Dive into the fascinating world of VFX and CGI!

In the beginning, FX was based on the use of miniatures, scenery, matte painting, playing with time or stop motion. This was already happening more than a century ago. examples? From Georges Méliès and his Le Voyage dans la Lune (The Voyage to the Moon, 1902) to the masters of German expressionism (Metropolis, by Fritz Lang, 1927).

The Metropolis, by Fritz Lang, 1927).

However, the great leap began to take shape in the 1960s and took place, definitively, in the 1970s. It goes in 14 years from the incredible skeleton battle of Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey, 1963) to the space opera of Star Wars (Star Wars, 1977), in which George Lucas combined in a perfect way all the resources of FX (models, matte, sets, puppets) with the dawn of VFX.

To get out of the usual canons, we will claim two films that propelled the CGI, both from 1982: Tron (Steven Lisberger), which proposes a trip to video games by strongly introducing digital animation, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Nicholas Meyer), in which Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) achieved the first fully digitally generated scene.

The 1990s has two contending beginnings and an ending whose influence continues to linger. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (James Cameron, 1991) revolutionized CGI with the iconic liquid metal, but the VFX glory went to Spielberg with his mix of animatronics and digital retouching in Jurassic Park (1993). That said, Cameron would end up getting away with it almost 20 years later.

Cameron.

The end of the 90s and the beginning of the current era in VFX is The Matrix (The Wachowskis, 1999). It's not just the "bullet time", it's the incredible integration of digital scenarios, characters that transform in front of your eyes and the whole universe it advocated with the Internet revolution. If you're one of those who saw it in the cinema two decades ago, you surely remember how its effects left you glued to your seat!

The 21st century is the century of cinema's definitive embrace of post-production effects. Marvel films or the Star Wars franchise have more than 3/4 of footage retouched after shooting, but the technology has not stopped advancing and the possibilities are endless. Directors of the last century would take advantage of it in the same way!

Movies and effects that have marked these first 18 years? The Lord of the Rings (Peter Jackson, 2001-2003), whose battles and characters would be impossible without VFX. Perhaps even more influential is Avatar (2009), in which James Cameron (and, as in the Middle-earth trilogy, Weta Digital) realizes his dream of creating a whole new universe and introduces, in addition, the power of 3D viewing. Its effects on the industry as a whole are still in force.

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Through Andy Serkins you can see the leap in recent years: from his first Gollum to the one we see in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Jackson, 2012), the visual madness of his Caesar in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves, 2014) or his presence in the new Star Wars, films in which the recreation by CGI actors has meant a great divide in the world of cinema.

In less than half a year 2018, there have already been several visual feasts, and those we have left! But, without a doubt, the palm goes to (again!) Steven Spielberg with Ready Player One, about which we talk extensively here with David Corominas, professor of the degree and master's degree in Art and 3D Design for Video Games at FX ANIMATION.

What do we offer at FX ANIMATION Barcelona 3D & Film School?

As you can see, the validity and constant advancement of FX, VFX and CGI opens a whole field to explore. And not only at a technical level, it is a tool in the hands of the purest creativity. If you want to specialize or dedicate yourself to it, in FX ANIMATION we have different courses, careers and masters adapted to each professional objective:

Careers

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• Specialized Career in VFX, Houdini Official Training Center - Side FX
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• Superior Career in CGI
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• Specialized Career in 3D Animation for Film, TV and Advertising
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• Specialized Career in 3D Design and Art for Video Games

Masters

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• Superior Master in VFX, Houdini Official Training Center - Side FX
• Superior Master in 3D for Character Animation
• Superior Master in Concept Art and Character Modeling
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• Superior Master in Post Production and Compositing
• Master Professional in Motion Graphics 2D/3D
• Superior Master in 3D Design and Art for Video Games

3D and Cinema Courses (+19 years old)

• CGI for Photographers and Designers with Cinema 4D
• Course De Nuke-.X
• Course of specialization in Advanced Postproduction with Nuke

Adult Intensive Courses (Summer)

• Course of initiation to VFX
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• Intensive VFX course with Maya
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• Course of Zbrush
• Intensive Nuke-X course

Summer School (initiation, from 13 to 17 years old)

• Initiation to 3D
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• Initiation to Character Animation

As you can see, at FX ANIMATION you can choose from a wide variety of disciplines, whether you want to specialize within your profession or if you want to satisfy your curiosity about how special effects are carried out. In fact, our school has graduated students who have worked or are working with projects that we have talked about throughout the post.

FX ANIMATION.

Examples? Three of our alumniX of the Master in VFX: Melani Guerreiro is part of the VFX team for the Avatar sequels; Juan Pedro Campuzano is FX Technical Director for ILM on Jurassic World 2; and Jordi Ribé was Lighter Artist MPC on World for the Planet of the Apes (2017).

If like them, you think that the VFX can be your professional path, contact us, we will be happy to advise you!