the fxphd deans blog

[image title="img_0499" size="thumbnail" id="462" align="left" linkto="http://www.fxphd.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/img_0499.jpg" ] There are few things we like more than geeking out with Lenses at the fxphd Tech Penthouse! This week we have been putting the new RED 18-85mm lenses through some fun and very geeky testing. The new RED lens is vastly bigger than say the RED 18-50mm T3 ($6,500) and while it is more expensive at nearly $10,000 – it is actually a vastly more professional lens. This week we’ll be publishing all our tests in fxphd’s RED course, but first impression this compares to a lens worth 5 to 10 times the price.

[image title="img_0457" size="medium" id="455" align="left" linkto="http://www.fxphd.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/img_0457.jpg" ] Had a fun weekend shooting or helping to shoot for an upcoming film. We will be doing the vfx on the shots, literally. It was all shot on the RED – and the film is a really complex and interesting story of isolation. Current thinking is that this will all go into an upcoming mega flame course but hey – we’ll discuss that next term – or maybe Nuke – who knows?

For now I will just say how much fun it was and to add that our new 18-85mm Pro RED lenses arrived today – WOW what a step up from the first Red Lenses. We’ll publish our finding on it in RED 203 Class 03, but it is a cracker of a lens and really heavy !

[image title="pour2" size="medium" id="453" align="left" linkto="http://www.fxphd.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/pour2.jpg" ]We are really proud to have been able to add REALFLOW to the Oct 08 term of fxphd. If you recall a couple of weeks ago we posted cloud tank images from the shoots we were doing, we did not let on then that these were liquid tests for the REALFLOW course, being run by Mark Stasiuk. The course covers Goo Spew, Rigid body dynamics ( like rockets blasting through a building ) and of course water. Hence the reference material we shot. But I wanted to let you guys also know that we have followed up on your cloud tank help and we have gotten none other than Scott Squires to offer us some direction. (Talk about going to the source) anyway Scott has advised on cloud material ( powered tempera paint ) and how to layer the water… all of this and your notes will go into an upcoming BKD (I expect next term now).

So thanks for all the help ! BTW both Mark and Scott have agreed to be in upcoming fxguidetv episodes.

[image title="masters-grid" size="medium" id="442" align="left" linkto="http://www.fxphd.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/masters-grid.png" ]Those of you who know Mike and I — or who listen to our podcasts — know that I’m generally a bit more reserved than Mike is when it comes to talking about what we are doing and how cool it is. Ok…fair enough…a lot more reserved. To this end, I want you to know: this is me being excited…..

Wow! (note the exclamation point — I *never* use them) I’m really, really excited about the masters of the craft series we’re starting up later this week on fxguidetv. We’ve assembled a stellar lineup of the top vfx supervisors in our industry to tell us about themselves — learn about them and not just talk about the latest film they’ve been working on.

But where it gets really cool (note the bold type of excitement) is that this leads into one of the best offerings ever at phd this term — our new Background Fundamentals vfx supervisor course. Mike’s Background course is always great, but this term he’ll be walking through what it takes to be a vfx supe…and supporting him will be discussions from these masters. This is stuff you won’t get from fxguidetv…and information that will be incredibly useful to you on the job. Check out the course information page for an outline of the course…and remember: this is a course that everyone who is a member of fxphd will get. How cool is that?

Really — to coin my friend’s phrase — it’s gonna be a cracker.

[image title="tank1" size="thumbnail" id="436" align="left" linkto="http://www.fxphd.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/tank1.jpg" ]So I have a confession. One of the best parts of our job here at fxphd is to do stuff that we have just wanted to do for years but never had a client or a budget or a project that allowed it. One such thing is cloud tanks. I just like cloud tanks. So this week we started our first tests with them. Some — not all — but some of this work will be in next term’s fxphd courses and some will appear in Jan 09.

Now I need your help dear fxreaders. We have to work out how to do layers in the water, an old school technique of having different levels of density to the water by having salt layers. The theory is something to do with having different mixes of salt water in a still tank and then this acts as a buffer for the expanding cloud tank primary – in our case liquid latex. I know out there some of your will know of a DVD extra or an article or book that explains this, for me googling salt water cloud tank inversion did not get me much – I did find this on the Raider of the Lost Ark site:
(more…)

[image title="blocks_image_2_1" size="medium" id="430" align="left" linkto="http://www.fxphd.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/blocks_image_2_1.png" ]Over the years at fxguide and simply in my professional life, I really enjoyed seeking out information and educating myself about visual effects and motion graphics design. I guess that’s one of the things about being so into what one does for a living — finding that kind of research fun.

But I have to say, the scope of things I track has broadened considerably in the years since we started fxphd. While I’m still doing production in vfx and graphics, I’ve added a whole new range of subjects related to the web and desktop to my daily bookmarks folder. How to make a site more Google friendly, php programming, web site design, technology behind torrents, and more. One example is screen capture software…..
(more…)

Ok I know this sounds like a line but….

We are just finishing the term at fxphd and at the end of the month we announce the Oct 08 term. It is about now that I start to get really worried about the matching what we have done in the past at fxphd. Do we have anything ? Do we have enough ? I start to get twitchy and the then down right nervous. I mean … do we have it – in terms of new courses and cool stuff?

But not for next term ! – No NEXT term is looking mind expandingly cool – it is for the term AFTER next. I swear this is true: I live with this fear of how will we come up with cool new stuff to blow everyone’s mind… but not for next term – we have been working on those courses for months,…
(more…)

I got bored a while ago with my stable of standard podcasts and sources. There is nothing wrong with the normal set of podcasts on my ipod, but after a while… well you know. I had fallen into a trap of not having time to go off the beaten track and do some exploring – so I did.

Maybe you have some other great stuff you’d like to share? In which case I’d love to hear it but here is my criteria:
- professional or related to the industry
- not aimed at the college humour crowd.
- not stupid or involving cats

I wanted stuff that informed me and illuminated me on some area I did not know…

This is what I came up with…
(more…)

[image title="jeff2" size="medium" id="411" align="left" linkto="http://www.fxphd.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/jeff2.jpg" ]As we get to the end of the successful July08 term, we’ll be closing registration for the term later this week. If you’re interested in one of the offerings we’ve got going this term, this may be your last chance in a while to take the course. Check the curriculum grid to see when and/or if a particular course is planned for a repeat.

Jeff Heusser was in Chicago this weekend and he took advantage of the travel to drop by the fxphd loft and record a segment for this term’s smoke course being taught by Chris Kreynus. We’ve wanted to get Jeff included into some of our classes, and covering an introduction to logarithmic workflow was a great opportunity to do so. Meanwhile, I’m packing up for visiting Europe this week in anticipation of the IBC convention in Amsterdam. We’ll be doing several fxguidetv eps from there next week as well has holding an fxphd meetup. Back to packing….

No rest for the weary, as break week is a bit of misnomer for the “behind the curtains” part of fxphd. In reality, it is an incredibly busy week and a key chance to get to some mid-term sysadmin work done, start firming up the October08 term courses, re-doing the fxphd tour movie, and planning the next 5 weeks of classes.

We made some under the hood web changes this week with an improved torrent mechanism and an even clearer display of the class schedule for members. Those are things we don’t want to do in the thick of a new term, as even a misplaced quote mark can wreak havoc on our torrents and files. With over 6TB transferred per month…..changes aren’t something we take lightly. Here at the loft, fxphd and Hootenanny added a new XServe, LTO-4 and external 12 drive RAID to handle all our assets…even that takes some time to set up.

David Hamner has started as an intern at the Chicago loft and has been a great help in getting things done. He’s ramping up to speed on filming with our fxphd workhorse the HVX200 and diving head first into brushing up on Final Cut Pro and learning all of our compression/distribution scripts. Having David around will free up Mark Dascoli to make even more improvements on the site and provide better support to our members. Though I have to say — Mark already gets huge props from members for his attention to detail and responsiveness. We might not do everything right, but almost everyone seems to feel we’re there to help people out when things go wrong.