Intel announced that it's further delaying plans to open two chip fabrication facilities in Ohio, pushing their completion out to 2030. The company originally announced its plans for Ohio in 2022, with an ambitious opening set for 2025.Intel says it completed the "basement" level of its Ohio One project last quarter, which allows above-ground construction to get underway now. The $20 billion dollar project is technically split across two different chip fabs, dubbed Mod 1 and Mod 2, which won't be completed at the same time. Mod 1 is now set to open in 2030, to "align the start of production of our fabs with the needs of our business and broader market demand," according to Intel. Mod 2 will be completed the following year in 2031.Intel CorporationThe justification is financial: Intel says it's taking a "prudent approach" that will ensure the chip fabs are completed in a "financially responsible manner." Intel previously told the state of Ohio that it was delaying the fabs until 2027. It also delayed the groundbreaking of the project seemingly to incentivize the passing of the CHIPS Act in 2022, according to a report from The Washington Post.More delays add to what's been a tumultuous period for Intel as a company. In December, former CEO Pat Gelsinger was pushed out, likely because he wasn't pulling-off Intel's aggressive plans to expand chip production. Prior to that, the funding the company was set to receive through the CHIPS Act was reduced by $600 million. Add in layoffs and the continued dominance of chip makers like AMD, and Intel remains in a tricky spot.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/intel-once-again-delays-its-long-awaited-ohio-chip-fabrication-facilities-185516274.html?src=rss

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How it worked on Captain America: Brave New World, with production designer Ramsey Avery.Here at befores & afters, we dont often get to discuss how films are made with the production designer. But, we were given the opportunity to interview production designer Ramsey Avery about his role on director Julius Onahs Captain America: Brave New World for an insight into his art department on the film.In this interview, we discuss coming up with a certain look for the film, the cross-over between production design and visual effects, designing sets (including making scale foamcore models as part of set development), and the idea of dressing sets before and after destruction.b&a: Im always interested in the first conversations you may have had about Brave New World and the look of the film. What do you discuss with Julius, the director?Ramsey Avery: When Julius took on the project, I think he pitched it specifically as the version he wanted to do of this story, which was to take it into the world of 70s political thrillers. Marvel, in particular, wanted to find a way to kind of bring a sense of groundedness back into the MCU. And this particular story was also a story that was really embedded in a sense of a real person struggling through a real issue; Sam is not a super soldier. He has to figure out how to be a superhero without having that serum and that special strength. And so Julius thought that it needed to be grounded in a much more kind of visceral world. He went back to the 70s political thrillers, movies like Day of the Jackal, Le Samoura, The Parallax View. These had a very specific point of view, in terms of the way that they were shot and designed.Color key frames.Color script.I mean, Le Samoura is very stylized, but the other movies are much more naturalistic. But even in that case, he also looked at some movies like Trance and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, which are also slightly stylized, but are definitely within a sense of reality. And what was important about movies like that is those movies are trying to get at a sense of controlwho is controlling the story and the narrative within the action of those movies? And so you look at those older movies, you look at the more contemporary movies, and all of them have a real solid stance, in terms of, even though theyre realistic in many cases, the design is very specific.Julius described it as meticulous design, and by that, he meant choosing very specific locations, designing very specific sets, where you could frame the characters within a specific lighting, with a specific color, and with a very strong point of view, to suggest either somebody was watching, or reflection was happening in some place that told you something about how the character was considering their place in the world.Director Julius Onah (left) with production designer Ramsey Avery.Or, just simply that, in the storytelling, it had a very kind of graphic clarity that we wanted to convey. That was kind of the basis of the discussion, is that sense of, How do we place Sam within his overall story arc as this real person with not superhuman abilities, trying to figure out how he can be Captain America, while a whole lot of political intrigue is actually going on as part of this story that he has to contend with?b&a: Thats fascinating. What ended up being, say, one example of a particular location or set piece where you were able to fulfill that vision? I mean, apart from the whole film, but one particular example?Ramsey Avery: Well, thats interesting. I think there are a couple of places where that kind of thing pops out. Yeah, it is all of them, but because thats something that we had to work with the DP (Kramer Morgenthau) with in every case, like, Can we get the shots that were looking for in this location? In some places, when youre dealing with the White House, its the White House, so you cant change the idea of the White House, but you can say, Heres the Rose Garden and heres the lines of the Rose Garden. So, how are we going to set up the way that we film the Rose Garden to get those strong lines of that shape, to help us focus on the characters where we want to focus on the characters? What are the angles we pick?Since we had to build that setbecause we werent going to really shoot it at the Rose Gardenwe had the opportunity to pick, How are we going to emphasize, to tell this meticulous design and focus the camera on our characters where we want to focus our design on the characters? Some of that had to do with how we changed the plantings in the Rose Garden, and the shape of the hedge work, and where we put colorful trees, and where we took out colorful trees. All of that was about how to get to something, Heres a real world thing, but we still have to shift it and adjust it to make it cinematic in our movie.b&a: Tell me about how a set piece like the Rose Garden actually emerges? Does it of course become a conversation first and then become concept art, or do you dive straight into some sort of 3D sketch-up type things? Tell me about the evolution of the Rose Garden set.Ramsey Avery: Well, the first thing is research. We try to get as much research as we possibly can, and contemporary research of anything at the White House is very hard to come by. They dont have a lot of photography, but you can look at press conferences, and there is some candid photography of various presidents in the Rose Garden, so you can pull some of that to find some references. I was lucky enough to work on White House Down, which actually had been done before they started closing off a lot of the access to photos in the White House, so I did actually have some pictures from that that helped inform this.So, it starts with the research, to try to figure out what parts and pieces, again, are important to the storytelling. And then, from that, we do a model. We do a digital model, and we work out the general shape language. We ask ourselves, Are we going to make it as big as the real Rose Garden? And, working with the model, we decided that we wanted to make it the exact same size as the real thing. The same number of columns, same general layout as the real one. It just felt like thats the space we needed.Of course, sometimes theres budget saying, You should make things smaller, and theres also the whole conversation of, Whats going to be visual effects and whats going to be real? In the digital model, you can start to suss out what those components are. It lets you work out, Do you build up to just one part of the corner? Do you build the frieze above it? You can start to sort all of that out in the digital model. But that only gets so far. Even today after weve been using digital tools for a long time dont necessarily know how to really look at a digital model and really see it.So, after we took the digital model and we approved that, then we went through a set design process, where we drafted it all out. And from that, we built a physical model in quarter-inch scaleit mightve been eighth-inchso that we had this physical model that everybody could stand around and say, This person moves here, and this person moves here, and we can put the camera here, and then we need a big light over here, and heres where the bluescreen needs to go, so that we can make sure that we can extend the sky beyond it.And while were looking at that physical model, we ask, What shots do we do that keep it as much in-camera as possible? Because we dont want to make it visual effects unless we have to. Clearly, when big destruction is happening, theres some things we can destroy, but destroying the whole thing is something thats not probably going to be practical, because we probably want to have a take two, right? So if you destroy the whole thing, its really hard to go back to take two.So, theres some elements that we want to do in visual effects, but generally, we want to use that practical model to say, Okay, we will build to here and well build to here. And if we keep the camera in this area, then we keep it in camera, and we dont have to do visual effects. It looks more real, and it doesnt spend the money in visual effects. And wheres the balance of whats real, whats versus visual effects to make the most sense out of everybodys time, money, and schedule?b&a: You mentioned the interaction there with visual effects, and Im curious about those conversations you may have had, perhaps it was with Bill Westenhofer at that point, before Alessandro Ongaro came in.Ramsey Avery: Well, again, it came down to, What size should we build it? and we decided, partly to minimize the visual effects, that we should build it in the real size, because a movie has a certain amount of budget, and whether you spend the money in visual effects or whether you spend the money in practical, youre still spending the money, so wheres the wisest place to spend it? How many visual effects shots are you going to drive if you bring the set too low or you build the set too short?So that conversation happens with Bill and with the producer, Yasamin Ismaili, to make sure that were maximizing the right spend in the right places, and also to just make it feel more real, because visual effects can be great, but you still can kind of read real versus visual effects, even really great visual effects. So, as much as you can make it real, the better off everybody is. Just takes less time, if nothing else.We have those specific discussions with the DP, and with Julius, saying, If we do X, Y, and Z, then we know we can keep it in-camera. But when we know we have to go wide, because now were going to see the full White House behind us in these shots, looking down the opposite direction, then what are the cut lines? How do, as a production designer in an art department, how do we figure out where the right places to put cut lines into the sets are, so we make that transition as straightforward and believable as we can?So, we looked into, Where do the trees go? How dense do the trees need to be? We dont want really lacy trees, because that makes it very hard to extend past them. We want to use platforming to put the press on, that gives us a very solid line back behind there to do that. We had those conversations about how we could make the hand-off as practical and as straightforward as we could.b&a: Im also curious about any interaction you end up having with previs. I always talk about previs with the visual effects supervisor, but I often dont necessarily feel like theres always heavy involvement of the other departments, but perhaps you did on this one?Ramsey Avery: Well, in general, its super important to have the art department involved in the previs. Generally speaking, wed prefer to have the art department design the environments that the previs is being set in, so that we know ahead of time that thats stuff that we can build. Ive been on projects where previs just goes off and does stuff, and were like, Wait, wait, wait a minute. We cant do that, for any number of reasons. So its always best to have previs work with designs that the art department creates. Thats the launching point, based on the discussions that weve already had with the director and the DP about what they want to have happen in the scene.Ramsey Avery.As far as previs goes, we have meetings along the way to talk about, How are we going to do that? All right, so the Hulk is going to rip out a column from the back wall. How do we do that? Whos doing what in that case? There wed have a discussion with special effects about, What can they do, what can the set support, what does visual effects need to take over? We basically work with previs step by step, shot by shot to say, What do we have to do?One thing to note with destruction and with practical special effects, theres always a before and an aftermath. So in one shot youve built, you work out what the before is, and then theres whatever stunt work and special effects rig has to be to collapse something. And then, once that stunt and that special effects is done, then you dress in the aftermath. So as you work through the previs, youre looking for those beats, which then specifically talks to the director or the DP and the first AD about how theyre going to schedule the shoot. And sometimes, you have to do things backwards. You want to do the aftermath first, because its easier to dress all that mess in, and clean it out.Thats what we did with Hains Point and the cherry blossoms. All the destruction that happens in that, we actually built that first, and we built it on top of the undestroyed set. So we took the time to sculpt all the destroyed stuff in, quickly pulled that out, revealed the undestroyed set underneath that, fluffed that up, made that pretty, brought a few undestroyed trees in, and moved forward. So thats all done again by looking at previs or storyboards. We dont always need previs, but just working out scene by scene with everybody that needs to have a say in the matter to figure out what we do when. It becomes a very logistical process. It also is a design process, because sometimes youll look at a previs and you go, Thats just not working for the story. How do we adjust the design to get the story to work?b&a: You mentioned the confrontation there between Sam and Red Hulk, and the cherry blossoms around that are just beautiful. Can you talk a bit more about that, including the before and the after?Ramsey Avery: Well, clearly were not going to go to Washington, D.C. and shoot the real cherry trees in Washington, D.C. For just all kinds of reasons. Logistically, we were not going to be at the right time of the year when the cherry blossoms are in bloom, and were not going to take over the tourists being there. Thats the time they get to be there. So we know we have to build it and we have to control it. Were not going to grow cherry trees and try to get real cherry trees at the right time with blossoms. We have to build them. And again, we sit down and we work through, in this case, we had some rough storyboards, and we used the rough storyboards to figure out what kind of trees we needed and where to help tell the story.We laid out a basic footprint using about 24 trees. And then, I spent days sorting out through the storyboards how we could use that group of trees to represent each bit of the fight, because we have to use part of the fight here, then part of the fight is here, and then part of the fight is here. So how do we adjust cars, and street lamps, and trees, and whats broken and whats not broken during the fight, and how that all gets worked out. And so all of that becomes a process of discussing with stunts, and special effects, and visual effects, and the DP, and the first AD, and the director about how to get all of that pulled together.We basically did, again, a digital model, and then I did the 2D planning of how we make all the stuff make sense. Then, we reviewed all of that in conjunction with the previs, which was being developed simultaneously. And then, we built a model of it, and then to actually do the destruction, because that whole destruction came later in the decision process making, we didnt have time to really do that whole process over again. So what we did is we did a whole bunch of research about destroyed roads and how did they look in an earthquake or a landslide, and then how does an impact crater work? Just all the types of things that might be necessary, visual wise, for the storytelling.And then, I worked with a sculptor, a model-making sculptor. I did a real rough sketch for him and I said, I think this is where the lines need to be, to draw the focus in the shape language, so we know the camera is always pointing where we want. The line work in the set is pointing to where we want it to point. And I worked with the sculptor to develop all of that, and then basically, that maquette became the guide that the sculptors built in real scale.On a soundstage, we built all of that in scale, and walked the director and the DP through it at a couple of points, and agreed that that was what it was, finished it on the stage, and then we were shooting the Rose Garden in the same place we had to shoot the cherry tree set. So we had a very quick turnaround. We struck out, we were building the trees in one place, we were building the practical broken road in someplace else, and then we strike out all of the Rose Garden, and we bring the trees, and we bring the destroyed sets in. We paved the roads, so we have a real road. We put the real grass mats underneath all that, and then put the mess on top of it, shoot all of that, pull everything away, put the trees back in, and then shoot the fight. That happened in the space.b&a: Ramsey, my readers will be obsessed, I think, with knowing what the scale model maquette is made out of, or what materials you tend to use for that sort of thing? Is it foamcore, for example?Ramsey Avery: Its just foam or foamcore. I mean, for doing the sculptor work, youre using a gray foam or a yellow foam, a dense foam that gives you some chance to do some detailing going in it. You go to the train model store, and you buy the trees, and you flock them. You flock your trees based on the scale that youve worked out in the digital model, about how big and how wide the trees need to be. You do the flocking, and the grass, and all of that.b&a: Ramsey, these films are so big, and youre so heavily involved obviously in pre-production and then obviously production. Im always curious if you get a chance to liaise directly with the visual effects studios when theyre doing their CG builds, because of course, in some ways, that mirrors your work completely. But timing wise, Im not sure youre always able to do that. Was that possible here at all?Ramsey Avery: Well, in this case, well, honestly, in most cases, it just simply isnt possible. As a designer, youre onto your next project by the time all of thats underway. Also, to have you on keeping to provide input, in regards to the union rules, well, they have to pay you for that time. So the studios want to kind of minimize that input. The issue then becomes how much can you have those discussions while were all together, and build the framework ahead of time, so that everybody agrees that this is what youre doing?Concept art for the battle around Celestial Island.Ill usually get some questions along the way. Somebody will send some images to me or theyll say, Did you mean this? Or, sometimes Ill come in and Ill take a look at a collage. It depends on where I am in the world. Like, if Im in India and theyre doing the work in LA, theyre not going to send me something online to look at it on my computer screen. It doesnt make a lot of sense, in terms of an animation. So generally speaking, what we all do in the world of production design and visual effects is try to sort all of that out as cleanly and as completely, get as much illustration work done, get as much modeling done, and then hope that that all works out.Ill say that there was a huge backstory in the film to the Celestial Island in terms of adamantium is and what happens in there. We did a lot of work, working all of that out. And then, in the movie, because of various other reasons that happened in the storytelling, it was not in there. So sometimes, you do a lot of work and everybody agrees, but then something changes. And thats just the nature of the creative process. It just happens.Concept art for the battle around Celestial Island.b&a: I wonder if youd like to talk about another set piece or location that you were particularly fond of or that was particularly tricky, just to break that down as well?Ramsey Avery: There was a set for Camp Echo One, the prison set. A couple things about that that I was really happy with. In the script, it happened initially in Yellowstone. And Im like, Why is it in Yellowstone? That doesnt make any sense to me. And besides, how does Sam get to there in the timeframe of the storytelling? It involved having to have a whole airplane flight and a conversation, and it was a whole bunch of stuff that just didnt help the storytelling. So, I was trying to figure out where else it could be. Part of the thing is that it needed to be in a black spot, right? Someplace where there was not any communication available.I was doing some research, and I realized that there was this place in West Virginia that was the National Radio Telescope Observatory. And because of that, it needed to keep the air clean of radio waves. So for 50 years, there have been no radio waves allowed in this city. Theres no cell phones, theres no Wi-Fi in this town. And so its like, Well, thats a cool place, and thats a great place to hide in plain sight, right?I assumed that we would end up having to find some base of the radio telescopes and then visually effect this extension to make the things. But as it turns out, an hour outside of Atlanta, theres some decommissioned radio telescopes in a forest, so it was a great find. And then, you can go to the director and to Marvel and say, Look what we found, and this is how it works, and this is why it makes sense. And theyre like, Hey, you are saving us some money, and it also looks great. So that was all a really good surprise, and I really liked the way that that looked. But then, underneath of it, we actually started with a much more Marvel design to this. But part of what this movie was really trying to be, one of our key words was grounded. We ultimately didnt want to do those big Marvel gestures.So, I designed a set look for all of Camp Echo One that I was really proud of. It had a panopticon kind of center tower, and a great, big, swooping environment, and it looked really cool, and it felt kind of grungy and period, and all of that was great. But as we looked more into it, its like, It just feels too grand for the movie were trying to tell. We want something that feels more real.The other thing is that we also had a storyline going on that we wanted to tell a story of people being kept in boxes, and as they free themselves, the spaces around them become more open. So Sam starts off in more enclosed spaces, Ross starts off in more enclosed spaces. In that very first scene, hes in that little, tiny backstage area with all this glass, kind of caged in the corner. Everything we wanted to do wanted to support that.So, instead of designing a prison that had a big, open vault where you could see all the prisoners at once, it felt better to actually put it in small, contained corridors, and figure out how to make that make sense within the action and the story beats that we wanted to have. And then, from that, we could tell a whole story about what was built in the 50s, what was added in the 60s, what happened in the 80s. We could visually layer up all of that in terms of the architecture and the design of the space, and then also tell the story about how Sterns figured out mind control, in the sense that we were doing some research, and there was, in the 50s, a lot of exploration in terms of how lighting could control the moods of prisoners.We took the idea that there were these lighting controls within the spaces that were designed specifically to calm and control the prisoners. And Sterns figured that out, and then, he did a whole process of figuring out how to adapt that and turn that into literal mind control. And in the one room that Joaquin goes into, you can see each step of the way has been done in dressing, and from the big lights down into smaller and smaller, more miniaturized versions.So all of that storytelling, its thematic. It tells why its a horrible place for Isaiah to be. Its also why its a horrible place for Stern to be. It fits within the tones and the themes of the movies that we want to tell, color and shape, language and boxes, and not boxes. And I just felt like thats one of those places where you can kind of consolidate something thats sort of this really big, grand, epic, sci-fi-y idea, and became much more grounded, and in that case became better.b&a: Sterns lab was also fantastically designed. It just felt like I wanted to be in there a bit longer and have a look around at all the crazy devices and whatnot.Ramsey Avery: Yeah, I mean, each of those devices, we did a lot of research into psychiatric care in the 50s and 60s, and so everything came from a real thing. And then, adding on top of that, the stuff that Sterns wouldve needed to do his further development, and what Ross wouldve provided to him to do his further development. So again, theres this whole layering of 50s tech with much more contemporary tech, and bioengineering, and that kind of medical studies added on top of it. So yeah, actually, I mean, our set decorator, Rosemary Brandenburg is brilliant. Shes just brilliant.And so we had these discussions to begin with, and talked about the specifics of all of that. And then, you get into the discussions like, Julius wants to have glass and reflections. It meant we can play with that idea of transparency and reflection in the space, so that adds another layer to the idea of it. And then, you have all the stunts, and so you have to figure out what the action can be, and how does the design support the action? What are the props? Whats the dressing? What does the stunt guy want to do? You know, he wants a needle, or he wants a tube, or these things that the stunt guy comes up with.Then, you have to figure out a way to work into the visual reality of the set that youre putting together. Its all fun. I mean, its all such a puzzle, and all that, and working with everybody there together, thats probably my favorite part of the whole process. Its just all these great, wonderful, talented, smart people that you get to bounce ideas around with all day long.The post The cross-over between production design and visual effects appeared first on befores & afters.

Heres how the VFX team helped design the final sequence. Plus, how they made Harrison Fords Hulk, and a character that audiences might not realize involved plenty of digital effects work.When Captain America: Brave New World production visual effects supervisor Alessandro Ongaro came on board the Julius Onah filmtaking over duties from fellow production visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer who moved on to work on the live-action Moanaone of his major tasks was helping to shape the Celestial Island sequence.This sequence ultimately saw Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) intercept two mind-controlled American pilots who attack the Japanese fleet near Celestial Island, which has been revealed as a source of the valuable metal adamantium.As the director has recently explained, the Celestial Island scenes were re-imagined from being on the island, to the confrontation now showcased around it. Furthermore, an aerial dogfight originally featuring several nations was condensed down to just include the US and Japan.We decided to simplify it, reveals Ongaro, because you always want to favor the story, making sure that the audience enjoys the scene. For the sequence, we started over with the Digital Domain previs team. Cameron Ward was our supervisor and we basically plotted the scene as beats. So, we needed to have some key moments, one of those was that we knew that Joaquin had to be hit at some point.Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in Marvel Studios CAPTAIN AMERICA. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. 2025 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.We werent sure if there was going to be an accidentsay, if he was shot down by a Japanese plane by accident that was catching fire, continues Ongaro. So there was some exploration there. And then on top of that, we have Celestial Island which is massive. We actually took the asset from The Eternals, and just scaled it down a little. Otherwise, it would be so massive that we wouldnt be able to cover the whole section. It was still huge, but it was scaled down. We used that in our favor to try to give a sense of the geography of where everyone was in relation to each other.One aspect of the revised sequence that Ongaro had to consider was fitting it into the political thriller style of cinematography that pervades the rest of the film. Julius liked locked-off shots and a lot of negative space. The original version of the scene was shot in the same way, but its an action scene. It wasnt working as well. It was hard to keep the energy up, the intensity.Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) on the set of Marvel Studios CAPTAIN AMERICA. Photo by Eli Ade. 2025 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.So, relates Ongaro, one of the first things I did was talk to Julius and say, I understand your style and Im going to try to marry your style, but we need to move that camera. We need to make the shots more dynamic, but as realistic as possible. As in, if we were shooting the aerial sequence for real, how would they shoot it? It would be from another plane, or from the ground with a long lens. So, we tried to stay as grounded as possible. I mean, there are two humans flying. But the speed was correct, for example, the plane was flying around 500 or 600 miles per hour which meant that Joaquin and Sam were flying fast.Digital Domain (visual effects supervisor Hanzhi Tang) was also responsible for the final visual effects work for the Celestial Island confrontation. For plates, principal photography included scenes on the warships, cockpit shots and then face close-ups of Mackie and Ramirez. We had previs that was really close to the final, notes Ongaro, and I really wanted to capture as many face plates as possible so that we didnt have to go full CG all the time. We blocked the scene out based on lighting direction. So, instead of putting them on wiresbecause they hated to be on wires and they couldnt move on wires, they had a very hard timeI just had them standing looking up. We figured out where to place the camera, where to place the light, and we tried to match the action that we had as much as we could. Things then always change a little bit during production which meant there were some shots where we had to go digital for the faces. Everything elsethe clouds, the oceanwas fully CG.Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in Marvel Studios CAPTAIN AMERICA. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. 2025 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.The VFX studio developed a new cloud tool to aid in creating the environment in which most of the battle takes place. From a DD press release: Digital Domains team created a new Cloud Shader, a task that took nearly three months to perfect and enabled them to produce stylized clouds that matched the look and feel of the film. For this project, they also simulated clouds to achieve a cotton-like look and feel, layering up 4 to 6 clouds at a time to build depth and establish the appropriate distance.For the moment Torres crashes into the ocean, Digital Domain needed to both previs and then execute in final VFX a heavy emotional beat, as Ongaro describes. It is emotional, and its also a moment for Sam where he realizes later, he says, I should have taken the serum. Hes blaming himself for what happens. What we tried to do was make it Joaquins inexperience that causes the accident. He wants to impress Sam and so he goes after the second missile that he missed, but he gets too close. Im really proud of how that whole scene turned out, in the end.From Harrison to HulkAt a press conference in the White House Rose Garden, US president Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) transforms into a red Hulk, the result of him taking gamma radiation-infected pills orchestrated by Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson). Early visual development for this red Hulk carried over some of Fords facial traits, with the final CG creaturecrafted by Wt FXexhibiting even more familiar features of the actor.Red Hulk/President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) in Marvel Studios CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. 2024 MARVEL.There are parts of the Hulks face that are literally Harrison Ford, details Ongaro. Their eyes are one-to-one. The lips were all modeled after we scanned Fords teeth as well. There was some adjustment on the nose, to bring it up a little to create a larger area under the nose.I think hes one of the most complex characters that Wt FX has ever done, continues Ongaro. Its a brand new character rig with muscles that are firing automatically, based on the motion of the body. The asset itself is really, really sophisticated. Visual effects supervisor Dan Cox and animation supervisor Sidney Kombo-Kintombo at Wt FX were responsible for the phenomenal previs, postvis and animation of the red Hulk.Red Hulk/President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) in Marvel Studios CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. 2025 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.To start the process for this CG Hulk, Wt FX relied on capture of Ford wearing a head mounted camera for facial performance. Body motion capture was acquired on set with a stunt double performer, who also wore an extended head-piece for eyelines. The visual effects studio then largely carried out fight and other action beats at their own facility in Wellington. Of course, says Ongaro, so much of the Hulk was keyframe animation to get the weight correct.For the break out of Ross into the red Hulk, visual effects artists did look to reference from An American Werewolf in Paris to show the hands and feet bulging and transforming. Originally, advises Ongaro, we wanted to go really down that path to make it a little more disgusting. You could see the skin tearing and breaking on his hand, bones popping off, but we just condensed it a little bit.(L-R): Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Red Hulk/President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) in Marvel Studios CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. 2025 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.After Wilson and Ross, as the red Hulk, battle it out at Hains Point, Ross transitions back into a ragged human. Originally, this moment was supposed to happen in front of camera, but was ultimately hinted at more as a shadow as the transformation occurs. We actually had a fully built asset that could morph from Harrison to the red Hulk, states Ongaro. But we didnt really want to do it too much in your face. For Julius, it was very important to keep that moment very peaceful at the end of everything. He thought that if we were doing a transformation in-camera, it wouldve broken that sense of peacefulness. So thats why we just played off his shadow.The red Hulks breakout sees him tear apart sections of the White House and confront two drone helicopters. Its the White House, so we couldnt completely destroy it, so we had to decide which part to destroy, notes Ongaro. Also, if you look closely, theres always people running away. We wanted to make sure that we were not killing anybody. In fact, originally, there were supposed to be two Black Hawk helicopters with pilots, but, again, we didnt want to kill anybody. So, they are drones.Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in Marvel Studios CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. 2024 MARVEL.Invisible effects on SternTim Blake Nelsons ultra-intelligent Samuel Sterns is revealed in the film to have part of his brain protruding from his headthe result of his exposure to Bruce Banners blood. While some prosthetic make-up effects were employed on set, the final look was an all-CG approach achieved by Luma Pictures.We tried to stay true to the comics, remarks Ongaro. There, its the left side of his face that gets infected. Thats why we created more bulges on that side. The eyes have a kind of cataract. That was actually my idea where I said, We should add that little detail so it looks like the one side of the face is more messed up than the other. We replaced everything including the hair, and we touched his face as well to add digital make-up. Im very happy how it turned out because we really tried to make it as grounded as possible. Its another cool character.The post How the Celestial Island scene in Captain America: Brave New World was re-worked with previs and VFX appeared first on befores & afters.

The 2025 slate of Oscar nominees recognizes many writers, directors and actors whose scripts and performances dont necessarily reflect their own cultural and linguistic backgrounds.Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley, both white, co-wrote Sing Sing, a story about rehabilitation through art in a maximum security prison where the characters are almost entirely people of color.Meg LeFauve has now earned her second nomination for penning a script that gives voice the gamut of emotions surging through a young girl in Inside Out 2. Shes in her 50s.The director of Conclave, Edward Berger, its writer, Peter Straughan, and its lead actor, Ralph Fiennes, are all self-proclaimed lapsed Catholics. Yet they brought to life a political thriller set in the Vatican.The Brutalist was written entirely in English, but much of the films dialogue is in Hungarian, with two leads who are not native Hungarian speakers.Most screenwriters endeavor to craft characters outside their own backgrounds and experiences. But concerns about authentic language representation and cultural accuracy persist, and accusations of cultural appropriation and lazy research are commonplace.Emilia Prez, for example, has been heavily criticized not only for unrealistic portrayals of gender transition but also for inauthentic depictions of Mexican culture and accents.The films director, Jacques Audiard, has even claimed his lack of knowledge of Spanish has been an artistic benefit. He says it gives him a quality of detachment to emphasize emotion rather than focus too strongly on the accent, the punctuation.His lack of interest in precise depictions of language and culture contrasts sharply with our recent research, which shows ample interest from practicing screenwriters in accurately representing dialects and accents in scripts.Wanting to get it rightWe surveyed over 50 current members of the Writers Guild of America, and they broadly told us that sensitivity to linguistic representation has increased since the 2010s.Several commented that theres been more commitment to hiring writers who represent the characters voices and backgrounds. Theres also more freedom to include diverse characters and worlds but a commensurate emphasis on authenticity and a higher bar for what that means, as one writer explained.Authenticity was consistently cited in our survey as a principal consideration when writing dialogue. Other concerns included scripts intelligibility, historical accuracy and believability.In most cases, screenwriters aspire to write dialogue that sounds authentic. But its not easy and often requires collaboration to get it right. Writers noted how theyll adjust their dialogue based on production needs, such as budgetary concerns, input from actors and directors, and feedback from dialect coaches and historical consultants.For example, spec scripts or noncommissioned film scripts are written before any casting or production decisions are made. The dialogue in these scripts will likely change once actors and other creatives are attached to the project.Recipes for capturing linguistic nuanceIn our study, we also reviewed screenwriting manuals published as far back as 1946.Manuals didnt begin to raise explicit ethical concerns, such as the use of inaccurate linguistic stereotypes in dialogue, until the 1980s. For example, many older films, such as Gone with the Wind, often used phonetic spelling in their scripts, with features such as g-dropping quittin for quitting to mark only the speech of lower-class or racially marginalized characters, despite the fact that all people, regardless of background, have accents.Writing in heavy phonetics is generally discouraged in modern screenwriting.There are practical reasons for this. Scripts are read before theyre seen and therefore must first appeal to the not so general audience of executives who buy them. As one writer explained, My script is targeted towards them.Take Trainspotting. Irvine Welshs 1993 novel about a group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh was written with heavy phonetics to capture the characters Scottish dialect: ah wouldnae git tae watch it. But the screenplay uses lines without phonetics, such as, I wouldnt have bothered.In this respect, theres a notable difference in novels and their respective adaptations. One surveyed writer avoids dialectal markers and will default to standard American English unless there is a reason not to.That doesnt mean the actors in Trainspotting should speak in an American English accent. Instead, screenwriters might simply indicate the use of language and dialect when describing the scene in a script or, as one surveyed screenwriter explained, make a note in the parenthetical that Brynn speaks with a heavy West Virginia accent to flag the work that the actor, dialogue coach, and writer will need to do together.This method is employed in The Brutalist. The film is partly in Hungarian, but writer and director Brady Corbet and his Norwegian co-writer, Mona Fastvold, wrote the Hungarian dialogue in standard English. They then used parentheticals to indicate any non-English delivery of dialogue. The films stars, Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, worked with a dialect coach to hone their accents.Anora, which tells the story of an exotic dancer in a whirlwind romance, features characters who speak Russian, Armenian and English with varying degrees of fluency. Even though the characters frequently switch between these languages, the entire script is in unbroken English. Code-switching is simply marked with Russian, Armenian or English in the script before a piece of dialogue. But limiting oneself to standard U.S. English restricts diversity in the written dialogue itself. Some writers may want to use dialect or language to convey character authenticity on the page.Our survey respondents described this as flavor the strategic use of dialectal words or phrases to create distinct voices, with limited phonetics. Jesse Eisenberg, in his Oscar-nominated script A Real Pain, lightly blends American English with occasional Yiddish words to great effect: landed in Galveston for some fakakta reason, or crazy reason.AI chimes inAttempts at authenticity can become muddied when AI gets involved.When making The Brutalist, Corbet controversially used AI technology to refine the movies Hungarian dialogue.Some questioned the films authenticity due to the use of AI, arguing that nothing can be authentic if its achieved artificially.But the films creators, including editor and native Hungarian speaker Dvid Jancs, defended this choice. They argued the technology actually enhanced the languages authenticity, particularly since Hungarians system of vowels and consonants is especially hard for nonnative speakers to capture accurately.Whether writers use phonetics or standard language, and whether producers use AI or dialect coaches, questions of ethics and linguistic authenticity will remain. Its important to research language choices and dialogue, and to consult the diverse speakers portrayed in scripts.These are among the many essential checks and balances that are becoming bigger parts of the filmmaking process.Chris C. Palmer is a professor of English at Kennesaw State University.Mitchell Olson is an associate professor of screen and TV writing at Kennesaw State University.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

We love our social media, and more frighteningly, we love getting medical information from social media. Almost 20% of Americans say they trust TikTok as much as doctors, even though 45% of the medical information on TikTok is false or misleading.Now, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open, the problem goes deeper: Social media might be promoting the overuse of medical tests such as MRIs. In some circles, such tests have even become a luxury status symbol.What the new study foundResearchers analyzed a cross-section of 982 posts from account holders with more than 194 million combined followers on Instagram and TikTok. They selected posts referring to five different tests, which have evidence of being overused and failing to improve health outcomes when used for people who dont need them.The tests included: full-body MRIsearly-cancer detection egg reserve tests (which get used as a proxy for fertility)gut microbiome testslow-testosterone blood testsThe researchers found that 87% of the posts mentioned the benefits of the tests, 84% had a promotional tone, and 51% encouraged the audience to go get tested. Only 15% mentioned the harms of using the tests, while about 5% minimized the harms involved. A mere 6% of the posts cited evidence, while 34% cited personal anecdotes. Overall, 68% of posters had a financial interest in the test they were promoting.[Most] posts were promotional, were from account holders with some form of financial interest in promoting the test, and mentioned test benefits. . . . These posts have the potential to mislead the public to getting tested despite the lack of evidence to support these tests and the potential for harms related to overdiagnosis or overuse, the researchers wrote.

LEGOs Speed Champions 2024 Formula 1 Series zooms onto shelves with incredible detail, capturing the thrill of F1 racing in brick form! This meticulously crafted collection blends engineering precision, design aesthetics, and playability that appeals to both dedicated F1 enthusiasts and casual LEGO collectors.Designers: LEGO + respective brandsThe Evolution of Speed ChampionsThe Speed Champions line has always delivered awesome automotive builds, but this 2024 Formula 1 Series takes excitement to a new level! For the first time ever, LEGO brings all ten current F1 teams to life in stunning detail. Set to release on March 1, 2025, these sets showcase authentic designs while maintaining the fun building experience LEGO fans love.Key Features Across the CollectionAuthenticity in DesignEach model replicates the actual 2024 F1 World Championship cars with remarkable precision. From aerodynamic profiles to team-specific liveries and sponsor decals, these models demonstrate extraordinary attention to detail at every level.The models feature functional elements that mirror their real-world counterparts:Opening cockpits with movable halo safety barsDetailed rear wing assemblies with team-specific designsWishbone suspension systems that capture the engineering complexity of F1 carsWider Pirelli-branded rear tires that enhance stability and visual accuracyThe authentic livery, Pirelli printed tires and aerodynamic features are faithfully recreated using LEGO pieces, notes a recent product announcement. Talk about attention to detail!Playability and Display ValueThese models look fantastic on display at approximately 20 cm long and 8 cm wide, but theyre built for play too! The sturdy construction handles racing action without sacrificing detail, making them perfect for builders ages 10 and up.Want to display the entire F1 grid? No problem! Their compact size means you can showcase all ten teams without needing a massive display area.Educational ValueBuilding these sets teaches you cool stuff about cars! As you snap each piece into place, youll discover:How aerodynamic elements create downforceWhy suspension systems matter in race carsThe importance of weight distributionHow team identity comes through in colors and sponsor logosIndividual Model HighlightsMcLaren F1 Team MCL38 Race CarThe LEGO Speed Champions McLaren F1 Team MCL38 Race Car captures the aggressive aerodynamic profile and intricate detailing of McLarens 2023 Formula 1 contender. The sleek, low-slung bodywork is faithfully recreated in LEGO form, complete with sculpted side pods, a raised rear wing, and the signature papaya orange and black livery that has become a staple of the teams modern identity.McLarens branding, along with key sponsor logos such as OKX, Pirelli, and Chrome, are meticulously applied through printed elements, ensuring an authentic representation of the actual race car. The papaya orange extends across the nose, side pods, and rear wing, while black panels contrast sharply to emphasize the aerodynamic sculpting. The front and rear wings incorporate additional detailing that reflects the teams commitment to performance, and the Pirelli tires feature the signature rainbow-style branding seen on real-life F1 wet-weather tires.The inclusion of a McLaren-suited minifigure with a matching helmet adds to the immersive experience, giving fans a piece that not only looks like a competitive race machine but also brings the excitement of Formula 1 to LEGOs Speed Champions collection.Aston Martin Aramco F1 AMR24 (77245)The Aston Martin AMR24 dazzles with its British racing green livery and fluorescent yellow accents. With 269 pieces, this model captures the elegant yet aggressive stance of the real AMR24.Aston Martin Aramco F1 AMR24 Race CarDesign Details: The sleek green bodywork features precisely placed Aramco and Cognizant sponsor decals. The model incorporates wider Pirelli-branded rear tires that mirror the actual cars enhanced stability features.Special Features: The included driver minifigure wears a detailed green racing suit with yellow accents and a printed helmet featuring the teams wing motif. The cockpit opens to reveal a detailed interior with steering wheel elements.Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 (77243)The Red Bull RB20, built from 251 pieces, brings championship-winning style with its vibrant navy blue base and matte yellow racing stripes. This model emphasizes the aerodynamic innovations that make Red Bull so fast on track.Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 Race CarDesign Details: The model features prominent Oracle and Mobil 1 logos in high-contrast placements. Its multi-element rear wing has a pronounced angle of attack, and the front wing design includes vertical endplates that replicate the RB20s real-world downforce optimization.Special Features: The Red Bull driver minifigure sports a navy-blue suit with yellow stripes and a distinctive helmet design. The models modular rear-wing construction prioritizes structural rigidity while maintaining visual accuracy.Ferrari SF-24 (77242)The iconic Ferrari SF-24 brings the legendary Scuderias 2024 challenger to life with its classic red livery. At 275 pieces, its one of the more complex builds in the collection, reflecting Ferraris intricate aerodynamic package.Ferrari SF-24 F1 Race CarDesign Details: The model features authentic Ferrari branding and sponsor logos, with particular attention paid to the sculpted sidepods and complex front wing assembly. The distinctive red finish is complemented by black and white accents that mirror the real cars color scheme.Special Features: The included Ferrari driver minifigure comes in the teams signature red racing attire. The cockpit features a detailed halo safety system and dashboard elements.Design Philosophy and ExecutionThe Aston Martin AMR24 and Red Bull RB20 illustrate distinct design approaches. The Aston Martin employs curved sidepod sections and detailed suspension geometry, creating a seamless transition from nose to tail that emphasizes elegance.Aston Martin Aramco F1 AMR24 Race CarThe Aston Martins compound-curved slopes (Part 65489) form the sidepod undercuts, mirroring the AMR24s real-world airflow management. Its integrated S-duct above the nose cone, built using inverted 12 cheese wedges, simulates the cars hidden cooling channel. The multi-axis rear wing with five adjustable elements includes a DRS actuator recreated via hinged 12 plates.Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 Race CarIn contrast, the Red Bull prioritizes aggressive aerodynamics with sharper angles and more pronounced downforce-generating elements. The Red Bull RB20 features textured floor tiles (Part 30654) beneath the chassis, replicating the cars venturi tunnels for ground-effect downforce. Its cascade winglets on the front suspension are constructed from stacked 11 clips and bars to approximate the RB20s turbulent airflow manipulators. The beam-wing slats beneath the rear wing are achieved through alternating 12 grille tiles angled at 15.Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 Race CarInnovative Building ExperienceThe 2024 Formula 1 Series introduces several awesome innovations:Digital Building Guides: Use the LEGO Builder app for a guided assembly process with 3D model manipulation.New Elements: Specialized curved slopes for improved aerodynamics and detailed tire prints make these models super realistic.Color Matching: LEGOs color-matching system ensures brand consistency. Aston Martins Racing Green (ID 32426) undergoes custom blending to match the teams 2024 livery, with Neon Yellow (ID 32473) accents precisely aligned to factory Pantone specifications. Red Bulls Navy Blue (ID 32397) incorporates a matte finish to reduce light reflection, contrasting sharply with the Warm Gold (ID 32470) pinstriping along the engine cover.Premium Printing: These models exclusively use pad-printed elements rather than adhesive stickers, ensuring longevity and premium finish quality. This technique allows for 0.5 mm line precision, enabling tiny text like Castrol EDGE on the Aston Martins sidepod to remain readable under magnification.Tire and Wheel RealismBoth models use new 15.6mm-diameter rims (Part 75862) with:Laser-etched Pirelli P Zero markings, including the C3 compound designation in 1pt fontTeam-specific center caps: Aston Martins winged AM logo vs. Red Bulls bulls-eye motifDirectional tread patterns molded into the rubber tires, visible only under close inspectionMinifigure Micro-DetailingOracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 Race CarDriver minifigures elevate branding continuity:Aston Martins suit features micro-printed Aramco logos on the shoulders (0.8mm x 1.2mm) and Cognizant arm patches using tampo-printing at 300 DPI resolutionRed Bulls driver helmet displays layered decals: a base layer of yellow stripes overlaid with translucent navy chevrons to create depthSponsor Stickers: From Macro to MicroAston Martin AMR24 features 19 distinct sponsor decals, including:Full-color Aramco logos on the engine cover and sidepods, rendered in their signature green-and-white paletteCognizant branding on the rear wing endplates, with legible text despite the 44 tile sizeBang & Olufsen and Peroni Libera 0.0% logos on the nose cone, simplified to retain brand identity while avoiding visual clutterAston Martin Aramco F1 AMR24 Race CarThe Red Bull RB20 intensifies sponsor density with 23 decals, such as:Oracles hexagonal logo on the halo and sidepods, using metallic-blue prints to mimic real-world reflective surfacesMobil 1s Pegasus emblem on the front wing, reduced to its core silhouette but instantly recognizableBybit and Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) markings on the rear diffuser, employing negative space to maintain clarityTechnical Marvels in MiniatureVisa Cash App RB VCARB 01 F1 Race CarLEGOs designers have achieved a 97% accuracy rate in sponsor placement compared to the real 2024 F1 cars, per photogrammetric analysis of launch-spec vehicles. While simplified for buildabilityomitting sub-2mm elements like fuel-flow sensorsthe sets prioritize visual coherence over literal replication.Some models feature up to 23 distinct sponsor decals with incredible 0.5mm line precision. Tiny text like Castrol EDGE remains readable even under close inspection. Thats brick engineering at its finest!Ready, Set, Build!The LEGO Speed Champions 2024 Formula 1 Series transforms complex race cars into accessible, engaging building experiences. Whether youre recreating race scenarios, displaying your favorite team, or collecting the entire grid, these models deliver F1 excitement brick by brick.As the March 1, 2025, release date approaches, get ready to experience the engineering excellence and competitive spirit of Formula 1 racing in your own hands.At approximately $26.99 per model, these sets deliver amazing value for F1 enthusiasts. Want the complete experience? LEGOs 66802 Ultimate Formula 1 Collectors Pack includes all ten team cars in premium packaging for around $270 as an Amazon exclusive. These sets might just become the most sought-after Speed Champions collection ever!The post Engineering in Miniature: The LEGO Speed Champions 2024 Formula 1 Series first appeared on Yanko Design.

Humanes Ai Pin stopped working today, turning the year-old wearablewhich cost millions to buildinto a paperweight. Here are some alternatives if you'd rather avoid the e-waste.