The Visual Effects Society (VES) this weekend kicks off the 2005 edition of its VFX Festival of Visual Effects at the newly restored Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, Calif. Taking place June 24-26, the fest provides visual effects artists worldwide a unique platform to showcase their distinctive talents in front of industry professionals and the public at large.
One highlight for animation fans is a special behind-the-scenes look at DreamWorks’ latest CG hit, Madagascar. Members of the film’s creative team will be on hand to show clips and offer insight into the production process. The program will be held Friday, June 24 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., following a presentation on the artistry of models and miniatures in today’s digital world (1 p.m.-2:30 p.m.).
Saturday’s program will kick off at 9 a.m. with a retrospective presentation titled "Visual Effects Paradiso–700 Years of Visual Effects." Distinguished visual effects supervisor Mike Fink will chronicle the evolution of movie magic from its crude beginnings to the modern digital age. Then, at 11 a.m., the visual effects teams from CafeFX and The Orphanage will discuss how they helped director Robert Rodriquez bring Frank Miller’s Sin City comics to the big screen.
Other Saturday highlights include an in-depth look at the effects of Star Wars: Episode III–Revenge of the Sith (1:30 p.m.—3 p.m.). Visual effects wizards from ILM will illustrate how they managed to pull off the film’s whopping 2000 effects shots. The program will be followed by an open-ended conversation with Academy Award winners Jim Rygiel (Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Richard Edlund (Star Wars, Raider of the Lost Ark). The special "VES Insiders" session will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Gamers can catch a glimpse at the future of gaming at 5:30 p.m. and the day concludes with an 8 p.m. screening of Batman Begins, preceded by a panel discussion featuring vfx supervisor Paul Franklin from Double Negative.
The Aero Theater is located at 1328 Montana in Santa Monica. Full festival tickets, which grant admission to all of the shows, are available for $300. Admission for individual shows is $20 and $30 for premium shows. Ticket and parking information, as well as a full schedule of events, can be found at www.visualeffectssociety.com.
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