Effects Corner: We are artists →

Scott Squires:​

So yes, we are artists in my eyes and we as an industry have to keep fighting to make it known that we are in fact doing creative work on projects. What we do ultimately is a creative endeavor built with our skill sets and our talents using technology. If it we weren't creative films would look much worse. And if they allow us to participate as the creatives we are, we can make things even better.

 

It's funny to think that local 728 fought for the set lighting guys to be called technicians. They felt that hourly rates would raise if you were called a technician. After all this is skilled labor. They are called "set lighting technicians".

I agree with everything Scott said here, I just think its funny.

VFX Union Information →

VFX Union:​

These protections .. this leverage .. this change .. Is available to vfx artists and professionals working in all facets of the entertainment industry: features, commercials, games, industrials, television. If you’re doing the work, you deserve the benefits.

 

Hypercritical: The Case for a True Mac Pro Successor →

John Siracusa:

What almost no one expects is another straightforward revision of the existing Mac Pro, a gargantuan tower-style computer built with server-grade CPUs and RAM that pushes the limits of computing performance. Very few people want that kind of computer these days, and even fewer people actually need one.

 

Linux is looking better and better.

Erupting Volcano As Seen From The ISS →

DL Cade:​

Since we’ve been talking about taking pictures of outer space, it only seems right that we share an incredible picture taken from outer space.

 

Its from space. Right, it's awesome.

FU Pay Me →

This is an oldie, But I really think it applies to us vfx artists

» SIGN YOUR REP CARD ON 3.14 OccupyVFX →

ANONVFX:​

Over 10 years ago we were hearing and seeing the classic regressive argument by those a-washed in fear which is always “unionizing will send the jobs away.” That same argument can still be heard today at the water cooler or in a forum online and look where all the jobs have gone with us NOT being unionized. Away to countries that have borderline slave labor.

 

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.