The Art and Science of Visual Effects

Digital Storytelling in collaboration with the Norwegian Film Institute present:
The Art and Science
of Visual Effects
Seminar and workshops on the creative use of
digital technology in film, television and games.
14th – 16th May 2012 | Filmens Hus | Oslo, Norway
digital storytelling | 1
Digital Storytelling 2012:
VISUAL
STORYTELLING
EVOLUTION
Technology has always been around to influence the type of stores we tell one
another. It took humanity tens of thousands of years to advance visual storytelling from the primal cave paintings seen in the 2011 3D documentary Cave
of Forgotten Dreams by Werner Herzog to the moving images we see on the
screen today. Film, the most popular visual storytelling medium of our time
has a relatively short history of a hundred years or so, and video games have
only been around for about 50 years. While the computer gave birth to the
latter it has also accelerated change in the former. In profound ways.
We don’t have to go so far back to see rapid evolution in the Norwegian
entertainment industries. In 2006 at the first Digital Storytelling event there
was hardly a market for visual effects in films in Norway and our VFX talents,
as well as some producers looked abroad. This all changed in 2008 with the
film, Max Manus, a film that became a massive box office success with stellar
Norwegian VFX. The quality of Norwegian visual effects was proven yet again
in 2010 with the international success Troll Hunter.
At Digital Storytelling in 2011 we saw how storytelling in filmmaking and
games has been advanced with digital actors that the audience connected
with emotionally. This year we continue to explore the future directions of
film and games with fully animated productions such as Tintin, incorporating
hybrid performance capture by live actors with animation and stereoscopic
3D, as well as a computer generated monkey carrying the weight of the story
in the live action film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
For films that rely on the performance of actors inhabiting a digital universe, new production methods are developed to allow interaction between
the scene, the actors and the director. Keynote speaker Sebastian Sylwan will
discuss Virtual Production as well as present some of the groundbreaking
advancements in technology pioneered by Weta Digital, giving a perspective
on the current state of the art in filmmaking.
So as we wait with great expectations for this year’s VFX heavy, blockbuster Kon-Tiki we will take a quick look at the Nordic effects scene in our
annual Nordic VFX omelette, and have a look in the pet shop window of Fido,
Sweden to see what strange and wonderful creatures they have been creating
in their virtual zoo.
While filmmaking is adapting real-time 3D techniques used in games for
Virtual Production, games are borrowing storytelling conventions from the
cinematic expression. Putting emotions into games is made easier with the
advancements in performance capture and real-time graphics processing.
However where most games try to tell a story to the player, Theory Interactive
who are here to present their work on Reset are trying to push the game
medium “to form its own storytelling methods.”
As we listen to our speakers today we can’t help but wonder where the
combination of technological capabilities and artistic expression will lead us.
What new stories will we be able to tell and what world visions will we be
able to share?
We thank our partners for their support and you for being here today to
share with us our 7th annual seminar and workshop, Digital Storytelling: The
Art and Science of Visual Effects.
Kim Baumann Larsen, Angela Amoroso and Eric Hanson
co-founders / co-directors
May 14th 2011
www.digistorytelling.com
Angela Amoroso: www.seasidescripts.no
Kim Baumann Larsen: www.pfx.no
Eric Hanson: www.xrez.com
2 | digital storytelling
EVENT PARTNERS:
Digital Storytelling 2012 is a non-profit event organized by Digital Storytelling in collaboration with the Norwegian Film Institute. The support
given to the event from our partners with artistic and technical expertise,
marketing, media coverage, funding and more, helps us to create world
class seminars and workshops on the creative use of visual effects in film,
television and games. We would like to thank our partners for their support in making Digital Storytelling a success seven years in a row!
ASSOCIATED
EVENTS:
TECHNICAL
PARTNERS:
MEDIA
PARTNERS:
5D Conference
TD Forum
Frame by Frame
Infografikk
FotoPhono
The Foundry
Sphere VFX
Netron
RushPrint.no
Montages.no
Storedyret.com
3Dhue.com
Kreativt Forum
norwegian film institute:
Ivar Køhn, Director, Production and Development
Elin Erichsen, Head of Development Nedin Mutic, Advisor, NFI:LAB design: Marius Renberg [ www.mariusrenberg.no ]
webdevelopment: Netron [ www.netron.no ]
printing: Flexitrykk [ www.flexitrykk.no ]
www.digistorytelling.com:
Kim Baumann Larsen, Netron (Jørgen Aanonsen) and Marius Renberg
Speakers’ Dinner hosted by Digital Storytelling
PROGRAM
DIGITAL STORYTELLING 2012
The Art and Science of Visual Effects Monday May 14 – Tancred, Filmens Hus, Oslo, Norway
08:30 Registration opens
The doors to the cinema will open at 09:15.
09:30Welcome:
Ivar Køhn, Director Development & Production, NFI
09:35Opening:
Angela Amoroso & Kim Baumann Larsen, Founders & Directors
09:45 ALPO OKSAHARJU & MIKKO KALLINEN, Theory Interactive, Finland
“Reset – the World Tells a Story”
10:30 Break
11:00 The Nordic VFX Omelette
Placebo Effects, Netron, Electric Putty, Stripe, Qvisten Animation,
(mini break), Framestore Iceland, Gimpville, and Storm Studios.
12:30 Lunch, Ben’s Cafe
14:00 FIDO, Sweden
“New Creatures in the Pet Store”
Claes Dietmann, VFX Producer, Mattias Lindahl, VFX Supervisor and
Staffan Linder, CG & Animation Supervisor
14:45Break
15:15 SEBASTIAN SYLWAN, Weta Digital, New Zealand (Keynote)
“The Evolution of Storytelling Through the Convergence of Art and Science.”
16:45 What’s next for Digital Storytelling?
Kim Baumann Larsen & Angela Amoroso
16:52 Seminar ends
17:00 Digital Storytelling Mixer– Something Sparkly @ Posthallen (Prinsensgate 8, Oslo)
Post-seminar meet-up at nearby bar and restaurant Posthallen for drinks and networking. Delegates wishing to dine (at their own expense) should reserve a table ahead of time.
(www.posthallen.no)
filmens hus: Head of Projection Department: Jan Eberholst Olsen
chief projectionist: Geir Friestad
cinema coordinator: Nikolai Fuglerud
exhibition and museum manager: Svein Kojan
seminar and workshop assistents: Henrik Falla and Helene H Harmes, NITH
image credits: Cover: Reset: ©2011 Theory Interactive. Rise of the Planet of the Apes: ©2011 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Tintin ©2011 Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures. Hugo's There: ©2012 Peter Spence, Electric Putty Creations. Eyecandy: ©2012 Stripe AS. Twigson in
Trouble: ©2011 Paradox AS. Fredriksten Fortress: ©2012 Netron AS | Pages 4 and 5: Rise of the Planet of the Apes: ©2011 Twentieth Century Fox Film
Corporation. Tintin ©2011 Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures. | Page 6: Contraband: ©2012 Working Title / Universial Pictures | Pages 7:
Eyecandy: ©2012 Stripe AS. Magic Silver 2: ©2011 Storm Rosenberg. | Page 8: Hugo's There: ©2012 Peter Spence, Electric Putty Creations. Eyecandy:
©2012 Stripe AS. Twigson in Trouble: ©2011 Paradox AS. | Page 9: Fredriksten Fortress: ©2012 Netron AS, TineMelk AR: ©2012 Placebo Effects/
Labrat | Page 10 and 11 Reset: ©2011 Theory Interactive. | Page 12 and 13: Underworld Awakening: ©2012 Sony Pictures, Lakeshore Entertainment. Yoko: ©2012 Sony Pictures, Fido, Blue Eyes Fiction. | Page 14: Photos: ©Angela Amoroso | All images are ©2012 of the respective artists and/or
companies, unless otherwise noted.
digital storytelling | 3
Keynote:
THE EVOLUTION
OF STORYTELLING
THROUGH THE
CONVERGENCE OF
ART AND SCIENCE
SEBASTIAN SYL
4 | digital storytelling
CTO W
- Technology has
had a way – over
the entire course of
human history –
of changing
storytelling.
SEBASTIAN SYLWAN
LWAN
WETA DIGITAL, NEW ZEALAND
Technology has had a way – over the entire
course of human history – of changing storytelling. Reciprocally, experiments into better
ways to engage and communicate through
story have driven numerous advancements in
technology. This free-flowing exchange has
only been compounded with the advent and
diffusion of digital technologies, which now
span the full spectrum, from production to
consumption of all media.
This talk will use the history of digital tools and
some of the recent (and not so recent) groundbreaking advancements in technology pioneered by
Weta Digital, to provide a perspective of the current
state of the art in filmmaking. Sebastian will also
explore future directions where the combination of technological capabilities
and artistic expression will lead us, with a particular focus one of the entertainment industries hottest topics; Virtual Production.
In his roll as Chief Technology Officer at Weta Digital, SEBASTIAN SYLWAN s
helping to bring structure and continued impetus to Weta Digital’s long tradition
of innovation in VFX. Before joining Weta, Sebastian served as Autodesk’s Senior Film Industry
Manager. In this role he helped set the strategy for Autodesk’s products in the
global film market, including the first steps into stereoscopic 3D. Previously, Sylwan was Director of Technology at Digital Domain, an Academy
Award-winning VFX facility. He successfully renewed Digital Domain’s technology
infrastructure while maintaining the legacy value of over 13 years of development
and helped it venture into new areas including the facility’s first stereoscopic
rendition of a CG animated film. Sylwan has also served as Principal Technology Advisor at USC’s Institute for
Creative Technologies where he led the Light Stage 6 project. While living in Italy
where he grew up, Sylwan designed, built and acted as the CTO of Lumiq Studios,
the country’s largest production, post-production and 3D character animation
studio. Sylwan also serves in numerous advisory boards and industry committees. WETA DIGITAL LTD is an Academy Award® winning visual effects facility
based in Wellington, New Zealand. Weta Digital offers world class visual effects
for international feature films and commercials.
www.wetafx.co.nz
digital storytelling | 5
NORDIC
VFX
OMELETTE
A PRESENTATION OF THE
LATEST PROJECTS AND
WORKS IN PROGRESS.
6 | digital storytelling
FRAMESTORE ICELAND
Contraband show and tell: Supporting
visual effects from Iceland
DADI EINARSSON, Creative Director/
VFX Supervisor
In working on Contraband, Framestore
Iceland completed all vfx in the film totaling
220 shots, including a key sequence where a
300m freight ship crashes into Panama
harbour. Our job on this project was to be
completely invisible, to blend in with the
‘all in camera’ feel of the film and to never
to let it slip into the vfx film genre. Since opening its doors in 2008,
Framestore Iceland has taken on vfx work
for several films including Australia, Where
The Wild Things Are, Sherlock Holmes,
Clash Of The Titans, Salt, Harry Potter and
the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and Tinker
Tailor Soldier Spy. In 2011 Framestore Iceland
secured all visual effects for the Working
Title/Universal film Contraband, starring
Mark Wahlberg and directed by Baltasar
Kormakur. Dadi began his career in 1992 at Ielandic
VFX house OZ working on television commercials, graphics and film.
GIMPVILLE AS
He relocated to London working for several
facilities including The Mill and Glassworks
and then to NY where he became head of
animation at The Mill NY. He joined
Framestore in 2000 as animation lead
working on numerous projects including
Dinotopia, the
– Going from fantastic
CG basilisk in
creatures to seamless
Chris Columsupporting visual
bus’s Harry
effects, the job of the
Potter and the
vfx supervisor is to
Chamber of
always understand
Secrets, the CG
the story telling needs
cattle sequence
of each film and to
in Baz
deliver shots that sit
Luhrman’s Ausin harmony with
tralia and the
non vfx scenes. CG shipyard
DADI EINARSSON,
scene in Guy
FRAMESTORE ICELAND
Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes.
As Animation Supervisor he led the animation team on the CG characters of Iorek,
Ragnar and a host of other bears in Chris
Weitz’s The Golden Compass. He has
recently worked on Alfonso Cuarón’s space
epic Gravity as Animation Director.
Dadi Einarsson is co-founder and Creative Director of Framestore Iceland.
www.framestore.com
Stereoscopic set extension: Behind the
scenes of the thrilling mine cart
sequence in the 3D feature film Magic
Silver 2.
LARS ERIK HANSEN, VFX Supervisor /
Producer
Gimpville is an award winning Norwegian
VFX and animation studio, with eight years
beneath its wings. To present date the studio has worked on several feature films, and
a large number of commercials.
Gimpville started its journey in 2002
with two people having a vision of contributing to the small almost non existing
Norwegian VFX market, and making it
grow. Today the company counts over a
dozen full-time employees and several
freelancers.
In 2009 and 2010 Gimpville was awarded
the national “pioneering excellence” award
– an award that is given to Norwegian
companies that have shown outstanding
business results within the last four years.
Gimpville is composed of people with an
artistic side and extensive technical skills
which gives us a mix of people that can
create the most beautiful and complex animation and vfx shots.
Lars Erik Hanson started his career as an
3d generalist in an advertisement company
more than 10 years ago. In 2003 he joined
the founders of Gimpville and became a
partner soon after. During the past 4 years
he has supervised and produced the visual
effects on eight feature films. In 2011 Lars
Erik was hired as pre-production VFX
supervisor/consultant for the upcoming
feature films, Kon-Tiki and Magic Silver 2,
doing the planning, budgeting and preparation of packages to potential VFX
vendors.
www.gimpville.no
digital storytelling | 7
ELECTRIC PUTTY
“Hugo’s There – The Unbelievable
Truth”: Adding a little character
with e>motion.
PETER SPENCE, VFX Artist.
“Hugo’s There” is a web-series combining
film, performance-capture and animation. Using Electric Putty’s internally developed
“e>motion” system, puppetry and digital
characters combine seamlessly to bring the
audience entertaining performances at
breakneck production speeds.
Peter will be demonstrating his almost
disturbing fascination with bringing slightly
odd characters to life. He is driven by the
suspension of disbelief and the challenge of
giving inanimate objects a soul. His favourite Muppet is Gonzo.
Born in the UK, Peter studied at the
internationally renowned Falmouth College
of Arts. He moved to Norway in 1999 where
he set up his company Electric Putty
Creations, and has been working in the film
and television industry since. Notable productions include his first short animation
film “Remote Descendants” which won a
Royal Television Society award and his
Amanda-winning work on the series of
“Twigson” films as Visual Effects Supervisor
and various production roles.
He also likes Marmite.
www.electricputty.com
STRIPE STUDIOS AS
Eyecandy for broadcast: A peek
into the world of motion graphics
for broadcast.
MARTIN KLINT, 3D Supervisor
Originally from Sweden, Martin has
over 8 years experience as a 3D and VFX
artist and supervisor from both Oslo and
Sydney. He’s a 3D generalist to the bone,
and has a special interest for animation and
rigging. In 2007
– VFX should have a
he co-founded
natural place in the
Stripe studios in
workflow of a director Oslo, where he
or producer, it’s our
today is the 3D
job to make this as
supervisor and a
easy as possible.
major partner.
Martin has
MARTIN KLINT
worked on hundreds of projects throughout his career,
where the main focus the last couple of
years has been on TV commercials and
Broadcast design.
STRIPE STUDIOS started up in 2007.
With an incredible dedication, amazingly
hard work and close to 400 productions
under its belt, Stripe Studios is today one of
the most experienced studios in Scandinavia. Stripe delivers 3D, VFX and post
production for film, commercials, television, web and print. Stripe focuses on being
media neutral and constantly develops it
broad expertise – both creatively, technically and artistically.
www.stripe.no
QVISTEN ANIMATION
“Twigson in trouble”: A brief talk
about VFX that Qvisten Animation
did on Twigson 3.
MARTIN SKARBØ, VFX Supervisor
With a background in graphic design, and
self-taught in the field of CGI, Martin started working with visualization in 2003,
and since then ventured into VFX. He has
contributed on a number of feature films
and a long list of commercials and tvvignettes. In addition to being a generalist,
he does simulations, ranging from water,
fire, destruc– Animators are the best. tion and
You are hard pressed to
explosions to
find more passionate,
delicious liquid
eccentric, loveable,
chocolate. He
dysfunctional and started working
delusional bunch.
at Qvisten in
2009 and was
MORTEN ØVERLIE
ANIMATION SUPERVISOR
recently VFX
supervisor on
“Twigson in Trouble”. At the moment he is
involved with the new Flåklypa movie, “Christmas in Pinchcliffe”, “Pelle Police Car 2”
in addition to commercial work. MORTEN ØVERLIE, Animation Supervisor.
After graduating from Volda (2006) Morten
started his professional career as an animator with Funcom. He has worked on
various projects together with Qvisten and
Filmkameratene. Øverlie is currently working as animation supervisor on “Pelle Police
Car 2”. He believes “Monsters Inc.” to be the
best movie ever made and dreams of doing
crunches in the gym with Michael Bay.
www.qvisten.no
8 | digital storytelling
NORDIC
VFX
OMELETTE
STORM STUDIOS AS
Creating digital water: The process of
creating simulated water and oceans
and the problems to be aware of.
MAGNUS PETTERSSON, Lead Effects TD
Storm Studios is the largest supplier of VFX
for feature films in Norway including films
as Troll Hunter,
– Working in the VFX
Max Manus,
business is very exDead Snow, The
citing. Every project
King of Devil’s
always brings someIsland, as well as
thing new to the table. work on numerIt’s a very dynamic
ous commercials.
business where anyIn 2010 Storm
thing can happen and Studios merged
each day is different
with Nordisk
from the next.
Film and coMAGNUS PETTERSSON founded Shortcut
Norway, a postproduction company that does film editing,
color grading and sound work, giving clients
a complete VFX and post-production facility
in-house. Magnus has over 10 years of experience doing CG and started out his
professional career as a 3D generalist at
Storm Studios in 2008. Here he have been
working on numerous commercials and feature films such as Max Manus, Dead Snow,
King of Devil’s Island and Troll Hunter.
Magnus is currently the lead effects tech
nical director at Storm Studios mainly
working with crowd systems, pipeline,
particle effects, character FX, smoke, fire,
destruction and most recently with heavy
water effects for the upcoming feature
Kon-Tiki.
NETRON
Fredriksten Fortress: 350 years in
eleven minutes. The history of
Fredriksten Fortress, an outdoor projection on the walls of the inner
fortress.
JØRGEN AANONSEN Managing Director
Any a happy collective needs a manager to
keep everything in line. Firm, soft and level
headed, Jørgen has an eye on every project
and every client crossing the desks at Netron.
TORGEIR HOLM Creative Director of 3D
and VFX
Torgeir has a long track record as a graphic
designer and a 3D & VFX artist. He has
worked on projects ranging from corporate
profiles to idents, commercials and effects
for film and television.
– We put the story
on the wall!
Netron is a creative
digital agency with one
foot in Fredrikstad, the
other one in Oslo and the third one in Estonia. Their clients have different needs when
it comes to film, web and graphics, and this
challenges Netron to explore new routes all
the time
TORGEIR HOLM
www.netron.no
PLACEBO EFFECTS
The cows are on your table: The
challenge of augmenting more than
100 000 breakfast tables with a
digital story.
KIM BAUMANN LARSEN, Creative Director.
An architect by education Kim enjoys tackling all aspects of digital storytelling from
writing, designing, to 3d and visual effects,
filming and direct– We live in a truly
ing. Working in
exciting time for
computer visualstorytellers.
ization and digital
KIM BAUMANN LARSEN
design since 1993,
Kim has lectured
at several architecture schools in Scandinavia and the US and at conferences such as
the fmx, Mundos Digitales, View, Imagina
and Siggraph. He has been a jury member
for the digital design Master program at the
Oslo School of Architecture and Design and
is currently teaching and help building the
curriculum for the 3D graphics studies at
the Norwegian School of Information Technology. Kim is a founding advisory board
member of the CGSociety.org and the 5D
Conference, co-founder of the Norwegian
Society of Visual Effects, and co-founder
and co-director of Digital Storytelling.
www.pfx.no
www. stormstudios.no
digital storytelling | 9
THEORY
INTERACTIVE
RESET – THE WORLD TELLS A STORY
A discussion on the anatomy of the Reset debut trailer and how the
same mood and atmosphere translates to a story where the player is
in control of pacing, position and action.
We will show the trailer and review some screenshots from our editor and other tools. We will then discuss our approach on telling
the story in Reset and what to expect as a player. We will also share
our visions of where we think storytelling in games might go and
contemplate on the paradox of telling a linear story in a non-linear
medium.
– Many games today settle for
Theory Interactive is an telling a story rather than getting
independent game studio the player to experience the story.
formed by two artists, one We aim to contribute to the
working with a pen and a growing batch of games that
pen, the other with a key- are pushing the medium to form
board and a keyboard. its own storytelling methods.
Using fresh thinking in
content creation we aim to bring smart, immersive and entertaining gaming experiences to core gamers. We are using and
developing our own proprietary technology aptly dubbed Praxis
ALPO OKSAHARJU : Roughly 5 years ago Alpo switched from the
path of a semi professional musician and freelance graphic designer
to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a story creator and story
teller. He also switched from machine engineering studies at the
Helsinki University of Technology to 3d studies at EVTEK Institute
of Technology (now called Metropolia). After
graduation he worked at Futuremark Games
Studio as a 3d Designer/Lead Game Designer on
Shattered Horizon. But the calling of the dream
soon jolted Alpo to form his own independent
game studio Theory Interactive together with
Senior Programmer Mikko Kallinen, also from
Futuremark. Theory Interactive was formed in
the summer of 2011 to facilitate the development
of the single player co-op first person puzzle
game Reset. Alpo’s playground in the project is
the field of writing, art and game design.
MIKKO JOHANNES KALLINEN has been programming and making music for fun for around
20 years. After studying Computer Science at
the Helsinki University of Technology and finding it uninspiring, his professional career started 12 years ago at
Futuremark Corporation. There he worked on multiple products in
the 3DMark and PCMark lines of benchmark software, as well as
the game Shattered Horizon. Now he is the co-founder and technical overlord of Theory Interactive, a currently two-man powerhouse
of independent game development.
www.theoryinteractive.net
10 | digital storytelling
digital storytelling | 11
FI
NEW CREA
A PRESENTATION
12 | digital storytelling
Fido is a 3D Animation and Visual Effects studio and one of the
largest providers of visual & special effects in Scandinavia. Fido
has a strong focus on character and creature animation as well
as complex simulations of real world elements.
IDO
ATURES IN THE PET STORE
OF SOME OF FIDO’S RECENT VFX WORK.
Fido works with both feature films and commercials. Many years of digital
wizardry has made the company well equipped to make almost any visual
wish come true. The objective is to combine proprietary technology and
world-class creative talent to create the best possible solutions for our clients
all around the world. Fido’s latest project, underworld: awakening
premiered early this year, designing and creating advanced transformations
and gory digital face replacements. Most recently
Fido has delivered VFX and Animation for one of
the largest films ever made in Norway: kon-tiki, an
epic drama about the great explorer Thor Heyderdahl’s legendary expedition from Peru to Polynesia in
the 1940’s.
On the commercial side Fido has won several awards
for advertising films, including LIA (London International Awards), D&AD Awards and Epica and has
created many international commercial productions
for Adidas, Coca Cola, Mercedes, IKEA, Nestlé,
Nivea, to name a few.
STAFFAN LINDER: Staffan began his career in the
early nineties as a sculptor and airbrush artist for the
toy- and special effects make-up industry but has for
the last 12 years worked with animation and digital
effects in numerous commercials as well as feature
films, both for Fido in Stockholm and for Weta
Digital in New Zealand. He is specialized in
Creature Effects and has worked on many Scandinavian films such as Kon-Tiki, Let the Right One In
and the Kautokeino Rebellion, as well as inter
national productions such as Peter Jackson’s King
Kong, and Underworld Awakening.
MATTIAS LINDAHL: Before joining Fido in February 2010 Mattias worked as the overall Visual Effects
Supervisor on the film Kick-Ass. The total of 840
shots where spread across 5 different Visual Effects
Facilities. In 2007 he was nominated for a Bafta Film
Award for his work on The Bourne Ultimatum. His
Visual Effects work on the film also made it through
to the final 7 in the Oscars Bake-Off. After moving
to the UK in 1999, Mattias worked at Jim Henson’s
Creature Shop before joining Double Negative in 2001. During his 8 years
at Double Negative, Mattias worked in a supervising position on leading
motion pictures including Batman Begins, Stardust, The Bourne Ultimatum
and Kick-Ass.
CLAES DIETMANN: Claes is a Film Producer with broad experience in all
aspects of film making, from script and financing to finished master. Since
2005, with a strong focus on advanced 3D animation and VFX production
at Fido, he has produced over one hundred commercials and VFX for ten
feature films. From 2000 - 2004 he worked at Happy Life Animation,
where he produced three television series and two feature films. The first
five years of his film career, from 1995 to 2000, he worked at the Swedish
Television’s drama department, where he did everything from extras casting to assistant director and production manager.
www.fido.se
digital storytelling | 13
BACK
TO THE
FUTURE
LOOKING BACK AT
SIX YEARS OF
DIGITAL STORYTELLING
Digital Storytelling – the art and science of visual effects is the
seventh seminar in what has become an annual event at Filmens
Hus in Oslo, Norway. The seminar has grown from a one day gathering to a three day conclave where Norwegian film and design
professionals meet with colleagues from around the world to discuss how visual effects and CGI can be used to tell better stories.
The idea to create a cross-disciplinary seminar evolved eight
years ago around a blazing campfire in the California High Sierras.
Norwegian architect Kim Baumann Larsen was among a group of
international CGI professionals attending VFX supervisor Eric
Hanson´s annual post-SIGGRAPH hike. They talked about how
much they missed the now defunct 3D Festival in Copenhagen and
wondered if it would be possible to create a new meeting place for
filmmakers and CGI professionals - in Oslo for example?
The answer came a few months later when Kim approached
Angela Amoroso, then Project Manager at Norwegian Film Development (NFU) with the idea of an international visual effects
seminar. Former NFU Director Kirsten Bryhni saw the impact and
scope of such a seminar which she approved and enthusiastically
supported calling the endeavor Possibility´s Universe known today
as Digital Storytelling.
From the first seminar held on April 5th 2006 to the present
day, Digital Storytelling has hosted award winning international
vfx artists, production designers and researchers working at the
cutting edge of their field. Key Speakers have including Oscar winners, such as Paul Debevec, Mike Fink, Robert Legato, and Robert
Stromberg. Seminar delegates and guests from 10 countries and 3
continents working in architecture, design, as well as film, tele
vision and game worlds found their way to our campfire in Oslo.
Here are some of the highlights of seven years of Digital Story
telling, which is indeed become possibilities´universe.
14 | digital storytelling
I've constantly been impressed
by the calibre of international as well
as Scandinavian professionals that Digital
Storytelling attracts. It provides fantastic
networking opportunities.
DAYNE COWAN
Digital Storytelling 2006:
DIGITAL SETS AND ENVIRONMENTS FOR FILM
Digital Storytelling 2007:
DIGITAL FICTION – INNOVATIVE FILMMAKING
APRIL 5TH-6TH
APRIL 16TH-18TH. Key Speaker: Production Designer Alex McDowell
Key Speaker: Robert Legato VFX supervisor, The Basement – This is such
an appropriate
testing ground for
the expanding film
design language.
– Today you can design any
shot that tells your story best
without fear that mechanically
you won’t be able to get it. ROBERT LEGATO
ALEX MCDOWELL – After working with Stanley
Kubrick, I truly learnt to believe that
nothing is ever impossible.
Digital Storytelling 2008:
THE NARRATIVE POWER OF VISUAL EFFECTS
KEVIN M. PHIPPS
APRIL 7TH-9TH
Key Speakers: Dr Shilo T. McClean, Brian Connor (ILM)
Kevin M. Phipps, Production Designer
– Digital environments
extend the filmmaker’s
palette into fantastic
and unseen realms. ERIC HANSON
The biggest challenge
in Norway is to create
the effects seen in big
American movies on
a budget less than
their catering costs.
MORTEN MOEN
digital storytelling | 15
Digital Storytelling 2009:
VISUAL EFFECTS AND THE STORY WORLD
Digital Storytelling 2010:
VISUAL EFFECTS INTO NEW DIMENSIONS
SEPTEMBER 9TH-11TH
APRIL 14TH-16TH
Key Speaker: Mike Fink, VFX Supervisor
Key Speaker: Robert Stromberg,
Production Designer
From 2009 DS was arranged in collaboration with
NFI and Head of Development Elin Erichsen.
– After Max
Manus other
producers have
also been keen
on including
visual effects
heavy “money
shots”.
– We are all still infants in the digital world of film.
ROBERT STROMBERG KRISTIN HELLEBUST
– Choosing how far to push the envelope
on anyone project is curious business.
– World building for games must first and
foremost be about supporting and enhancing
the core game play mechanics. MIKE FINK
OWEN O BRIEN Digital Storytelling 2011:
WORLD BUILDING IN A DIGITAL UNIVERSE
APRIL 13TH-15TH Key Speaker: Paul Debevec,
Professor at USCICT
– As an actor I faced challenges
that no other actor had faced before. PASCAL LANGLOIS
– I love creating
technologies that
capture the real
world into the
digital world
where we can
tell new
stories of our
own design. PAUL DUBEVEC
16 | digital storytelling
– 3D generates a strong feeling
of presence, Like being there.
And that's a very powerful thing.
KASIMIR LEHTO
– A lot of people argue that digital
visual effects are about stopping
story; I argue that they are
about starting story!
SHILO T. MCCLEAN
BACK
TO THE
FUTURE
LOOKING BACK AT SIX YEARS
OF DIGITAL STORYTELLING
VISIONS FOR A STORY WORLD: AN EXHIBITION
OF CONCEPT ART AND MATTE PAINTING.
Curators: Øyvind Renberg and Miho Shimizu
Selected from their original contexts and presented as high quality prints these works – including sketches, completed
projects and models – invite the viewer to experi ence the magic worlds of moving images as poetic artworks in their own
right. Contemplate, fill in the gaps and perhaps dream up your own.
Works by current Norwegian and international production designers, concept artists and matte painters who create
unique story worlds for film, television and computer games. – øyvind renberg
digital storytelling | 17
THE WORKSHOPS
COMPOSITING & VFX WORKSHOPS
Instructor: Matt Leonard, Sphere VFX UK Experienced compositing /VFX artists
WORKSHOP NUKE X 6.3
VENUE:
8th floor seminar room Filmens Hus, Oslo
Date: Tuesday, May 15th 09:00-17:00
This year’s Nuke Workshop focuses on many of the new
features found in NukeX 6.3 and how they can be used to
speed up production tasks. This includes Deep Compositing,
the new and powerful Particle System and the integration of
ILM/Sony Picture Imagework´s Open Colour IO system.
We will be providing various assets to run along with the
course including Deep Image and Alembic files, video footage and Maya Files. This workshop is targeting artists who already know Nukebut want
to get up to speed with the new 6.3. features.
INSTRUCTOR:
Matt Leonard, Sphere VFX
HOST:
Digital Storytelling 2012 and NFI in
collaboration with Sphere VFX and
The Foundry
WORKSHOP MAYA TO HOUDINI
Date: Wednesday May 16th 09:00- 17:00
The Maya to Houdini workshop is an introduction for Maya
artists looking to understand more about Houdini.
During the course of the day we will be looking to complete
an entire shot from start to finish in Houdini, including
odeling, Texturing, Animation and Rendering. This is a fantastic
opportunity for Maya artists to gain a good overview as to
how this unique node-based 3D application works. The workshop targets mainly Maya artists who have no real experience with Houdini but are
looking to make the transition and under more of how it works.
MATT LEONARD
Instructor MATT LEONARD returns to
Digital Storytelling for the third time.
He has been in the 3D animation and
visual effects industry since 1991 and has
produced work for feature films, commercials and large corporate projects.
He is currently Head of Training at
Sphere VFX, his own company that specialises in teaching 3D, Compositing,
Visual Effects and Stereoscopic PostProduction to professional artists.
In this role he has trained artists from
some of the top VFX companies in the
UK, USA and Europe, including BBC,
Framestore, Dreamworks Animation,
Double Negative, MPC, Digital Domain,
Ghost VFX, and Windmill Lane VFX. 18 | digital storytelling
PARTICIPANTS:
Head of Training, Sphere VFX, UK
He is also regularly involved in teaching/lecturing at various Skillset Media
Academies and universities across the
country teaching both lecturers and
students.
In addition Matt is listed on the
IMDB (Internet Movie Database) and is
a member of the Visual Effects Society. His work has been shown at various festivals including the Sundance Film
Festival and the Venice Film Festival. He has also spoken at various trade
events and conferences and is a published author.
Matt has developed and oversees The
Foundry’s ‘Nuke Training Accreditation
Program’ and is currently the only offi-
cially certified Nuke trainer in the world,
he also continues to act as a Maya and
Nuke Professor at FXPHD (the leading
world supplier of online visual effects
training).
Spherevfx is a high-end international
training company specializing in 3D,
Compositing, Visual Effects and Stereoscopic Post Production courses, offering
training in the world´s best CGI and VFX
software designed for artist working in
film, broadcast or corporate work.
www.spherevfx.com
DIGITAL STORYTELLING PARTNERS
Please take a moment to read about our Partners who have contributed to the Digital Storytelling seminar and workshops.
Main Partner
Associated Events
Seminar Partners
NORWEGIAN FILM INSTITUTE
(NFI) operates under the auspices
of The Royal Norwegian Ministry for
Culture, providing support for Norwegian films, television series and
electronic games, and organizes professional training and talent
development. Norwegian Film Institute and the former Norwegian Film
Development have supported Digital
Storytelling since the first seminar
in 2006.
5D is a group of designers, scientists,
artists, and educators who talk about
learning how to seeing better stories.
NEXTRON AS provides servers,
workstations and storage systems,
offering cutting edge technology,
processing power and upgrading possibilities. Always in the lead with the
newest technology, Nextron has high
technical competence and many
years of experience with sales and
custom client solutions.
www.5dconference.com
TD FORUM is a bi-annual event
providing an opportunity for Technical
Directors and high-end CG artists to
meet face to face to learn from each
others' experiences.
www.tdforum.eu
www.nfi.no
Media Partners
MONTAGES is the online magazine
for film enthusiasts with solid articles, bloggers, interviews, videos and
archive.
FRAME BY FRAME was started by
the Society of Animated Filmmakers
in 2006 as an arena for screening new
Norwegian animation films, annually
organising a day of screenings and
seminars focusing on animation.
www.fxf.no
www.montages.no
RUSHPRINT is a online and hardcover magazine for the film workers’
community in Norway and the Nordic
countries, following political as well
as industry debate.
www.rushprint.no
STOREDYRET was started by Rune
Spaans in 2000 and has since become
one of Norway’s largest forums for
professionals working in 3D, illustration, animation and design.
www.storedyret.no
3D HUE is one of Norway´s largest
online communities for digital artists.
www.3dhue.no
Technical Partners
NETRON AS has explored the
“interactive” concept in the widest
possible sense since its start in 2000.
Everything ranging from games to
apps, film, e-learning, websites, copywriting, interactive installations,
visual effects and 3D. Netron has
supported Digital Storytelling with
web solutions since 2010.
www.netron.no
INFOGRAFIKK was established in
1989 as a knowledge center for the
graphics industry. As a certified Apple
Center InfoGrafikk offers business
solutions based on industry standard
hardware and software platforms.
www.infografikk.no
FOTOPHONO are specialists in
sound, lighting and images, delivering
presentation- and communication
solutions to companies, organizations, institutions, artists and the
event market.
www.fotophono.no
THE FOUNDRY Established in
1996, The Foundry is a world-leading
innovator of visual effects and image
processing technologies that boost
productivity in motion picture and
video post-production.
www.nextron.no
FILM & KINO is a combination of a
member organisation for Norwegian
municipalities and an industry organisation for the cinema and video
industries. In July 2011 Norway
became the world’s first country with
total digital cinema technology with
the roll-out of 420 screens all over
Norway. Film & Kino has supported
Digital Storytelling since 2010.
www.kino.no
STRIPE STUDIOS AS started up
in 2007. With incredible dedication,
amazingly hard work and close to 400
productions under its belt, Stripe has
become one of the most experienced
studios in Scandinavia delivering 3D,
VFX and post production for film,
commercials, television, web and
print. Stripe focuses on being media
neutral and constantly develops its
broad expertise - both creatively,
technically and artistically.
www.stripe.no
FILMK A MER ATENE AS is
Norway’s most successful film production company delivering box
office hits to Norwegian cinemas
since 1987. Among Filmkameratene’s
more profiled productions are the
Oscar nominated Pathfinder (1987),
the special effects extravaganza for
children Chasing the Kidneystone
(1998), the CGI animated Elias – the
Little Rescue Boat, nominated for an
International EMMY award, the WW II
vfx-heavy drama Max Manus (2008)
and the award winning The Troll Hunter
(2010)
CHAOS GROUP provides state of
the art rendering solutions for architectural, VFX, film, media and
entertainment, automotive design,
television and other industries. The
V-Ray render engine celebrates its
10th Anniversary and has become the
rendering solution of choice for many
3D production houses due to its capability to deliver high quality
photorealistic images in the shortest
time. V-Ray is used in a number of
prestigious VFX and CG studios
around the world.
www.chaosgroup.com
STORM STUDIOS AS is the largest supplier of VFX for feature films
in Norway including films as The Troll
Hunter, Max Manus, Dead Snow, The
King of Devil’s Island, as well as work
on numerous commercials. In 2010
Storm Studios merged with Nordisk
Film and co-founded Shortcut Norway,
a post-production company that does
film editing, color grading and sound
work, giving clients a complete VFX
and post-production facility in-house.
www.stormstudios.no
THON HOTELS is part of the Olav
Thon Group, and has 60 hotels in Norway and 1 in Sweden, 4 hotels in
Brussels and 1 in Rotterdam. Thon
Hotels is certifying all its hotels in
Norway as Eco-Lighthouse. Thon
Hotel offers four different hotel
concepts: Budget, City, Conference
and Resort. Thon Hotels Oslo Pano
rama has been seminar hotel since
2009.
www.thonhotels.com
MARIUS RENBERG DESIGN +
ILLUSTRATION Graphic designer,
illustrator & brand developer. Marius
Renberg is responsible for the visual
identity and graphic design of Digital
Storytelling and events.
www.mariusrenberg.no
www.filmkameratene.no
www.thefoundry.co.uk
digital storytelling | 19
filmens hus, Dronningensgt. 16 0155 Oslo, Norway [ www.nfi.no ]
design: Marius Renberg [ www.mariusrenberg.no ]
printing: Flexi Trykk as [ www.flexitrykk.no ]
www.digistorytelling.com
– Out there. Thataway!
JAMES T. KIRK, STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979)
20 | digital storytelling

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