Jupiter Ascending: Shot Visualisation

Behind the scenes are always interesting and I've made a short video showing the workflow I went through when animation those bees for Jupiter Ascending a few years back, fun to make and hopefully will be of interest...

Jupiter Ascending: Shot Visualisation from Samuel John Joseph Walsh on Vimeo.

Bank Holiday Reel Update

Cinema releases means updates to the reel, cannae fall behind the curve, as it were...

SJJWalsh: Generalist TD & Animation Reel

SJJWalsh: Generalist TD & Animation Reel from Samuel John Joseph Walsh on Vimeo.

Tarzan - Poster

Fancy...

Our Kind of Traitor: Screening

Finally, after work I grabbed a seat at a late screening of 'Our Kind of Traitor' - A very true adaptation of the source novel, beautifully shot and a thoroughly enjoyable picture.

I'll be updating the reel with the shots I was part of soon but I won't mention the work in detail just yet as it *May Contain Spoilers* ...

Our Kind of Traitor: Trailer 2

Another one...

RenderMan

Finally had some time to pick up this...

Altamira: Poster and Trailer

Out in Spain, interesting gig two years back...

 

 

Our Kind of Traitor: Poster

Freshly squeezed and hot off the printing press...

Money Into Light

Often when reading about something you are often gifted information on another thing entirely. From reading this,

To this, bought for a penny, the book 'Money Into Light The Emerald Forest: A Diary' - by John Boorman.

Full of insight and the idiosyncrasies of a great director in full film making stride...

"Fiction is, after all, merely the truth liberated from facts."

Painterly Visuals

Akira Kurosawa's delicious framing style, all based from his own paintings...

Comparison One

Comparison Two

Tarzan: Trailer 2

Another little looksie at a show I worked on last year...

Magpie

It's awards season and I'm currently working my way through the nominees that are available to watch with on demand streaming websites. The survivalist which was nominated for 'Outstanding Debut' at BAFTA is a film about living after theoretical collapse of civilisation.

After the standard post film trivia digging I came across the directors vimeo page in which there is a short film that is essentially a prequel to the feature called 'Magpie'

MAGPIE from Stephen Fingleton on Vimeo.

Here is the trailer to the currently released feature...
The Survivalist UK trailer from Stephen Fingleton on Vimeo.

Zerply

Invited to join this site...

Zerply - LINK

2016 Reel *UPDATE*

A few additions to the reel from last year...

SJJWalsh: Generalist TD & Animation Reel from Samuel John Joseph Walsh on Vimeo.

Our Kind of Traitor: Trailer

Finally after a long ol' while the first trailer has been released. I worked on this back in the summer of 2014 and this was my first foray into leading the CG side of things...

MI:5 - Title Sequence

Here is the full title sequence for Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. I was very happy to see one of the gadgets that I helped design and bring to life shown in the opening of the film...

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation / Main Title Sequence / Filmograph from Filmograph on Vimeo.

Millennium FX

Did a little bit of work for these lovely people. Pre Vis(ed) a practical prosthetic for an undisclosed show...

Everest : VFX Breakdown

Exactly what it says on the tin, there is the smallest glimpse of digi double work I was involved in last year...

RVX Everest VFX Breakdown from RVX on Vimeo.

The Legend of Tarzan: Teaser Trailer

First film finished over at Framestore...

Framestore

Bit of a whirlwind this year with contracts, I now find myself in the belly of the Framestore beast...

Known for

IMDb credit list is slowly increasing and the top row / known for bar has recently changed to this...

TBX - Poster

Off with his head...

Dr Who

Currently keeping busy with this...

Series 9

Matte Shot

Great website filled to the brim with everything you would ever want to know about Matte Paintings...

http://nzpetesmatteshot.blogspot.co.uk/

Dennis Lowe

I found this treasure trove of goodies when I was researching into 'Matte Paintings' and this excellent website from a veteran of the industry with a career spanning 40 years.

It features a fascinating interview with Leigh Took, with whom I had the pleasure of meeting and seeing the very workshop shown in detail in the video when I was studying at the NFTS...

http://www.zen171398.zen.co.uk/index.html

Cruise(r)

I'm catching up on a few of the Cruiser's films I have for one reason or another not seen.

First up...

Interview with the Vampire (1994)

Spectre: Trailer 2

Another look at the latest instalment...

Credits

1st film credit whilst working at Double Negative...

The Bastard Executioner

Bit of period television work, mix bag of vfx...

Milk Visual Effects

Currently working on a television show over at Milk...

Cage

Working through the back catalogue...

Vampires Kiss (1988)

Kiss of Death (1995)

Stunts

I've seen most of the film in various forms but this scene is just great...

Spectre: Teaser Trailer

More to come...

Spectre

Next show...

Everest - Poster

Coming soon...

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation - Poster

Coming soon...

Everest: Trailer

Here is the trailer for Everest. The film charts the infamous 1996 expedition.

I was mainly tasked with creating digi versions of the climbers.

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation: Trailer 2

Another trailer has been released...

Cinefex 141

An ambition of mine when I started out was to be mentioned by name in the industry standard magazine called Cinefex. The most recent edition has a small but incredibly humbling reference to the animation work I produced for Jupiter Ascending, which was released earlier in the year.

2015 Reel

Getting a new job is always good and with that comes as an added bonus is that changes and updates are made to the reel.

Here is my current reel for 2015, a few films are still to be released throughout the year but for the moment here is the collection of my work in the industry so far.

SJJWalsh: Generalist TD & Animation Reel

SJJWalsh: Generalist TD & Animation Reel from Samuel John Joseph Walsh on Vimeo.

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation: Trailers

Here are the trailers that show what we have been busy working on..

Teaser Trailer

Full Trailer

Double Negative

After 3 and a half years of working at One Of Us I decided to seek new challenge and have since joined Double Negative where I have been working for last couple of months.

I am currently working on Mission Impossible 5.

Jupiter Ascending: Trailers

Here are the trailers for 'Jupiter Ascending' I have been working on this for about 6 months in a variety of roles but the majority of the time I have been animating and a few of those shots can be seen in trailer 2.

Trailer 1

Trailer 2

Under The Skin: Trailer

Here is the latest trailer for Jonathan Glazer's new film 'Under The Skin'. I worked on this for the majority of last year. It is released very soon.

http://undertheskinmovie.com/

Classic Film Odyssey

Film school really opened the door to the films of the past and I have been continuing that voyage ever since I left the school.

Here are a few that I have watched and enjoyed so far,

Attack (1956)

 The Fly (1958)

 Champion (1949)

The Cycle of Art

On my way to work this week there was a poster in the London Underground, it was for a video game that had an upcoming release. I knew instantly what the game was because of the creature on the poster. It was for a 'Aliens: Colonial Marines' and judging from the poster it focuses heavily on James Cameron's - Aliens.

The reason for the post is that the poster was setting the game up well but the main thing about it was that it mirrored a shot I had designed for Conway (our NFTS SFX film) and the reason I thought that it was great was that I had based lot's of the shots and drew the storyboard with 'Aliens' in mind. So to see a new game using a poster that referenced a shot from Conway which intern came from Aliens was proof that art indeed does imitate art.

Here are the images to compare:

Both shots are almost a carbon copy of each other, the smoke in background, the goo dripping from the mouths of the alien and the power angle.

Here is a the 'Conway' trailer that affectionately sends up 'Aliens'

Conway: Trailer

Conway: Trailer from Samuel John Joseph Walsh on Vimeo.

Bring back the pain, B*tch!

Gambit: Trailer

Finally after a whole year, Gambit is being released and will be in the cinema in November. This job came right after Mirror Mirror and I was asked to create a CG Colin Firth for a shot. I fulfilled a few roles on this, I worked as a modeller, rigger, texture artist and an animator and so was thrilled to have such a lot to do. The final shot came out really well and I'll be adding it to me reel very soon.

Cast and Crew Premier - Anna Karenina

On Sunday I was invited to attend the official premier of Joe Wrights version of 'Anna Karenina' at the world famous Leicester square Odeon cinema.

After all these years of working towards a job in the film industry and to be able to share my first credit with my fellow VFX team and the majority of the cast and crew was really a very humbling experience and was a great way to start my career in film.

The film itself was full of lavish visuals and sumptuous costumes and the cherry on the cake was waiting and watching credits and finally seeing my name scroll into view and quickly disappear.

A truly special moment.

Cloud Atlas: Trailer

Here is an extended look at the first 'Cloud Atlas' trailer. I worked as a CGI artist and animator so for me that was great.

Ernesto: Trailer

Here is the trailer for 'Ernesto' I worked on this way back in my first year of film school and have fond memories of working on it...

Directed by Corinne Ladeinde

Ernesto - Trailer from Melograni Films on Vimeo.

Anna Karenina: Trailer

At long last here is the trailer for 'Anna Karenina' has been released. This was my very first gig in the industry, I worked as a 'Pre Vis' artist for several of the action sequences.

For more info please visit IMDb Anna Karenina

Bertie Crisp: Trailer

Here is another film I worked on during by first year at the NFTS.

Directed by Francesca Adams


Bertie Crisp- The Trailer! from Francesca Adams on Vimeo.



For more information please take a look here Bertie Crisp

The Pride of Wade Ellison: Trailer

Here is an oldie, well kinda. I worked on this film during my first year at the NFTS.

Directed by Sean Branigan



For more info please visit IMDb or NFTS

Jamon: Trailer

Here is another trailer for an Animation Graduation film I worked on in my last year at the NFTS.

Directed by Iria Lopez


Jamón film trailer from iria lopez on Vimeo.


For more info please visit jamonfilm.com

Left Kick: Trailer

Here is the trailer for the Animation Graduation film I worked on at 'The National Film and Television school' during my final year.

Directed by - Jonathan Topf


Left Kick Trailer from Jonathan Topf on Vimeo.

Mirror, Mirror : Prologue

Here is the animation I worked on for the film - 'Mirror, Mirror'. The animation serves as the opening for the film and sets the back story.

Directed by Ben Hibon

Post Production - One of Us

MIRROR MIRROR / opening sequence from Ben Hibon on Vimeo.

Mirror Mirror: The Untold Adventures of Snow White

It has been a long time since I last posted anything, nearly a year...

School is finished, it has been a very long too years and it is a great feeling to have finished. I have been working for the last seven months in Soho.

I have noticed over the last week on my ventures into London that the posters are out for the film, Mirror Mirror.

Left Kick

The final part of my two year masters is under way and I will be busy with working on a few projects and a large chunk of time will be chomped by Left Kick.

Left Kick is a graduation animation directed by Jonathan Topf. The film is being produced entirely in 3D so lots of modeling, rigging and animation.

Working with a director is pretty cool as well, instant feedback, different ideas and alterations is a refreshing way to work.

Here is Jonathan's personal site where you can familiarise yourself a little more with Cochise himself.

Jonathan Topf

Senna

The Poster says everything...

Directorial Debut

A couple of days ago I made my first real stab at directing. The current module at NFTS is MoCap and for it I decided to design a story for the mocap to sit and take centre stage. The film is very short and is essentially a character piece taking place in one set with the bare minimum of dialog.

The film takes place in a child's room and the action is simple. A father reads his son a bedtime story and the story is an extract from the battle of Waterloo where Wellington meet
Napoleon in 1815. He then finishes and says goodnight, kisses his son's forehead and leaves quietly where the little boy falls a sleep amongst a bedroom full of toys. The soldiers then come alive and fight on his table and his books, marbles, rulers and comics form the battle ground.

The motion capture data that was filmed at Centroid in Pinewood studios will drive the soldiers. I also got to direct this part as well and so I do feel incredibly attached to it as a piece of work and will be one of the greatest pieces of work I think I will ever produce.


Working with a Cinematographer on this was such a great experience and also having ability to control the shoot as a director was a blast. Benjamin Hecking was my DoP and was a massive advocate in making this much more than just an exercise in our VFX time table. His ligthing was great and he captured an amazing sense of reality with his shadow placement. The set was built by Steven Granger, after building our Conway set he once again stepped and knocked up a beautiful set that transported us and me back when we were all young and when toys were constantly on our minds. He set was full of great props and finished off with hand stippled stencils of aeroplanes.


I have also contracted an editor and a composer for this and I will know more next week but at the moment I am very happy about the possibilities for this film. I also received all of the mocap data from Centroid and couldn't resist putting a little test together...

Bertie Crisp

One of the current Graduation animations I had the pleasure of being involved with 'Bertie Crisp' has been released upon the world and here is a link to the official website where you can read about the talented cast and the director of the short - Francesca Adams.

www.bertiecrisp

Crash Pre Vis

I have turned my attention to the helicopter again after a day of rendering an other project. The pre viz of the helicopter crash is rough, very Hollywood but I think it is working and once the director (Jamie Stone) has seen it I can get some feedback to see what he likes and what he doesn't. However I did thoroughly enjoy previz(ing) it and I hope that it does stay in the final version.

Kodak

I have been invited to participate in Kodak competition this year. The director is a fellow SFX/VFX artist, Nicholas Thompson. The idea is about piracy and how it is destroying the film industry. The idea is to play out the final scene from Casablanca.

My task is to recreate the some of the background namely the aircraft and the car in which they get out of at the start of the scene. The plane in the original is stationary but in the short it will be taxi-ing in the background and starting its engines. The car will be partially built, probably just the doors, part of the roof and maybe part of the bonnet. I am unsure of the framing but I think if I build a little more than we need then it should be fine.

Film Props

The short module at Millennium FX has come to an end. It has been a great experience to see how the prosthetics side is produced and get a huge insight in how long the process can take. The module serves as a intensive short course in Prosthetics as well as a container for the SFX gags in our film. The class has been making a full head prostheses, a partial face prosthesis, finger extensions, a prop arm - complete with balsa wood bones, a large gouge that will be augmented with CG and several small wound pieces including a handful with silly glass wedged in them.

The characters also have makeshift weapons and a few pistols, I took the props on board and played around with casting the Axe and Knifes. The Axe initially didn't work which was probably to do with the fact that the A&B mixture had been out overnight and was contaminated with other chemicals in the extractor room. The knifes worked from the start but one of the molds had problems letting the fast cast mixture right to the end but I did manage to get a partial knife from it which will serve as a prop to decorate.



The Knife was coloured using a mixture of silver spray paint which was sprayed straight into the mold before the fast cast mix was poured. This gave a great base coat for applying a textured brown to the handle before I added layers of acrylic paint to try and create depth and with a coat of Shellac which gave the knife a rust colour before finally rubbing back a few layers to make to look well used.

The pistol was a simple plastic replica that (Peter Tindall) had lying around. Painted using the same technique as the Knife but more metallic in its appearance, again it had to look well used but also like 'Conway' had used it a lot. I tried to get a worn wooded look for the handle and painting the two pistols exactly the same was fun.





Finally the two main weapons were cast using a soft foam mix with piano wire threaded down the center to add rigidity and stability or they would flop. They are both soft but if you were to swing at someone it would still hurt. Painted using acrylics and shellac to create the worn down and dirty feeling. To add a little more I wrapped some scrim around the handles to make it look like they had been personalised and were used a lot for killing. Scrim is simply a soft string netting that comes on a giant roll. Paint was added to stain the fabric.