Contents The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

There and Back Again

Article by Jody Duncan


In this first installment in a planned three-part prequel, director Peter Jackson takes us back to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth and a young Bilbo Baggins, who joins up with 13 dwarves in a quest to reclaim stolen treasure from the dragon Smaug. As he did in Lord of the Rings, Jackson collaborated closely with his effects teams at Weta Digital and Weta Workshop, with the latter providing dwarf designs and prosthetics, while the former offered up extensive digital environments for the film’s many fantasy settings, as well as dwarf scale effects and a state-of-the-art Gollum that benefitted from improvements in on-set performance capture and other technological advances in animation.


Cloud Atlas

Causes and Consequences

Article by Barbara Robertson


Adapted by filmmakers Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer from a from a sprawling novel by David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas covers six intersecting stories, and spans continents and time periods as it follows the transformation of a single soul through many lifetimes. The film's sweeping storyline relied on prosthetic makeup effects by Jeremy Woodhead and Daniel Parker, as well as countless visual effects divided among fifteen vendors worldwide, led by visual effects supervisors Dan Glass and Stephane Ceretti, who provided everything from set extensions and enhancements to full CG environments for a futuristic metropolis.


Life of Pi

The Calculus of Pi

Article by Jody Duncan


Ang Lee directs the film adaptation of Yann Martel’s award-winning novel about an Indian boy, Pi Patel, who, as sole survivor of a shipwreck that takes the life of his entire family, finds himself adrift at sea for many months in a small lifeboat shared with a Bengal tiger. Visual effects supervisors Bill Westenhofer worked with animation experts at Rhythm & Hues to achieve an utterly convincing computer generated tiger, who progresses from healthy to emaciated, while Legacy Effects provided animatronics support. Other contributing vendors included MPC, Crazy Horse Effects, LOOK Effects, Christov Effects, Buf, Lola VFX and Halon Entertainment.


Beasts of the Southern Wild

Q&A: Ray Tintori

Interview by Janine Pourroy


In this in-depth Q&A, special effects unit director Ray Tintori sheds light on how the makers of this Cannes and Sundance Film Festival favorite, about a young child who fights to survive poverty and Mother Nature on a storm-threatened atoll, realized the film's principal effect — the mythical ‘aurochs’ beasts — on a shoestring budget, through the use of creative and quirky practical solutions.

Contents Oz: The Great and Powerful: Tempests and Teapots

Article by Jody Duncan



In this prequel to The Wizard of Oz, a conman's illusionist powers are put to the test when he is magically transported to the enchanted Emerald City, and runs afoul of three witches. Director Sam Raimi shot the film entirely on sound stages with help from special effects supervisor John Frazier, while visual effects supervisor Scott Stokdyk brought magical realms to life with the aid of Sony Pictures Imageworks, Luma Pictures, Evil Eye and Digiscope.



Jack the Giant Slayer: Giant Steps

Article by Joe Fordham



Director Bryan Singer rejuvenates an ancient English folktale in this film about a medieval farmboy who unwittingly causes a gargantuan beanstalk to grow up into the clouds, unleashing a fearsome race of giants who inhabit a vast floating island in the sky. Visual effects supervisor Hoyt Yeatman worked with Digital Domain to realize the giants with state-of-the-art performance capture, and with MPC, Rodeo FX, Soho VFX and Hatch to create fantasy environments and other effects.



Skyfall: Old Dog, New Tricks

Article by Joe Fordham



James Bond returns for his 23rd screen adventure in this high-octane caper involving a sinister cyber-terrorist with a grudge against the international spy community. Director Sam Mendes energized the film with a bold blend of full-scale practical effects engineered by special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, along with miniature and digital effects provided by visual effects supervisor Steven Begg and a host of vendors that included MPC, Cinesite, Double Negative, Framestore, Peerless Camera Company and others.



Les Misérables: At the Barricade

Article by Jody Duncan


A beloved stage musical is given new life on the big screen in this film adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic novel Les Misérables. Director Tom Hooper imbued the film with a gritty realism rarely exhibited in the musical genre, calling upon artists at Double Negative, The Mill and Utopia VFX to expand the scope of the production by digitally extending stage sets to authentically replicate 18th-century Parisian street scenes and other period settings.