wide?All of these somewhat interesting questions will be revealed soon. Or at least raised and dismissed.
Find out on July 4, 2007. Or not. See if I care.
In the meantime, watch an HD trailer of a movie that comes out this summer. A movie that is keeping me from posting more often to this wonderful internets blog.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Hey, I Know That Shot!
Peter Litwinowicz and Pierre Jasmin picked up Oscars at the 2006 Scientific & Technical Academy Awards. I've been using their software for years on countless films, and have been a big fan of their software. I was honored to be a reference for them during the application process, and thrilled when they won.This is just one of many shots that I've used RE:Vision Effects software. In the last few years, I've used Twixtor, Warp, and their other After Effects plugins on "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (dude getting yanked by the Kraken), "Mission: Impossible III" (Tom being thrown in to a car) and "Star Wars: Episode III" (Anakin becoming char-broiled). And it was a real nice surprise to see the shot appear during the Oscar telecast, beside host Maggie Gyllenhaal.
A hearty congratulations to Peter and Pierre and their teams. You guys rock.
Oh, and ILM's very own Florian Katz, Steve Sullivan, Colin Davidson, Max Chen and Francesco Callari picked up Sci-Tech Oscars, too. Swzeet.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Sound Design: "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and "Mission: Impossible III"
The finest sound designs for features contain a delicate balance between silence and volume. You'll find the most pleasing, interesting and dynamic sound designs are not from films whose soundtrack relentlessly pounds its audience into submission. Garbled, intrusive and assaulting, these films tire audiences, distracting them from a story (or lack thereof).
I can vividly remember the experience of seeing "Armageddon" (1998) in a theater... and I'd prefer to forget it. The final three reels of that film contain a nonstop onslaught of volume - an uncompromising crowded sonic landscape of screams, shouts, gunfire, an overwhelming Trevor Rabin score, and comet-related sound effects. The sound design of "Armageddon" is one of many reasons why this film is nearly unwatchable.
In color, you can enhance the perception of saturation by juxtaposing colors, as you can with shapes and size. (There are literally hundreds of books on this issue, but my current favorite book on this topic is Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing). What many filmmakers forget is that the same is true for sound. One way to make sure a soundscape is not muddled and overwhelming is to simplify the mix. This is especially difficult for modern action pictures which, by their very nature, are over the top and outrageous. And most of these directors know one sound cue: "loud."
However, the greats of modern sound design know better, and use their talents to create rich, unique soundscapes that enhance the story and characters. My personal favorites in this field are Ben Burtt, Gary Rydstrom and Randy Thom-- the rock stars of modern sound design.
(If you're interested in an interesting and unique film soundtrack, watch David Lynch's "Wild At Heart" (1990), containing sound design by Randy Thom. The sound effects over the ultra-slow motion macro photography of matches being lit are extraordinary.)
Here is one example of a technique that helps create a sonic exclamation point. Ironically, it has everything to do with silence.
Presented are two clips, one from the climax of a chase sequence from "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (2005), and another from "Mission: Impossible III" (2006), which features Ethan Hunt parachuting between skyscrapers of Shanghai. I've split the screen to feature a visual representation of the sound waveform and its spectrum (lows to highs), to help illustrate my point.
Watch the clips, then rewatch them again, keeping an eye on the waveforms.
direct link to YouTube
Firstly, notice how clean these mixes are, especially considering the visual chaos that happens alongside the soundscape. Secondly, the precise and deliberate use of momentary silence in these clips is profoundly relevant to the emotional impact of the scenes.
The "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" Clip
The climax of this exciting action scene features a sound design that is truly unique. The sequence presented is the denouement of one of the film's action setpieces, and clearly, the soundscape for this little bit of action was carefully crafted to hurl an emotional punch. Each phase of the action has a distinct cadence and rhythm, and the individual moments are clearly defined and crisp. Listen to the sound mix again, this time with your eyes closed.
The soundscape has a deliberate pace. A few things stand out; for one, the sound of Jane Smith's (Angelina Jolie) gun is not cliche and is unique. The effect is not the same one we've heard hundreds of times before; it's distinctive. The 'bang' is relatively muted, perhaps specially recorded and designed specifically for this film. Considering the large variety of weapons used in the film, and the relatively large budget of the film itself, an effort could have been placed on creating a new library of gun sound effects.
Each bullet's impact against the cars is clearly heard, with very little rumbling underneath the staccato piercings, which make them stand out even more. The same is true for a wide shot of a tire that bounces off the roadway near the camera; this exaggerated sound effect (resembling the sound of something more bouncey, like a dodge ball) is not competing with underlying sound, so its impact is guaranteed to be felt.
However, the aspect of the sequence that intrigues me the most is the sound design for the shot from inside the minivan. At that moment, almost all of the sound is muted, almost to a point that would be (gasp!) realistic in nature. Notice what happens when we cut to the shot inside the minivan -- for just a beat, the sonic world takes a breath. You can clearly see this with the visual waveform. Instead of a steady onslaught of intense aural information, the audience is allowed to 'reset' for a moment. This brilliant technique makes the next few shots that much more powerful.
A nice touch is the prominent and clearly audible sound of the minivan's transmission. The distinctive sound of a car speeding in reverse is amped up and featured, without being muddled by distracting peripheral noise.
In regards to music, notice how the musical score crescendos just before Jane's heroic moments, then remains completely silent throughout the duration of the action. When we return to a two shot of our heroes, the music cuts back to the diegetic sound of the car radio, tinninly playing a cheesy Air Supply love song. The tune actually mirrors how the scene began - with John Smith (Brad Pitt) singing along with the track.
In addition, this little sequence brilliantly illustrates how a film editor can extend the real-time duration of an event to triple or quadruple its original length. Notice how the complicated stunt, which occurs in a fraction of a second in real-time, takes place over several seconds in the final edited sequence.
Props go out to Cameron Frankley, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"'s sound supervisor for the film, and his team.
The "Mission: Impossible III" Clip
With all of the action in this scene, it could be quite tempting to layer the Michael Giacchino score over all of the gunfire, breaking glass, and parachute sound effects. However, notice what director J.J. Abrams does just before Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) breaks through the window.
After a series of cuts from outside the building, building to a nice crescendo of music and sound effects, we cut to a shot inside the building. For a split second, all sound has been muted. Then, after barely a beat, Ethan blasts through the glass. In the theatre, this little sequence had an amazing impact, and it is that brief moment of silence that makes the CRASH of the impact that much more impressive. The silence allows the CRASH to be a sonic exclamation point. Without that brief pause in the soundscape, the emotional punch of the scene would have to be supported by the visuals alone - with the soundtrack providing only a numbing chorus of volume.
"Mission: Impossible III"'s excellent sound team includes Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Mark Stoeckinger, Alan Rankin; props to them and their entire team.
Sound designers are the unsung heroes of modern action films. When a director with actual talent works closely with experienced sound designers and film editors, a soundtrack can be created that precisely complements all of the hard work of the stunt coordinators, special effects crews, and visual effects teams.
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (c) 2005 Fox, "Mission: Impossible III" (c) 2006 Paramount
I can vividly remember the experience of seeing "Armageddon" (1998) in a theater... and I'd prefer to forget it. The final three reels of that film contain a nonstop onslaught of volume - an uncompromising crowded sonic landscape of screams, shouts, gunfire, an overwhelming Trevor Rabin score, and comet-related sound effects. The sound design of "Armageddon" is one of many reasons why this film is nearly unwatchable.In color, you can enhance the perception of saturation by juxtaposing colors, as you can with shapes and size. (There are literally hundreds of books on this issue, but my current favorite book on this topic is Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing). What many filmmakers forget is that the same is true for sound. One way to make sure a soundscape is not muddled and overwhelming is to simplify the mix. This is especially difficult for modern action pictures which, by their very nature, are over the top and outrageous. And most of these directors know one sound cue: "loud."
However, the greats of modern sound design know better, and use their talents to create rich, unique soundscapes that enhance the story and characters. My personal favorites in this field are Ben Burtt, Gary Rydstrom and Randy Thom-- the rock stars of modern sound design.(If you're interested in an interesting and unique film soundtrack, watch David Lynch's "Wild At Heart" (1990), containing sound design by Randy Thom. The sound effects over the ultra-slow motion macro photography of matches being lit are extraordinary.)
Here is one example of a technique that helps create a sonic exclamation point. Ironically, it has everything to do with silence.
Presented are two clips, one from the climax of a chase sequence from "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (2005), and another from "Mission: Impossible III" (2006), which features Ethan Hunt parachuting between skyscrapers of Shanghai. I've split the screen to feature a visual representation of the sound waveform and its spectrum (lows to highs), to help illustrate my point.
Watch the clips, then rewatch them again, keeping an eye on the waveforms.
Firstly, notice how clean these mixes are, especially considering the visual chaos that happens alongside the soundscape. Secondly, the precise and deliberate use of momentary silence in these clips is profoundly relevant to the emotional impact of the scenes.
The "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" Clip
The climax of this exciting action scene features a sound design that is truly unique. The sequence presented is the denouement of one of the film's action setpieces, and clearly, the soundscape for this little bit of action was carefully crafted to hurl an emotional punch. Each phase of the action has a distinct cadence and rhythm, and the individual moments are clearly defined and crisp. Listen to the sound mix again, this time with your eyes closed.
The soundscape has a deliberate pace. A few things stand out; for one, the sound of Jane Smith's (Angelina Jolie) gun is not cliche and is unique. The effect is not the same one we've heard hundreds of times before; it's distinctive. The 'bang' is relatively muted, perhaps specially recorded and designed specifically for this film. Considering the large variety of weapons used in the film, and the relatively large budget of the film itself, an effort could have been placed on creating a new library of gun sound effects.Each bullet's impact against the cars is clearly heard, with very little rumbling underneath the staccato piercings, which make them stand out even more. The same is true for a wide shot of a tire that bounces off the roadway near the camera; this exaggerated sound effect (resembling the sound of something more bouncey, like a dodge ball) is not competing with underlying sound, so its impact is guaranteed to be felt.
However, the aspect of the sequence that intrigues me the most is the sound design for the shot from inside the minivan. At that moment, almost all of the sound is muted, almost to a point that would be (gasp!) realistic in nature. Notice what happens when we cut to the shot inside the minivan -- for just a beat, the sonic world takes a breath. You can clearly see this with the visual waveform. Instead of a steady onslaught of intense aural information, the audience is allowed to 'reset' for a moment. This brilliant technique makes the next few shots that much more powerful.
A nice touch is the prominent and clearly audible sound of the minivan's transmission. The distinctive sound of a car speeding in reverse is amped up and featured, without being muddled by distracting peripheral noise.
In regards to music, notice how the musical score crescendos just before Jane's heroic moments, then remains completely silent throughout the duration of the action. When we return to a two shot of our heroes, the music cuts back to the diegetic sound of the car radio, tinninly playing a cheesy Air Supply love song. The tune actually mirrors how the scene began - with John Smith (Brad Pitt) singing along with the track.In addition, this little sequence brilliantly illustrates how a film editor can extend the real-time duration of an event to triple or quadruple its original length. Notice how the complicated stunt, which occurs in a fraction of a second in real-time, takes place over several seconds in the final edited sequence.
Props go out to Cameron Frankley, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"'s sound supervisor for the film, and his team.
The "Mission: Impossible III" Clip
With all of the action in this scene, it could be quite tempting to layer the Michael Giacchino score over all of the gunfire, breaking glass, and parachute sound effects. However, notice what director J.J. Abrams does just before Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) breaks through the window.After a series of cuts from outside the building, building to a nice crescendo of music and sound effects, we cut to a shot inside the building. For a split second, all sound has been muted. Then, after barely a beat, Ethan blasts through the glass. In the theatre, this little sequence had an amazing impact, and it is that brief moment of silence that makes the CRASH of the impact that much more impressive. The silence allows the CRASH to be a sonic exclamation point. Without that brief pause in the soundscape, the emotional punch of the scene would have to be supported by the visuals alone - with the soundtrack providing only a numbing chorus of volume.
"Mission: Impossible III"'s excellent sound team includes Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Mark Stoeckinger, Alan Rankin; props to them and their entire team.Sound designers are the unsung heroes of modern action films. When a director with actual talent works closely with experienced sound designers and film editors, a soundtrack can be created that precisely complements all of the hard work of the stunt coordinators, special effects crews, and visual effects teams.
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (c) 2005 Fox, "Mission: Impossible III" (c) 2006 Paramount
- link: Film Sound Design, the art and analysis of film and television sound design
- link: NPR Interview with Walter Murch, one of the great film and sound editors
Monday, February 26, 2007
ILM and The Academy Awards
Industrial Light & Magic won its first Academy Award for visual effects in 12 years. The previous award was for the revolutionary effects in "Forrest Gump," for which Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum and Allen Hall took home Oscars."Pirates 2: Dead Man's Chest" was an amazing collaborative effort on behalf of ILM. Every single department was challenged to perform the finest work, and the final film really illustrates this.
Much has been made about the 12 year 'drought' for ILM between "Gump" and "Pirates 2," especially after consistently earning so many Oscars previous to "Gump" (14 out of 18, to be precise). No one was more cognizant of this 'drought' than ILMers, ourselves.
But just for perspective, I wanted to give props to the ILM productions that have been nominated (yet did not win) for the Academy Awards between 1994's "Forrest Gump" and 2006's "Pirates 2":
ILM's Academy Award Nominations between "Gump" and "Pirates 2":
- 1996, "Dragonheart" and "Twister"
- 1997, "The Lost World," and "Starship Troopers" *
- 1998, "Mighty Joe Young"
- 1999, "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace"
- 2000, "The Perfect Storm"
- 2001, "Artificial Intelligence" and "Pearl Harbor"
- 2002, "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones"
- 2003, "Master and Commander" and "Pirates of the Caribbean"
- 2004, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
- 2005, "The Chronicles of Narnia," "War of the Worlds"
Those are some amazing projects, with some crazy-good visual effects. Unfortunately, in almost every case, the film that won the Oscar was a much more enjoyable film, overall. Two great cases are 1996 and 2000, where "Independence Day" won the award over "Twister," and "Gladiator" beat out "The Perfect Storm." In each of those cases, the winners' visual effects, while being of very high quality, did not match the level of technical and aesthetic sophistication of the ILM nominees. However, the winners' films, themselves, are vastly superior to the losers' films.I mean, "Twister" and "The Perfect Storm" are two truly awful films.
When it really comes down to it, the old adage is true. Visual effects are really only as good as the films they're in. You can't polish a piece of garbage movie with amazing visual effects, because in the end, it's still a piece of garbage.
And this is coming from a guy who worked on "Dungeons and Dragons." And "Van Helsing." And a lot of garbage in between.
link: VFX HQ - Academy Award Winners for visual effects
Sunday, February 25, 2007
ILM Brings Home The Oscar
"Pirates 2" wins the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, ILM's first Oscar since "Forrest Gump" in 1994. Boy, does it feel good.Super congratulations to everyone that worked on the film! Yipee!
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Must-Have Book on Visual Effects
Hey, all you kids (and you kids-at-heart) who are interested in the meat and potatoes of visual effects, I have a must-have recommendation for you.I get a lot of emails from folks who still visit my old website, Visual Effects Headquarters, who ask me about training resources, getting a job in visual effects, learning the tools, and on and on and on. Well, here's an easy one. If you're interested in learning some of the basics of compositing from a practical, tools-based perspective, you have to buy the Encyclopedia of Visual Effects.
Written by Damian Allen and Brian Connor, the book illustrates the fundamentals of compositing techniques, with dozens of examples for Shake and After Effects.
Brian is a friend of mine at ILM. Okay, he's an acquaintance. Okay... he barely acknowledges me in the hallway. But apparently he acknowledges be enough to have asked me to contribute to the book with a description of how I used After Effects and 3D compositing to complete a shot in "Van Helsing." There are also contributions from ILM's Marshall Krasser, Pablo Helman, Tim Alexander and more.
I also talked about this shot in this post, My "Van Helsing" MacAddict Interview.Look, just buy the book. You'll be glad you did. Oh, and looky here-- a convenient link!
link: Apple Pro Training Series: Encyclopedia of Visual Effects (Apple Pro Training)
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Fox is Awesome
Happening this morning on Fox News Channel:Brian Wilson of Fox News Channel's "Weekend Live" news program is devoting a segment to the "American Idol" phenomenon. He's interviewing Kimberly Caldwell, the host of "Idol Tonight," a show on the TVGuide Channel that solely covers "American Idol."
Did you get all that? Fox-owned Fox News is interviewing a woman who works for a Fox-owned channel (TVGuide Channel) and Fox-owned magazine (TVGuide) about a show that is on the Fox network. And this is all occurring on a News channel.
It's kinda like when Pat O'Brien gets an 'exclusive' interview with Tom Cruise just before the release of "M:i:III" on "Entertainment Tonight," which is preceeded by an ad for "M:i:III" on a CBS affiliate. Did you see what happened there? Ever single piece is owned by Paramount/Viacom. "ET" itself, the very station that it is airing on, the advertisement, and "M:i:III" itself are all controlled by a single entity.
Don't you think it's strange that Harry Potter has been on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, oh, seven hundred and twenty two times? You wouldn't think it is strange when you realize that Time Warner owns both E.W. and the Harry Potter film and book franchise.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
dumb product alert: Breakfix Cereal Dispenser
This automatic cereal dispenser makes breakfast quick and easy!With the automatic Breakfix Cereal Dispenser, fixing the day's first meal will never again be a messy, time consuming chore. Breakfix uses the same principles as a coffee-maker, dispensing pre-measured portions of cereal with a touch of a button -- no mess, no fuss.
Controlled portions also help to keep pounds off. Looks great in your kitchen and cleans in a snap. A healthy gift for the whole family -- the kids will love it!
Corporate America sure thinks highly of us, don't they? Apparently, there's a widespread epidemic of overfilling cereal bowls. Sure, I've thought for years that the process of opening up a box of cereal and pouring into my bowl is a "messy, time consuming chore." Last week I poured some Golden Grahams into my shoe by mistake. In 2002, it took me seventeen and a half hours to successfully pour a bowl of Crispix. And I don't even want to talk about the 1997 incident in the breakfast nook that took four lives.
But now, I own the Breakfix Cereal Dispenser, and life is good. It's as if a whole new world has opened up to me. With the time and energy I've saved from using the Breakfix Cereal Dispenser, I can get back to more important projects, like mapping the human genome, or finishing up my work on successfully achieving cold fusion in my garage.
Spotted on SkyMall, the magazine Stephen Colbert calls “the best source for solar-powered, self-inflating pool equipment.”
SkyMall related links:- L.A. Times: Sky's the Limit
- Washington Post: Material Guy: Happiness Is A Trip To The SkyMall
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Hero: Sherpas
Seriously, these dudes don't ever get enough credit. It's always the pasty white rich European that gets the props that he or she climbed Everest. Dude... these guys climb Everest like you or I eat a bowl of cereal. And they do it carrying half of the rich honky's stuff, too. This dude on the right has reached the summit of Everest sixteen times.Sixteen times.
link: Wikipedia: Sherpas
link: Nova: Everest
photo credits: Wikipedia, BBC
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