Yellow Brick Road

This week we venture into space – to boldly go where no man has gone before. Or more exactly: we’re going where lots of VFX artists have gone before – because space movies have always been filled with VFX. So why are space films so popular? How do you design black holes and convey light speed? And why is sound so important for an environment where – in reality - no sounds exist?

Follow director Laurent Clermont and producer Anton Söderhäll to the far end of the Universe in episode #10 of Yellow Brick Road.

It’s hacking-time time in ep 9 of Yellow Brick Road, as VFX Supervisor Cameron Scott and VFX producer Matilda Olsson share memories from the VFX production of the first film ever to combine time travel, Kung Fu, nazis, violent arcade machines, laser raptors and heavily armed female Viking warriors – all wrapped together in glorious 80s VHS style. Welcome the world of “Kung Fury” and VFX in VHS style.

This week we talk about the art of animation with senior animators Christina Sidoti and Cameron Scott. What's the secret behind great animation, how do you convey emotions and how do you give animated characters true life and soul? We discuss the craft behind the magic and reveal our animated film favorites.

We’ve all seen Gollum and Andy Serkis dressed in his skintight lycra Motion Capture suit - filled with tiny with balls. But how does Motion Capture actually work and when did it all start? Motion capture veterans Anton Söderhäll and Samuel Tyskling guide us through a day at the Goodbye Kansas Motion Capture studio and discuss the past, the present and the possible future of this amazing technology.

Let's get nostalgic and dive into the history of VFX together with two film buffs: VFX Supervisor Staffan Linder and VFX producer Matilda Olsson. Get ready for Georges Méliès, Ray Harryhausen, King Kong and the digital sins of George Lucas. We discuss the evolution of effects and why some of them age well and some don’t. Staffan share memories from his work with Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” and Matilda admits her weakness for VFX from the 80’s.

Movies and games are filled with gods, monsters and fearsome beasts, and this week we gather three monster experts to discuss why some monsters are more iconic than others. VFX Supervisor and horror connaisseur Staffan Linder, Director Fred Löfberg and Senior Character Artist Daniel Bystedt reveal their favorite monsters and discuss the noble art of creating gods and monsters.

How do you design a successful monster, what makes a monster design timeless and why do some scare us more than others?

It’s zombie slashing time in this week’s episode as we unleash two of Goodbye Kansas zombie experts: VFX producer Matilda Olsson and VFX Supervisor Staffan Linder, with a great passion for all things undead – and especially zombie VFX. Staffan got Emmy nominated for his work on “The Walking Dead” and Matilda has juggled numerous gory VFX shots for both “The Walking Dead” and “Fear The Walking Dead”.

How many types of zombies are there? Why are zombies so popular? And in how many ways can you digitally kill off a zombie? Join us for an entertaining half hour in the world of zombies!

In the third episode of "Yellow Brick Road" we talk about how to design and create brand new worlds, how to take a line from a film script and turn it into a visual experience. This week’s guests know everything about that: Senior Character Designer Daniel Bystedt and Director/Senior Concept Artist Andrée Wallin have worked on many great productions – including Andrée’s short film “State Zero”. Andrée also takes us behind the scenes of the greatest franchise of them all: Star Wars, sharing memories from the production of "The Force Awakens".

In the second episode of "Yellow Brick Road" director Fredrik Löfberg and Senior Character Artist Jonas Skoog talks about characters and the process of designing and creating them. What makes a character truly great and how do you approach the task of re-imaging the iconic barbarian Conan? We dive behind the scenes of the production of the cinematic trailer for the game "Conan Exiles" and discuss other iconic characters and why we love them so much.

In the first episode of our new webcast we meet three Goodbye Kansas artists with true passion for their craft:  Jonas Skoog (Senior Character Artist),  Christina Sidoti (Lead Animation & Supervisor) and Fred Löfberg (Director). Why did they start to work within this industry and why is the world of Visual Effects and Animation so fascinating?