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n n n n VFX•Animation Salt Release date: July 23 Production companies: Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Wintergreen Productions Salt was another great example of a mov- ie rife with invisible effects, says Dozoretz. “Tere were a lot of invisible effects that were well done, such as in the car/truck overpass chase sequence halfway through the film,” he adds. “Tat was great.” Sway calls the effects in Salt “over the top in terms of the action,” but notes that the action effects were nicely done. Click for in-depth feature story on this film. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Release Date: July 14 Production companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Saturn Films, Broken Road Productions, Junction Entertainment Andrews enjoyed the dragon that busted up Chinatown. “To me, that was visually stimu- lating,” he says. “Te design of the dragon was good, and it was a good staging of a big beast where you only get to see parts of it. It moves quickly and blends in with the fire- cracker red background of Chinatown. It was a good dragon.” Adds Clark: “Te work is of consistently high quality that serves the story well.” Click for in-depth feature story on this film. TRON: Legacy Release date: Dec. 17 Production companies: LivePlanet, Walt Disney Pictures admits Andrews. “I have been a TRON freak since 1982, and I can’t wait. Te stakes are high, and I’m waiting for it to come out with incredible anticipation. Te new generation will get hooked!” Ivins says TRON was, in his generation, “the biggest effects movie that came out. It showed us how it was done. It’s an icon for VFX, so everyone is going to be eager to see it.” Although Ivins could only rely on clips he had seen, he likes what he saw. “It’s classic TRON, updated,” he points out. “I’m cau- tiously optimistic that it’ll look great. Tey did a good job of updating it without radically changing it.” Dozoretz looks forward to seeing the digital face the production puts on Jeff Bridges. “It may not be breaking that much ground be- cause of Benjamin Button, but it’s the thing that stands out as a technical achievement in the film,” he says. “I’ve heard the stereo works quite well.” “TRON will do well because it’s so vi- sual,” adds Breakspear. “Te face technology that Digital Domain did in Benjamin Button could be put to amazing use for making Jeff Bridges look young again in certain shots. In the proof-of-concept trailer from Digital Do- main, I saw a clip of Jeff Bridges, young again, on a motorbike, and it was well done.” “Using visual effects in the right way is what should be rewarded, and TRON falls into that category,” adds Breakspear. “I think it’ll be tried-and-true visual effects done very well and en masse.” For many visual effects professionals and ANIMATION aficionados, TRON is the most hotly antici- pated film in years. TRON, says Dozoretz, is the visual effects industry’s “dirty little secret.” “Tose of us who say we got into the film in- dustry because of Star Wars … we love TRON Alice in Wonderland Release date: March 5 Production companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Roth Films, Team Todd, The Zanuck Company Alice in Wonderland had some nice twists to the story line, and Andrews likes that. “What I liked about it was Alice’s problem, about not being forced to marry the wrong person and being an independent woman,” he says. He loved the sense of scale throughout the movie, from the Queen’s overlarge head to how they made Alice small. “Te scale of that big Band- ersnatch bearing down on Alice is hard to do,” he says. “When you have a gigantic beast in the movies, you have to frame them that way.” Dozoretz enjoyed the “very interesting just as much,” he says. “I’m ecstatic about this movie.” “Tis is the reason I’m in this business,” 24 December 2010 aesthetic style.” “I loved how the Queen of Hearts’ head was huge, and the characters that go through a wall and right into the Queen’s Despicable Me Release date: July 9 Production company: Illumination Entertainment, Universal Pictures Tis stylish animated film from newcomer Illumination Entertainment illustrates the work from French studio Mac Guff Ligne. Te movie, about a lovable villain who wants to steal the moon, pushes the state of the art in animation performance, while deliv- ering a unique look. Click for in-depth feature story on this film. How to Train Your Dragon Release date: March 26 Production companies: DreamWorks Animation, Mad Hatter Entertainment, Mad Hatter Films, Vertigo Entertainment Te look of this movie is more cinematic than other animated features, says Dozoretz, who notes that the dragon was “exceptionally well lit.” “Te production [team] worked with real cinematographers about how certain lenses would capture certain light,” he says. “And you can see the results, from concept art through to the finished film. It had much more real- istic lighting than animated films usually do. It’s pushing a little more toward photorealism, and that’s inspiring to me. I applaud Dream- Works for pushing the envelope!” Breakspear also loved the movie. “I cared about the boy and his dragon,” he says. “I looked at dad’s beard and thought how hard it was to do. All the different dragons were great. When you see a movie that’s a good idea and is done well, I react warmly to it, and How to Train Your Dragon was one of those movies.” From Duignan’s point of view, “the charac- ters were completely engaging, and the drag- ons were brilliant.” “Dragons are hard because territory,” he says. “Te Jabberwocky at the end was fun, as well. And I loved the sol- diers made out of cards. I liked their 2D quality and how they were really pho- torealistic. Te Cheshire Cat, the rabbit … they were all good.” Click for in-depth feature story on this film.