By Ken Levine: 10,000 hours of practice →

Ken Levine:​

They say you need 10,000 hours of practice. I say that’s true – give or take 7,000 hours. It’s true in writing and certainly in learning how to do sports play-by-play. There is no substitute for experience. At least when you try to hone your craft as a writer you can do it inconspicuously. To learn play-by-play you need to go to a venue and announce the game. That means a recording device and talking out loud in a public setting. Not for the faint of heart. But you can’t learn it by just turning down the sound on your TV. You need your own eyes to scan the field and describe what you see.

 

Agreed.

Visual Flow: Mastering the Art of Composition | NatureScapes.Net – The Resource for Nature Photographers →

Ian Plant:​

Imagine you are standing in the middle of a small river, gazing downstream. As you survey the scene, you notice that the water flows around, beneath, and past you on its journey into the distant landscape beyond. Along its way, the water rushes over rocks and small drops and curves and turns around successive bends, but the flow of the river is irresistible—anything caught in its path is swept along, following every twist and turn, perhaps getting caught for a moment on a rock emerging from the river’s surface, but inevitably transported into the distance.

 

VFX Survey →

VFX Survey:​

We are a varied and multi-faceted group, vastly different in our politics, and we likely to not ever be of a single mind on every issue facing VFX. That being said, what I am hearing that people want, and what a lot of the VFX solidarity page is posting, are several issues being addressed (and there's an occupy vfx page to this effect) that are decently consistent. I want to gather data on VFX artists to collate into a cohesive chart of what people want to change and what they think are the best ways to change them.

 

Effects Corner: The Miracle of Visual Effects, will it continue? →

Scott Squires:​

And not just the tiger, the entire ocean was added. The entire sky was added. We see miracles all the time on the screen these days but most people take it for granted. 

 

We need more of this Type of thing. Ask around, most people have no idea the extent of what we do.

Effects Corner: Why do visual effects costs so much? →

Scott Squires:​

Reality: Short version: Visual Effects is incredibly time consuming and labor intensive work done for very little profit. In some cases it may actually cost less for the studio than the real costs incurred. Changes and compressed schedules  increase the costs further.

 

It's about knowing where to put the X.

Contracts & Wages – Animation Guild →

animationguild.org:​

The Animation Guild Local 839, and its parent union, the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE), negotiate contracts called “collective bargaining agreements” (CBA)—that govern the minimum wages, hours, working conditions and benefits for its members employed at signatory facilities.

 

Have a look. IF you are feeling like a lawyer have a read. Have a good weekend.