Recent VFX Articles

How ‘Furious 7’ Created a CGI Version of Paul Walker For His Unfinished Scenes

With the untimely passing of Paul Walker midway through the production of Furious 7, now in theaters, it was questioned for months how they would replace the unfinished shots needed with the star. Many stories were circulated including the complete scrapping of the film, but with the help of CGI and Paul's brothers Cody and Caleb Walker they were able to finish the movie and fill in the gaps that Paul had not yet finished.

What Happens When You Mix A High Speed Camera And A High Speed Robot?

Awesome is what happens. We have all seen the yummy slow motion footage that comes out of cameras like the Phantom, but what the Bolt High Speed Cinebot has done is integrate a precise (and repeatable) movement into those images. Imagine a giant robotic arm with a camera on the end, and you at the controls.

How Netflix's 'Adolescence' Filmed Four One-Shot Episodes

If you haven't seen the new series "Adolescence" on Netflix, it is by far one of the best cinematic experiences of 2025. The four-part drama is being praised not only for its intense subject matter and acting but also because each episode was filmed in a single take with no camera cuts or movie magic transitions. Let's take a look behind the scenes to see how it was filmed.

The 2.5D Effect: How To Make a Parallax Image

There is something magical about having your 2D photos seem like they're actually 3D. It brings them to life in a way none other method can. The depth, the complexity and the subtle movements give your regular 2D photos more meaning and context, and it makes the viewer focus on the image much more than normal. Joe Fellows is a master of the 2.5D (Parallax) Effect and in this short video he shows you everything you need to know to make this effect yourself on your own images.

Animated GIF Wedding Photography is a Thing and It's Beautiful

What happens when you take a technology from the early 90's and use it in your photography business in 2014? Just ask Jeffrey Bennett, a professional wedding photographer based in Detroit who in 2011 decided to start producing GIF animations for each one of his engagement sessions and wedding nights, which resulted in many happy clients, a lot of interest from potential clients and of course beautiful results he can then share online.

Intel AI Tool Makes GTA V Look Incredibly Photorealistic

Just when you thought your brand new super-spec gaming machine was powerful enough to handle anything, something new comes along to dash your hopes and monster rig dreams. A recent video from Intel demonstrates an AI tool that "enhances" graphics to look photorealistic. The implications of this could be incredible for gaming and photography industries.

'Watchtower Of Turkey' - Quite Possibly The Most Compelling Film You See This Year

How are you getting people to look at and engage with your work? This is something we all have to think about constantly in today’s visually saturated market place. It’s why it’s all the more important to look at – and learn from – those producing stunning and engaging work. Let me introduce you to Leonardo Dalessandri, and his latest project “Watchtower Of Turkey”, a video that he worked on over the course of a year and quite possibly some of the best visual media you’ll see in 2015.

How to Add Light Rays to Your Images in Adobe Photoshop

If you're open to more heavy-handed retouching of your images, you have almost limitless possibilities of what you can do with even the blandest of images. In this tutorial, learn how to create realistic light rays and dappled light to add some atmosphere to a photograph.

BTS of John Wick 3: Bike Fight Scene

Every well-known movie has specific scenes it is famous for. This is the case with the bike fight scene in John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum, where we take a glimpse behind the scenes to see how the production team made that action choreography.

Los Angeles Filmmakers Show Us What 'Grand Theft Auto' Would Look Like in Real Life

In the growing wake of low-budget, special effect action minis whose audience has become larger and larger on YouTube, Sam and Niko's "Real GTA" steps the game up once more with a perfect assimilation of the popular "Grand Theft Auto" video game into real, Los Angeles life. Complete with sound effects recreated as similarly as possible within the actual game, the same Los Angeles street scenes, and smashing special effects (like the famous wads of cash exploding out of recently killed bystanders), "Real GTA" reminds us both how ridiculous and subsequently fun it is.

Is It Possible To Produce High End Video With A $600 Point & Shoot?

If you’d asked me this question last week, I would have said no. What a difference a few days makes. Ruslan Pelykh, a New York City-based videographer and photographer, is creating outstanding video with a Leica D Lux 6, a 10 megapixel, $600 point and shoot. This post is a kick up the butt for anyone hanging on for a piece of gear as being the reason they can’t create with what they have. Welcome to creating more, with less.

How 'Rogue One' Created Full CGI Characters of Peter Cushing and 19-Year-Old Carrie Fisher

"Rogue One" is the latest addition to the epic space battle in the "Star Wars" universe, and damn, did it impress. From all angles, the film looked to hit on all the cues that made the original 70s and 80s films incredible, yet still filled it with plenty of new and relevant stories to bring it to life in 2016. Capping off a wild year of many celebrity deaths, it brings an interesting question: should we bring back deceased actors to fill a role?

Look How Ridiculous The New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Movies Look Without CGI

It's truly incredible what they can do with film today, especially with the advancement of visual effects and motion graphics. When I first heard they were remaking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I was incredibly sad; all those years growing up watching the original live action films featuring the puppets crafted by Jim Henson's. It was brilliant and really well done for a movie of its time. Then came the almost 100% CGI filled epic by Michael Bay himself, yet it works and it's fun.

The Wolf of Wall Street VFX Breakdown

The Academy Awards nominations were recently released and it's no surprise that "The Wolf of Wall Street" received nominations in the "Best Picture" and "Best Actor" categories, but what about visual effects? The visual effects for the movie while extremely subtle are outstanding to say the least. The company behind the special effects for the movie is Brainstorm Digital. They released the VFX breakdown of "The Wolf on Wall Street", and proves just how much special effects can have an impact on modern storytelling.

Low Budget, High Scale - Incredible Action Sequence With BTS

Whether you’re a photographer or you focus on video, this article highlights the high octane visual set piece created by Slaughterhouse Pictures, who successfully combined principles of both stills and motion work to create high impact visual media with zero budget and very limited resources. Read the exclusive FStoppers article and watch the BTS video to get some simple and highly effective little tips that you will be able to apply to all aspects of your own work.

How The Film ‘Anomaly’ Is Changing The Game For Us All (BTS And Interview With Co-Director Salomon Ligthelm)

Last week saw the release of ‘Anomaly’, a film that is redefining the approach and model for independent, narrative film making. Co-Director Salomon Ligthelm outlines how he managed the project as it grew from “a 2 minute art film” into the astonishing 38 minute-long final masterpiece, and provides key takeaways for all of us that we can apply to our own stills or motion projects. If you have any interest in what's coming over the horizon for cutting edge, independent, visual media production, this is for you.

Side by Side Video Highlights The Talents of Visual Effects Teams (NSFW)

From time to time, we show of some behind the scenes videos of popular movies and TV shows that highlight the hard work done behind the camera to make the stories come alive. However, rarely do we get to see a side by side comparison of a visual effect heavy movie such as Final Destination 5, showing us all the hard work that is done to seamlessly create exciting moments on a budget.

This DreamWorks Animator Is Using His VFX Skills To Turn His Son Into a Superhero

James is not one of the ordinary kids in town. James is a superhero shooting lasers from his eyes and flying around. These super powers are all possible thanks to his dad, Daniel Hashimoto, who is a DreamWorks animator and a visual effects specialist based in LA. Daniel decided to use his visual effects skills and upgrade his own home-videos of his young son James, who is now also known as "The Action Kid".

Adobe's New Morph Cut In Premiere Pro CC Is Almost Like Magic

If you are a videographer or a photographer dabbling in video you know how much of a pain in the ass it can be cutting interview footage with just one camera angle. The feared "jump cut" in an interview can completely ruin the overall production and professionalism of your entire video project. Luckily, Adobe has recently debuted their new Morph Cut tool in Premiere Pro CC to help filmmakers fix this sometimes unavoidable problem.

How They Made That 'Game of Thrones' Scene So Darn Cool

"What the heck just happened?" I remember saying to a friend as we finished Season 5, Episode 8, "Hardhome" of Game of Thrones a few weeks ago. I was in a crowded bar with many other GoT fans as we all just sat in silence as the credits rolled. This was no "Red Wedding" but I still had that "Oh S***" feeling you get when everything hits the fan.

Can't Get Enough Lens Flare? This See-Through Lens Adapter Lets Light in, On Purpose

Matt Allard from Newsshooter.com has been hopping around Inter BEE 2015, an NAB-like exhibition that takes place in Japan, reporting on new video gear from established, as well as developing companies. In this particular video, he gets to try out a different type of lens adapter– one that is built specifically to let light leak in from the sides and flare the image as it's recorded in-camera.

This Video Just Changed My Mind About CG Visual Effects In Movies

I've always been one to complain about poorly rendered computer graphics in modern movies. I thought I could easily pick out what was real and what was rendered on a computer. This video makes a compelling argument that there is such a thing is "good" CGI.

The Most Beautiful Set Tom Cruise Has Ever Worked On

If you've seen any movies in the theater recently you've probably seen a preview for the movie Oblivion. A major part of the movie takes place on a science fiction "sky tower" above the clouds. Instead of using green screen the director had a 360 degree set built that allowed the team to project real skyscape video around the glass building. The results not only look incredible but they also gave the actors a more realistic set to work on.

SteadXP Aims to Stabilize All of Your Shaky DSLR and GoPro Video Footage

With impressive looking example videos and a relatively inexpensive price tag when compared to a MoVi or Ronin, the Kickstarter for the SteadXP has already blown past its fundraising goal. I wasn't sure what all the hype was about until I watched their video with before and after examples.

Footage From Victorian England Enhanced to 4K and 60 fps

If, like me, you have a love for history, being able to see footage from Victorian England in 1901 is a real pleasure. Using neural networks, we can now see previously grainy and fuzzy video from the era upscaled to 4k, 60 fps, colorized, and significantly improved image quality.