Yellow Brick Road

In episode #20 we visit the Nordsken Festival of Games, Culture & Creativity in Skellefteå. We meet the legendary game veteran Fred Malmberg, the godfather of RPG in Sweden, creator of classic games like Mutant and Dragons & Demons and step-father of Conan the Barbarian.

We also meet VFX Artists Joakim Olsson and Denys Holovyanko, talking about the VR Experiences at the Goodbye Kansas booth, including a very special mutant duck and a hammer-throwing Norse god.

The VFX industry is a very international. In ep 19 we meet two Swedish VFX artists who worked in Canada for a few years and now have returned to Sweden: Daniel Norlund and Joakim Eriksson. How do you apply for a VFX job on the other side of the world, what are the do’s and don’ts – and what’s the difference between working with VFX in Stockholm and Vancouver?

It's zombie time on Yellow Brick Road, as VFX Supervisor Henrik Eklundh and Senior Character Artist Jonas Skoog talk about the production of two of the cinematic character trailers for Starbreeze’s new game ”Overkill’s The Walking Dead”. How were the trailers created, how is it to spend a full year in the company of undead walkers and do 3D Artists dream of digital zombies?

In episode 17 we talk about the importance of being well prepared before you embark on a film production. Executive Producer and MoCap guru Anton Söderhäll and director Fred Löfberg guide us into the wonderful world of previsualisations. How has the technique evolved, how does the future look and why is a “previz” one of the most important tools a filmmaker can use?

In episode #16 we dive into the world of the classic game “Mutant” and Funcom’s upcoming game “Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden”. And how did ducks in popular culture go from silly to cool? Guests: Game expert, film geek and author Orvar Säfström and Goodbye Kansas stalwarts Tom Olsson and Jonas Skoog.

The Animation and VFX business has always been a boys’ club, so how can we change that? VFX producer Matilda Olsson and Lead Animator and Supervisor Christina Sidoti talk about some of all those unsung women in Animation and Film history. Learn more about the female trail blazers, the heroes that struggled in the shadow of mansplaining guys. How is to work in a male dominated business and what can we do to increase the number of women working with VFX and Animation?

Ever since 1933 when Felix E Feist released a massive tidal wave on a miniature version of New York in his “Deluge”, the Big Apple has been destroyed countless times on the silver screen. Why is destruction so entertaining and what makes a disaster film truly great? This week’s guests Matilda Olsson and Denys Holovyanko walk us through the history of disaster films, reveal their personal favorites and discuss eternal questions like the impossibly tiny world of Roland Emmerich, single dad heroes and why great miniature effect shots never gets old. Also: the actress who survived the Titanic disaster twice and the secret story of the flying cow in Twister.

In episode #13 we meet three experts hellbent on creating the best digital faces in the world: Jonas Törnqvist, Nils Lerin and Sigtor Kildal from the 3D Scan/Face Animation department at Goodbye Kansas in Uppsala. We ‘ll talk about Grand Moff Tarkin in "Rogue One", Björn Borg in “Borg vs McEnroe” and how to scan people with a Vectogrammetry 3D Scanner. How do you create a digital human face that looks totally convincing – and why is it so hard?

Let's walk in the footsteps of these iconic beasts together with VFX Supervisors – and Dinosaur geeks – Cameron Scott and Staffan Linder. How has the look of cinema dinosaurs changed over the years, what techniques have been used – and why will the T-Rex always remain king of the dinosaurs – despite those ridiculously tiny arms?

In episode 11 of Yellow Brick Road we meet the team behind the VES Award nominated effects of the drama series Outlander: VFX Supervisors Filip Orrby and Daniel Norlund and VFX Producer Matilda Olsson. How did they create the storm scenes in the episode “Eye of the storm”, why is it so hard to create digital water and do VFX artists ever get seasick from working with stormy ocean effects like these?