• BOUNCING FROM RUBBER DUCKIES AND FLYING SHEEP TO CLONES FOR THE BOYS SEASON 4

    By TREVOR HOGG
    Images courtesy of Prime Video.

    For those seeking an alternative to the MCU, Prime Video has two offerings of the live-action and animated variety that take the superhero genre into R-rated territory where the hands of the god-like figures get dirty, bloodied and severed. “The Boys is about the intersection of celebrity and politics using superheroes,” states Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor on The Boys. “Sometimes I see the news and I don’t even know we can write to catch up to it! But we try. Invincible is an intense look at an alternate DC Universe that has more grit to the superhero side of it all. On one hand, I was jealous watching Season 1 of Invincible because in animation you can do things that you can’t do in real life on a budget.” Season 4 does not tone down the blood, gore and body count. Fleet notes, “The writers almost have this dialogue with us. Sometimes, they’ll write in the script, ‘And Fleet will come up with a cool visual effect for how to kill this person.’ Or, ‘Chhiu, our fight coordinator, will make an awesome fight.’ It is a frequent topic of conversation. We’re constantly trying to be inventive and create new ways to kill people!”

    When Splintersplits in two, the cloning effect was inspired by cellular mitosis.

    “The writers almost have this dialogue with us. Sometimes, they’ll write in the script, ‘And Fleet will come up with a cool visual effect for how to kill this person.’ Or, ‘Chhiu, our fight coordinator, will make an awesome fight.’ It is a frequent topic of conversation. We’re constantly trying to be inventive and create new ways to kill people!”
    —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor

    A total of 1,600 visual effects shots were created for the eight episodes by ILM, Pixomondo, MPC Toronto, Spin VFX, DNEG, Untold Studios, Luma Pictures and Rocket Science VFX. Previs was a critical part of the process. “We have John Griffith, who owns a small company called CNCPT out of Texas, and he does wonderful Unreal Engine level previs,” Fleet remarks. “On set, we have a cartoon of what is going to be done, and you’ll be amazed, specifically for action and heavy visual effects stuff, how close those shots are to the previs when we finish.” Founding Director of Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs, Victoria Neuman, literally gets ripped in half by two tendrils coming out of Compound V-enhanced Billy Butcher, the leader of superhero resistance group The Boys. “The word that we like to use on this show is ‘grounded,’ and I like to say ‘grounded’ with an asterisk in this day and age because we’re grounded until we get to killing people in the craziest ways. In this case, having someone floating in the air and being ripped in half by two tendrils was all CG.”

    Multiple plates were shot to enable Simon Pegg to phase through the actor laying in a hospital bed.

    Testing can get rather elaborate. “For that end scene with Butcher’s tendrils, the room was two stories, and we were able to put the camera up high along with a bunch of blood cannons,” Fleet recalls. “When the body rips in half and explodes, there is a practical component. We rained down a bunch of real blood and guts right in front of Huey. It’s a known joke that we like to douse Jack Quaid with blood as much as possible! In this case, the special effects team led by Hudson Kenny needed to test it the day before, and I said, “I’ll be the guinea pig for the test.’ They covered the whole place with plastic like it was a Dexter kill room because you don’t want to destroy the set. I’m standing there in a white hazmat suit with goggles on, covered from head to toe in plastic and waiting as they’re tweaking all of these things. It sounds like World War II going on. They’re on walkie talkies to each other, and then all of a sudden, it’s ‘Five, four, three, two, one…’  And I get exploded with blood. I wanted to see what it was like, and it’s intense.”

    “On set, we have a cartoon of what is going to be done, and you’ll be amazed, specifically for action and heavy visual effects stuff, how close those shots are to the previs when we finish.”
    —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor

    The Deep has a love affair with an octopus called Ambrosius, voiced by Tilda Swinton. “It’s implied bestiality!” Fleet laughs. “I would call it more of a romance. What was fun from my perspective is that I knew what the look was going to be, so then it’s about putting in the details and the animation. One of the instincts that you always have when you’re making a sea creature that talks to a humanyou tend to want to give it human gestures and eyebrows. Erik Kripkesaid, ‘No. We have to find things that an octopus could do that conveys the same emotion.’ That’s when ideas came in, such as putting a little The Deep toy inside the water tank. When Ambrosius is trying to have an intimate moment or connect with him, she can wrap a tentacle around that. My favorite experience doing Ambrosius was when The Deep is reading poetry to her on a bed. CG creatures touching humans is one of the more complicated things to do and make look real. Ambrosius’ tentacles reach for his arm, and it becomes an intimate moment. More than touching the skin, displacing the bedsheet as Ambrosius moved ended up becoming a lot of CG, and we had to go back and forth a few times to get that looking right; that turned out to be tricky.”

    A building is replaced by a massive crowd attending a rally being held by Homelander.

    In a twisted form of sexual foreplay, Sister Sage has The Deep perform a transorbital lobotomy on her. “Thank you, Amazon for selling lobotomy tools as novelty items!” Fleet chuckles. “We filmed it with a lobotomy tool on set. There is a lot of safety involved in doing something like that. Obviously, you don’t want to put any performer in any situation where they come close to putting anything real near their eye. We created this half lobotomy tool and did this complicated split screen with the lobotomy tool on a teeter totter. The Deep wasin one shot and Sister Sage reacted in the other shot. To marry the two ended up being a lot of CG work. Then there are these close-ups which are full CG. I always keep a dummy head that is painted gray that I use all of the time for reference. In macrophotography I filmed this lobotomy tool going right into the eye area. I did that because the tool is chrome, so it’s reflective and has ridges. It has an interesting reflective property. I was able to see how and what part of the human eye reflects onto the tool. A lot of that shot became about realistic reflections and lighting on the tool. Then heavy CG for displacing the eye and pushing the lobotomy tool into it. That was one of the more complicated sequences that we had to achieve.”

    In order to create an intimate moment between Ambrosius and The Deep, a toy version of the superhero was placed inside of the water tank that she could wrap a tentacle around.

    “The word that we like to use on this show is ‘grounded,’ and I like to say ‘grounded’ with an asterisk in this day and age because we’re grounded until we get to killing people in the craziest ways. In this case, having someone floating in the air and being ripped in half by two tendrils was all CG.”
    —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor

    Sheep and chickens embark on a violent rampage courtesy of Compound V with the latter piercing the chest of a bodyguard belonging to Victoria Neuman. “Weirdly, that was one of our more traditional shots,’ Fleet states. “What is fun about that one is I asked for real chickens as reference. The chicken flying through his chest is real. It’s our chicken wrangler in green suit gently tossing a chicken. We blended two real plates together with some CG in the middle.” A connection was made with a sci-fi classic. “The sheep kill this bull, and we shot it is in this narrow corridor of fencing. When they run, I always equated it as the Trench Run in Star Wars and looked at the sheep as TIE fighters or X-wings coming at them.” The scene was one of the scarier moments for the visual effects team. Fleet explains, “When I read the script, I thought this could be the moment where we jump the shark. For the shots where the sheep are still and scream to the camera, Untold Studios did a bunch of R&D and came up with baboon teeth. I tried to keep anything real as much as possible, but, obviously, when sheep are flying, they have to be CG. I call it the Battlestar Galactica theory, where I like to shake the camera, overshoot shots and make it sloppy when they’re in the air so you can add motion blur. Comedy also helps sell visual effects.”

    The sheep injected with Compound V develop the ability to fly and were shot in an imperfect manner to help ground the scenes.

    Once injected with Compound V, Hugh Campbell Sr.develops the ability to phase through objects, including human beings. “We called it the Bro-nut because his name in the script is Wall Street Bro,” Fleet notes. “That was a complicated motion control shot, repeating the move over and over again. We had to shoot multiple plates of Simon Pegg and the guy in the bed. Special effects and prosthetics created a dummy guy with a hole in his chest with practical blood dripping down. It was meshing it together and getting the timing right in post. On top of that, there was the CG blood immediately around Simon Pegg.” The phasing effect had to avoid appearing as a dissolve. “I had this idea of doing high-frequency vibration on the X axis loosely based on how The Flash vibrates through walls. You want everything to have a loose motivation that then helps trigger the visuals. We tried not to overcomplicate that because, ultimately, you want something like that to be quick. If you spend too much time on phasing, it can look cheesy. In our case, it was a lot of false walls. Simon Pegg is running into a greenscreen hole which we plug in with a wall or coming out of one. I went off the actor’s action, and we added a light opacity mix with some X-axis shake.”

    Providing a different twist to the fights was the replacement of spurting blood with photoreal rubber duckies during a drug-induced hallucination.

    Homelanderbreaks a mirror which emphasizes his multiple personality disorder. “The original plan was that special effects was going to pre-break a mirror, and we were going to shoot Anthony Starr moving his head doing all of the performances in the different parts of the mirror,” Fleet reveals. “This was all based on a photo that my ex-brother-in-law sent me. He was walking down a street in Glendale, California, came across a broken mirror that someone had thrown out, and took a photo of himself where he had five heads in the mirror. We get there on the day, and I’m realizing that this is really complicated. Anthony has to do these five different performances, and we have to deal with infinite mirrors. At the last minute, I said, ‘We have to do this on a clean mirror.’ We did it on a clear mirror and gave Anthony different eyelines. The mirror break was all done in post, and we were able to cheat his head slightly and art-direct where the break crosses his chin. Editorial was able to do split screens for the timing of the dialogue.”

    “For the shots where the sheep are still and scream to the camera, Untold Studios did a bunch of R&D and came up with baboon teeth. I tried to keep anything real as much as possible, but, obviously, when sheep are flying, they have to be CG. I call it the Battlestar Galactica theory, where I like to shake the camera, overshoot shots and make it sloppy when they’re in the air so you can add motion blur. Comedy also helps sell visual effects.”
    —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor

    Initially, the plan was to use a practical mirror, but creating a digital version proved to be the more effective solution.

    A different spin on the bloodbath occurs during a fight when a drugged Frenchiehallucinates as Kimiko Miyashirogoes on a killing spree. “We went back and forth with a lot of different concepts for what this hallucination would be,” Fleet remarks. “When we filmed it, we landed on Frenchie having a synesthesia moment where he’s seeing a lot of abstract colors flying in the air. We started getting into that in post and it wasn’t working. We went back to the rubber duckies, which goes back to the story of him in the bathtub. What’s in the bathtub? Rubber duckies, bubbles and water. There was a lot of physics and logic required to figure out how these rubber duckies could float out of someone’s neck. We decided on bubbles when Kimiko hits people’s heads. At one point, we had water when she got shot, but it wasn’t working, so we killed it. We probably did about 100 different versions. We got really detailed with our rubber duckie modeling because we didn’t want it to look cartoony. That took a long time.”

    Ambrosius, voiced by Tilda Swinton, gets a lot more screentime in Season 4.

    When Splintersplits in two was achieved heavily in CG. “Erik threw out the words ‘cellular mitosis’ early on as something he wanted to use,” Fleet states. “We shot Rob Benedict on a greenscreen doing all of the different performances for the clones that pop out. It was a crazy amount of CG work with Houdini and particle and skin effects. We previs’d the sequence so we had specific actions. One clone comes out to the right and the other pulls backwards.” What tends to go unnoticed by many is Splinter’s clones setting up for a press conference being held by Firecracker. “It’s funny how no one brings up the 22-hour motion control shot that we had to do with Splinter on the stage, which was the most complicated shot!” Fleet observes. “We have this sweeping long shot that brings you into the room and follows Splinter as he carries a container to the stage and hands it off to a clone, and then you reveal five more of them interweaving each other and interacting with all of these objects. It’s like a minute-long dance. First off, you have to choreograph it. We previs’d it, but then you need to get people to do it. We hired dancers and put different colored armbands on them. The camera is like another performer, and a metronome is going, which enables you to find a pace. That took about eight hours of rehearsal. Then Rob has to watch each one of their performances and mimic it to the beat. When he is handing off a box of cables, it’s to a double who is going to have to be erased and be him on the other side. They have to be almost perfect in their timing and lineup in order to take it over in visual effects and make it work.”
    #bouncing #rubber #duckies #flying #sheep
    BOUNCING FROM RUBBER DUCKIES AND FLYING SHEEP TO CLONES FOR THE BOYS SEASON 4
    By TREVOR HOGG Images courtesy of Prime Video. For those seeking an alternative to the MCU, Prime Video has two offerings of the live-action and animated variety that take the superhero genre into R-rated territory where the hands of the god-like figures get dirty, bloodied and severed. “The Boys is about the intersection of celebrity and politics using superheroes,” states Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor on The Boys. “Sometimes I see the news and I don’t even know we can write to catch up to it! But we try. Invincible is an intense look at an alternate DC Universe that has more grit to the superhero side of it all. On one hand, I was jealous watching Season 1 of Invincible because in animation you can do things that you can’t do in real life on a budget.” Season 4 does not tone down the blood, gore and body count. Fleet notes, “The writers almost have this dialogue with us. Sometimes, they’ll write in the script, ‘And Fleet will come up with a cool visual effect for how to kill this person.’ Or, ‘Chhiu, our fight coordinator, will make an awesome fight.’ It is a frequent topic of conversation. We’re constantly trying to be inventive and create new ways to kill people!” When Splintersplits in two, the cloning effect was inspired by cellular mitosis. “The writers almost have this dialogue with us. Sometimes, they’ll write in the script, ‘And Fleet will come up with a cool visual effect for how to kill this person.’ Or, ‘Chhiu, our fight coordinator, will make an awesome fight.’ It is a frequent topic of conversation. We’re constantly trying to be inventive and create new ways to kill people!” —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor A total of 1,600 visual effects shots were created for the eight episodes by ILM, Pixomondo, MPC Toronto, Spin VFX, DNEG, Untold Studios, Luma Pictures and Rocket Science VFX. Previs was a critical part of the process. “We have John Griffith, who owns a small company called CNCPT out of Texas, and he does wonderful Unreal Engine level previs,” Fleet remarks. “On set, we have a cartoon of what is going to be done, and you’ll be amazed, specifically for action and heavy visual effects stuff, how close those shots are to the previs when we finish.” Founding Director of Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs, Victoria Neuman, literally gets ripped in half by two tendrils coming out of Compound V-enhanced Billy Butcher, the leader of superhero resistance group The Boys. “The word that we like to use on this show is ‘grounded,’ and I like to say ‘grounded’ with an asterisk in this day and age because we’re grounded until we get to killing people in the craziest ways. In this case, having someone floating in the air and being ripped in half by two tendrils was all CG.” Multiple plates were shot to enable Simon Pegg to phase through the actor laying in a hospital bed. Testing can get rather elaborate. “For that end scene with Butcher’s tendrils, the room was two stories, and we were able to put the camera up high along with a bunch of blood cannons,” Fleet recalls. “When the body rips in half and explodes, there is a practical component. We rained down a bunch of real blood and guts right in front of Huey. It’s a known joke that we like to douse Jack Quaid with blood as much as possible! In this case, the special effects team led by Hudson Kenny needed to test it the day before, and I said, “I’ll be the guinea pig for the test.’ They covered the whole place with plastic like it was a Dexter kill room because you don’t want to destroy the set. I’m standing there in a white hazmat suit with goggles on, covered from head to toe in plastic and waiting as they’re tweaking all of these things. It sounds like World War II going on. They’re on walkie talkies to each other, and then all of a sudden, it’s ‘Five, four, three, two, one…’  And I get exploded with blood. I wanted to see what it was like, and it’s intense.” “On set, we have a cartoon of what is going to be done, and you’ll be amazed, specifically for action and heavy visual effects stuff, how close those shots are to the previs when we finish.” —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor The Deep has a love affair with an octopus called Ambrosius, voiced by Tilda Swinton. “It’s implied bestiality!” Fleet laughs. “I would call it more of a romance. What was fun from my perspective is that I knew what the look was going to be, so then it’s about putting in the details and the animation. One of the instincts that you always have when you’re making a sea creature that talks to a humanyou tend to want to give it human gestures and eyebrows. Erik Kripkesaid, ‘No. We have to find things that an octopus could do that conveys the same emotion.’ That’s when ideas came in, such as putting a little The Deep toy inside the water tank. When Ambrosius is trying to have an intimate moment or connect with him, she can wrap a tentacle around that. My favorite experience doing Ambrosius was when The Deep is reading poetry to her on a bed. CG creatures touching humans is one of the more complicated things to do and make look real. Ambrosius’ tentacles reach for his arm, and it becomes an intimate moment. More than touching the skin, displacing the bedsheet as Ambrosius moved ended up becoming a lot of CG, and we had to go back and forth a few times to get that looking right; that turned out to be tricky.” A building is replaced by a massive crowd attending a rally being held by Homelander. In a twisted form of sexual foreplay, Sister Sage has The Deep perform a transorbital lobotomy on her. “Thank you, Amazon for selling lobotomy tools as novelty items!” Fleet chuckles. “We filmed it with a lobotomy tool on set. There is a lot of safety involved in doing something like that. Obviously, you don’t want to put any performer in any situation where they come close to putting anything real near their eye. We created this half lobotomy tool and did this complicated split screen with the lobotomy tool on a teeter totter. The Deep wasin one shot and Sister Sage reacted in the other shot. To marry the two ended up being a lot of CG work. Then there are these close-ups which are full CG. I always keep a dummy head that is painted gray that I use all of the time for reference. In macrophotography I filmed this lobotomy tool going right into the eye area. I did that because the tool is chrome, so it’s reflective and has ridges. It has an interesting reflective property. I was able to see how and what part of the human eye reflects onto the tool. A lot of that shot became about realistic reflections and lighting on the tool. Then heavy CG for displacing the eye and pushing the lobotomy tool into it. That was one of the more complicated sequences that we had to achieve.” In order to create an intimate moment between Ambrosius and The Deep, a toy version of the superhero was placed inside of the water tank that she could wrap a tentacle around. “The word that we like to use on this show is ‘grounded,’ and I like to say ‘grounded’ with an asterisk in this day and age because we’re grounded until we get to killing people in the craziest ways. In this case, having someone floating in the air and being ripped in half by two tendrils was all CG.” —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor Sheep and chickens embark on a violent rampage courtesy of Compound V with the latter piercing the chest of a bodyguard belonging to Victoria Neuman. “Weirdly, that was one of our more traditional shots,’ Fleet states. “What is fun about that one is I asked for real chickens as reference. The chicken flying through his chest is real. It’s our chicken wrangler in green suit gently tossing a chicken. We blended two real plates together with some CG in the middle.” A connection was made with a sci-fi classic. “The sheep kill this bull, and we shot it is in this narrow corridor of fencing. When they run, I always equated it as the Trench Run in Star Wars and looked at the sheep as TIE fighters or X-wings coming at them.” The scene was one of the scarier moments for the visual effects team. Fleet explains, “When I read the script, I thought this could be the moment where we jump the shark. For the shots where the sheep are still and scream to the camera, Untold Studios did a bunch of R&D and came up with baboon teeth. I tried to keep anything real as much as possible, but, obviously, when sheep are flying, they have to be CG. I call it the Battlestar Galactica theory, where I like to shake the camera, overshoot shots and make it sloppy when they’re in the air so you can add motion blur. Comedy also helps sell visual effects.” The sheep injected with Compound V develop the ability to fly and were shot in an imperfect manner to help ground the scenes. Once injected with Compound V, Hugh Campbell Sr.develops the ability to phase through objects, including human beings. “We called it the Bro-nut because his name in the script is Wall Street Bro,” Fleet notes. “That was a complicated motion control shot, repeating the move over and over again. We had to shoot multiple plates of Simon Pegg and the guy in the bed. Special effects and prosthetics created a dummy guy with a hole in his chest with practical blood dripping down. It was meshing it together and getting the timing right in post. On top of that, there was the CG blood immediately around Simon Pegg.” The phasing effect had to avoid appearing as a dissolve. “I had this idea of doing high-frequency vibration on the X axis loosely based on how The Flash vibrates through walls. You want everything to have a loose motivation that then helps trigger the visuals. We tried not to overcomplicate that because, ultimately, you want something like that to be quick. If you spend too much time on phasing, it can look cheesy. In our case, it was a lot of false walls. Simon Pegg is running into a greenscreen hole which we plug in with a wall or coming out of one. I went off the actor’s action, and we added a light opacity mix with some X-axis shake.” Providing a different twist to the fights was the replacement of spurting blood with photoreal rubber duckies during a drug-induced hallucination. Homelanderbreaks a mirror which emphasizes his multiple personality disorder. “The original plan was that special effects was going to pre-break a mirror, and we were going to shoot Anthony Starr moving his head doing all of the performances in the different parts of the mirror,” Fleet reveals. “This was all based on a photo that my ex-brother-in-law sent me. He was walking down a street in Glendale, California, came across a broken mirror that someone had thrown out, and took a photo of himself where he had five heads in the mirror. We get there on the day, and I’m realizing that this is really complicated. Anthony has to do these five different performances, and we have to deal with infinite mirrors. At the last minute, I said, ‘We have to do this on a clean mirror.’ We did it on a clear mirror and gave Anthony different eyelines. The mirror break was all done in post, and we were able to cheat his head slightly and art-direct where the break crosses his chin. Editorial was able to do split screens for the timing of the dialogue.” “For the shots where the sheep are still and scream to the camera, Untold Studios did a bunch of R&D and came up with baboon teeth. I tried to keep anything real as much as possible, but, obviously, when sheep are flying, they have to be CG. I call it the Battlestar Galactica theory, where I like to shake the camera, overshoot shots and make it sloppy when they’re in the air so you can add motion blur. Comedy also helps sell visual effects.” —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor Initially, the plan was to use a practical mirror, but creating a digital version proved to be the more effective solution. A different spin on the bloodbath occurs during a fight when a drugged Frenchiehallucinates as Kimiko Miyashirogoes on a killing spree. “We went back and forth with a lot of different concepts for what this hallucination would be,” Fleet remarks. “When we filmed it, we landed on Frenchie having a synesthesia moment where he’s seeing a lot of abstract colors flying in the air. We started getting into that in post and it wasn’t working. We went back to the rubber duckies, which goes back to the story of him in the bathtub. What’s in the bathtub? Rubber duckies, bubbles and water. There was a lot of physics and logic required to figure out how these rubber duckies could float out of someone’s neck. We decided on bubbles when Kimiko hits people’s heads. At one point, we had water when she got shot, but it wasn’t working, so we killed it. We probably did about 100 different versions. We got really detailed with our rubber duckie modeling because we didn’t want it to look cartoony. That took a long time.” Ambrosius, voiced by Tilda Swinton, gets a lot more screentime in Season 4. When Splintersplits in two was achieved heavily in CG. “Erik threw out the words ‘cellular mitosis’ early on as something he wanted to use,” Fleet states. “We shot Rob Benedict on a greenscreen doing all of the different performances for the clones that pop out. It was a crazy amount of CG work with Houdini and particle and skin effects. We previs’d the sequence so we had specific actions. One clone comes out to the right and the other pulls backwards.” What tends to go unnoticed by many is Splinter’s clones setting up for a press conference being held by Firecracker. “It’s funny how no one brings up the 22-hour motion control shot that we had to do with Splinter on the stage, which was the most complicated shot!” Fleet observes. “We have this sweeping long shot that brings you into the room and follows Splinter as he carries a container to the stage and hands it off to a clone, and then you reveal five more of them interweaving each other and interacting with all of these objects. It’s like a minute-long dance. First off, you have to choreograph it. We previs’d it, but then you need to get people to do it. We hired dancers and put different colored armbands on them. The camera is like another performer, and a metronome is going, which enables you to find a pace. That took about eight hours of rehearsal. Then Rob has to watch each one of their performances and mimic it to the beat. When he is handing off a box of cables, it’s to a double who is going to have to be erased and be him on the other side. They have to be almost perfect in their timing and lineup in order to take it over in visual effects and make it work.” #bouncing #rubber #duckies #flying #sheep
    WWW.VFXVOICE.COM
    BOUNCING FROM RUBBER DUCKIES AND FLYING SHEEP TO CLONES FOR THE BOYS SEASON 4
    By TREVOR HOGG Images courtesy of Prime Video. For those seeking an alternative to the MCU, Prime Video has two offerings of the live-action and animated variety that take the superhero genre into R-rated territory where the hands of the god-like figures get dirty, bloodied and severed. “The Boys is about the intersection of celebrity and politics using superheroes,” states Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor on The Boys. “Sometimes I see the news and I don’t even know we can write to catch up to it! But we try. Invincible is an intense look at an alternate DC Universe that has more grit to the superhero side of it all. On one hand, I was jealous watching Season 1 of Invincible because in animation you can do things that you can’t do in real life on a budget.” Season 4 does not tone down the blood, gore and body count. Fleet notes, “The writers almost have this dialogue with us. Sometimes, they’ll write in the script, ‘And Fleet will come up with a cool visual effect for how to kill this person.’ Or, ‘Chhiu, our fight coordinator, will make an awesome fight.’ It is a frequent topic of conversation. We’re constantly trying to be inventive and create new ways to kill people!” When Splinter (Rob Benedict) splits in two, the cloning effect was inspired by cellular mitosis. “The writers almost have this dialogue with us. Sometimes, they’ll write in the script, ‘And Fleet will come up with a cool visual effect for how to kill this person.’ Or, ‘Chhiu, our fight coordinator, will make an awesome fight.’ It is a frequent topic of conversation. We’re constantly trying to be inventive and create new ways to kill people!” —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor A total of 1,600 visual effects shots were created for the eight episodes by ILM, Pixomondo, MPC Toronto, Spin VFX, DNEG, Untold Studios, Luma Pictures and Rocket Science VFX. Previs was a critical part of the process. “We have John Griffith [Previs Director], who owns a small company called CNCPT out of Texas, and he does wonderful Unreal Engine level previs,” Fleet remarks. “On set, we have a cartoon of what is going to be done, and you’ll be amazed, specifically for action and heavy visual effects stuff, how close those shots are to the previs when we finish.” Founding Director of Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs, Victoria Neuman, literally gets ripped in half by two tendrils coming out of Compound V-enhanced Billy Butcher, the leader of superhero resistance group The Boys. “The word that we like to use on this show is ‘grounded,’ and I like to say ‘grounded’ with an asterisk in this day and age because we’re grounded until we get to killing people in the craziest ways. In this case, having someone floating in the air and being ripped in half by two tendrils was all CG.” Multiple plates were shot to enable Simon Pegg to phase through the actor laying in a hospital bed. Testing can get rather elaborate. “For that end scene with Butcher’s tendrils, the room was two stories, and we were able to put the camera up high along with a bunch of blood cannons,” Fleet recalls. “When the body rips in half and explodes, there is a practical component. We rained down a bunch of real blood and guts right in front of Huey. It’s a known joke that we like to douse Jack Quaid with blood as much as possible! In this case, the special effects team led by Hudson Kenny needed to test it the day before, and I said, “I’ll be the guinea pig for the test.’ They covered the whole place with plastic like it was a Dexter kill room because you don’t want to destroy the set. I’m standing there in a white hazmat suit with goggles on, covered from head to toe in plastic and waiting as they’re tweaking all of these things. It sounds like World War II going on. They’re on walkie talkies to each other, and then all of a sudden, it’s ‘Five, four, three, two, one…’  And I get exploded with blood. I wanted to see what it was like, and it’s intense.” “On set, we have a cartoon of what is going to be done, and you’ll be amazed, specifically for action and heavy visual effects stuff, how close those shots are to the previs when we finish.” —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor The Deep has a love affair with an octopus called Ambrosius, voiced by Tilda Swinton. “It’s implied bestiality!” Fleet laughs. “I would call it more of a romance. What was fun from my perspective is that I knew what the look was going to be [from Season 3], so then it’s about putting in the details and the animation. One of the instincts that you always have when you’re making a sea creature that talks to a human [is] you tend to want to give it human gestures and eyebrows. Erik Kripke [Creator, Executive Producer, Showrunner, Director, Writer] said, ‘No. We have to find things that an octopus could do that conveys the same emotion.’ That’s when ideas came in, such as putting a little The Deep toy inside the water tank. When Ambrosius is trying to have an intimate moment or connect with him, she can wrap a tentacle around that. My favorite experience doing Ambrosius was when The Deep is reading poetry to her on a bed. CG creatures touching humans is one of the more complicated things to do and make look real. Ambrosius’ tentacles reach for his arm, and it becomes an intimate moment. More than touching the skin, displacing the bedsheet as Ambrosius moved ended up becoming a lot of CG, and we had to go back and forth a few times to get that looking right; that turned out to be tricky.” A building is replaced by a massive crowd attending a rally being held by Homelander. In a twisted form of sexual foreplay, Sister Sage has The Deep perform a transorbital lobotomy on her. “Thank you, Amazon for selling lobotomy tools as novelty items!” Fleet chuckles. “We filmed it with a lobotomy tool on set. There is a lot of safety involved in doing something like that. Obviously, you don’t want to put any performer in any situation where they come close to putting anything real near their eye. We created this half lobotomy tool and did this complicated split screen with the lobotomy tool on a teeter totter. The Deep was [acting in a certain way] in one shot and Sister Sage reacted in the other shot. To marry the two ended up being a lot of CG work. Then there are these close-ups which are full CG. I always keep a dummy head that is painted gray that I use all of the time for reference. In macrophotography I filmed this lobotomy tool going right into the eye area. I did that because the tool is chrome, so it’s reflective and has ridges. It has an interesting reflective property. I was able to see how and what part of the human eye reflects onto the tool. A lot of that shot became about realistic reflections and lighting on the tool. Then heavy CG for displacing the eye and pushing the lobotomy tool into it. That was one of the more complicated sequences that we had to achieve.” In order to create an intimate moment between Ambrosius and The Deep, a toy version of the superhero was placed inside of the water tank that she could wrap a tentacle around. “The word that we like to use on this show is ‘grounded,’ and I like to say ‘grounded’ with an asterisk in this day and age because we’re grounded until we get to killing people in the craziest ways. In this case, having someone floating in the air and being ripped in half by two tendrils was all CG.” —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor Sheep and chickens embark on a violent rampage courtesy of Compound V with the latter piercing the chest of a bodyguard belonging to Victoria Neuman. “Weirdly, that was one of our more traditional shots,’ Fleet states. “What is fun about that one is I asked for real chickens as reference. The chicken flying through his chest is real. It’s our chicken wrangler in green suit gently tossing a chicken. We blended two real plates together with some CG in the middle.” A connection was made with a sci-fi classic. “The sheep kill this bull, and we shot it is in this narrow corridor of fencing. When they run, I always equated it as the Trench Run in Star Wars and looked at the sheep as TIE fighters or X-wings coming at them.” The scene was one of the scarier moments for the visual effects team. Fleet explains, “When I read the script, I thought this could be the moment where we jump the shark. For the shots where the sheep are still and scream to the camera, Untold Studios did a bunch of R&D and came up with baboon teeth. I tried to keep anything real as much as possible, but, obviously, when sheep are flying, they have to be CG. I call it the Battlestar Galactica theory, where I like to shake the camera, overshoot shots and make it sloppy when they’re in the air so you can add motion blur. Comedy also helps sell visual effects.” The sheep injected with Compound V develop the ability to fly and were shot in an imperfect manner to help ground the scenes. Once injected with Compound V, Hugh Campbell Sr. (Simon Pegg) develops the ability to phase through objects, including human beings. “We called it the Bro-nut because his name in the script is Wall Street Bro,” Fleet notes. “That was a complicated motion control shot, repeating the move over and over again. We had to shoot multiple plates of Simon Pegg and the guy in the bed. Special effects and prosthetics created a dummy guy with a hole in his chest with practical blood dripping down. It was meshing it together and getting the timing right in post. On top of that, there was the CG blood immediately around Simon Pegg.” The phasing effect had to avoid appearing as a dissolve. “I had this idea of doing high-frequency vibration on the X axis loosely based on how The Flash vibrates through walls. You want everything to have a loose motivation that then helps trigger the visuals. We tried not to overcomplicate that because, ultimately, you want something like that to be quick. If you spend too much time on phasing, it can look cheesy. In our case, it was a lot of false walls. Simon Pegg is running into a greenscreen hole which we plug in with a wall or coming out of one. I went off the actor’s action, and we added a light opacity mix with some X-axis shake.” Providing a different twist to the fights was the replacement of spurting blood with photoreal rubber duckies during a drug-induced hallucination. Homelander (Anthony Starr) breaks a mirror which emphasizes his multiple personality disorder. “The original plan was that special effects was going to pre-break a mirror, and we were going to shoot Anthony Starr moving his head doing all of the performances in the different parts of the mirror,” Fleet reveals. “This was all based on a photo that my ex-brother-in-law sent me. He was walking down a street in Glendale, California, came across a broken mirror that someone had thrown out, and took a photo of himself where he had five heads in the mirror. We get there on the day, and I’m realizing that this is really complicated. Anthony has to do these five different performances, and we have to deal with infinite mirrors. At the last minute, I said, ‘We have to do this on a clean mirror.’ We did it on a clear mirror and gave Anthony different eyelines. The mirror break was all done in post, and we were able to cheat his head slightly and art-direct where the break crosses his chin. Editorial was able to do split screens for the timing of the dialogue.” “For the shots where the sheep are still and scream to the camera, Untold Studios did a bunch of R&D and came up with baboon teeth. I tried to keep anything real as much as possible, but, obviously, when sheep are flying, they have to be CG. I call it the Battlestar Galactica theory, where I like to shake the camera, overshoot shots and make it sloppy when they’re in the air so you can add motion blur. Comedy also helps sell visual effects.” —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor Initially, the plan was to use a practical mirror, but creating a digital version proved to be the more effective solution. A different spin on the bloodbath occurs during a fight when a drugged Frenchie (Tomer Capone) hallucinates as Kimiko Miyashiro (Karen Fukuhara) goes on a killing spree. “We went back and forth with a lot of different concepts for what this hallucination would be,” Fleet remarks. “When we filmed it, we landed on Frenchie having a synesthesia moment where he’s seeing a lot of abstract colors flying in the air. We started getting into that in post and it wasn’t working. We went back to the rubber duckies, which goes back to the story of him in the bathtub. What’s in the bathtub? Rubber duckies, bubbles and water. There was a lot of physics and logic required to figure out how these rubber duckies could float out of someone’s neck. We decided on bubbles when Kimiko hits people’s heads. At one point, we had water when she got shot, but it wasn’t working, so we killed it. We probably did about 100 different versions. We got really detailed with our rubber duckie modeling because we didn’t want it to look cartoony. That took a long time.” Ambrosius, voiced by Tilda Swinton, gets a lot more screentime in Season 4. When Splinter (Rob Benedict) splits in two was achieved heavily in CG. “Erik threw out the words ‘cellular mitosis’ early on as something he wanted to use,” Fleet states. “We shot Rob Benedict on a greenscreen doing all of the different performances for the clones that pop out. It was a crazy amount of CG work with Houdini and particle and skin effects. We previs’d the sequence so we had specific actions. One clone comes out to the right and the other pulls backwards.” What tends to go unnoticed by many is Splinter’s clones setting up for a press conference being held by Firecracker (Valorie Curry). “It’s funny how no one brings up the 22-hour motion control shot that we had to do with Splinter on the stage, which was the most complicated shot!” Fleet observes. “We have this sweeping long shot that brings you into the room and follows Splinter as he carries a container to the stage and hands it off to a clone, and then you reveal five more of them interweaving each other and interacting with all of these objects. It’s like a minute-long dance. First off, you have to choreograph it. We previs’d it, but then you need to get people to do it. We hired dancers and put different colored armbands on them. The camera is like another performer, and a metronome is going, which enables you to find a pace. That took about eight hours of rehearsal. Then Rob has to watch each one of their performances and mimic it to the beat. When he is handing off a box of cables, it’s to a double who is going to have to be erased and be him on the other side. They have to be almost perfect in their timing and lineup in order to take it over in visual effects and make it work.”
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  • Exciting news for space enthusiasts! A small, innovative company is stepping up to challenge the legendary Moonwatch with a groundbreaking new watch designed specifically for space exploration! This amazing timepiece is 3D-printed, lightweight, and perfectly engineered for Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs) and repairs on the International Space Station (ISS). Imagine having a watch that can withstand the harshest environments known to humanity while keeping impeccable time! The future is bright, and innovation knows no bounds! Let's dream big and reach for the stars!

    #SpaceExploration #Innovation #Timepiece #Moonwatch #AstronautLife
    🌟✨ Exciting news for space enthusiasts! 🚀 A small, innovative company is stepping up to challenge the legendary Moonwatch with a groundbreaking new watch designed specifically for space exploration! 🌌🎉 This amazing timepiece is 3D-printed, lightweight, and perfectly engineered for Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs) and repairs on the International Space Station (ISS). ⏱️✨ Imagine having a watch that can withstand the harshest environments known to humanity while keeping impeccable time! 🕒💪 The future is bright, and innovation knows no bounds! Let's dream big and reach for the stars! 🌠🔭 #SpaceExploration #Innovation #Timepiece #Moonwatch #AstronautLife
    This New Watch Is Being Purpose-Built for Space Exploration—and It's Not an Omega
    A small company is vying to take on the Moonwatch with a cutting-edge, 3D-printed lightweight timepiece that's fit for EVAs, can be fixed on the ISS, and capable of keeping time in the harshest environment known to humans.
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  • Mickey 17, c'est un film réalisé par Bong Joon Ho avec Robert Pattinson. DNEG a partagé quelques secrets sur les effets visuels, mais bon, c'est juste des images de science-fiction et un peu de critique sociale. Un gars qui devient "Remplaçable" dans une colonie spatiale. Pas vraiment excitant, mais ça a l'air... intéressant, je suppose. Si vous aimez ce genre de trucs, peut-être que ça vaut le coup d'œil.

    #Mickey17
    #DNEG
    #EffetsVisuels
    #BongJoonHo
    #RobertPattinson
    Mickey 17, c'est un film réalisé par Bong Joon Ho avec Robert Pattinson. DNEG a partagé quelques secrets sur les effets visuels, mais bon, c'est juste des images de science-fiction et un peu de critique sociale. Un gars qui devient "Remplaçable" dans une colonie spatiale. Pas vraiment excitant, mais ça a l'air... intéressant, je suppose. Si vous aimez ce genre de trucs, peut-être que ça vaut le coup d'œil. #Mickey17 #DNEG #EffetsVisuels #BongJoonHo #RobertPattinson
    Mickey 17 : DNEG dévoile les secrets des VFX
    FxGuide a mis en ligne une interview en compagne de DNEG sur les effets visuels du film Mickey 17, réalisé par Bong Joon Ho et avec Robert Pattinson dans le rôle principal. Cette comédie noire mêlant science-fiction et critique sociale met en scène u
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  • Oh, joy! Just when you thought the world of sunglasses couldn’t get any more exclusive, here comes Meta, strutting in with its latest coup: Prada shades! Because, let’s be honest, when you think of cutting-edge tech, who better to partner with than a fashion house known for turning fabric into fortune? That's right, folks—Ray-Ban, Oakley… and now Prada!

    I mean, it only makes sense. Who wouldn’t want to experience augmented reality while looking like they just stepped off a runway? Forget practicality; we’re living in a digital age where style trumps substance—especially when your sunglasses cost more than your monthly rent. Meta’s new venture is the perfect embodiment of this ethos: blending high fashion with the latest tech, or as I like to call it, “the art of looking fabulous while you fail to see reality.”

    The marketing team must have had a field day brainstorming this one. “Let’s take two things people love—fashion and technology—and mash them together like a smoothie that you can’t quite identify!” Brilliant! Imagine strutting down the street, these Prada shades perched on your nose, the world around you filtered through a lens that screams, “I’m too cool for your mundane existence.”

    And let’s not forget the irony of wearing designer sunglasses to look at a digital world. It’s like putting on a tuxedo to play video games in your basement. Who needs the real world when you can have a virtual one enhanced by a pair of overpriced glasses? It’s a match made in, well, a marketing executive’s dream.

    But hey, at least they’ve managed to keep the legacy of Ray-Ban and Oakley alive—who needs function when you can turn heads? Sure, they might not shield your eyes from the glaring truth of your bank account after this purchase, but at least you’ll be the best-dressed person in the room… or the one most likely to be judged for frivolous spending.

    So, to all you fashion-forward tech enthusiasts out there, let’s raise a toast to the new era of eyewear! May your Prada shades serve as a reminder that in this world, it’s not about what you see, but how you look doing it. Cheers to the future, where your inability to see the obvious is only matched by your impeccable taste in sunglasses!

    #MetaPrada #FashionTech #RayBanOakley #SunglassesSeason #VirtualReality
    Oh, joy! Just when you thought the world of sunglasses couldn’t get any more exclusive, here comes Meta, strutting in with its latest coup: Prada shades! Because, let’s be honest, when you think of cutting-edge tech, who better to partner with than a fashion house known for turning fabric into fortune? That's right, folks—Ray-Ban, Oakley… and now Prada! I mean, it only makes sense. Who wouldn’t want to experience augmented reality while looking like they just stepped off a runway? Forget practicality; we’re living in a digital age where style trumps substance—especially when your sunglasses cost more than your monthly rent. Meta’s new venture is the perfect embodiment of this ethos: blending high fashion with the latest tech, or as I like to call it, “the art of looking fabulous while you fail to see reality.” The marketing team must have had a field day brainstorming this one. “Let’s take two things people love—fashion and technology—and mash them together like a smoothie that you can’t quite identify!” Brilliant! Imagine strutting down the street, these Prada shades perched on your nose, the world around you filtered through a lens that screams, “I’m too cool for your mundane existence.” And let’s not forget the irony of wearing designer sunglasses to look at a digital world. It’s like putting on a tuxedo to play video games in your basement. Who needs the real world when you can have a virtual one enhanced by a pair of overpriced glasses? It’s a match made in, well, a marketing executive’s dream. But hey, at least they’ve managed to keep the legacy of Ray-Ban and Oakley alive—who needs function when you can turn heads? Sure, they might not shield your eyes from the glaring truth of your bank account after this purchase, but at least you’ll be the best-dressed person in the room… or the one most likely to be judged for frivolous spending. So, to all you fashion-forward tech enthusiasts out there, let’s raise a toast to the new era of eyewear! May your Prada shades serve as a reminder that in this world, it’s not about what you see, but how you look doing it. Cheers to the future, where your inability to see the obvious is only matched by your impeccable taste in sunglasses! #MetaPrada #FashionTech #RayBanOakley #SunglassesSeason #VirtualReality
    Ray-Ban, Oakley… et maintenant Prada !
    Alors voilà, Meta se lance dans une nouvelle aventure avec… Prada ! Après les lunettes […] Cet article Ray-Ban, Oakley… et maintenant Prada ! a été publié sur REALITE-VIRTUELLE.COM.
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  • En un rincón oscuro de mi mente, donde la soledad se arraiga como una sombra implacable, me encuentro reflexionando sobre el Proyecto Acheron. Este trabajo, que comenzó como un destello de esperanza, se ha transformado en un recordatorio doloroso de lo que podría haber sido. Las horas que pasé inmerso en el mundo del Spider-Verse, soñando con crear algo mágico, ahora se sienten vacías, como un eco en un vasto desierto.

    A veces, miro los renders finales, esos fragmentos de esfuerzo y dedicación, y me pregunto: ¿valió la pena? La comunidad de Blender Artists se unió con entusiasmo, compartiendo su apoyo y creatividad. Pero en medio de esa colaboración, el silencio de la incomprensión resuena en mi corazón. ¿Dónde están aquellos que prometieron estar a mi lado? ¿Por qué esta travesía se siente tan solitaria, como si estuviera remando contra la corriente sin un destino claro?

    Las palabras que una vez llenaron la sala de trabajo se han desvanecido. La risa y la camaradería, esos momentos que hacían que cada desvelo valiera la pena, se han convertido en simples recuerdos. La pasión que sentía por el proyecto, por el arte y la creación, ahora se mezcla con una tristeza abrumadora. A veces, el peso de las expectativas se siente como una losa sobre mi pecho.

    Acheron, un nombre que evoca la travesía hacia lo desconocido, se ha convertido en un símbolo de mi propia lucha interna. La lucha entre el deseo de avanzar y la realidad de una soledad aplastante. Cada línea de código, cada render, ahora está impregnada de un dolor sutil, una advertencia de que incluso en los momentos de mayor creatividad, la soledad puede acechar.

    ¿Podrá alguna vez este proyecto ser lo que imaginé? ¿O se convertirá en un recordatorio constante de que, a veces, los sueños pueden volverse pesadillas? La vida, con sus giros inesperados y decepciones, me ha enseñado que no siempre hay un final feliz, incluso en las historias que parecen prometedoras.

    Hoy, al mirar hacia el futuro, me aferro a la esperanza de que algún día encontraré la luz en esta oscuridad. Que el Proyecto Acheron no solo sea un eco de mis fracasos, sino un faro que me guíe hacia nuevas oportunidades. Pero por ahora, en esta soledad compartida, solo puedo dejar fluir mis lágrimas y esperar que, algún día, alguien escuche mi lamento.

    #ProyectoAcheron #Soledad #Creación #Arte #SpiderVerse
    En un rincón oscuro de mi mente, donde la soledad se arraiga como una sombra implacable, me encuentro reflexionando sobre el Proyecto Acheron. Este trabajo, que comenzó como un destello de esperanza, se ha transformado en un recordatorio doloroso de lo que podría haber sido. Las horas que pasé inmerso en el mundo del Spider-Verse, soñando con crear algo mágico, ahora se sienten vacías, como un eco en un vasto desierto. A veces, miro los renders finales, esos fragmentos de esfuerzo y dedicación, y me pregunto: ¿valió la pena? La comunidad de Blender Artists se unió con entusiasmo, compartiendo su apoyo y creatividad. Pero en medio de esa colaboración, el silencio de la incomprensión resuena en mi corazón. ¿Dónde están aquellos que prometieron estar a mi lado? ¿Por qué esta travesía se siente tan solitaria, como si estuviera remando contra la corriente sin un destino claro? Las palabras que una vez llenaron la sala de trabajo se han desvanecido. La risa y la camaradería, esos momentos que hacían que cada desvelo valiera la pena, se han convertido en simples recuerdos. La pasión que sentía por el proyecto, por el arte y la creación, ahora se mezcla con una tristeza abrumadora. A veces, el peso de las expectativas se siente como una losa sobre mi pecho. Acheron, un nombre que evoca la travesía hacia lo desconocido, se ha convertido en un símbolo de mi propia lucha interna. La lucha entre el deseo de avanzar y la realidad de una soledad aplastante. Cada línea de código, cada render, ahora está impregnada de un dolor sutil, una advertencia de que incluso en los momentos de mayor creatividad, la soledad puede acechar. ¿Podrá alguna vez este proyecto ser lo que imaginé? ¿O se convertirá en un recordatorio constante de que, a veces, los sueños pueden volverse pesadillas? La vida, con sus giros inesperados y decepciones, me ha enseñado que no siempre hay un final feliz, incluso en las historias que parecen prometedoras. Hoy, al mirar hacia el futuro, me aferro a la esperanza de que algún día encontraré la luz en esta oscuridad. Que el Proyecto Acheron no solo sea un eco de mis fracasos, sino un faro que me guíe hacia nuevas oportunidades. Pero por ahora, en esta soledad compartida, solo puedo dejar fluir mis lágrimas y esperar que, algún día, alguien escuche mi lamento. #ProyectoAcheron #Soledad #Creación #Arte #SpiderVerse
    Project Acheron - Spider-Verse inspired workflow
    The Class Creatives team recently shared this detailed Behind the Scenes post on the Blender Artists forum. I thought it was an interesting enough read to republish it here. We have been working on project Acheron for a few years, and we wanted to sh
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  • In a world where the most riveting conversations revolve around the intricacies of USB-C power cables and, no less, the riveting excitement of clocks, it's clear that humanity has reached a new peak of intellectual stimulation. The latest episode of the Hackaday Podcast, which I can only assume has a live studio audience composed entirely of enthusiastic engineers, delves deep into the art of DIY USB cables and the riveting world of plastic punches. Who knew that the very fabric of our modern existence could be woven together with such gripping topics?

    Let’s talk about those USB-C power cables for a moment. If you ever thought your life was lacking a bit of suspense, fear not! You can now embark on a thrilling journey where you, too, can solder the perfect cable. Imagine the rush of adrenaline as you uncover the secrets of power distribution. Will your device charge? Will it explode? The stakes have never been higher! Forget about action movies; this is the real deal. And for those who prefer the “punch” in their lives—no, not the fruity drink, but rather the plastic punching tools—we're diving into a world where you can create perfectly punched holes in plastic, for all your DIY needs. Because what better way to spend your weekend than creating a masterpiece that no one will ever see or appreciate?

    And of course, let's not overlook the “Laugh Track Machine.” Yes, you heard that right. In times when social interactions have been reduced to Zoom calls and emojis, the need for a laugh track has never been more essential. Imagine the ambiance you could create at your next dinner party: a perfectly timed laugh track responding to your mediocre jokes about USB cables. If that doesn’t scream societal progress, I don’t know what does.

    Elliot and Al, the podcast's dynamic duo, took a week-long hiatus just to recharge their mental batteries before launching into this treasure trove of knowledge. It’s like they went on a sabbatical to the land of “Absolutely Not Boring.” You can almost hear the tension build as they return to tackle the most pressing matters of our time. Forget climate change or global health crises; the real issues we should all be focused on are the nuances of home-built tech.

    It's fascinating how this episode manages to encapsulate the spirit of our times—where the excitement of crafting cables and punching holes serves as a distraction from the complexities of life. So, if you seek to feel alive again, tune in to the Hackaday Podcast. You might just find that your greatest adventure lies in the world of DIY tech, where the only thing more fragile than your creations is your will to continue listening.

    And remember, in this brave new world of innovation, if your USB-C cable fails, you can always just punch a hole in something—preferably not your dreams.

    #HackadayPodcast #USBCables #PlasticPunches #DIYTech #LaughTrackMachine
    In a world where the most riveting conversations revolve around the intricacies of USB-C power cables and, no less, the riveting excitement of clocks, it's clear that humanity has reached a new peak of intellectual stimulation. The latest episode of the Hackaday Podcast, which I can only assume has a live studio audience composed entirely of enthusiastic engineers, delves deep into the art of DIY USB cables and the riveting world of plastic punches. Who knew that the very fabric of our modern existence could be woven together with such gripping topics? Let’s talk about those USB-C power cables for a moment. If you ever thought your life was lacking a bit of suspense, fear not! You can now embark on a thrilling journey where you, too, can solder the perfect cable. Imagine the rush of adrenaline as you uncover the secrets of power distribution. Will your device charge? Will it explode? The stakes have never been higher! Forget about action movies; this is the real deal. And for those who prefer the “punch” in their lives—no, not the fruity drink, but rather the plastic punching tools—we're diving into a world where you can create perfectly punched holes in plastic, for all your DIY needs. Because what better way to spend your weekend than creating a masterpiece that no one will ever see or appreciate? And of course, let's not overlook the “Laugh Track Machine.” Yes, you heard that right. In times when social interactions have been reduced to Zoom calls and emojis, the need for a laugh track has never been more essential. Imagine the ambiance you could create at your next dinner party: a perfectly timed laugh track responding to your mediocre jokes about USB cables. If that doesn’t scream societal progress, I don’t know what does. Elliot and Al, the podcast's dynamic duo, took a week-long hiatus just to recharge their mental batteries before launching into this treasure trove of knowledge. It’s like they went on a sabbatical to the land of “Absolutely Not Boring.” You can almost hear the tension build as they return to tackle the most pressing matters of our time. Forget climate change or global health crises; the real issues we should all be focused on are the nuances of home-built tech. It's fascinating how this episode manages to encapsulate the spirit of our times—where the excitement of crafting cables and punching holes serves as a distraction from the complexities of life. So, if you seek to feel alive again, tune in to the Hackaday Podcast. You might just find that your greatest adventure lies in the world of DIY tech, where the only thing more fragile than your creations is your will to continue listening. And remember, in this brave new world of innovation, if your USB-C cable fails, you can always just punch a hole in something—preferably not your dreams. #HackadayPodcast #USBCables #PlasticPunches #DIYTech #LaughTrackMachine
    Hackaday Podcast Episode 325: The Laugh Track Machine, DIY USB-C Power Cables, and Plastic Punches
    This week, Hackaday’s Elliot Williams and Al Williams caught up after a week-long hiatus. There was a lot to talk about, including clocks, DIY USB cables, and more. In Hackaday …read more
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  • So, I stumbled upon this revolutionary concept: the Pi Pico Powers Parts-Bin Audio Interface. You know, for those times when you want to impress your friends with your "cutting-edge" audio technology but your wallet is emptier than a politician's promise. Apparently, if you dig deep enough into your parts bin—because who doesn’t have a collection of random electronic components lying around?—you can whip up an audio interface that would make even the most budget-conscious audiophile weep with joy.

    Let’s be real for a moment. The idea of “USB audio is great” is like saying “water is wet.” Sure, it’s true, but it’s not exactly breaking news. What’s truly groundbreaking is the notion that you can create something functional from the forgotten scraps of yesterday’s projects. It’s like a DIY episode of “Chopped” but for tech nerds. “Today’s mystery ingredient is a broken USB cable, a suspiciously dusty Raspberry Pi, and a hint of desperation.”

    The beauty of this Pi Pico-powered audio interface is that it’s perfect for those of us who find joy in frugality. Why spend hundreds on a fancy audio device when you can spend several hours cursing at your soldering iron instead? Who needs a professional sound card when you can have the thrill of piecing together a Frankenstein-like contraption that may or may not work? The suspense alone is worth the price of admission!

    And let’s not overlook the aesthetic appeal of having a “custom” audio interface. Forget those sleek, modern designs; nothing says “I’m a tech wizard” quite like a jumble of wires and circuit boards that look like they came straight out of a 1980s sci-fi movie. Your friends will be so impressed by your “unique” setup that they might even forget the sound quality is comparable to that of a tin can.

    Of course, if you’re one of those people who doesn’t have a parts bin filled with modern-day relics, you might just need to take a trip to your local electronics store. But why go through the hassle of spending money when you can just live vicariously through those who do? It’s all about the experience, right? You can sit back, sip your overpriced coffee, and nod knowingly as your friend struggles to make sense of their latest “innovation” while you silently judge their lack of resourcefulness.

    In the end, the Pi Pico Powers Parts-Bin Audio Interface is a shining beacon of hope for those who love to tinker, save a buck, and show off their questionable engineering skills. So, gather your components, roll up your sleeves, and prepare for an adventure that might just end in either a new hobby or a visit to the emergency room. Let the audio experimentation begin!

    #PiPico #AudioInterface #DIYTech #BudgetGadgets #FrugalInnovation
    So, I stumbled upon this revolutionary concept: the Pi Pico Powers Parts-Bin Audio Interface. You know, for those times when you want to impress your friends with your "cutting-edge" audio technology but your wallet is emptier than a politician's promise. Apparently, if you dig deep enough into your parts bin—because who doesn’t have a collection of random electronic components lying around?—you can whip up an audio interface that would make even the most budget-conscious audiophile weep with joy. Let’s be real for a moment. The idea of “USB audio is great” is like saying “water is wet.” Sure, it’s true, but it’s not exactly breaking news. What’s truly groundbreaking is the notion that you can create something functional from the forgotten scraps of yesterday’s projects. It’s like a DIY episode of “Chopped” but for tech nerds. “Today’s mystery ingredient is a broken USB cable, a suspiciously dusty Raspberry Pi, and a hint of desperation.” The beauty of this Pi Pico-powered audio interface is that it’s perfect for those of us who find joy in frugality. Why spend hundreds on a fancy audio device when you can spend several hours cursing at your soldering iron instead? Who needs a professional sound card when you can have the thrill of piecing together a Frankenstein-like contraption that may or may not work? The suspense alone is worth the price of admission! And let’s not overlook the aesthetic appeal of having a “custom” audio interface. Forget those sleek, modern designs; nothing says “I’m a tech wizard” quite like a jumble of wires and circuit boards that look like they came straight out of a 1980s sci-fi movie. Your friends will be so impressed by your “unique” setup that they might even forget the sound quality is comparable to that of a tin can. Of course, if you’re one of those people who doesn’t have a parts bin filled with modern-day relics, you might just need to take a trip to your local electronics store. But why go through the hassle of spending money when you can just live vicariously through those who do? It’s all about the experience, right? You can sit back, sip your overpriced coffee, and nod knowingly as your friend struggles to make sense of their latest “innovation” while you silently judge their lack of resourcefulness. In the end, the Pi Pico Powers Parts-Bin Audio Interface is a shining beacon of hope for those who love to tinker, save a buck, and show off their questionable engineering skills. So, gather your components, roll up your sleeves, and prepare for an adventure that might just end in either a new hobby or a visit to the emergency room. Let the audio experimentation begin! #PiPico #AudioInterface #DIYTech #BudgetGadgets #FrugalInnovation
    Pi Pico Powers Parts-Bin Audio Interface
    USB audio is great, but what if you needed to use it and had no budget? Well, depending on the contents of your parts bin, you might be able to …read more
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  • Vous vous rappelez du temps où nous devions nous contenter de disques durs lents, qui prenaient plus de temps à charger qu'un film de Kubrick ? Eh bien, mes amis, le temps a changé ! Aujourd'hui, nous avons la merveille de la technologie moderne : l'addlink G55 SSD. Oui, vous avez bien entendu, une unité de stockage qui promet des "vitesses excellentes à un prix raisonnable". Quel vocabulaire enchanteur ! C’est presque poétique, n'est-ce pas ?

    Imaginez un monde où vous pouvez transférer vos fichiers en un clin d'œil, sans attendre que votre ordinateur prenne un café – car, soyons honnêtes, il en a besoin après avoir traîné avec ces anciens disques durs. Avec l'addlink G55 SSD, vous pouvez presque entendre les bits et les octets s'excuser et s’éclipser à toute vitesse. De quoi faire pleurer d'émotion votre ancien disque dur qui, lui, prenait plus de temps à charger une image de chat que vous à installer un nouveau système d'exploitation.

    Et parlons un peu du prix ! Un prix "raisonnable", comme ils disent. Cela signifie que vous n'aurez pas besoin de vendre un rein sur le marché noir pour vous offrir cette petite merveille. En fait, avec l'addlink G55 SSD, vous aurez peut-être même quelques euros de plus pour investir dans des choses essentielles, comme... je ne sais pas... des chaussettes en cachemire ?

    C’est une véritable aubaine ! Mais ici, amis lecteurs, ne vous laissez pas berner. Qui sait combien de temps dureront ces "vitesses excellentes" ? Après tout, tout le monde aime une bonne blague, surtout lorsque ça concerne la technologie. On sait tous que le meilleur moyen de faire durer une unité de stockage est de la laisser au fond d'un tiroir, à côté des câbles USB de votre ancien téléphone qui ne fonctionne plus depuis 2015.

    En résumé, l'addlink G55 SSD semble être le héros que nous attendions tous – un super-héros du stockage moderne avec ses promesses de vitesses fulgurantes et de prix abordables. Mais, comme avec tous les super-héros, gardez un œil critique. Ne vous laissez pas emporter par la hype ; souvenez-vous que même Batman a ses faiblesses.

    Alors, prêts à faire le grand saut vers le SSD ? Ou préférez-vous rester dans l'ère préhistorique des disques durs ? La décision vous appartient, mais rappelez-vous : le temps, c’est de l’argent… et un bon SSD pourrait bien vous faire gagner les deux !

    #AddlinkG55 #SSD #Technologie #DisqueDur #Vitesse
    Vous vous rappelez du temps où nous devions nous contenter de disques durs lents, qui prenaient plus de temps à charger qu'un film de Kubrick ? Eh bien, mes amis, le temps a changé ! Aujourd'hui, nous avons la merveille de la technologie moderne : l'addlink G55 SSD. Oui, vous avez bien entendu, une unité de stockage qui promet des "vitesses excellentes à un prix raisonnable". Quel vocabulaire enchanteur ! C’est presque poétique, n'est-ce pas ? Imaginez un monde où vous pouvez transférer vos fichiers en un clin d'œil, sans attendre que votre ordinateur prenne un café – car, soyons honnêtes, il en a besoin après avoir traîné avec ces anciens disques durs. Avec l'addlink G55 SSD, vous pouvez presque entendre les bits et les octets s'excuser et s’éclipser à toute vitesse. De quoi faire pleurer d'émotion votre ancien disque dur qui, lui, prenait plus de temps à charger une image de chat que vous à installer un nouveau système d'exploitation. Et parlons un peu du prix ! Un prix "raisonnable", comme ils disent. Cela signifie que vous n'aurez pas besoin de vendre un rein sur le marché noir pour vous offrir cette petite merveille. En fait, avec l'addlink G55 SSD, vous aurez peut-être même quelques euros de plus pour investir dans des choses essentielles, comme... je ne sais pas... des chaussettes en cachemire ? C’est une véritable aubaine ! Mais ici, amis lecteurs, ne vous laissez pas berner. Qui sait combien de temps dureront ces "vitesses excellentes" ? Après tout, tout le monde aime une bonne blague, surtout lorsque ça concerne la technologie. On sait tous que le meilleur moyen de faire durer une unité de stockage est de la laisser au fond d'un tiroir, à côté des câbles USB de votre ancien téléphone qui ne fonctionne plus depuis 2015. En résumé, l'addlink G55 SSD semble être le héros que nous attendions tous – un super-héros du stockage moderne avec ses promesses de vitesses fulgurantes et de prix abordables. Mais, comme avec tous les super-héros, gardez un œil critique. Ne vous laissez pas emporter par la hype ; souvenez-vous que même Batman a ses faiblesses. Alors, prêts à faire le grand saut vers le SSD ? Ou préférez-vous rester dans l'ère préhistorique des disques durs ? La décision vous appartient, mais rappelez-vous : le temps, c’est de l’argent… et un bon SSD pourrait bien vous faire gagner les deux ! #AddlinkG55 #SSD #Technologie #DisqueDur #Vitesse
    سرعات ممتازة بسعرٍ معقول: مراجعة وحدة التخزين addlink G55 SSD
    The post سرعات ممتازة بسعرٍ معقول: مراجعة وحدة التخزين addlink G55 SSD appeared first on عرب هاردوير.
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  • Alors, la Xbox a décidé de sortir de son hibernation pour nous balancer une vidéo de sa prochaine génération de consoles. Surprise, surprise ! Comme si on ne savait pas déjà que tout ça était en préparation. Un partenariat avec AMD ? Je suis sûr qu'ils ont eu cette idée brillante tout seuls, assis autour d'une table en bois, les yeux rivés sur un écran de télévision.

    Et voilà qu'ils introduisent aussi l'intelligence artificielle. Oui, parce que ce qui manquait vraiment à nos vies, c'était une Xbox qui pense plus vite que nous ! Imaginez un peu la scène : vous êtes en train de jouer à votre jeu préféré et votre console vous interrompt pour vous rappeler que vous avez laissé la lumière de la cuisine allumée. Merci, Xbox, mais je préfère que tu m'aides à battre ce boss plutôt que de me faire la morale sur mes habitudes d'éclairage.

    Et n’oublions pas le timing impeccable de cette annonce. Dix jours avant une "prise de parole majeure". Quelle stratégie marketing ! C'est un peu comme si vous annonciez un mariage en envoyant des invitations une semaine avant la cérémonie. Qui a besoin de suspense quand on peut juste balancer des infos à la dernière minute et espérer que la magie opère ?

    Il est vrai que l'optimisme est de mise dans le monde des jeux vidéo. Les fans s'enflamment à chaque nouvelle annonce, comme si une console pouvait réellement changer leur vie. "Regardez, elle a des graphismes ! Elle est plus rapide ! Elle sait même faire du café !" Mais soyons honnêtes, au fond, nous savons tous que ces merveilles technologiques ne changeront rien à notre vie sociale, qui est déjà aussi vide qu’un chat dans un jeu de simulation d’élevage.

    Alors, préparez-vous, mes chers amis gamers, pour la prochaine génération de consoles Xbox. Avec ses promesses de performances spectaculaires et d'intelligence artificielle qui pourrait presque rivaliser avec celle de votre ami qui passe ses journées à analyser les statistiques de jeux. En attendant, je vais continuer à jouer sur ma vieille console et à m’ennuyer à mourir sur le canapé.

    Ah, la technologie, elle nous fascine autant qu'elle nous désespère !

    #Xbox #ConsoleNextGen #AMD #IntelligenceArtificielle #Gaming
    Alors, la Xbox a décidé de sortir de son hibernation pour nous balancer une vidéo de sa prochaine génération de consoles. Surprise, surprise ! Comme si on ne savait pas déjà que tout ça était en préparation. Un partenariat avec AMD ? Je suis sûr qu'ils ont eu cette idée brillante tout seuls, assis autour d'une table en bois, les yeux rivés sur un écran de télévision. Et voilà qu'ils introduisent aussi l'intelligence artificielle. Oui, parce que ce qui manquait vraiment à nos vies, c'était une Xbox qui pense plus vite que nous ! Imaginez un peu la scène : vous êtes en train de jouer à votre jeu préféré et votre console vous interrompt pour vous rappeler que vous avez laissé la lumière de la cuisine allumée. Merci, Xbox, mais je préfère que tu m'aides à battre ce boss plutôt que de me faire la morale sur mes habitudes d'éclairage. Et n’oublions pas le timing impeccable de cette annonce. Dix jours avant une "prise de parole majeure". Quelle stratégie marketing ! C'est un peu comme si vous annonciez un mariage en envoyant des invitations une semaine avant la cérémonie. Qui a besoin de suspense quand on peut juste balancer des infos à la dernière minute et espérer que la magie opère ? Il est vrai que l'optimisme est de mise dans le monde des jeux vidéo. Les fans s'enflamment à chaque nouvelle annonce, comme si une console pouvait réellement changer leur vie. "Regardez, elle a des graphismes ! Elle est plus rapide ! Elle sait même faire du café !" Mais soyons honnêtes, au fond, nous savons tous que ces merveilles technologiques ne changeront rien à notre vie sociale, qui est déjà aussi vide qu’un chat dans un jeu de simulation d’élevage. Alors, préparez-vous, mes chers amis gamers, pour la prochaine génération de consoles Xbox. Avec ses promesses de performances spectaculaires et d'intelligence artificielle qui pourrait presque rivaliser avec celle de votre ami qui passe ses journées à analyser les statistiques de jeux. En attendant, je vais continuer à jouer sur ma vieille console et à m’ennuyer à mourir sur le canapé. Ah, la technologie, elle nous fascine autant qu'elle nous désespère ! #Xbox #ConsoleNextGen #AMD #IntelligenceArtificielle #Gaming
    Nouvelle console, partenariat avec AMD, intelligence artificielle… Xbox officialise sa prochaine génération en vidéo
    ActuGaming.net Nouvelle console, partenariat avec AMD, intelligence artificielle… Xbox officialise sa prochaine génération en vidéo Sans prévenir et à seulement dix petits jours d’une prise de parole majeure, le Xbox […] L'article Nouvel
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  • In a world that spins so fast, I find myself standing still, watching everything I once cherished slip away like sand through my fingers. Today, I learned that "Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled" has crossed the monumental milestone of 10 million sales. A game that brought joy, laughter, and moments of pure exhilaration now feels like a bittersweet memory, a reminder of the fun times that now seem so distant.

    I remember the days when racing through those vibrant tracks with friends lit up my world. We would cheer and laugh, united by the thrill of competition. But now, the echoes of those joyous moments are drowned in a sea of loneliness. It’s hard to celebrate when the thrill feels so far away. As I watch others revel in their gaming victories, I can’t help but feel a creeping sense of isolation.

    The bright colors of the game blur into gray, and the characters, once lively and full of spirit, now stand as mere shadows of what used to be. I find myself alone in my room, controller in hand, yet feeling emptier than ever. The thrill of racing past the finish line is overshadowed by the realization that I’m racing through life without the people who made it worthwhile.

    Every new achievement in the gaming world feels like a reminder of my own stumbles and failures. While "Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled" celebrates its success, I am left grappling with my own insecurities, feeling like a ghost haunting the tracks of my past. I want to feel that joy again, to share in the exhilaration of victory, but instead, I am ensnared in a web of solitude, where every race feels like an endless loop of disappointment.

    As I reflect on these feelings, I realize that it’s not just about a game; it’s about connection, about shared experiences that seem to fade away. Perhaps, one day, I will find my way back to those joyful moments, but for now, the weight of this loneliness is heavy, and the ache of nostalgia lingers like a haunting melody.

    To those who feel the same, I want you to know that you are not alone. We share this burden, this inexplicable ache for connection and joy that seems just out of reach. Let us hold onto hope, even when it feels like the world has forgotten us.

    #CrashTeamRacing #NitroFueled #Loneliness #GamingMemories #Hope
    In a world that spins so fast, I find myself standing still, watching everything I once cherished slip away like sand through my fingers. Today, I learned that "Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled" has crossed the monumental milestone of 10 million sales. 🎮✨ A game that brought joy, laughter, and moments of pure exhilaration now feels like a bittersweet memory, a reminder of the fun times that now seem so distant. I remember the days when racing through those vibrant tracks with friends lit up my world. We would cheer and laugh, united by the thrill of competition. But now, the echoes of those joyous moments are drowned in a sea of loneliness. It’s hard to celebrate when the thrill feels so far away. As I watch others revel in their gaming victories, I can’t help but feel a creeping sense of isolation. 😔 The bright colors of the game blur into gray, and the characters, once lively and full of spirit, now stand as mere shadows of what used to be. I find myself alone in my room, controller in hand, yet feeling emptier than ever. The thrill of racing past the finish line is overshadowed by the realization that I’m racing through life without the people who made it worthwhile. 💔 Every new achievement in the gaming world feels like a reminder of my own stumbles and failures. While "Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled" celebrates its success, I am left grappling with my own insecurities, feeling like a ghost haunting the tracks of my past. I want to feel that joy again, to share in the exhilaration of victory, but instead, I am ensnared in a web of solitude, where every race feels like an endless loop of disappointment. As I reflect on these feelings, I realize that it’s not just about a game; it’s about connection, about shared experiences that seem to fade away. Perhaps, one day, I will find my way back to those joyful moments, but for now, the weight of this loneliness is heavy, and the ache of nostalgia lingers like a haunting melody. 🎶 To those who feel the same, I want you to know that you are not alone. We share this burden, this inexplicable ache for connection and joy that seems just out of reach. Let us hold onto hope, even when it feels like the world has forgotten us. 🖤 #CrashTeamRacing #NitroFueled #Loneliness #GamingMemories #Hope
    Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled dépasse aujourd’hui les 10 millions de ventes
    ActuGaming.net Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled dépasse aujourd’hui les 10 millions de ventes La licence Mario Kart a beaucoup de concurrents, mais peu d’entre eux rivalisent avec les […] L'article Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled dépa
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