Apple SoHO Encyclopedia of Visual Effects presentation

Encyclopedia of Visual Effects presentation
Originally uploaded by beatmania.

This is a long overdue post of the presentation of Brian Conner, co-author of upcoming Apple Pro Training Series: Encyclopedia of Visual Effects. He works at the venerable ILM, participated in many blockbuster movies like "War of World" and "Star Wars Episode III." He showed some of the clips of his works in visual effects that are invisible and visible-like light sabers in Star Wars.

Although he explained many facets of his works very well, I think the audience was overwhelmed by his technical jargons during his presentation. Even I felt I was barely catching up to his explanations that no one dared to ask a question at the end of the presentation.

The book is yet published, but I hope this book will help me solve many problems that arise from combining different visual elements from different programs, making a shot/scene. I'm certain that it will be a hit with hardcore Star Wars fans since the book will contain the full Shake project that created a light saber fight scene in Episode III, which Mr. Conner showcased in the presentation. With Shake price came down in reasonable range, I believe there will a rise of quality visual effects in many indie films, not just Star Wars fan films.

Because this field is progressing everyday, I'm glad to hear that he and his co-author is planning to publish another book, to accommodate growing technical challenges. So it's the first book in a series of books that could well become an Encyclopedia. One book at a time.