March 26, 2023
Many years ago, I had the pleasure of running into the late Hunter S. Thompson in the press room of the Democratic convention. That particular year, the Republican incumbent was heavily favored to win re-election. So, I asked the good Doctor, why are you here?
“I’m here for the odds,” he said. […]
While much has been said about the stunning practical special effects of George Miller’s post-apocalyptic action film Mad Max: Fury Road, shot largely in South Africa and the Namibian desert, for visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson, one of the best compliments is when people don’t even realize that what they are watching is, in fact, computer generated imagery. […]
Contrary to how the award-buzzy The Martian looks, it wasn’t actually shot on Mars, but mostly in Budapest. Though in addition to sound stages there, Earth-bound exteriors were scouted, including the Jordanian desert which offered, according to visual effects supervisor Richard Stammers, “far superior, far more interesting landscapes” than other deserts they’d looked at. […]
An educational background in fine art doesn’t directly suggest a career in visual effects. Andrew Whitehurst recalls with a smile that “If I’d been asked what I’d end up doing, I wouldn’t have said VFX”. Combine the arts with “an interest in the moving image [and] an interest in computers”, though, and the stage is set for a career that has so far included work in the effects departments of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, two Harry Potter installments, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, among many others. Most recently, Whitehurst’s work on Alex Garland‘s film Ex Machina has displayed a level of complexity and elegance that suggest something of a return to those fine-art beginnings. […]