A Granbull Day OutPokemon's next adventure is a team-up with the iconic Wallace and Gromit stop-motion studio Aardman, though you'll be waiting quite a while for itBit of an early announcement, but still exciting!Image credit: The Pokemon Company/ Aardman News by Oisin Kuhnke Contributor Published on Dec. 11, 2024 The Pokemon Company and Aardman have announced a very unexpected team-up for a "special project", you'll just be waiting quite a while for it.You know who's one of the best animation studios around? Aardman! The folks over there just always hit, even when they miss, with a signature style that can easily be recognised anywhere, including that one Star Wars Visions episode they did. So when I heard the news that the beloved animation studio and The Pokemon Company are working together on something, I jumped for joy and shouted "yippee!" (editor's note: Oisin did not literally do this). Right now it's a bit of a mystery what this project is, in fact the language doesn't even make it clear if this will be a film or TV show.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. In a statement, VP or marketing and media at The Pokemon Company Taito Okiura said, "This is a dream partnership for Pokmon. Aardman are masters of their craft, and we have been blown away by their talent and creativity. What we have been working on together ensures our global Pokmon fans are in for a treat! To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Managing director of Aardman Sean Clarke also provided a statement, saying that it's a "huge honour to be working with The Pokmon Company International - we feel sincerely privileged to be trusted with bringing their characters and world to life in a brand-new way. Bringing together Pokmon, the worlds biggest entertainment brand, together with our love of craft, character and comedic storytelling feels incredibly exciting."I'm not going to get my hopes up too much of it being anything like a game, even if Aardman has actually dabbled in the field with titles like 11-11: Memories Retold, but that would be pretty neat if you ask me (hint, hint). Either way, this'll mark the latest stop-motion Pokemon project following last year's Pokemon Concierge, which was made by the Japanese animation company Dwarf Studios. As a lover of all things stop-motion, I'm all aboard this particular train - it's just a shame we won't know what it is for another two dang years.

Right-Click Menu on Assets The Studio app is all about speed. Thats why now you can right-click any asset and get powerful quick actions. Send asset Sends any material, texture, model, or HDRI to your connected project Send with Triplanar Sends any material with Triplanar controls for blending and scale Show in Finder / File Browser Opens file path to the downloaded asset on your drive Go to Collection Navigates to asset master collection for the ability to explore similar assets Resizable Image Previews The Studio app now features responsive and customizable image preview sizes. (Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large) Enhanced Search Features Fuzzy search and search suggestions added to make finding the perfect asset even easier. Studio Connectors Update After you download Studio 1.2, dont forget to download the new connectors for Triplanar support and the new Substance Painter Beta. Connectors are available for Cinema 4D, Blender, Houdini, Unreal Engine, and Adobe Substance Painter (Beta).

Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)Here's the thing about The Thing: Remastered; it's still very much 2002's The Thing. Which is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how much you like your The Thing.2002's The Thing, you see, which was developed by Computer Artworks and based on the intensely sexy Kurt Russell movie, The Thing itself based on a novella that isn't called The Thing is a real mixed bag of a game, truth be told. It sets its stall out impressively, digging into the creeping fear and slowly rising paranoia of the classic movie, giving you some light squad control and an intriguing fear/trust system, whilst presenting its tale in environs that, whilst certainly now aged, still absolutely nail the vibe of the thing (didn't even mean that one). But! It also falls apart quite badly for the second stretch of its slight running time.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)Let's stick with the positives for now, though. This is a game that's always had its presentation nailed down, and that side of the experience only gets better with the maestros at Nightdive on remastering duties. We already know this team does stellar work (we'd sure love to see their magnificent System Shock remake on Switch), and this time around is no different, thankfully. The Thing: Remastered is a slick and crisp revisit to 1980s Antarctica. It controls perfectly, it's got motion controls, HD Rumble, fully mappable options for your controller settings and sensitivities, and all the nips and tucks you'd expect to ensure that you're getting the original vision, presented as well as it can be.The graphics have been cleaned up and enhanced, of course, with flashier character models and textures. Nightdive has even hand-crafted some animations, as well as presenting updated lighting and atmospheric effects. Antialiasing and depth-of-field effects make the cut in this Switch version, too, so we've got a good-looking game (for its era) that's now easier than ever on the old eyeballs. Oh, and we get achievements, which is always a fairly big plus on Nintendo's console.One fly in the ointment that we did notice in this version (in comparison to Xbox, at least) is that the loading times on Switch can be a little frustrating. They're way longer than we expected on a title this old, even on ageing hardware. It's not a dealbreaker in any way, but a shame they can't be shorter on such an old game, remastered or not.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)So it's all good on a technical level, barring a few loading screens. It runs very nicely on Nintendo's console overall, feeling smooth as a hideously mutated baby's bottom, and for the first two or three hours it's well worth settling into. Even now, some 22 years down the line, it holds your attention in a strong start that asks you to use your brain a little as you band together against the elements, solve some reasonably decent puzzles, and get all wrapped up in the suspense of gaining the trust of your comrades, whilst also getting to indulge in some sweaty moments from the movies - which we won't spoil here, just in case.Kicking off, everything seems set up for great success. You'll need to monitor your temperature as you dash from building to building, watch stress levels, (don't act crazy in front of your squad), use a hypo gun to settle nerves, and dish out commands to fix blown fuses, open doors, heal up, and make sense of what's been going on. All of this early stuff is great, especially when it looks and feels this nice, and busying yourself finding keys or reading documents to glean clues on how to move forward is the kind of old-school entertainment we are 100% down for.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)However and it's a big however, unfortunately this is also a game that falls flat on its ass in its second half. It's not an uncommon situation, especially for the era, that a licensed action game starts out with a decent premise, smartly utilising aspects of the movie, before giving in to the temptation to just add lots of guns and things to shoot at, but it really stings here. If they'd just stuck to being quietly inventive we could have been looking at an all-time horror classic. Oh well.Yep, once the guns come out, once the bigger enemies arrive and the worm turns to a rather shoddy attempt at blockbuster action, it never recovers. This was just about 7/10 stuff back at the time, an enjoyable ride for a couple of hours if you were really into the movie. Now, two decades later, and even with a very skilful remaster to show off its very best bits in the best light possible, it's a hard thing to recommend to anyone other than avid fans of the source material, or those of us who have fond memories of playing the original. We will say, playing on the Switch feels nicer than on a big console, it's all just that bit more charming in portable mode, but it's still a pretty hard sell.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)It's a messy experience at its core, and in these stretches of always-poor and now badly-aged action which entirely take over as the story rolls into the final third the game totally fails to remain entertaining. There's no silver lining. Once the wheels start to come off and it prioritises shooting bland enemies over revelling in its uniquely atmospheric fear/trust system, it's toast.Well, that was a bleak ending. Sort of like the movie.

A gaiden to a gaiden.Ratalaika Games is bringing SEEP's 8-bit platformer Ninja 1987 to Switch this Friday, 13th December 2024.Besides the NES-style visuals, the inspiration for this one is pretty clear it's a tribute to Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, and other retro ninja platformers of the '80s and early '90sRead the full article on nintendolife.com

SolarSquare has raised $40 million in what is the largest venture round in Indias solar sector. The Mumbai-based startup bootstrapped and was profitable selling to corporate customers for five years before switching to residential solar in 2021. Now it has scaled to powering over 20,000 homes and 200 housing societies across India, and is Indias largest operator of distributed solar assets.This is the opportunity of a lifetime, Shreya Mishra, co-founder and chief executive of SolarSquare, told TechCrunch in an interview. Its not just an industry thats growing superfast its where profit and purpose align.Unlike others in the space, SolarSquare guarantees returns on solar investments and compensates customers if systems dont deliver, making its full-stack service selling the systems, installing them to the consumers rooftop, and offering after-sales services much more compelling.The overall cost of buying and having the system installed averages about $1,500.If we promise youll get 5,000 units of electricity from solar but you end up getting only 4,000 units, we will pay you back for the balance 1,000 units, Mishra said. This makes solar like a fixed deposit for customers because return on investment is guaranteed.Thanks to recent incentives provided by the government, solar interest has surged in recent years. The push is necessary as only about 1% of Indian homes have currently adopted solar, compared to countries like Australia, where 35% homes have solar, and Brazil, where more than 5% homes have solar.Two years back, people only had textbook knowledge they learned in school that solar is something good, Mishra said. They didnt know how much it cost, they didnt know about government subsidies, they didnt know that the payback period is literally 4 to 5 years.India has set an ambitious target of achieving 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030, with solar power expected to contribute about 280 gigawatts to this goal. To accelerate solar adoption, Modis government has introduced several incentives, including a production-linked incentive scheme worth $3 billion to boost domestic solar manufacturing, 40% basic customs duty on solar modules to protect local industry, and viability gap funding for utilities to build solar infrastructure in remote areas.The government also offers accelerated depreciation benefits, income tax holidays for solar projects, and capital subsidies ranging from 20% to 70% for rooftop solar installations, while also mandating renewable purchase obligations for state utilities to ensure steady demand for solar power. SolarSquare helps its customers identify and avail the benefits of the government subsidies, Mishra said.India is the first country in the world to make net-metering, this exchange of electricity, a consumer right that makes economics more viable as youre able to freely trade electricity with the grid, she said.The demand for solar is slowly extending well beyond major cities. Unlike quick-commerce or businesses that focus on top 10-15 cities, solar is actually a national, Bharat sort of business, Mishra said. People in Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 cities as well as rural India everywhere there are homes, people will want to go solar.SolarSquare will deploy the fresh funds to expand from 20 to 50 cities, but is taking a careful approach. As entrepreneurs, were not in a business of move fast and break things, she said. When youre doing a serious product like solar, playing with peoples life and safety, there has to be that amount of seriousness.For smaller cities, the startup plans to work with local partners while maintaining quality control.The timing works in SolarSquares favor. India has made net-metering a consumer right and cut down permit processing from months to days.Lightspeed led the investment, a Series B financing round, with Lightrock joining, alongside existing investors Elevation Capital, Chris Saccas Lowercarbon, and Nithin Kamaths Rainmatter. The startup, which had raised $19.5 million previously, will also invest in technology to build better systems for monitoring and managing residential solar installations remotely.

GMs decision to shut down its Cruise robotaxi program continues to ripple through the market, extending to the self-driving car companys minority investors. Microsoft, which in 2021 made an investment into Cruise, will take $800 million impairment charge as a result of GMs actions, according to a regulatory filing. Microsoft said the charge will be recorded in other income and expense and was not included in its second quarter guidance provided on October30, 2024. It is estimated to have a negative impact of approximately $0.09 to second quarter diluted earnings per share, according to the filing.GM owns about 90% of Cruise. GM said it has agreements with other minority shareholders to buy back shares and raise its ownership to more than 97%. GM previously brought on a number of external investors includingMicrosoft, Walmart,Softbank, T.Rowe Price and Honda as the company sought to raise the billions in capital needed to bring robotaxis to the public.Cruise raised $2 billion in January 2021 in a round that included Microsoft as well as GM and partner Honda. That raise pushed Cruises valuation up to $30 billion. The two companies also struck a long-term strategic partnership that included plans for Cruise to use Azure, Microsofts cloud and edge computing platform, for its autonomous vehicle ride-hailing service.General Motors announced Tuesday it would no longer fund development of the robotaxi and instead absorb its self-driving car subsidiary Cruise and combine it with the automakers own efforts to develop driver assistance features and eventually fully autonomous personal vehicles. GM acquired the self-driving startup Cruise in March 2016 for$1 billion. Since then, GM has spent more than $10 billion on the company in a bid to commercialize autonomous vehicle technology via a robotaxi business.Minority investor Honda said Wednesday it will stop funding a joint venture with General Motors and Cruise to launch a robotaxi service in Japan.

InterviewsGladiator II: Mark Bakowski Production VFX SupervisorBy Vincent Frei - 11/12/2024 Back in 2022, Mark Bakowski showcased ILMs visual effects on No Time To Die. Following that, he worked on Jurassic World: Dominion and the Willow series. Today, he talks about his latest work on the sequel to the legendary Gladiator.How did you get involved on this film?I think I was incredibly lucky, to be honest! Id just finished Willow, the streaming series that was briefly on Disney Plus. At the time we felt it had all gone well so there was much talk of going back for S2 etc. so I thought that was my future which was fine with me.Then my boss said do you want to do Gladiator II as production supervisor? How can you say no to that? That said, as I was going into it straight after Willow with no break a tiny lazy part of me thought if I didnt get it and waited for S2 of Willow then it wouldnt be a disaster. Glad I didnt listen to lazy me.Anyway next thing I know Im talking to Ray Kirk the executive producer and one of Ridleys key people. Hes pointing at pictures of Colosseums with ships and waterstabbing them with his finger and looking at me! I guess somehow I made the right noises and I was on the show.How was the collaboration with Director Ridley Scott?I could say so much about this, theres so many stories- but Ill keep it brief considering how many questions there are in this list. Hes obviously a visual genius with such an eye for composition, such visual flair. But I assume most people who like his films will be aware of that. I guess I took away that hes a lovely man, very funny he hides it under a gruff sweary exterior much of the time of course. You get to listen to him direct on channel 1 of the production radio as he shoots. Talking in the camera, the set dressing, the actors its so educational and by turns amusing. They should have used it for Blue Ray / DVD commentary if those still exist. He makes the big calls on the day. He knows what he wants but hes not unreasonable at all. Hell listen to youhe may agree or he may not but you feel you can tell him your concerns and reasons and then he makes the call.Its also old school big Hollywood film making. Its just bigand that comes with Ridley right down to the cigar smoking. Im not sure theres many more experiences of that scale out there beyond maybe the Bond movies.How did you organize the work with your VFX Producer?Nikki Penny was VFX producer. I think we had a great relationship and worked really well together. Shes very smart. We both have our areas of responsibility but of course they overlap in every way, its just a question of emphasis. If I want to do X and Y then there are implications of time and money etc. and vice versa. So wed talk things through, set a plan, put in assumptions and then react when things changed throughout. If Nikki had a concern shed tell me and not just financial etc. but aesthetic. Shed call out the emperors new clothes as required. Its good to have a second opinion with so much going onas long as that person has taste and understands VFX which of course Nikki does.How did you choose the various vendors and split the work amongst them?Well being ILM based myself there was never a question ILM was going to get a large chunk of the show and for the fact it went that way I am super happy. The ILM team led by Pietro Ponti and Ed Randolph were AMAZING! I say that not just as an employee hoping for a Christmas bonus but also with my independent hat as production supervisor. They more than hit the briefthey added so much value creatively. So many beautiful ideas and images they brought to the table. Wed start with brief & realism, then ILM would add their layer of creative pizazz and then wed sprinkle Ridley touches on top for seasoning (flags, birds, embers etc.) as we learned what he liked for each sequence. ILM did Rome / outskirts, the Colosseum, opening battle & the final battle. The work went to them because we just knew they could be 100% relied upon, plus Nikki had just come off a really great experience on Abba Voyage with them.We also went to Framestore where Christian Kaestner and Jeanne-Elise Prevost ran the show as VFX supe and producer. They were great, I know Christian from my time at Framestore they were fantastic. Obviously FS has a creature reputation so they picked up the baboons and rhino. Due to the mysteries of finance we had to spend a bit more money with them for some tax reason or other so they also got the Styx underworld as a nice section of work.James Fleming was supervisor at Ombrium; they were our overflow facility. They picked up niche little problems for us. A bespoke paint task here, a run of temps there, some smoke FX to glue this to this. Really great little Swiss army knife, as were also our in house team led by Jon Van Hoey Smith at Cheap Shot. Id worked with Jon before and had been blown away by his problem solving and speed. The big VFX machine pipeline is essential, but sometimes a VFX ninja is the way to deal with a problem creatively and financially without compromise on either.Then we had a little de-age work for the flashbacks. I had worked with SSVFX before to do this and they were amazing. Ed Bruce there has a great eye so we called them back and they nailed it.Finally we also had Exceptional Minds do about 10 shots. They are an academy for people with autism launching careers in VFX and we were all super happy with the work. That was something Paramount asked us to do, and Im pleased that they did.I should also mention The Third Floor who did some amazing postviz for us. Hamilton Lewis, Pete McDonald and Jason Wen at various points led the charge. I wanted to go back to them because of my previous positive experience with them and I was glad we did. When Ridley saw the rhino post viz he liked it so much he wanted to final it-honestly, we had to talk him out of it!What is your role on set and how do you work with other departments?Working with other depts is interesting on a show like this, its VFX heavy but it doesnt feel VFX heavy as you prep and shoot. What do I mean by that? Theres so much practical build, so many cameras shooting at once (10 was normal for action, though 12 possible), such a big SFX team etc that it has momentum and that getting it in the can on the day is the focus. Its easy to forget that we still owe this and that with VFX because there is so much there on the day. Every department has its job to do but most stop worrying on wrap, whereas in VFX thats where a lot of the worrying still happens. So my job is (with the vfx team) is to beg, borrow, plead, negotiate whatever we can to get ourselves the best result. Asking camera to get us a clean plate of this or to scan this actor in this state or to knock back the practical smoke here etc. Its all a series of negotiations and relationships where in general youre asking for favours and giving not much back. Of course you can give back you can say dont worry about this or that we can fix it for you but those kind offerings are often assumed these days! The VFX team was great. Maddison Gannon was our PM and she is so capable and so lovely. Her team got things done. They knew who to talk to when. So I do my best on that front, working either via the team or direct to the other HODs. Then as the shoot is happening Nicky Walsh or Tom Carter-Drummond who ran the floor would be capturing all the data and organizing the wranglers. Id be watching on the monitor one ear on Ridleys radio one ear on VFX radioand then when I saw trouble (or when Ridley called me) Id run into Ridleys trailer and plead my case as appropriate.Can you walk us through the creative process behind the spectacular opening battle scene? What were the biggest challenges in bringing it to life?There was no previz, not for this or for the whole show. But there was Ridleys boards. As mentioned, hes a great artist- good sense of perspective and visual story telling and that of course comes across in the boards. Then we add to that the plan was to shoot on the Kingdom of Heaven set in Morocco. So that means Ridley knew it (along with the Colosseum etc. obvs). So his boards could be accurate to the location. Theres a great start.The KOH set was extended and adapted to our Numidia and gave a solid practical location with a lot in camera, so theres a win. Obviously we needed to extend it and populate it for the wides but its something physical to work from so thats great. Theres no ocean there of course so that was on us. Now you could flip the idea and try and shoot some/all of it at sea or in a tank but youd probably have to replace the water anyway as the look wouldnt be right, the amount of interactions from impacts and cg ships would demand it and then shooting would be very slow. Plus youd owe a CG Numidia in the background, so better to take the solid win of KOH.We did of course need some sort of ship there, so Neil Corboulds SFX team rigged two 150ft Roman vessels that were constructed to these 20 axle multi directional transporter rigs. So in normal life they can be daisy chained to the length required and then used to transport giant things that need to be kept stable like turbine blades or bits of planes etc. So these things could move around the desert floor quickly (faster than the rest of the crew could move for sure) and Ridley could set his shot to taste- rather than relying on laying tracks and being constrained as such.These two practical ships were then re-dressed in different configurations such as artillery, troop transport or siege tower and became our hero vessels as shots required. We added the hull, oars, sails, rigging, animated the siege towers when they needed to rise etc. Beyond the hero two ships the rest were added digitally. That said sometimes the hero ships themselves were fully VFX, but always using photography as a guide. For example sometimes the pitch and roll of the ship that Ridley wanted was more than the plate could deliver, or he wanted a different camera etcOne big challenge that became apparent in post was that the dusty desert sky and the geography of the KOH set meant the plates were often front lit or quite flat. Ridleys very clever solution to this was to do full sky replacement, adding dark brooding clouds. Its amazing how something front lit with a dark cloud behind it looks cool vs the original plate. That plus Im sure it has some symbolic nature about the looming Roman menace.How did you achieve the intense realism and scale of the battle, particularly with the large number of soldiers and complex choreography?Ridley was good at keeping us grounded. Hed say not too many ships, keep it realistic. We need way more missesmore splashes than impacts after all its not a precision weapon, the catapult etc. So I think that kept us honest. Then to choreograph scale and distance we could add crowd, move the KOH set around, add ships etc as we owned them all digitally. We had TTF do a pass through very quickly and very early and that was great in ironing out the big ticket items broad strokes and giving editors the ballpark.We did have a few amusing shots in the fort when it comes to choreography. I mean I can laugh now at least. Ridley was in such a hurry to shoot, he likes to move quickly. We had one where I think we may have had in a wide 15 crew of various sorts mixed in amongst then Roman soldier extras, not clean on the side but right in there. Meanwhile half the extras I think hadnt heard action so were doing random things. That was fun.What role did practical effects play in combination with CGI for the opening battle? How did you ensure a seamless blend between the two?I think you back into the SFX as best you can so if theres an explosion or a water splash thats practical obviously you then attach a fireball or whatever appropriately to justify. On that score its kind of obvious. Then there are some which just wont sell due to the trajectory or height of the impact and those you just need to remove.Ridley is a big believer in organized chaos. What looks ridiculous on one camera can look great on the next and he has a lot of cameras, plus long takes so the practical effects are all part of the symphony. Also Im sure it helps the actors get into the spirit of things. If theres a specific thing I know will cause us an issue such as smoke then Id put my case and normally hed be very reasonable about it.Were there any new or experimental techniques used to capture the intensity and chaos of the battle?I dont think so. I mean we tried to put in as much randomness as possible like fireballs rotating off axis, arrows bouncing off things etc I dont think you pick them up individually but they all add up to a vibe. ILM were always adding cool little moments as well, the odd burning man running or collapsing siege tower. Dirt and water on the lens. All the old classics!How did you handle the destruction and debris effects during the fight sequences, especially given the ancient Roman setting?We used VFX smoke, ash and embers a lot both in the opening battle and in the Colosseum ship battle. Theyre great battle texture, great energy, Ridley likes them and they glue the sequence together wonderfully. Also the smoke especially is great at directing the eye where you want, so popping a character out here, or flattening the image there when it gets too fussy or simply hiding a camera op.The recreation of ancient Rome is breathtaking. How did you approach designing a historically accurate yet cinematic version of the city?I think it ended more on the cinematic over historically accurate side of things! We did consult with a lovely professor of history about what was historically accurate and we tried to go that way, but very quickly we had to leave it behind. It became Ridleys Rome. An example being the Colosseum, we adjusted the details to be correct, but it didnt look like Gladiator and it didnt look as cool. Its a kit of parts very much dressed to camera, and that includes the Colosseum.What were the most complex environments to build for the film, and how did you overcome the challenges of creating them?This may not be the most complex but its a change from talking about Rome all the time, so Ill say the Styx underworld sequence. It was shot on a stage in Malta with a small, dressed set. I think what was interesting there was Ridley was quite keen on the river being this liquid mercury look. The amount of viscosity and crustyness were a fun balance, getting the right amount of surface tension and movement to sell mercury but not T1000. I think it was also fun as we had such free range to sell each shot, we had some concepts to guide us but because its this fantasy location we could be creative about just dressing it to look good. Framestore got there really quickly and did a good job. In a different world on a different movie and if the sequence was a bit longer it would have been good for Stagecraft/ the volume. But thats not Ridleys thing.How much of the ancient city was built as a physical set, and how much was extended or created entirely through visual effects?It was a big set build, 1/3rd the height and maybe th the span of the Colosseum. For Rome a large amount of fort Ricassoli was built up as Rome. For the larger buildings to 30 feet height or more. Then that set could be re-dressed for interior and exterior to play multiple locations.Fort Ricasoli has all the Napoleonic tunnels which with a bit of dressing and modernity fix could feel very Roman. So wed top that up and extend it. To be honest the bigger problem was populating it. We maxed out at 500 extras often way less. So things like the Colosseum would get, relatively speaking, a postage stamp of crowd. It was a real gamble working out where to place your crowd with so many cameras pointing in different directions. Of course where the practical crowd was missing wed owe it, and often owe it layered behind fiddly roto etcCan you share insights into the use of digital matte paintings or virtual sets in recreating the grandeur of Rome?Hmmm, not really. I mean there were dmps. At times Ridley would say things like, Ill do you a favour and Ill lock the cameraand Id say actually please dont lock it for me, Id prefer if you move it its easier to sellespecially with the big vistas. Cant beat a bit of parallax.How did you leverage modern technology, like Unreal Engine or AI tools, to enhance the visual fidelity of ancient Rome?We tried TTFs Cyclops. Its very cool and fun to use. But it just wasnt quite immediately fast enough for the pace Ridley works at. Plus hes got it in his mind anyway. Instead I resorted to taking stills from G1 when it came to the Colosseum at least and painting over them showing the vfx extension vs set plus the heightsthen gave that to camera. Sometimes theyd be seduced by the sun peeking over to make a silhouette just cresting it but youd have to say that cant work theres a whole Colosseum blocking it owed.The movie features some impressive animal sequences, including monkeys, a rhinoceros, and sharks. How did you create these creatures, and what were the main challenges in making them realistic?Well funny you ask. Theyre all based on real ref, so a white rhino, a sand tiger shark (admittedly with a Tiger sharks more impressive dorsal fin attached) and then of course a baboon with alopecia.So early on Ridley saw this nature footage of a baboon with alopecia, (ie hairless) and fell in love with it. So thats our hero. He looks a bit dog-like or a bit alien, and I think thats what Ridley liked. Anyway we matched him and then it was all about the lean ribs, the muscle tension and twitches. Any chance I could get I was encouraging Christian and his team to load up on those to get us away from rubbery-and they did a great job.Were these animals entirely CGI, or did you incorporate practical elements to bring them to life?Theyre all entirely CG. That said we did everything we could to help the sell of the physical and emotional performances of both creatures and actors. So the baboons had the smallest stuntmen that could be found (they still werent that small) playing them. They wrestled with Lucius and friends and scampered about the arena. Then Framestore had the unenviable task of removing them via CG body parts, creative background plate surgery and brute force paintwork before replacing them with keyframe animation baboons.We also had a proxy baboon torso that could be puppeteered for the close ups. Again this was fully replaced but at least it was closer to the correct size so was less of a pain.Can you explain the techniques used to animate the rhinoceros during the battle scenes, especially in terms of weight and movement?The practical rhino on the day was an amazing SFX rig on wheels made by Neil Corbould and team. It could be radio controlled to drive around the Colosseum at speed. So that gave lighting ref, eyelines and performance etc. On its back was out actor/stuntie on a saddle. It would buck up and down as it went mimicking a rhinos galloping gait. Vital to get the physical sell into the actor. It worked pretty well, Framestore backed into it and in general we kept the rider and saddle. That said sometimes there just wasnt enough movement so his lower half or all of him had to go CG.Then after that FS would plug in whatever they do to get the lovely fat, muscle, skin slide and wobble. It just looked amazing out of the box. The rhino went down very smoothly.The shark scenes are quite intense. How did you ensure that these sequences felt both threatening and realistic?The sharks were also about interaction, so the stunties were pulled on a jerk rig to give the appropriate shark vector. A little bit of help from us to increase the speed then pop in the shark and some bubbles. Compared to the baboons they were a walk in the park.What references or inspirations did you draw from to make the animals feel authentic to the ancient Roman period?We made sure they were all scarred and imperfect. They have all been in the wars in one way or another. Not specifically Roman Im sure to have injuries but we definitely would have missed them if they werent there.Were there any unexpected technical or creative challenges encountered during the production?Yes. People had told me before wed be picking up camera paint out and roto but I had no idea how much. I dont think anyone who didnt work on it would understand. Maybe the Napoleon crew. Think we should form a mutual support group.Were there any memorable moments or scenes from the series that you found particularly rewarding or challenging to work on from a visual effects standpoint?The final battle, where the two armies face off outside Rome. That was split between Sussex (UK) and Malta, plus 90% of the armies are CG. The decision to put in armies was a decision taken after the fact. The efforts required to unify the two locations were massive. Sussex was just a grassy lush field. Looked nothing like Malta physically or in terms of the light quality. So much work just to be not wrong! Ill put that in the challenging camp.Looking back on the project, what aspects of the visual effects are you most proud of?I like the Colosseum Naval battle. There are some spectacular shots in there. I mean I like all the work of course but Ive not mentioned it in the interview yetand it was a bit special.How long have you worked on this show?2 years all in.Whats the VFX shots count?Nearly 1200.What is your next project?Im not officially on it yet so cant say.A big thanks for your time.WANT TO KNOW MORE?ILM: Dedicated page about Gladiator II on ILM website.Framestore: Dedicated page about Gladiator II on Framestore website.SSVFX: Dedicated page about Gladiator II on SSVFX website. Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2024

Cinema 4D 2025.1 Updates: WOW!Here are my favorite 3 (or 4) additions to Cinema 4D with their new 2025.1 Winter Release, which just dropped. These are absolutely Quality of Life updates, which are very useful. Maybe not the most shiny and exciting updates, but incredibly handy day-to-day!My 4 Favorite Updates in Cinema 4D 2025.1 Winter ReleaseIn this C4D tutorial you'll learn:New Boolean Object. The update allows you to stack anything inside the boolean, including Cloners, in a very intuitive and fast way. It also adds the new Boolean Tag under the Modeling Tags. This allows you to add a tag to anything inside of the Boolean and change the operation of that object by overriding the main Boolean settings. Very handy! Overall, it is a fantastic update.Custom Templates. Now you can create a custom scene and add it to your home screen so when you start up Cinema 4D you can quickly open a custom template. This is perfect for creating scenes for various project types to give you a jump start. Something like a perfect 3-point lighting setup with cyc and textures and HDRI which you keep coming back to would be perfect to add as a custom template.A new Denoising engine called OIDN. Its Intels latest Open Image De Noiser which is GPU accelerated and AI based. It allows you to navigate your scene and get a very quick response. A huge quality-of-life boost for texturing and lighting since it resolves so dang quickly!And finally, the Custom Frames option in the render settings. This is a perfect way to render select frames in your sequence, or even render only missing frames. Its not too flashy, but its SO HELPFUL!Want More Quick Tips?If you want more of these, head to our YouTube channel, leave a comment, and subscribe!Leave a Comment and Subscribe Here

Renishaw, a leading engineering technology company, has partnered with Cookson Industrial, a UK-based specialist in precious metal additive manufacturing (AM), to reduce the costs associated with 3D printing platinum-rhodium. This collaboration leverages Renishaws RenAM 500S Flex AM system, enabling Cookson Industrial to produce high-temperature corrosion-resistant components with improved material efficiency. The advancement is particularly significant for industries such as glass fibre manufacturing, where the viability of using platinum rhodium in additive manufacturing has been enhanced.Cookson Industrial, a division of Cooksongold and a subsidiary of HM Precious Metals, brings over three decades of expertise in designing and producing precious metal alloys. Faced with platinum rhodium prices averaging 80,000 per kilo, minimizing material waste was essential to make production economically feasible. To address this challenge, Cookson Industrial selected Renishaws RenAM 500S Flex, a laser powder bed fusion system designed for research and development in additive manufacturing.RenAM 500S Flex installed at Cookson Industrial. Photo via Renishaw.Renishaws AM engineering team collaborated closely with Cookson Industrial to adapt the RenAM 500S Flex for platinum rhodium production. While the standard system achieves powder waste levels as low as 1.5%, custom modifications were necessary to reduce waste to below 0.5%. Achieving near-zero wastage of platinum rhodium powder was a top priority, stated Jason Morgan, Senior Applications Engineer at Renishaw. We worked with Cooksons engineers to identify and eliminate potential powder traps within the system, followed by rapid testing and redesigns to minimize waste without compromising performance.The customization process involved modifying internal system components to prevent powder accumulation. This included removing overflow bellows and optimizing the rear overflow vent. Additional measures encompassed chamber redesigns and the creation of specialized casings and covers. These modifications resulted in a 95% reduction in powder waste, allowing Cookson Industrial to recover nearly all platinum rhodium powder. This substantial decrease in material loss translates to significant cost savings and enhances the commercial viability of large-scale production.Nikesh Patel, Head of Cookson Industrial, commented, Renishaws technology and expertise were crucial to this R&D success, enabling us to produce platinum rhodium parts on a commercial scale. Minimizing powder loss not only reduces our production costs but also makes large-scale manufacturing feasible, saving millions over the machines lifetime.Renishaws team. Photo via Renishaw.Precious Metals in Industrial AM and Metal Powder ProductionCooksongold recently launched Cookson Industrial, a division dedicated to integrating precious metals into industrial AM sectors such as aerospace and healthcare. Its facility in Birmingham includes multiple EOS Precious M systems and a RenAM 500S Flex, enabling the production of gas-atomized precious metal powders in small batches up to 15kg. A 750,000 grant from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) supports the development of specialized precious metal alloys at the University of Birmingham, with a focus on extreme environments.3D Lab, a Warsaw-based service bureau, is introducing the ATO Suite at Formnext 2024. This modular set of equipment manages metal powder production from feedstock preparation to final refinement. The ATO Lab Plus, ATO Noble, and related systems enable custom powder production, reuse of scrap materials, and control over particle size distribution. The equipment occupies a small footprint and includes vacuum casting and ultrasonic sieving options. Such configurations can support the handling of high-value materials by improving powder quality and minimizing contamination.Your voice matters in the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards. Vote Now!What will the future of 3D printing look like?Which recent trends are driving the 3D printing industry, as highlighted by experts?Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to stay updated with the latest news and insights.Stay connected with the latest in 3D printing by following us on Twitter and Facebook, and dont forget to subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry YouTube channel for more exclusive content.Featured image shows the RenAM 500S Flex installed at Cookson Industrial. Photo via Renishaw.

Nano Dimensions shareholders have voted to remove Yoav Stern from the companys Board of Directors. The decision to replace Stern, who remains CEO, was taken at Nano Dimensions 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM). Incumbent Director Michael X. Garrett was also removed. During the meeting, Ofir Baharav and Robert Pons, nominated by activist shareholder Murchinson Ltd., were elected to the Board.Murchinson, which owns approximately 7.1% of Nano Dimensions outstanding shares, achieved this victory as it jostles for control over the Israeli electronics 3D printing firm. In a press release, Murchinson claims shareholders have sent a strong message by rejecting Stern and Garrett.This follows the Israeli District Courts decision on November 21 to validate the results of Nano Dimensions Extraordinary General Meeting in March 2023. As a result, Murchinson-backed Kenneth Traub and Dr. Joshua Rosensweig could also be installed on the Nano Dimension Board.The addition of four Murchinson nominees could spell trouble for Nano Dimensions acquisition of Desktop Metal and its all-cash deal for Markforged. Before the 2024 AGM, Murchinson published a letter to shareholders calling the offers for Desktop Metal and Markforged overpriced and misguided. In a press release, it added that there is an opportunity for the reconstructed Board to carefully and critically examine the merits and success of past and present acquisitions.In an official Nano Dimension statement, the Chairman of the Board, Yoav Nissan-Cohen, thanked Mr. Yoav Stern and General Michael Garrett for their service as Directors on our Board as well as their expertise and guidance in developing our strategy and positioning Nano for the future. He added: We welcome Ofir Baharav and Robert Pons to Nanos Board and look forward to working with them to build long-term value for all Nano shareholders.Nano Dimensions CEO Yoav Stern (right) on stage with Stratasys CEO Yoav Zeif (middle) and Nikon SLMs CCO Charlie Grace (left) at RAPID + TCT 2024. Photo by 3D Printing Industry.What happened at Nano Dimensions 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders?Murchinson has made several bold claims regarding Nano Dimensions 2024 Annual General Meeting, which it has called a turning point in Nanos history.According to Murchinson, Baharav and Pons were elected with the support of a significant majority of shareholders. However, the exact level of support for the new Board members has not been officially disclosed.Murchinson also stated that the 2024 AGM was the third general meeting at which a majority of voting shareholders removed Mr. Stern from the Board. The investment firm expressed its hope that Nano Dimensions CEO would finally adhere to the will of the shareholders and urges him to cease seeking ways to circumvent or delay their decision.Murchinson commented that the Stern-led Board had previously engaged in a plethora of obstructionist, costly legal manoeuvres and novel interpretation of the law and of the Companys own Articles of Association. It has now called on the Board to refrain from any further such actions and instead engage in a constructive dialogue with its shareholders, reaffirming its intention to defend shareholders rights and agency in court.During the 2024 AGM, shareholders voted on Murchinsons proposal to de-classify the Board, which would remove staggered elections and see all directors stand for reelection in the same year. Murchinson claims approximately 67% reportedly voted in favour of this proposal, falling short of the 70% needed to enact the change.Despite this, the activist shareholder commented that the result reflects a clear message from shareholders, which should prompt the Board to proactively seek its de-classification at the next general meeting. It called the classified Board an anti-shareholder measure associated with a lower return to shareholders and poor corporate governance due to diminished accountability.The meeting also saw shareholders vote to approve Nano Dimensions proposed compensation for all non-executive directors. However, approximately 75% of eligible votes were cast against the proposed compensation package for Yoav Stern, which Murchinson called outrageous.Nano Dimension offices in Munich. Photo by Michael Petch.Nano Dimensions shareholder battle continuesNano Dimensions feud with Murchinson is nothing new. Last February, tensions were ignited when the global investment firm issued an open letter to its fellow shareholders. This criticised the stewardship of Stern, pointing to poor capital allocation and unfortunate corporate governance. It argued that Stern possesses a dubious history as a capital allocator, and argued that the CEOs hand-picked Board could not be trusted with the approximately $1 billion in cash on the Companys balance sheet.Murchinson argued that Nano Dimensions share value had been lagging behind its only self-reported peer Stratasys by 27% over the past two years. Ultimately, the letter outlined Murchinsons plans to change the Nano Dimension Board and deploy the funds in an alternative manner.The Murchinson letter was followed in March 2023 by Nano Dimensions Special General Meeting of Shareholders. Both companies published contradictory statements regarding the meetings outcome.Murchinson claimed that all four of its proposals received overwhelming support, including the removal of then-serving Directors Yoav Stern, Yoav Nissan-Cohen, Oded Gera and Igal Rotem. All except Rotem, who resigned in October 2023, remained in place during the most recent AGM. Nano Dimension directly disputed Murchinsons claims. While the proposals received at least a 92% share of the votes, Nano argued that the percentage of outstanding Nano ordinary shares present was less than 13%, excluding shares owned by Murchinson and Anson.In November 2024, the Israeli District Court agreed with Murchinsons version of events, validating the results of the March 2023 meeting. It upheld all four of Murchinsons proposals.In addition to the removal of four Directors, these proposals included an amendment which would allow shareholders to fill vacancies on the Board, an amendment allowing shareholders to remove directors at any general meeting with a simple majority, and the immediate addition of Kenneth Traub and Dr. Joshua Rosensweig to the Board.The courts decision could have further implications for the makeup of the Nano Dimension Board. Murchinson highlighted that the 2023 AGM saw 52.1% and 52.3% of shareholders vote to remove incumbent Directors Ron Kleinfeld and Christopher Moran, respectively. At the time, they were not replaced as the 70% threshold was still in place. However, given the courts approval to remove this, Murchinson asserts that these individuals are no longer Board members.Additionally, one of the amendments proposed at the March 2023 meeting stipulated that the term of any director appointed by the Board would expire at the annual meeting following their appointment. Under this rule, the terms of incumbent Directors Eitan Ben-Eliahu and Georgette Mosbacher, appointed in April 2024 and June 2024, respectively, would have ended at the 2024 AGM.All the news from Formnext 2024.Who are the leaders in additive manufacturing? Vote now in the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards!Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to keep up with the latest 3D printing news.You can also follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry Youtube channel to access more exclusive content.Featured image shows Nano Dimensions offices in Munich. Photo by Michael Petch.