Autumn is a dream season for photographers, with trees cloaked in rich hues of amber, gold, and russet. Shooting with falls golden palette offers an opportunity to create warm, emotive, and textured images that resonate with viewers. But working with such intense colors also comes with challenges; compositional choices, lighting conditions, and editing all play a role in capturing the mood.Finding the Right Scene When Shooting with Falls Golden PaletteGolden tones can be found everywhere from forests and parks to quiet country roads and even city sidewalks. The key to shooting with falls golden palette is to look for scenes where the color is concentrated and naturally composed.Focus on trees with dense canopies of yellow or gold.Include ground-level leaves for added texture and harmony.Frame your subject with backlighting to make colors glow.Try using polarizing filters to reduce glare and enhance the vibrancy of your shots.Golden Hour Meets Golden LeavesAutumn light is already warm, but when paired with golden hour, it becomes magical. The low sun adds softness and directionality that brings warmth and dimensionality to your scene.Use sidelighting to accentuate texture in foliage and bark.Backlighting creates glowing edges around leaves or people.Position your subject to interact with the warm light like walking through a sun-drenched path or pausing in a beam of late-day sun.Tips for Balancing Color and CompositionIts easy to get swept away by colour, but smart composition keeps your images grounded. Here are a few tips to help:Simplify the frame: Isolate a few strong shapes or colors rather than trying to capture everything at once.Include contrast: Gold pops more when placed next to cooler tones like blue skies, deep shadows, or neutral clothing.Mind the exposure: Meter for highlights to avoid blowing out the brightest leaves.Bring the Golden Mood into Post-ProcessingEnhance the golden tones without oversaturating. Use HSL (hue, saturation, luminance) sliders to fine-tune yellows and oranges. Adding a subtle vignette or warm color grade can further highlight the mood of fall without making the image feel artificial.Extended reading: Capturing Emotional Portraits with Golden Hour LightThe post Shooting with Falls Golden Palette appeared first on 500px.

Its official: Halo, or at least its campaign, is getting a remake with Halo: Campaign Evolved. Developed by Halo Studios with Unreal Engine 5, it offers revamped visuals, online co-op for up to four players, and brand-new missions set before the originals events. In the meantime, some extensive new gameplay is available for the fourth mission, The Silent Cartographer. Check it out below.Everything is about as you would remember it: The Pelican crashing on the beach, Master Chief fighting off numerous Covenant, the Warthog drop, and the infiltration of the map facility. Players can now sprint through the environments, improving the overall pacing, but the shooting and aiming right down to the Plasma Pistol/M6D Pistol combo is here.Halo: Campaign Evolved doesnt have a release date, but it launches in 2026 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. It includes cross-play and cross-progression alongside split-screen co-op on consoles. Stay tuned for more details on its changes and improvements.

At the time of the production of Avengers Endgame, Weta Digital already had quite a sizable amount of VFX work on their plates. And, aside from planning multiple future Avatar movies, they were also working on Alita: Battle Angel.But, that didnt mean that they werent able to still deliver some amazing VFX for Avengers Weta Digital worked mostly on the 3rd act battle scene of the film which takes place on the rubble of the Avengers compound.Now, seeing as the Avengers compound was situated next to a forested area beside the Hudson river, debris from all the destruction also featured some tree stumps.The only problem was, after compiling a rough cut pre-visualization of all the shots filmed, all those lovely broken tree stumps made it seem more like they were fighting in a smashed-up forest rather than a demolished Avengers compound.So Weta took on the tedious tasks of rotoscoping out all the actors in order to replace the background with less trees.The lighting of the backgrounds throughout the fight was designed to subtly change in accordance with what was happening in battle. For example, Thanos destroying the Avengers compound or when our heroes seem to be in a position of desperation, the lighting was dark and gloomy but when help arrives through the portals, it brightens up slightly. These subtle lighting changes were added to almost subliminally tell the audience whos winning in the fight.Creating the huge portals was challenging. For Endgame, these needed to be huge, making it way more involved than the ones from previous movies.Sparks needed to be spinning really fast and floating while, at the same time, cooling off, causing some particles to fall and others to float away.To make it all look more natural, they created custom simulations to behave as wind fields.This was then passed on to the lighting team along with some controls to alter the size and length of the sparks the time of rendering.Captain Marvels costume was initially designed to be similar to the 2024-era Captain Marvel look. However, filmmakers changed their mind post-production and wanted it to look even cooler. So, Weta were tasked with creating a CG costume for her instead. The Mark 85 suit in Avengers Endgame needed to keep a sense of flexibility while at the same time not looking cheap, plastic, knock off, Halloween costume.So, seeing as the red and gold areas are more noticeable than the grey parts, they were able to hide a lot of stretching in those grey parts, clever. This meant they could preserve the sense of rigidity in the suits material while, at the same time, giving it the flexibility they needed.Aside from some extra fixes to Thanos facial rig that they didnt have time to fix in Infinity War, Thanos was, essentially, a different Thanos from the 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy era.But, instead of de-ageing his face, they made animation changes to his fighting style and movement, making him look more agile and stronger, having him appear more like a warrior in heavy armour.However, due to the design of his armour looking as restrictive as wearing a suit made of cardboard boxes, they did a lot of things behind the scenes to give him full flexibility while still allowing his armour to appear rigid.Weta built Thanos using their muscle system that scans ahead of the animation, searching for any movement that would require muscles to contract beforehand. You can see a good example of that in this shot. Notice how his bicep fires a couple of frames before he actually moves?Subtle muscle twitches and flexes were also added in shots where Thanos was stood still to greatly improve the realism.And finally, we come to what Weta calls the Blip effect. You know, when all the bad guys turn into dust.Watching the almighty Thanos satisfyingly turn into dust and get carried away by a gentle breeze was all thanks to some very carefully timed and well-crafted work.They created a simple 2 colour mask with the same growth algorithm used in the final effect that they could quickly update with any necessary timing changes. This allowed them to not only be able to show VFX supervisors how the blip would transition over Thanos body but also, once the client was happy, it could then be matched 1 to 1 as Thanos turns into dust. Like the music in this video?Music By: Monkey MediaAlbum Title: MonkeyTrack Title: Monkey BusinessLinks:Get it on Google Play:https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Monkey_Media_Monkey?id=Bowcdm4d3e27oxtldklnn7ynwju&hl=en_USGet it on iTunes:Listen on Spotify:Buy it on Amazon:Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/focusfameThe post Avengers Endgame Without the VFX Part 5 [Weta Digital VFX Breakdown] appeared first on Fame Focus.

Image credit: KollectifLast month, 288 players teed off at Le Blainvillier golf club for the 36th edition of the Tournoi de golf des architectes du Qubec (TGAQ), presented by Quebec-based architecture news site Kollectif in collaboration with ARD and EDP.Image credit: KollectifSince 2010, the TGAQ has made it its mission to support a cultural and humanitarian cause during each edition that highlights the local architectural community. Following this years edition of the event, a total amount of $30,000 was distributed equally between MR-63, a project in Montreal that repurposes retired MR-63 metro cars, andArchitecture sans frontires Qubec (ASFQ), a non-profit organization that uses architecture to support communities in need.Image credit: KollectifAside from ASFQ and MR-63,past recipients of the TGAQinclude theMaison de larchitecture du Qubec, theJardins de Mtis International Garden Festival, theUQAM Design Centre, theCanadian Centre for Architecture, theUniversit de Montral School of Architecture, theMcGill Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture,theUniversit Laval School of Architecture, theInternational Festival of Films on Art, andHritage Montral.The 2025 fundraising event was supported by Alumico, Certainteed, CGC, clairage Hitech, Manugypse, Unifix, with additional contributions by Adex, Cooper Lighting Solutions, Fransyl, Givesco, IKO, Owens Corning, Pageau Morel and Sika.The post Kollectif raises $30,000 for MR-63 and Architecture Sans Frontires Qubec appeared first on Canadian Architect.

Human gaits are the various ways in which humans can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training. In general, a gait is a manner of limb movements made by animals during locomotion. Human gaits can be classified in various ways, according to whether the person remains in continuous contact with the ground, with each gait categorized as either natural (one that humans use instinctively) or trained (a non-instinctive gait learned via training). Examples of the latter include hand walking and specialized gaits used in martial arts. One variable in assessing gait is which part of the foot connects with the ground first. Typically this is one of forefoot strike, mid-foot strike or heel strike. This photograph shows a heel strike in a runner at the 2024 Ljubljana Marathon. In this gait the heel of the foot lands, then the plantar flexes to ball.Photograph credit: Petar MiloeviRecently featured: The Conspiracy of Claudius CivilisPachygrapsus marmoratusBennuArchiveMore featured pictures

October 25Siege of Lisbon by Raquel Gameiro1147 Reconquista: Forces under Afonso I of Portugal captured Lisbon from the Moors after a four-month siege (depicted) in one of the few Christian victories during the Second Crusade.1920 Irish playwright and politician Terence MacSwiney died after a hunger strike in Brixton Prison, bringing the Irish struggle for independence to international attention.1924 The Daily Mail published the Zinoviev letter, a hoax purported to be a directive from Moscow to increase communist agitation.1944 USSTang, the U.S. Navy submarine credited with sinking more ships than any other American submarine, sank when it was struck by its own torpedo.2010 Mount Merapi in Central Java, Indonesia, began an increasingly violent series of eruptions that lasted over a month.Johann Strauss II (b.1825)Elsa Reger (b.1870)Alexander of Greece (d.1920)Matthew McCauley (d.1930)More anniversaries: October 24October 25October 26ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Volinga has released Volinga Plugin Pro, a new edition of its plugin integrating 3D Gaussian Splatting workflows into Unreal Engine.The Pro edition makes it possible to relight 3DGS objects inside Unreal Engine, with accurate cast shadows; and supports HDR workflows, and OCIO and ACES color management.Volinga describes it as a major leap in making 3DGS practical for professional studios and virtual production pipelines.Part of a suite of tools for using 3DGS in Unreal Engine VFX and virtual production pipelinesA new way to reconstruct real-world objects from source images or video, 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) is increasingly being used in production, and supported in DCC software.Volingas Unreal Engine plugin is part of a specialist suite of tools aimed at VFX, virtual production and broadcast studios looking to integrate 3DGS technology into their pipelines.The firms flagship product, Volinga Suite, is a standalone tool for creating 3DGS data from photos or videos, which integrates with key virtual production platforms like disguise.Users of Volingas technology include Paramount Pictures and VFX studios like Rodeo FX.Import and render 3DGS data within Unreal EngineThe original base edition of the plugin, Volinga Plugin for UE, makes it possible to import, manipulate and render 3DGS data within Unreal Engine.Although its designed to work with Volinga Suite, it can also import data created from third-party tools like Postshot or Nerfstudio, either in PLY format or Volingas NVOL format.Users can import multiple 3DGS actors into a scene, render them using their standard pipeline the workflow supports post effects like depth of field and export them in a UE5 scene.Volinga Plugin Pro: support for mesh-based relighting of 3DGS dataThe base edition also supports what Volinga calls additive lighting, in which 3DGS actors can interact with scene lighting, but retain the lighting data built in during their creation.They dont cast shadows, either on other 3DGS actors, or their surroundings.To that, the new Pro edition introduces mesh-based relighting: a new approach that uses proxy meshes to reproduce geometry, shadows and materials.In the video at the top of the story, you can see it in use to relight an environment, with the 3DGS actors casting shadows that respond as light sources move within the scene.New tools for cropping 3DGS actors, and support for multi-GPU renderingOther new features in the Pro edition include Cull Volumes, which Volinga describes as a precision tool for removing floaters or unwanted elements within 3DGS actors.It also supports multi-node and multi-GPU rendering, including nDisplay, Unreal Engines system for rendering to multiple displays in LED volumesSupport for HDR rendering and OCIO and ACES color managementPro users also get support for HDR rendering, and the OCIO and ACES (ACES2065) color management standards.Both are actually available in the base edition, but output can only be previewed with a watermark.Price and system requirementsVolinga Plugin is compatible with Unreal Engine 5.3 on Windows only. Volinga Suite is a standalone application compatible with Windows 11. Both require a NVIDIA GPU.Both the plugin and the suite are available rental only. A subscription to the base edition of the plugin costs 119.88/year (around $150/year).The Pro edition of the plugin is only available with Studio and Enterprise subscriptions, which also include Volinga Suite, and which are priced on enquiry.Read more about Volinga Plugin for Unreal Engine on Volingas websiteRead Volingas FAQs about the plugin and Volinga SuiteHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.

BellyFant is the star of a popular childrens show on YouTube that has garnered over 50 million views. Discover how an indie team of just four uses Unreal Engine to produce the animated shortsand how theyve rediscovered the fun in animating to boot.

The C64 Mini - Black Edition (89 Games) $120 | Available Now See at Amazon Retro Games Limited just launched a new version of its miniature Commodore 64 home computer. The C64 Mini - Black Edition is a limited release that celebrates the talented developers who create modern Commodore games. The Black Edition comes preloaded with The C64 Mini's original 64-game lineup and 25 modern titles, including all-time C64 greats like Sam's Journey and A Pig Quest.The C64 Mini - Black Edition retails for $120 and is exclusive to Amazon in the United States. Amazon is "temporarily out of stock" on launch day (October 24), but you can still place an order. The original C64 Mini launched in 2018 with a $70 MSRP--you can grab one today from Amazon for only $51. The substantial price hike is probably partially tied to economic changes and tariffs, but the inclusion of the modern games likely played a much larger role.The vast majority of the new games--19 to be exact--are sold on itch.io by big Commodore 64 publishers, including Psytronik and Protovision. Psytronik's games are usually five bucks or less, but titles published by Protovision tend to carry higher price tags. There are four preloaded Protovision games that would normally cost around $55 combined: Sam's Journey ($24), A Pig Quest ($11.61), MW Ultra ($11), and Yeti Mountain ($9). These are among the most ambitious C64 games around. For instance, developer Knights of Bytes created over 2,000 screens for Sam's Journey's 30 extremely long levels. It's one of the best retro platformers I've ever played (it's also available on NES). In short: The $50 price increase seems more than reasonable.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Dragon Quest is a legendary franchise that established a lot of modern JRPG tropes, from questing to leveling up. However, it took three games before it allowed players to build a party of their own, along with letting them switch classes, called Vocations, before battle. Now, the party makeup is one of the best things about JRPGs and RPGs.