Shanks FX
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Watch: Recreating Interstellar’s Black Hole
“How ever sophisticated your CGI is,” says Christopher Nolan, ” if it’s been created from no physical elements and you haven’t shot anything with the camera, it’s going to stand out.” A notable proponent of practical effects, Nolan shot his latest extravaganza Interstellar without a single green screen. In this new episode of Shanks FX, Joey Shanks recreates the film’s illusion of the black hole with a little smoke and lighting. Watch above.
by Sarah Salovaara on Nov 12, 2014 -
Watch: How to Create a Forced Perspective
Distance from Camera x Scale of Model=Distance between Foregrounded Model and Background. That simple bit of arithmetic, as illustrated in the latest Shanks FX episode, is all you need to achieve an accurate “forced perspective.” The technique, recognizable from Back to the Future and myriad 80’s blockbusters, allows for the manipulation of objects to appear larger/smaller or farther/closer than they actually are. In other words, it’s VFX done on the (relative) cheap.
by Sarah Salovaara on Oct 17, 2014 -
Watch: Projection Mapping and Creating the “Beam of Light” Illusion from Metropolis
Shanks FX’s latest instructional video centers on the in-camera effect of projection mapping. Beginning with the “beam of light ” effect, created by cinematographer and VFX artist Eugen Schüfftan (Metropolis, Eyes Without a Face), Joey Shanks demonstrates how with a camera, a one way mirror, a projector and a computer at the controls, you can create the illusion of a three-dimensional conic light. Shanks also explains how to render a light tunnel on an one-dimensional black board. Good low-budget techniques to keep in your backpocket for sci-fi, dream sequences and the like.
by Sarah Salovaara on Jun 25, 2014 -
Smoke and Mirrors: How to Create a Hologram
“The classic technique, called the Pepper’s Ghost technique, has been used since the late 1500s,” instructs Joey Shanks, of Shanks FX, in his new video on a seeming diversion that he deems the future: holograms. Using a downward facing projector and a mirror placed at a 45 degree angle, Shanks was able to recreate his own version of the headline grabbing Coachella Tupac resurrection. With a little experimenting in the way of lighting and mist, the spectacle is all the more atmospheric. Shanks notes that Apple recently secured a patent to create interactive holograms, which may offer insight into their hopes and dreams […]
by Sarah Salovaara on May 9, 2014 -
Shanks FX Demonstrates the Low-Budget Illusions of the Space Flight
Before there was Gravity, there were sliders and stop-motion. In their latest informational video, the masterminds at Shanks FX demonstrate the old-fashioned illusion of the space flight, as seen in Star Wars, Close Encounters, Star Trek and beyond. With a mere DSLR, some rigging and a model, they’re able to produce animated sequences of ships in flight.
by Sarah Salovaara on Feb 11, 2014
