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Bill Westenhofer
Bill Westenhofer is an American visual effects supervisor. He worked for Rhythm and Hues Studios until its closure in 2013. Early life and education His hometown is Brookfield, Connecticut, where he graduated from Brookfield High School in 1986. He then earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering from Bucknell University in 1990. Westenhofer also received his master's degree at the George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1995, where he studied the use of dynamics in physically based animation. Career In 1994, he joined Rhythm & Hues as a technical director, and Westenhofer's lighting and effects animation work was featured in '' Batman Forever'' and numerous commercials. He was promoted to CG supervisor for '' Speed 2: Cruise Control'', and continued in that role for '' Spawn'', '' Mouse Hunt'', '' Kazaam'' and '' Waterworld''. His other VFX supervisor credits include '' Elf'', '' The Rundown'', ''Stuart Little 2'', '' M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Visual Effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action footage or CGI elements to create realistic imagery is called VFX. VFX involves the integration of live-action footage (which may include in-camera special effects) and generated-imagery (digital or optics, animals or creatures) which look realistic, but would be dangerous, expensive, impractical, time-consuming or impossible to capture on film. Visual effects using computer-generated imagery (CGI) have more recently become accessible to the independent filmmaker with the introduction of affordable and relatively easy-to-use animation and compositing software. History Early developments In 1857, Oscar Rejlander created the world's first "special effects" image by combining different sections of 32 negatives into a single image, making a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stuart Little 2
''Stuart Little 2'' is a 2002 American live action/ computer-animated comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff and starring Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, and Jonathan Lipnicki, and the voices of Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little and Nathan Lane as Snowbell the Cat. Although a sequel to the 1999 film '' Stuart Little'', the plot bears more resemblance to the original novel by E.B. White, in which Stuart and Snowbell meet a canary named Margalo (voiced by Melanie Griffith). The film was released in theaters on July 19, 2002, by Columbia Pictures, and grossed $170 million against a $120 million budget, with it also receiving positive critical reviews. It was followed by a third film, a direct-to-video sequel titled '' Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild'' in 2005. Plot Set a few years after the events of the first film, Stuart Little has settled into family life with his parents, older brother George, and baby sister Martha, who has yet to say her first words. Stuart is becoming tired ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wonder Woman (2017 Film)
''Wonder Woman'' is a 2017 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Films, Atlas Entertainment and Cruel and Unusual Films, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the fourth installment of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), and a prequel/spin-off to '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' (2016). Directed by Patty Jenkins and written by Allan Heinberg from a story by Heinberg, Zack Snyder and Jason Fuchs, ''Wonder Woman'' stars Gal Gadot in the title role, alongside Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen and Elena Anaya. It is the second live action theatrical film featuring Wonder Woman following her debut in ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. In ''Wonder Woman'', the Amazon princess Diana sets out to stop World War I, believing the conflict was started by the longtime enemy of the Amazons, Ares, after American pilot and spy Steve Trevor crash-lands on their island T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States. The publication has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes. It is owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by the Times Mirror Company. The newspaper’s coverage emphasizes California and especially Southern California stories. In the 19th century, the paper developed a reputation for civic boosterism and opposition to labor unions, the latter of which led to the bombing of its headquarters in 1910. The paper's profile grew substantially in the 1960s under publisher Otis Chandler, who adopted a more national focus. In recent decades the paper's readership has declined, and it has been beset by a series of ownership changes, staff reductions, and other controversies. In January 2018, the paper's staff voted to unionize ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Life Of Pi (film)
''Life of Pi'' is a 2012 adventure-drama film directed and produced by Ang Lee and written by David Magee. Based on Yann Martel's 2001 novel of the same name, it stars Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Rafe Spall, Tabu and Adil Hussain in lead roles. The storyline revolves around two survivors of a shipwreck. One is a sixteen-year-old Indian boy named Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) and the other is a ferocious Bengal tiger named Richard Parker that are on a lifeboat stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days. The film began development shortly after the release of the book and would see directors M. Night Shyamalan, Alfonso Cuarón and Jean-Pierre Jeunet involved at various stages before the hiring of Lee. Filming was split between India, Taiwan and Montreal in 2011, with Rhythm & Hues Studios (R&H) handling the visual effects work. The film had its worldwide premiere as the opening film of the 50th New York Film Festival at both the Walter Reade Theater and Alice Tully Hall in Ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animation World Network
Animation World Network (often just "AWN") is an online publishing group that specializes in resources for animators, with an extensive website offering news, articles and links for professional animators and animation fans. Specifically, AWN covers animator profiles, independent film distribution, major animation studio activities, licensing, CGI and other animation technologies, as well as current events in all fields of animation. AWN also publishes print magazines. The magazines are ''Animation World'', dedicated to animation in general, and ''VFX World'', which focuses on special effects and computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may .... History In 1995, Ron Diamond partnered with Dan Sarto and founded the Animation World Network. A year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Golden Compass (film)
''The Golden Compass'' is a 2007 fantasy adventure film directed by Chris Weitz, from a screenplay by Weitz, and based on the 1995 novel '' Northern Lights'' by Philip Pullman, the first installment in Pullman's ''His Dark Materials'' trilogy. It stars Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra Belacqua, Nicole Kidman as Marisa Coulter, and Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel, alongside Sam Elliott, Ian McKellen, and Eva Green. In the film, Lyra joins a tribe of seafarers on a trip to the far North in search of children kidnapped by the Gobblers, a group supported by the universe's rulers, the Magisterium. Development on the film was first announced in February 2002, but difficulties over the screenplay and the selection of a director (including Weitz departing and returning) caused significant delays. Richards was cast as Lyra in June 2006, with Kidman and Craig joining soon thereafter. Principal photography began that September and lasted for several months, with filming locations including She ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award For Best Visual Effects
The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is an Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects. History of the award The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first recognized the technical contributions of special effects to movies at its inaugural dinner in 1929, presenting a plaque for "Best Engineering Effects" to the first Best Picture Oscar winner, the World War I flying drama ''Wings''. Producer David O. Selznick, then production head at RKO Studios, petitioned the Academy Board of Governors to recognize the work of animator Willis O'Brien for his groundbreaking work on 1933's '' King Kong''. It was not until 1938 when a film was actually recognized for its effects work, when a "Special Achievement Award for Special Effects" was given to the Paramount film '' Spawn of the North''. The following year, "Best Special Effects" became a recognized category, although on occasion the Academy has chosen to honor a single film outright rather than nominate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). Among all the author's books, it is also the most widely held in libraries. Although it was originally the first of ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', it is volume two in recent editions that are sequenced by the stories' chronology. Like the other ''Chronicles'', it was illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and her work has been retained in many later editions. Most of the novel is set in Narnia, a land of talking animals and mythical creatures that is ruled by the evil White Witch. In the frame story, four English children are relocated to a large, old country house following a wartime evacuation. The youngest, Lucy, visits Narnia three times via the magic of a wardrobe in a spare room. Lucy's three siblings are with her on her third visit to Narnia. In Narnia, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pig In The City
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus ''Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus scrofa'' (the wild boar or Eurasian boar) or a distinct species. The pig's head-plus-body length ranges from , and adult pigs typically weigh between , with well-fed individuals even exceeding this range. The size and weight of hogs largely depends on their breed. Compared to other artiodactyls, a pig's head is relatively long and pointed. Most even-toed ungulates are herbivorous, but pigs are omnivores, like their wild relative. Pigs grunt and make snorting sounds. When used as livestock, pigs are farmed primarily for the production of meat, called pork. A group of pigs is called a ''passel'', a ''team'', or a ''sounder''. The animal's bones, hide, and bristles are also used in products. Pigs, especially miniature breeds, are kept as pets ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stuart Little (film)
''Stuart Little'' is a 1999 American live action/computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1945 novel of the same name by E. B. White. Directed by Rob Minkoff in his live-action debut, the screenplay was written by M. Night Shyamalan and Greg Brooker, and stars Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, and Jonathan Lipnicki, alongside the voices of Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane, Chazz Palminteri, Steve Zahn, Bruno Kirby, and Jennifer Tilly. The film was released on December 17, 1999 by Columbia Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, losing to ''The Matrix''. The first film in the ''Stuart Little'' series, it was followed by a sequel ''Stuart Little 2'' in 2002, the short-lived television series ''Stuart Little'' in 2003, and another sequel in 2005, the direct-to-video '' Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild''. It was Estelle Getty's final film role before her retirement in 2001 and her death in July 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frequency (2000 Film)
''Frequency'' is a 2000 American science fiction thriller drama film starring Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel, Andre Braugher, Elizabeth Mitchell, Shawn Doyle, Melissa Errico and Noah Emmerich. Directed by Gregory Hoblit and written by Toby Emmerich, it was distributed by New Line Cinema. It also features Michael Cera in his feature film debut. The film received positive reviews and grossed $68.1 million worldwide, against a budget of $31 million. Plot In 1969 New York, a gasoline tanker overturns on a highway ramp, spilling fuel into an electrical substation below ground and trapping two workers. Among the responding firefighters is veteran Frank Sullivan, who goes underground to rescue the workers against the direction of his commander, and despite the rising level of fuel and the sparking created by damaged electrics. Frank and another firefighter pull the workers out and escape just before a spark ignites a huge explosion, and Frank returns safely home to his wife Julia and you ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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