Press Release #7

FMX 2021
Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Immersive Media
Online, May 4-6, 2021

Ludwigsburg/Germany, April 13, 2021. As May 4 draws nearer, FMX's conference schedule is almost complete and already gathers an illustrious who's who of the digital arts industry not to be missed. Among the many highlights of the program are three presentations on the visual effect spectacle Godzilla vs. Kong and insights into the VFX of WandaVision – the latest project from the Marvel cinematic universe – shown exclusively at FMX 2021. It also features renowned panelists that explore the power of collaboration in our reality and future.

Godzilla vs. Kong hits FMX 2021

One of this year's biggest visual effects extravaganzas is undisputedly Adam Wingard's Godzilla vs. Kong. The FMX 2021 program includes no less than three presentations on the monster smash that is bringing people back into cinemas all around the world:

MPC Film's VFX team will pull back the curtain on the visual effects and animation work behind one of its most monstrously epic scenes, on May 4, 4:30 pm CET. MPC VFX Supervisor Pier Lefebvre-Cleroux, Animation Supervisor Michael Langford and Lead Animator Lucas Nunes will reveal the creative and technical challenges behind the VFX and Animation of the next chapter in the monsterverse.

A day later, Scanline VFX presents "Creating a monster mash on the ocean for Godzilla vs. Kong", on May 5, 4:30 pm CET. VFX Supervisor Bryan Hirota takes you through some of Scanline's visual effects work on this epic. Bryan will walk you through the design and creation process for Kong, highlighting developments in their creature pipeline that enabled Scanline to bring him to life and the range of emotional states he cycles through. Bryan will also discuss how Scanline created the ocean battle between Godzilla and Kong and the sheer amount of fx and destruction simulation work that went into the sequence, all while taking the creatures' scale in and on the water into account.

The third presentation on Godzilla vs. Kong will be made by Weta Digital. Details are yet to be announced, please check our website regularly.

FMX Exclusive: MARZ on WandaVision

The presentation "A Vision Like You've Never Seen (and the VFX most people still don't)" on May 5, 6 pm CET, will look at the latest project of the Marvel cinematic universe, the television miniseries WandaVision. It is exclusively made for FMX 2021 and will only be streamed once at the scheduled time:

The best visual effects are the ones that go unnoticed. On WandaVision, the VFX studio Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ) was responsible for creating the photoreal VFX behind one of Marvel's most iconic characters – a cape-clad human-like red android with the power of flight and a yellow gem embedded in his forehead. The cape. The smooth face panels. The comedic expressions. The makeup, tracking markers, and green screens. MARZ VFX Supervisor Ryan Freer will breakdown the challenges and techniques behind perfecting Vision as he passes from decade to decade on Marvel's first Disney+ series.

The Power of Collaboration Track

Collaboration, teamwork and smart efforts in managing change have always been fundamental to any production in visual arts. In the light of past year's unexpected challenges, it became even clearer how vital creative cooperation is. Imke Fehrmann, COO and Executive Producer of Akkord Film Produktion curated a track for FMX that explores the power of collaboration in our reality and future.

The panel "Virtual Production – Game Changer in Animation & VFX?" moderated by Jinko Gotoh (Producer, Netflix), will discuss the advantages, challenges and blue sky of the future of virtual production techniques. Speakers include Eve Roth (Lead Technical Artist, Parallux), Pepe Valencia (Visualization Supervisor, BARABOOM! Studios) and Lyndon Barrois (Animation Director and Video Artist).

A presentation looks at the long and successful history of Sony Pictures Animation (SPA) and Sony Pictures Imageworks (SPI), making movies together that are as varied as they are beautiful. Join SPA's Head of Production Pam Marsden and SPI’s Executive Vice President Michelle Grady for a deep dive into this unique partnership, why it works and how they work together to create iconic films including the Academy Award-winning "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and their latest production, the visually ground-breaking action comedy The Mitchells vs. The Machines.

Starting a new job, meeting the team, finding your feet in a new role – an exciting and often equally daunting experience for the new starter, regardless of experience level. In 2020, remote working and virtual teams made this even more difficult, both for the new employee as well as for the company and managers. The panel "Team Building, Onboarding & Culture – Not Only a Challenge in the Virtual Workplace" explores opportunities and ideas for our current situation and the future of teams. Panelists include Tara Kemes (Studio General Manager, Cinesite), Natasia Schumacher (Head of Operations, Method Studios) and Paulene Hamilton (Head of People and Talent, Blue Zoo Animation Studio).

Forum News

There are more confirmations for the FMX 2021 Forum:  

Workshops: Horseman FX, Jellyfish Pictures, Meshcapade, Prism Pipeline, Qualisys, XP-PEN

Recruiting: Animal Logic, Electric Theatre Collective, Rise FX, The Third Floor, Trixter

Schools: Anomalia, Film Academy Vienna, Hochschule Darmstadt - University of Applied Sciences, Luleå University of Technology, National Film and Television School, University of South Wales - Faculty of Creative Industries