Machine Learning, AI and Compositing with Mike Seymour | TVAP EP55

04/11/23 • 90 min

This week's guest is co-founder of FXGuide, arguably the first and foremost podcast and blog in our field. He also co-founded FXPhd which was my route into the industry so this was a massive honor for me.
We dive deep into Neural Rendering (which Mike has been involved with since 1999) machine learning and practical applications within visual effects and filmmaking.
We then discuss the ethics of machine learning and art, why there won't "a metaverse" and some of the most likely applications of AR and VR.
This raises some general points about the application of new technology which it would be well of us to heed.

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Previous Episode

The Importance of Matchmove within the VFX pipeline | TVAP EP54

In this episode with Matt Merkovich of The Matchmoving Company, we talk about the importance of 3D tracking/matchmove in the VFX industry and what it means to be a matchmove artist.
Matt is an expert user of Syntheyes and has been a great influencer in getting it where it is today. He also uses it for almost all of his work, spiralling almost three decades in the VFX industry.
Matt believes #Syntheyes is by far the best 3D tracking software out there and has by far "the best 2D tracking system in the world!", so in this episode, I sit him down to find out why he believes so.
Being a Matchmove artist myself, having been a user of PFTrack in the past and an ongoing user of 3DEqualizer I was very curious to hear why Matt thinks so.
3D tracking or Matchmove as you may call it, ties perfectly with all the other departments in the VFX pipeline, to complete VFX shots in the biggest visual effects movies out there, making this episode an important one, to gain insights from an industry veteran like Matt.
Matt's filmography spars from Minority Report, Star Trek Voyager, Doctor Dolittle 2, The Amazing Spider-Man and more. Here's Matt's IMDB.
Matt's company The Matchmoving Company provides 3D tracking services globally and can currently be reached through https://www.mattmerk.com/
As always, if you liked this episode, please 👍 like, 📝 comment, 📢 subscribe, and 📣 share!
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Watch our other videos
📣The Importance of Matchmove within the VFX pipeline | TVAP EP54 (P-1)
📣Inside VFX Recruitment with Melissa Blakey, Global Head of Talent at Crafty Apes | TVAP EP53 (P-1)
📣Inside VFX Recruitment with Melissa Blakey, Global Head of Talent at Crafty Apes | TVAP EP53 (P-2)
📣Behind The Desk with Hugo Guerra | TVAP EP47
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Chapters
00:00:00 Coming Up
00:02:19 Introductions
00:03:54 Who is Matt Merkovich
00:07:17 Where my interest for film originated
00:14:59 From Lightwave to Matchmoving on Minority Report
00:23:28 Minority Report Matchmoving Pipeline in the 2000's
00:26:24 Evolution of Aspect Ratios
00:30:18 Comparing Syntheyes, 3dequalizer, Boujou, PFTrack and more
00:35:13 Good & Bad Tracking Markers
00:38:54 Staying relevant in an evolving industry
00:44:36 Being a VFX artist in the mid 90's
00:46:45 Shot talk - Challenges
00:48:38 The future of 3D tracking
00:53:41 Comparing 3dequalizer and Syntheyes
01:01:01 Matchmove Artists - The underappreciated department
01:03:53 About The Matchmoving Company
01:04:11 Unionize the VFX industry
01:04:11 Conclusion

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Next Episode

The Man Who Wrote The Book on Compositing with Ron Brinkmann

The Man Who Wrote The Book on Compositing with Ron Brinkman | TVAP EP56
When I embarked on my compositing journey, Ron Brinkmann's book, "The Art and Science of Digital Compositing," proved to be an invaluable resource. It provided a wealth of visual information and included a DVD with footage for hands-on practice. Even today, this book remains a seminal work and continues to be relevant for artists, thanks to its emphasis on developing the skill of visual perception.
Therefore, it was a tremendous honor to have Ron Brinkmann as a guest on our show. He served as the Compositing Supervisor at Sony Imageworks for films such as Speed, Contact, James and the Giant Peach, and more. Interestingly, despite being widely recognized for his expertise in compositing, Brinkmann initially started his journey in the field of 3D as a demonstration artist for Wavefront. (Wavefront later merged with Alias and played a significant role in the development of Maya, a renowned software).
Subsequently, Brinkmann co-founded Nothing Real with his colleagues and created Shake, a compositing software that held sway in the industry for many years, particularly in high-end compositing. (I believe it was most recently used by Dneg for their work on Inception).
As always, if you liked this episode, please 👍 like, 📝 comment, 📢 subscribe, and 📣 share!
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https://www.thevfxartistspodcast.com/

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