Contents The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Pete's Dragon

Article by Joe Fordham


Filmmaker Peter Jackson continues his epic trilogy, following plucky hobbit Bilbo Baggins to his fateful encounter with Smaug the Terrible, an ancient dragon that resides in the dwarf kingdom of Erebor. Special effects supervisor Steve Ingram, Weta Workshop creature designer Richard Taylor, senior visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri and crews at Weta Digital return to the Middle-earth of J.R.R. Tolkien, creating skin-shifter Beorn, giant arachnid denizens of Mirkwood, elven woodland realms, the Lake-town of Esgaroth and the subterranean terrors of the Lonely Mountain.


Game of Thrones

Songs of Ice and Fire

Article by Jody Duncan


Based on the bestselling books by George R.R. Martin, the award-winning HBO series has won legions of fans with its multi-faceted tale of power won and lost in the fictional land of Westeros. The show's epic environments and mythical creatures required visual effects of a scope and level of excellence rarely seen in episodic television. Interviews with visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer and artists from Pixomondo, BlueBolt, Screen Scene, Spin VFX, Gradient VFX, Entity VFX, Look Effects and Peanut FX take you behind the scenes of the Game of Thrones phenomenon.


RoboCop

RoboCop Retooled

Article by Jody Duncan


Twenty-seven years after director Paul Verhoeven introduced the futuristic cyborg crime-fighter, Robocop, director José Padilha tackles a retelling of the story. Whereas the original featured only old-school optical and practical effects, the updated Robocop relies on an artful combination of masterful practical suits and makeup effects by Legacy Effects, and visually stunning digital effects shots executed by Framestore, Method Studios, Soho VFX, Mr. X, Modus FX yU+Co and Cinesite.


The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Beautiful Dreamer

Article by Joe Fordham


Humorist James Thurbe's slender tale of daydreaming underachiever Walter Mitty, previously filmed in 1947 as a zany romp starring Danny Kaye, is updated as a wry and charming modern-day romantic fantasy starring and directed by Ben Stiller. Visual effects supervisor Guillaume Rocheron and special effects supervisor Mark Hawker bring Mitty's whimsies to life with a wealth of vendors, including Framestore, MPC, LOOK Effects, Hydraulx, Soho VFX, Hatch, Lola Visual Effects, Mr. X, Method Studios, Rhythm & Hues, Phosphene, Company 3 and Blind Squirrel. Mike Marino's Prosthetic Renaissance provided special makeup effects.