CG Garage

Kevin Mack's skill lies in applying scientific theory to three dimensional art and visual effects. He shared an Oscar for his VFX in "What Dreams May Come," used computer algorithms to create the neural pathways of Edward Norton's brain in "Fight Club," and, more recently, 3D printed seemingly impossible organic forms. Now, Kevin's mashing science and art in virtual reality with two titles:  "Zens...

Inspired by effects magazine Cinefex and repeated viewings of "Star Wars," Dutch compositor and environments artist Justin van der Lek used professional breakdancing to fund a degree in graphic design. Then he jetted to LA to follow his dreams. As Justin discusses with Chris, his first role was in the mysterious world of integration, which receives a comprehensive explanation. As his career progre...

Chris' guest for this episode is Ed Ulbrich, President and General Manager, Deluxe VFX and VR. He's Digital Domain's former CCO and CEO, and when the effects company faced financial difficulties a few years ago, Ed did a heroic job of reassuring staff and providing transparent answers to difficult questions. Ed also spearheaded the VFX industry's experiments with digital head replacements. Back in...

Chris's guest for this ridiculously entertaining episode is Erick Schiele. Erick and Chris worked together at architectural studio Gensler, and then followed similar career paths into visual effects, with Erick working on "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," "Stealth," and "Iron Man 2." Erick has an incredible array of stories from the worlds of visual effects and the music industry. He tells...

We first spoke to Craig Shimahara for Podcast #26 , way back in June 2015. Since then, his film Masterless has debuted in Japan, and his architectural visualization practice Shimahara Illustration has gone from strength to strength. On his second visit to the Chaos recording suite, Craig talks about all things VR. A lot of questions come up: Where are we in Gartner's "hype cycle" of VR? How do VR...

Ever since the T-Rex stomped onto the screen in 1993, audiences have been captivated by "Jurassic Park." Steven Spielberg's film heralded a new era of family-oriented event movies, and Chris has already discussed the film's groundbreaking effects with Matt Winston  and Steve "Spaz" Williams and Mark Dippe. In this podcast, Dan and Chris thoroughly eviscerate the franchise in velociraptor-like fash...

Since November 2, 2014, Chris Nichols has interviewed 99 people for the CG Garage Podcast. Legendary photography Norman Seeff , architectural pioneer Art Gensler and director Wes Ball are among some of the big name guests who've graced the Chaos Group recording suite. But it's also served as a platform to discuss the deeper and more esoteric nature of just about anything CG related, as well as Cha...

Art Gensler's name will be familiar to architects and designers, but if you haven't heard of him, here's a rundown. In 1965, Art founded M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates, which is now the world's biggest architecture firm in terms of revenue. It creates everything from wine bottle labels to the biggest buildings in the world. Chances are you've set foot in a Gensler-designed space at some point...

David Lee Strasberg is the son of Lee Strasberg, the acting coach who introduced the method theory of acting to Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Marlon Brando. David has followed in his father's footsteps, serving as an acting coach and actor in his own right. But why was he at this year's THU festival in Portugal, and why did Chris record this podcast with him? It turns out that digital and 3D art...

The internet, and its content, has become as precision-tooled and refined as a jet fighter—or a rendering engine. In this illuminating podcast, VFX writer and editor Ian Failes talks about creating articles and videos for an audience which is bombarded with information from the moment they wake up. He and Chris talk at great length about the success of the CG garage podcast, what it means to be Fi...

Mikki Willis joined Chris at THU festival for this surprisingly philosophical and anthropological podcast. Mikki had established himself as a music video director, with a career beckoning in feature films, when he found himself at the site of Ground Zero on September 11, 2001. The horrific events of that day caused him to completely re-evaluate his life and his career. From that terrible experienc...

It's hard to imagine what games would be like without "Half-Life 2." Released in 2004, Valve's sci-fi shooter set a new precedent in game design, marrying realistic characters with an involving story which propels the player through awe-inspiring environments. As a concept artist and character designer at Valve, Moby Francke was a driving force behind the game's groundbreaking look and feel. He fo...

Eric Stultz currently serves as a Principal and Design Director at Gensler's LA offices. He's worked on some epic buildings, such as the Shenbei Arena in Shanghai, Costa Rica's Convention Center, and the proposed Farmers Field NFL Stadium in Los Angeles. As Eric and Chris discuss, architecture is at something of a turning point. While films and games are always looking for something new, architect...

Steve "Spaz" Williams and Mark Dippe's story is Hollywood material in itself. The pair found themselves working at ILM to create the watery creatures in James Cameron's "The Abyss," and they worked with the director again on the menacing liquid metal T-1000 in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." But the crux of their story comes behind the scenes at Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park." The pair were met...

Any film buff will know the name Stan Winston. The special effects legend created the titular monsters from "The Terminator," "The Thing," and "Predator." He was a key player in Hollywood's transition from practical to digital effects in the early 90s, and he constantly pushed the boundaries of his craft. Sadly, Stan passed away in 2008, but his legacy lives on through a formidable collection of b...

Many people think of a Hollywood director as someone who's egotistical, brash and shouty. That's not the case with Brenda Chapman. The artist turned writer turned director comes across as humble, unassuming and honest in her conversation with Chris. And maybe her personality has had a big part in her success as a director of "The Prince of Egypt" and "Brave," the latter of which made her the first...

Globetrotting concept artist Igor Knezevic has seen it all. Born in Yugoslavia, he left after the country was torn apart by war in the early 90s. He worked on East German construction sites, and then found his way into the gaming industry. As he moved around Europe and the US, he saw the evolution of the internet and the pop of the dotcom bubble, before settling in LA for a job which involved inse...

No podcast this week but I figured I would give people a preview of some of the amazing ones we have that will be coming up soon.  

Out of home printed advertisements, such as billboards, are a genre of CG unto themselves. The resolution of the images can reach 15K or 20K, far beyond the 2K or 4K of media. As technical director at production company Taylor James, David Wortley knows the subject intimately, as well the challenges of generating thousands of HD PNGs for online car configurators, and creating pharmaceutical advert...

Darin Grant's hugely important career in the visual effects industry has been one of choices. When he started at Digital Domain in the early 90s he had to choose between its gaming and visual effects departments. He discusses the differences between the Perl and Python programming languages. And, in his role on the committee of the Academy's Scientific and Technical Awards, he has to jostle the me...

Director David Chontos has brought his unique vision to a number of projects, including bonkers Coca-Cola advertisement "The Happiness Factory," trailers for games including "Clash of Clans" and "ReCore," and his atmospheric short film "Sisters." His next project, Kismet, takes him into virtual reality via a spookily accurate fortune teller. In this podcast, he talks to Chris about the golden age...

Roland Emmerich has carved a career for himself in Hollywood as the guy who destroys cities and envisages the end of the world. In films such as "Independence Day," "The Day After Tomorrow," and "Godzilla," he depicts aliens, climate change and giant lizards wreaking havoc around the world. He's often overlooked as a major force who completely changed the sheer scale of Hollywood movies. Fellow Ge...

The visual effects industry is packed with people from the field of architecture, including our own guru and podcast host Chris Nichols. But Andy Waisler is a rare exception: after beginning his career in architecture, he was hired by Digital Domain to apply his knowledge to movies such as The Grinch and The Time Machine. But then he returned to architecture to hone his skills. He's an incredible...

One of the most fascinating aspects of V-Ray is the way people react when you tell them many of the images in the IKEA catalog are created with 3D software. It's a definite wow moment, and people are often more impressed by than V-Ray being used in Hollywood blockbusters. Behind IKEA's use of 3D is Martin Enthed, the company's Development and Operations IT Manager. Martin's love for computers bega...

Tristan Salome and Matthieu Labeau of Nozon, hang out with us during Siggraph 2016 to talk about Presenz. The application allows for 6 degrees of freedom of pre-rendered content. The application now works for V-Ray and is in closed beta. This podcast gives people an insight as to what this application does and how it can fit into your needs.