Patrick Boucher

We're in a serious situation here in Quebec. VFX and animation artists are struggling as it is with the reduced amount of work in the industry. Thousands have already lost their jobs. Many more have experienced loss of working hours or reduced salaries as studios work to keep their doors open in response to the downturn. The impending reduction of government subsidies for doing work in Quebec means that those jobs, working hours, and salaries are not likely to come back as clients take their projects elsewhere in the world where it is more financially beneficial to make them. This government reduction threatens to reduce the size of the industry here (if not outright kill it) and subsequently force people to uproot their lives who might not otherwise desire to do so as they follow the jobs to the next place they can find them. This reduction also threatens the prosperity of Quebec in general as those who have come in order to fill high(er) paying positions are forced to leave and thus take with them their financial contributions to the provincial tax pot as well as their buying power in the local economy. Perhaps I'm over-estimating the impact of our industry on the wealth, prosperity, and well-being of Quebec, but for those of us concerned about how much longer we and our families can provide for ourselves and still call this place our home, it's a very real threat to our well-being and the stability of the economy around us.

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Check out this behind-the-scenes look at our previsualization work on the in-game cinematics for "South of Midnight!" Agora.Studio cinematic director Sebastien Dussault had this to say about directing this sequence: "Previz serve multiple purposes, they showcase visual intentions for staging, character blocking, and general scene flow. They help validate gameplay triggers (Enter & exit character states), scene geography, and required bespoke assets. The previz video is also used as a guide for motion capture planning and shotlist creation. As you can notice in this comparison video there are some notable changes between the previz and the final sequence. The previz are just the first pass on a sequence and, over the course of production, some sequences evolve more than others. In this specific case, we knew that we wanted to start the scene showcasing an animal. The intention remained but the initial animal was changed. We replaced the bird with a swimming rat to leverage water reflections and proximity to Catfish, enhancing the scene’s visual appeal and making it more intriguing." Thank you again to Compulsion Games for bringing us on for this project, and stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes looks for the "South of Midnight" game! Watch the full trailer here 👇 https://lnkd.in/ekkAH2kG . . . . . #agorastudio #CompulsionGames #SouthofMidnight #motioncapture #animation #gamedev #previz #behindthescenes

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#VisibleAI vs #InvisibleAI. Just like VFX can be used to create visuals that are virtually indistinguishable from reality, it can also be used to create worlds that would be impossible to imagine without those technologies. With AI, one approach promises us the same old same old, but faster/cheaper. The other opens up our imagination to new creative (im)possibilities. I really like how #Ellktro uses Generative AI to explore the latent space creating these frantic stopmotion-like universe that vibrate with a punk energy. ( obviously, watch with the sound on )

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Experimenting with Niagara particles and real-time sound reactivity! Not a sound guy so it's a bit tricky for my stubborn brain but I've got a few tricks worked out. More of these to come, ideally! #ue5 #niagara #vfx #visualizer

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I recently spent some time creating a tool in Nuke to allow me to quickly and easily change multiple paths in my Nuke script using Python. after some confusing struggles with understanding regex and getting Python code to stick in nodes I ended up with this tool which is already speeding things up for me. https://lnkd.in/eaAkbyiG #vfx #nuke #foundry #Compositing

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Admit it. You've impulsively Kickstarted a board game (or 3 in one year, in this writer's case…) based on the stunning artwork & presentation alone. When Jay Cormier, Board Game Designer and Vancouver Film School Game Design Instructor, launched his brand-new game 'Corps of Discovery' on Kickstarter, board game lovers couldn't resist. In fact, within 1 hour of the Kickstarter launch on April 23 the game was fully funded and is now nearly 800% funded! Read THE BLOG to find out all about Jay's board game, his exciting career journey and learn how you can experience VFS's Game Development programs 👉 https://ow.ly/VTza50Szggu

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You can now embed Bifrost in your application. The new Executor and Geometry SDKs complement the Operator SDK to allow the excution of graphs and manipulation of geometry. Oh, also a node library browser, rigging workflows, 61 new nodes and a plethora of bug fixes. #bifrost #maya #autodeskemployee

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Hello VFX community! Did you know that 2dview offers more than just project management tools? With 2dview's Attendance feature, authorized personnel have a dedicated space to effortlessly monitor and manage artist attendance. It provides a real-time snapshot of your team's attendance status, indicating who's actively working, who's on leave, and who hasn't logged in. This visibility into individual and overall attendance ensures that studio managers and supervisors can stay informed and make informed decisions to keep projects on track. Ready to revolutionize how you manage artist attendance? Sign up for 2dview today and experience the power of efficient attendance tracking firsthand! Visit our website to explore 2dview without any cost. Website link: www.2dview.com Sales queries: sales@2dview.com #vfx #VFXIndustry #vfx #attendance #2dview #tracking #freeplan #freeofcost

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Mighty Bridge : Procedural Generation using Houdini for Star Citizen | Valentin Caille | EPC 2024 An Houdini integration for the Star Engine and Star Citizen. In this presentation, I'll show you how we can increase the power of Houdini by using an integration based on micro services. This gives us full access to every aspects of the game editor directly from Houdini. It allows us to create a wide variety of tools, ranging in complexity, that speeds up content creation. Valentin Caille is a French technical artist who has been working in the industry for more than 10 years. He previously worked at Ubisoft and Kylotonn before joining CIG. He is passionate about procedural creation and tries everyday to add more procedural workflow in game content creation. https://lnkd.in/d-4yR3UD #Houdini #ProceduralGeneration #StarCitizen #StarEngine #GameDevelopment #TechArt #MicroServices #ContentCreation #GameDesign #3DModeling #ProceduralWorkflow #DigitalArt #ValentinCaille #Ubisoft #Kylotonn #CIG #TechnicalArtist #VFX #Animation #GamingIndustry #GameEditor #ProceduralTools #EPC2024 #HoudiniIntegration #ProductionPipeline #CGI #HoudiniPresentation #GamingInnovation #GameContentCreation #ProceduralCreatio

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I'm refining my UEFN Metahuman MOCAP workflow. I got some helpful tips on X/Twitter from some other devs that I share in my YouTube video - https://lnkd.in/e6E4tCHD

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Game prototyping with Bezi powered by #GenAI

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Check out this blog post by Anchorpoint about asset management and version control💡

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I hope a solution is found

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I love finding out that a Visual Effects studio has a specialty. Here’s a great example. French VFX studio Trimaran has made a specialty of creating highly detailed establishing shots of historic and ancient cities. As you can see from the reel below, they’ve had quite a bit of practice. Clients quickly discover a studio’s strengths once they are working together. It’s the step before that — getting a new client to work with you in the first place — where being able to articulate a specialty is especially valuable. New clients need a reason to call you, as opposed to all the other VFX studios out there (including ones they already work with). A specialty gives them that reason. Here’s a short blog post on why having a specialty is vital for business development: https://lnkd.in/gSKykSd3? #vfx #documentary #businessdevelopment #growth

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ADR Nuke Script Optimizer version 1.1 is now available, offering additional optimization options for users. Stay ahead with the latest updates and enhancements. For more details and to explore the new features: 🔗 Check out the release: https://lnkd.in/eTJhpyQB Need assistance or guidance? 📎 Access the help documentation here: https://lnkd.in/e-GYpZms Want a visual walkthrough? 📺 Watch the tutorial on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eS9wgrkn Enhance your scripting experience with the latest optimizations! #Scripting #ADR #Optimizer #nuke #tool #python #plugin #script #optimization #cleanup

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ᗯOᑌᒪᗪ YOᑌ ᑭᗩY $150K ᖴOᖇ ᗩ ᖇOᗷOT GIᖇᒪᖴᖇIEᑎᗪ TᕼᗩT ᒪOOKᔕ ᒪIKE YOᑌᖇ ᑕᖇᑌᔕᕼ, ᗯITᕼOᑌT TᕼEIᖇ ᑕOᑎᔕEᑎT? ᖇEᗩᒪᗷOTI᙭ TᕼIᑎKᔕ YOᑌ ᗰIGᕼT! Realbotix is offering something straight out of a sci-fi novel: A robot that can be your boyfriend or girlfriend. They claim it can be designed to look just like someone you provide a picture of. Let's dig a little deeper. Realbotix claims include, and I quote: • "They can even be your boyfriend or girlfriend." • "We can design it based on a picture of someone." • "It can be your girlfriend." It sounds like something that could potentially change lives, but is it a good idea? Let’s consider the facts. First off, think about the ethical implications. Creating a robot to look and act like someone else? That’s stepping into some morally murky waters. There's something unsettling about reducing a person to a set of physical attributes and behaviors that can be bought and sold. Then there’s the emotional aspect. Can a robot really replace the deep, genuine connection you get from a human being? Love, companionship, friendship; these are things that come from shared experiences, emotions, and understanding. A robot, no matter how advanced, can’t truly replicate that. Fact. There’s also the social impact. Introducing robots as romantic partners could fundamentally alter how we view and value human relationships. It might make people expect real humans to be as predictable and programmable as machines, which they’re not. Privacy is another big concern. Designing a robot based on someone’s picture without their consent? That's not just creepy, it's a blatant invasion of privacy. Imagine not only having a robot designed to look like you from photos, but also programmed to sound like you based on voice recordings. Now you’ve got a creepy robot doppelgänger that looks and sounds just like you, all without your permission. It’s a whole new level of unsettling. And let’s not forget the exclusivity of it all. At $150K, these robots are only for the very wealthy (so far). This technology isn’t accessible to the average person, creating a divide where only the rich can afford this kind of artificial "companionship". Sure, there might be some "benefits". For those who struggle with human interactions, a robot might offer a form of companionship that feels safer or more manageable. But at the end of the day, it’s a temporary fix, not a real solution. True connection comes from being vulnerable, from putting yourself out there with other people, not from interacting with a machine. So, while Realbotix’s robots appear technologically quite impressive, they’re also very disturbing. The idea of replacing real human connections with artificial ones is troubling. Real love and friendship can’t be bought—they’re built over time, through real interactions with real people. And no matter how lifelike, a robot will never be able to replace that. https://lnkd.in/ehBbKU7f #creepy #robotgirlfriend #artificial #companionship

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As our industry is rapidly changing, I often repost job listing pertaining to 3D, Animation, Visual FX. If you've posted something recently, please also reply to this post so that folks in the industry who are needing work can find it. #unreal #ue5 #animation #visualfx #3D #storytelling #realtime #gigeconomy

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This is an awesome tutorial by Maksym Kokoiev

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How cool is this! This is a demo of a new Vertex Block Descent simulation method from Anka He Chen the team at the University of Utah. I can't wait to see vfx implementations to this and see what can be done. It looks like it could be a step forward for Creature work for tet-meshed based sims like muscles, flesh, and cloth. An exciting alternative to XPDB options like Houdini Vellum. https://lnkd.in/gZAgbh_n https://lnkd.in/gvj4_-qG

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