Hochbetrieb [Nuts & Bolts] is a 2003 short from Germany that utilizes live actors and computer-generated effects in tribute to influences ranging from silent comedies to Charles Ebbetts' images of construction crews atop the GE Building, along with a cat & mouse cartoon from MGM guest-starring a baby and a Warner Brothers piece about an amphibian.
posted by Smart Dalek on Jan 12, 2009 - 2 comments

In the middle of the movie Gremlins 2, there is a sequence where the film seems to break, and where the gremlins invade the projection booth. For the VHS edition in the early 90's, they reshot a special sequence where the VHS tape seemed to be torn apart and in which the gremlins invaded a John Wayne movie. The DVD just kept the original theatrical version.
Sacha Feiner's fan video updates the "break sequence" for the Video on Demand era. via
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur on Sep 1, 2008 - 40 comments

The iC hexapod is a robot built by Matt Denton which tracks and photographs human faces then uploads the images to a website. It was one of the featured pieces at the recent Monster Mash FX exhibit in London.
posted by Tube on Aug 3, 2008 - 11 comments

Legendary special effects artist Stan Winston has passed away from cancer at the age of 62. From Mr. Roboto to the Terminator to Iron Man, he leaves an almost unparalleled body of work.
posted by dersins on Jun 16, 2008 - 62 comments

303, 909, FX, MIXER = ACID VARSITY. In other words, two virtual 303s, a 909, effects and a mixer running for free right in your browser.
posted by 6am on Apr 4, 2008 - 41 comments

From extra sheep and mountains in Brokeback Mountain, to flipping around shops and removing a leg in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Buzz Image provides an extensive portfolio of their CG and FX work. And plenty of beavers.
posted by divabat on Dec 20, 2006 - 23 comments

The Steam Tank is a brief visual effects reel by Chris Paul, from the Vancouver Film School. It begins with a somewhat mundane steam powered tank attacking a mounted gun in a downtown building, but then replays the event shot by shot, showing the original filmed plate, and adding on each cgi component, to give a good idea of how cg & reality interface in an effects piece. warning: link goes to direct download of 56MB QuickTime mov
posted by jonson on Feb 7, 2006 - 13 comments

Meet Chet Zar, February's featured artist on OPi8.com. In addition to his own art, animation, and work with Cannibal Flower, Chet designed Hellboy's arm; the villain Serleena from MIB2; the gut-shot animation from Three Kings (sepsis!); and a bunch of videos, live show projections, and web stuff for Tool. Gooey. I mean, groovy.
posted by goatdog on Feb 2, 2005 - 0 comments

Will we ever know what is real anymore? The making of the Matrix sequels. After these movies, will we ever be able to tell what is real or not on the small and large screen?
posted by npost on Apr 8, 2003 - 72 comments

Ability vs. Guile. If you've seen the latest Gatorade commercial where 39 year old Michael Jordan plays against himself circa his 85 - 86 Bulls era and wondered "how'd they do that?", here's a very cool description of one of the neatest tricks I've seen recently.
posted by jonson on Jan 16, 2003 - 7 comments

Cable channel FX to run 'American Candidate' competition. You heard me right, folks. Picture 'American Idol', but this time the winner gets to run for president. (Presumably via a whole lot of cash from FX.) Man, I can hear the Europeans mocking us already!
posted by tweebiscuit on Sep 20, 2002 - 41 comments

Michael Rivero, formerly an digital effects worker for Final Fantasy and Coneheads has walked onto the scene and stood out when it comes to the conspiracy genre, with his site WhatReallyHappened.com. He has been claiming that 9/11 was the work of the Israelis and the US government to cause a war for Oil in the Middle East, while also making other comments on the War on Terror.

While he seems to boast that his site's Alexa rating is higher than Newsweek's as affirmation that he is popular, no matter how flawed Alexa may be.

Is this what really happened? or merely the posted viewpoints collected by a person who distrusts the Government?
posted by RobbieFal on Aug 29, 2002 - 36 comments

Industrial Light and Magic has released a new plugin to After Effects that may finally bridge the gap between DV post production and film post production. Of course, DV Cameras are just the less expensive counterpart of their film brethren. With such technology at the hands of amateurs, does this mean the home camcorder will no longer be used for just remembering birthday parties? Will amateurs be able to finally express themselves in ways only professionals have done in the past? This is certainly being set up as much a revolution for the amateur artist as the web was.
posted by geoff. on Apr 9, 2002 - 31 comments

FindSounds.com is your source for on-line sound effects. Their search engine has found and catalogued sounds in several formats. You can search by name, and their spectral analyzer can help you find sounds similar to your search results.
posted by ewagoner on Oct 15, 2001 - 17 comments

Am I the only one who can't stand the testosterone driven crap that's proliferating cable? As a sensitive, new age man, I wish FX would just play M*A*S*H reruns ALL the time.
posted by aladfar on Jul 3, 2000 - 19 comments