Peter started his Visual Effects career in the mid 90s with Digital Domain. He worked on projects like Apollo 13, Titanic and Final Fantasy – The Spirits Within, until he found his was to Weta Digital in New Zealand.

As a Digital Matte and Concept Artist he created visuals for LOTR- The Two Towers, King Kong, Avatar amongst many other projects.

Switching tracks, Peter started working as VFX Art Director and also On Set VFX Supervisor in the early 2010s on a variety of long-form TV shows.

This led him to be hired as Virtual Art Director on Amazon's Rings of Power, a position he held for over 3 years over 2 seasons.

Peter is currently working on a high profile virtual production in Australia.

Highlights of the Episode:
0:00 Introduction
0:17 Introduction of guest
1:12 Background
16:23 Doing well at walking the line
19:30 Tools for photogrammetry
26:43 Team members for XR filmmaking
31:05 Flame sessions with clients in 3D environments
31:52 Unity vs Unreal
34:31 Guide to moving around different facets of visual effects and
virtual production
35:54 Seeing something that you should spend time on
38:04 Studies that leads to the industry
40:44 What do you do to keep on top of all the new technology
42:59 What the industry is looking like for entry level positions
48:10 Advice on keeping the passion through a long career
50:38 The right time to walk away from an opportunity
53:12 Getting perspective in the middle of a lot of noise
55:40 AI and how it's influencing production
01:01:48 Wrap up
01:02:24 Outro

Connecting with the Guest:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-baustaedter-3499/?originalSubdomain=nz
Art station: https://peterbaustaedter7.artstation.com/

Connecting with CG Pro:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/becomecgpro
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomecgpro/
Website: https://www.becomecgpro.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BecomeCGPro

#CG #VirtualProduction #VFX

Colin Urquhart is a pioneer in the field of digital doubles and is co-founder and CEO of DI4D. Colin began his career at the Turing Institute in Glasgow, Scotland carrying out research into computer stereo vision, and went on to obtain a PhD from the University of Glasgow in 1996 for his research into stereo photogrammetry. During this time, Colin also developed a strong interest in entrepreneurship and became CTO of a university spin-out company in 2000. When that company failed, Colin returned to the University of Glasgow in 2001 to lead the “Virtual Cloned Human Characters” project, which was aimed at using stereo photogrammetry to create virtual characters with the shape and appearance of real-life people, which have now became known as “digital doubles”.

Colin and co-founder Douglas Green formed DI4D in 2003 to exploit the potential of stereo photogrammetry combined with recently introduced digital stills cameras to create highly realistic digital double characters for video games. DI4D was initially unable to obtain traction in the video games field because of the graphical limitations of the Playstation 2 and Xbox generation of consoles. Colin pivoted the company to providing 3D facial capture solutions for research in fields such as facial surgery and psychology. DI4D had a major breakthrough in video games in 2009, when Electronic Arts began using its solutions to capture the shape and appearance of real-life soccer players to create digital doubles for inclusion in the FIFA video game series.

In 2004, DI4D began development of its ground-breaking 4D capture system, which uses an array of synchronised video cameras to capture the facial movements of an actor in 3D and time. Axis Animation was one of the first companies to use 4D capture to produce the facial animation for the 2011 Announcement Trailer for Techland’s Dead Island video game. Colin relocated from Glasgow to Los Angeles in 2017 to accelerate DI4D’s expansion into the entertainment industry. DI4D’s 4D capture systems have now been used for VFX in movies such as Blade Runner 2049, Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Morbius, the Netflix animated series Love, Death, and Robots, and video games such as Quantum Break and Call of Duty Modern Warfare II.

Highlights of the Episode:

0:00 Introduction

0:13 Introduction of guest

1:12 Early inspiration

5:33 Significance of AI

7:11 The best of both worlds

11:02 Virtual clones in a couple of sentences

13:25 Early applications

17:06 Lessons learned from studying entrepreneurship

18:42 Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

21:06 Developing a market for a new capability

27:05 Risk versus continuing to do something

32:13 Work in film and feature film

38:05 Translation onto the rig

44:13 Insights from studying actors' performance

48:46 Unexpected or craziest use of this technology in entertainment

50:56 What more can we get from AI

57:24 4D technology and how we watch television

01:00:16 Wrap up

01:01:02 Outro

 “You learn a lot from things that don't work out, I think you learn more from failure than you do from success” - Colin Urquhart

Connecting with the Guest:

Website: https://di4d.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinurquhart/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dimensionalimaging/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/di4dcom?lang=en

Connecting with CG Pro:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/becomecgpro

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomecgpro/

Website: https://www.becomecgpro.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BecomeCGPro

#4d #entrepreneuralism #virtualproduction

As a thought leader in the world of virtual production, Felix Jorge serves as the CEO and Co-Founder of Narwhal Studios, and CCO at Arctic 7. With over 16 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Felix has led teams of experts who specialize in providing Virtual Art Department (VAD) services to some of the biggest films, TV shows, and video games, including The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Black Adam, and Ant Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.

Felix's passion for innovation and education has pushed him to expand his reach even further. He is now leading Narwhal studios to develop an innovative platform and Virtual Production tools to empower students and partners, and bridge the gap between leadership's needs in the Virtual Art Department and the global market of artists. Through his deep understanding of visual storytelling and unwavering commitment to innovation, Felix’s influence as a thought leader continues to evolve, as he thrives to help fellow creatives and entrepreneurs flourish in this rapidly evolving industry.

Highlights of the Episode:

0:00 Introduction

0:36 Introduction of guest

3:01 Felix's journey and early inspiration

7:27 Breakthrough moment

11:02 Skills important to a previz artist

13:40 Hiring people with the right skills

19:06 Making something outstanding

20:47 Thoughts on being a generalist in virtual production

23:22 Leading others to be honest with you

32:46 Narwhal Studios: The business side of things

35:38 What's Felix up to

41:02 Work on The Mandalorian

51:53 Cameras and lenses for virtual production

53:05 Why change the company name?

54:01 Recommendation for people transitioning from other industries

01:00:21 The tools

01:02:24 Toughest roles to find talent for

01:03:59 Skills attractive to studios

01:06:32 How to structure a reel

01:09:44 Tools to do a proof of concept

01:13:02 Handling new client acquisition

01:14:27 The usefulness of doing short films with virtual production

01:20:49 Wrap up

01:22:00 Outro

Connecting with the Guest:

Website: https://www.narwhalstudios.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felix-jorge-5884292/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/felixthepuerto/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/felixthepuerto?lang=en

Connecting with CG Pro:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/becomecgpro

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomecgpro/

Website: https://www.becomecgpro.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BecomeCGPro

#virtualproduction #previz #virtualart

Asad Manzoor 

Asad spearheads content creation for Pixomondo’s Virtual Production division, squeezing feature-quality imagery out of Unreal Engine. Recently, he has delivered such titles as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Halo, Nightbooks, and the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender.

From initial pitch to today, Asad co-developed Pixomondo’s Virtual Production division, with a sprinkle of game development throughout that time. Having taken shots from R&D through the final frame, Asad had previously handled characters, lighting, environment art, all with a sprinkle of compositing — today, he uses all of the above to ensure PXO's Virtual Production team runs smoothly.

To keep things interesting when he's not managing Virtual Production, Asad finds himself jumping back into game development, concept art, and the occasional practical SFX project.

Zach Dembinsky

With a passion for creating digital worlds since Lightwave 7.5c, Zachary is devoted to the journey of trying to mimic the reality of light. You can find him looking around random corners of the world asking, “How would I achieve that in CG…”

Zachary Dembinski brings a decades worth of VFX experience to Pixomondo’s exciting endeavor of virtual production. With his background roots in traditional vfx Lighting – he ambitiously tries to push the boundaries of real-time rendering with every environment. He firmly believes real-time rendering is the future and it’s here to stay. His latest VP projects include, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New

Worlds, and Netflix’s – Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Highlights of the Episode:

0:00 Introduction

0:14 Introduction of guests

3:33 Getting into the industry

7:59 Education and biggest contributors

11:41 Zach's path into the industry

20:01 Lighting and its appeal 

22:36 Balancing making your own work and working on

 someone else's

29:33 What it's like to be more connected to virtual production

35:23 Difference between a VAD and the art department

39:30 How to help the VAD and the art department

 function well together

44:39 Level instancing or data layers in your VAD workflow?

45:56 workflow for ingesting high poly lidar assets 

49:11 Exploring Nerfs

51:06 Optimistic about AI

54:29 Collaborative working for guys in VADs

59:19 What the traditional art department need to learn to work 

better with the VAD

01:02:17 Wrap up

01:02:53 Outro

“In any project, not necessarily just visual effects, any thing that a group is working on, the more interconnected that group is, the better the product you're gonna end up with by the end.” -  Asad Manzoor

Connecting with the Guest:

Asad Manzoor 

Website: https://www.pixomondo.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asadnmanzoor/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNLNAcU-wcQ

Zach Dembinsky

Website: https://www.pixomondo.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharydembinski/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zackdembinski/?hl=en

Connecting with CG Pro:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/becomecgpro

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomecgpro/

Website: https://www.becomecgpro.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BecomeCGPro

#virtualart #virtualproduction #cgpro

Cory is a two-time Emmy award winning visual effects artist whose recent work earned him a Gold Lion at Cannes. Along with creating futuristic advertisements and Visual Effects for the film Minority Report, he was a part of the concept team that developed the look and feel of the future world. In his two decade career, Cory’s work spans across films like Minority Report and Star Trek, TV shows such as X-files, Deepspace 9, Smallville, and broadcast visuals for ABC, ESPN, Fox, Discovery & Disney. In 2013 he co-founded a Virtual Reality company named Kite and Lightning, who created virtual experiences for GE, NBC, Lionsgate and HBO as well as developed the VR game Bebylon Battle Royal, a party brawler where immortal babies battle in an arena. Currently Cory creates a solo show on YouTube called Xanadu where his Alien alter ego vlogs from his spaceship, using realtime technology at cinematic quality.

Highlights of the Episode:

0:00 Introduction

0:26 Introduction of guest

1:37 Getting started in creating content films

11:51 Approach to learning new skills

20:28 Optimizing creation by being organized

29:28 Finding people to collaborate with

33:38 Advice for creators on creating something big

38:55 Origins of the idea for Blue

42:45 Xanadu becomes an occupation

52:04 The community as an investor

55:58 Excitement around AI

01:08:21 Applying to help you in the future

01:09:01 Wrap up

01:10:10 Outro

Notable Quote

“Blu represented this idea that I could do virtually all the things that I can't do in reality.  I'm not going go into space in my lifetime in reality, but I can go into space as Blu. I can go on adventures, sci-fi adventures and do stuff that I can't do as me.” -  Cory Strassburger

Connecting with the Guest:

Website:https://www.corystrassburger.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corystrassburger/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/kite-&-lightning-vr-creative-studio-/about/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/effectzero/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/coryezero

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/kitelightning

Connecting with CG Pro:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/becomecgpro

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomecgpro/

Website: https://www.becomecgpro.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/becomecgpro

#virtualproduction #indie #independentcreator

Kristin graduated from The Digital Animation & Visual Effects School in Orlando, FL before joining Halon Entertainment where she honed her skills while working on a variety of projects on the studio’s slate including commercials, video game trailers, theme park rides, and feature films such as Logan, Ford vs. Ferrari, and The Batman. For the recently released Robert Zemeckis film Pinocchio, she led her team to develop remote virtual camera and digital cinematography tools and workflows needed to meet the creative and logistical challenges of filmmaking during the pandemic era.

In 2022 Kristin made the move within the NEP Virtual Studios family to join Lux Machina as a Virtual Production Supervisor where she continues to help advance virtual production workflows and technology, assisting creative filmmakers of all disciplines to harness the power of virtual production for their projects.

Highlights of the Episode:

0:00 Introduction

0:17 Introduction of guest

1:29 Always wanted to get into film

10:33 About visualization

17:12 What makes a good previs artist?

21:51 Being a generalist is necessary

32:43 Is previz too niche?

39:33 Advice for transitioning from traditional art department to a VAD

42:43 How far do you take the previz as far as details?

44:37 Things you need to show to apply for roles in previz or VAD

46:31 The magic that makes Lux Machina

49:12 Being a virtual production supervisor at Lux Machina 

52:55 Talk about Pinocchio

01:07:01 Machine learning: what the future holds

01:15:01 Outro

Quote: 

 “If you're looking for something in previz, showing a range of skills is great. But most importantly, showing a willingness to try new things.” -  Kristin Turnipseed

Connecting with the Guest:

Website:https://www.luxmc.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-turnipseed-48067787

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kris_turnip/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/turnipseedk?lang=en

Connecting with CG Pro:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/becomecgpro

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomecgpro/

Website: https://www.becomecgpro.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/becomecgpro

RSVP here for upcoming CG Pro Podcasts: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/cg-pro-39748423833

#virtualproduction #virtualproductionsupervising #becomecgpro

Christian Kaestner began his career as an art director at leading advertising agencies, crafting unique work for clients such as Sony and Adobe.

After working with high-profile clients to create beautiful, memorable imagery he pivoted to VFX in the mid-2000s. He graduated from San Francisco’s Academy of Art University with a Masters of Fine Arts in 3D Animation and Visual Effects and launched his VFX career with The Orphanage, before joining Framestore in 2007.

Since then, he has worked on a wide variety of projects including The Dark Knight, Quantum of Solace, Where The Wild Things Are, Avatar and the Oscar-winning Gravity.

Christian made the move to Montreal in 2013 and quickly established himself as a key member of the studio’s senior team, supervising titles such as Paddington, Alien: Covenant, Mary Poppins Returns, Captain Marvel, The Aeronauts, and the BAFTA-winning His Dark Materials. His most recent project is 1899, a major episodic project for Netflix utilizing Europe’s largest LED volume facility. Here he led a team spanning concept art, visualization, virtual production and VFX.

Highlights of the Episode:
0:00 Introduction
0:18 Introduction of guest
1:35 Getting into film
3:34 Why commercials?
4:42 How studying helps you jump into the industry
6:51 Getting a break
9:57 Good route for anyone wanting to get into the industry
11:48 Improving mentoring in a remote work setting
15:49 Becoming a visual effects supervisor
17:23 A VFX supervisor's job
18:55 What makes a good visual effects supervisor?
22:31 How a visual effects supervisor differs from a virtual production supervisor
34:17 What virtual production tools need to succeed
40:37 Virtual production ideas that didn't work when done
42:08 How water environments were approached in the volume
45:38 How much change happens once work is turned over to the vendor?
49:14 Challenges in virtual production that needs solving
50:02 Working from home and productivity
52:49 AI and how it will affect the visual effects industry
56:35 How to compensate for the things we don't have to do anymore
59:02 What's emerging that can be exciting
1:03:57 Advice for someone who wants to break into the industry
1:14:33 Outro

Connecting with the Guest:
Website: https://www.framestore.com/
Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ckaestner
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ckvfx/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ckvfx?lang=en

Connecting with CG Pro:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/becomecgpro
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomecgpro/
Website: https://www.becomecgpro.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/edgevisualCG

#virtualproduction #remoteworking #cgpro

Rene boasts 24 years of experience with 16 startups, starting young and working for his parent’s startups in silicon valley. He’s also directed over 350 commercials, short films, and pilots; primarily as co-founder and creative director for 8 years at digital agency Automaton Creative. Most recently as founder at ARwall, Rene won the SXSW Accelerator 2018 AR/VR category pitch, has been acknowledged as a top AR tech evangelist in Hollywood, and designed the first ARwall Lab in Burbank.

Highlights of the Episode:
0:00 Introduction
0:15 Introduction of guest
1:25 Rene’s background
9:29 Exposure to augmented reality
21:13 Allowing play and creativity into the process
24:34 ARFX
25:54 What it looks like in terms of process for a filmmaker
29:40 How much control you can have
32:23 A filmmaking and service company to help others make films.
36:07 Do your walls run on 220 electric or less?
38:07 How many insert stages are using it currently?
39:41 Working with set pieces and props
41:56 Building your own environments and plugging them in
45:07 Eliminating atmospheric smoke
46:39 Handling complicated LED volume output
48:43 Winning South by Southwest Award
52:05 Achieving balance
1:02:05 Outro

Connecting with the Guest:
Website: https://arwall.co/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rlamador
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealreneamador/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rlamador?lang=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arwallco/

Connecting with CG Pro:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/becomecgpro
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomecgpro/
Website: https://www.becomecgpro.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/edgevisualCG
Game Design Course: https://www.becomecgpro.com/gamedesigninunreal

#virtualproduction #AR #becomecgpro

Norman Wang is Co-founder & CEO at Glassbox Technologies. He was born in Taiwan, raised in Australia and now calling California home, Norman is a published computer vision author, former Ph.D researcher in the field of cognitive psychology, university lecturer, VR industry figurehead and seasoned tech entrepreneur. Since founding Glassbox, Norman and the team at Glassbox have been involved in several world-class productions and pushed the boundaries of virtual production and real-time filmmaking in collaboration with some of the most innovative filmmakers and creative technologists. Headquartered in sunny Los Angeles, Glassbox is a global company with locations in Germany, Australia and as of 2021, Taiwan.

Highlights of the Episode:
0:00 Introduction
0:24 Introduction of guest
1:11 Early inspirations in film and technology
7:50 Confidence in interactive technologies and games
9:55 Indication of going the right way in difficult moments
13:03 Accomplishments as reminders
15:10 Finding and keeping a good team
25:44 Forced into being remote
27:34 Hands on as an engineer vs. managing
32:32 Interesting problems
38:31 Built products
43:58 Scene formats
50:20 Suite of tools and dragonfly
53:58 Something which will work with multiple platforms
55:02 Questions about NASA
58:31 Opportunities to tell stories
1:00:16 Things to look out for from Glassbox
1:04:13 Outro

Connecting with the Guest:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norman-wang-0284535a/

Connecting with CG Pro:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/becomecgpro
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomecgpro/
Website: https://www.becomecgpro.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/edgevisualCG
Game Design Course: https://www.becomecgpro.com/gamedesigninunreal

#virtualproduction #dataproblem #cgpro

Sean Spitzer is one of Unreal Enterprise's Senior Instructor / Master Mentor Artists for Virtual Production at Epic Games. Sean has been in the games and media industry for 26 years, working in both console, PC and social gaming verticals as well as commercial TV. He has an extensive background in education teaching Arts and Animation and Game Art and Design related topics at both the Academy of Art University and The Art Institute of California.  He has worked extensively on games and TV projects and recently finished working on Netflix's Love Death and Robots Season 3’s short Vaulted Halls:Entombed.

Highlights of the Episode:

0:00 Introduction

0:16 Introduction of guest

1:36 Early experiences that made you dive into this industry

3:27 Computers and art in college

5:05 Renaissance of the generalist

6:32 Early days in the games industry

15:00 Experience in film and virtual production

19:55 Growing in broadcast

23:42 Why generalists are getting more popular now

25:38 What makes a good generalist

28:13 Recommendations for being a good generalist

32:11 Working on Love Death and Robots

38:14 Connectivity of the engine

40:02 How long Unreal training takes

40:55 Other programs used to make Cthulhu

42:49 How long before Unreal becomes fully integrated into the film industry?

45:0020 AI: tool, threat, or both?

49:03 Unreal affecting the games industry

53:59 Tips on getting good cinematic quality ICV effects for virtual production

58:21 What's a good approach to lighting an interior from scratch? 

1:02:18 What are you most excited about right now

1:04:44 Advice to those that want to dive in and learn

1:06:41 Outro

Connecting with the Guest:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanspitzer3d

Connecting with CG Pro:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/becomecgpro

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomecgpro/

Website: https://www.becomecgpro.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/edgevisualCG

Game Design Course: https://www.becomecgpro.com/gamedesigninunreal

RSVP here for upcoming CG Pro Podcasts: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/cg-pro-39748423833

#virtualproduction #unrealengine #becomecgpro