FXRant: Podcast: I Was On Reconcilable Differences Again
It was back in 2018 when I was a guest on a member special for Reconcilable Differences ... and seven years later they asked me back! RecD...| fxrant.blogspot.com
It was back in 2018 when I was a guest on a member special for Reconcilable Differences ... and seven years later they asked me back! RecD...| fxrant.blogspot.com
"There's a storm coming in!"| FXRant
I recently had the pleasure of re-watching John McTiernan’s “Predator” (1987) for the umpteenth time with someone who had never seen the mov...| fxrant.blogspot.com
From the future "Peggy Sue Got Married" (2050) remake: view larger This is a very good joke. Please clap.| fxrant.blogspot.com
Lighter Darker, EP20 and Show Notes| FXRant
I'm really enjoying "The Studio" on Apple TV+, and I just had to make a graphic of the dialogue that opens season one, episode four, with st...| fxrant.blogspot.com
watch on YouTubeIn March 2025, Jenny Ely and I interviewed John Knoll, the visual effects supervisor of "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew for Lighter Darker: The ILM Podcast. Listen to the show here — we also have extensive show notes and photos for that episode at the same link. Lighter Darker: The ILM Podcast, episode 14 | FXRant
There are a LOT of keys, locks and doors in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991), so I made a video in 2022 highlighting every major key, lock and door in the movie. It's fun. You should watch it.| FXRant
“A Different World” (1987 NBC) is now on Netflix, and the HD upscale is... not good.| FXRant
Having just migrated two new iPhones, Apple needs to address this specific issue, because it can really really mess you up. | FXRant
It's time for the Awesomest Oscar Pool Ballot In The History Of Oscar Pool Ballots.| FXRant
James Cameron, directing "Titanic" (1997)| FXRant
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This question comes up a lot, usually in regards to films like "Jurassic Park" (1993) and "Transformers" (2007), especially when referring to franchise films. Some folks feel that the visual effects of a successful movie's sequels are "worse" than the original film's, even though the "technology is better". The problem with the premise of this question is that it disregards the human and creative aspects of filmmaking, instead defaulting to "technology is better, why aren't the images better?...| FXRant
Our visual effects work for "Transformers" (2007) is still being lauded to this day, which is a testament to the amazing talents of the visual effects teams at Industrial Light & Magic under the supervision of Scott Farrar, Russell Earl and Scott Benza.| FXRant
A Twitter account with a verified blue checkmark and over 1 million followers regularly peddles misinformation about how movies are made. Here's how they described the making of the first shot from "Severance" (Apple TV+) season two, episode one:| FXRant
Much has been said about Steven Spielberg’s uncanny ability to tell a story within a frame and set up geography, and usually folks use his long oners as examples of this talent. In fact, we break down a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) oner on the Lighter Darker: The ILM Podcast, in Episode 3 (starting around 27:35).| FXRant
The cycle of downplaying or mischaracterizing digital effects is becoming distressingly predictable. I wrote about it at length, using the marketing of "Gran Turismo" — a film I didn't work on — as my example. | FXRant
I recently guested on The Incomparable to talk about one of my favorite science fiction movies, "Pitch Black" (2000).| FXRant
Seen on social media: "One thing that I did not like at all about The Substance was how it was filmed as if being cut into TikToks was its ultimate end goal. The action in every scene happens pretty much in the middle of the screen... It just looks so lifeless."| FXRant
A filmmaker friend reached out to me with a question about one of our shared favorite movies of all time, so I did what I sometimes do - I went totally overboard to find a satisfying answer and then wrote a long-winded article about it.| FXRant
I'm so happy to say that I'm the co-host of a podcast produced by Industrial Light & Magic. We call it "Lighter Darker."| FXRant
Back in 2020, Hal Hickel answered a Quora question with great detail about how we created Grand Moff Tarkin for "Rogue One" (2016), and in the interest of film history preservation, I got Hal's permission to reprint it here. (I was a lead on the digital human team at ILM for Tarkin, and worked closely with Hal on the film.)| FXRant
This is just a simple apples-to-apples comparison in the most basic sense of lighting techniques and style. No judgment, no "this is right and this is wrong", just a comparison.The Hollywood cinematography of the interior of a cave, daytime, in a big sci-fi feature film in 1968. "Planet of the Apes" (1968), cinematography by four-time Oscar winner Leon Shamroy (18 total nominations!) who also shot "Cleopatra" and "The Robe".| FXRant
Movies are handmade, and just like any other art form, sometimes the seams that hold movies together become visible to the audience. For mov...| fxrant.blogspot.com
