Ben Affleck's new AI Startup think they can reduce VFX cost by 50%

I ended up finding the patent submitted for their company and found some claims that does not align with the message he's been spreading about his AI use.

Notably :

"AI service providers can generate substantial revenue by charging a fraction of the cost savings as their fee, thereby creating a win-win situation for both the film industry and the technology sector. The technology also presents an opportunity to replace the cost associated with background artists, second or splinter unit aerials, inserts, and reshoots, achieving a day one 20% reduction in schedule and physical production and a 50% reduction in visual effects (VFX) cost."

And hes been on record saying that he doesn't believe in prompting to replace filmmaking but his patent clearly emphasize that use :

"By doing so, the Filmmaker models may be trained to understand and apply a wide range of cinematic techniques and language, thus enabling the models to generate video content that adheres to professional filmmaking standards, as parameterized by user inputs (i.e., prompts)."

That specific patent : https://patents.google.com/patent/US12438995B1/en?inventor=Benjamin+Geza+Affleck-Boldt

all the other patents they've filed : https://patents.google.com/?inventor=Benjamin+Geza+Affleck-Boldt

https://redd.it/1s61kny
@vfxbackup

After Effects - Converting footage to particles

https://redd.it/1s606c1
@vfxbackup

How was Naomi Scott's "Speechless" song in Aladdin (2019) done?

This is my luddite view of what happens:

She starts by walking with the guards, I imagine this is actual footage. Then she spins around and the guards vanish, so clearly CG here.

She proceeds to walk down stairs, I'm guessing looking at the surface of the balcony this is some sort of textured version of the physical set/steps she is walking down.

Then what really interests me is how the camera that is following her in reverse throughout transitions into a seamless 720 around her. Again from my noob perspective I thought how this was done, could this be robotics, but then I thought there is surely no way that She or her team would permit a robot swiveling around her, so I came to the conclusion this is surely CG, but how was this 720 done?

She then continues to sing and walk, various other assets seamlessly vanish like 2 more guards beyond the double doors followed by another tight 720 around her. She tears down the cloth and it seamlessly then floats in the air as she walks away. A few more appearing and disappearing assets to complete the tune.

Bearing in mind this entire sequence is visually one take, no cuts.

How was this done? Just interested to know.

https://redd.it/1s6ihao
@vfxbackup

Portfolio

https://redd.it/1s62osg
@vfxbackup

Best way to make realistic Rorschach inkblots

I’m trying to make photorealistic inkblots digitally (stills, not animation). Something that actually feels like ink got dropped on paper, the paper got folded, pressed, then opened.

What would you use and how would you go about doing this? This site has examples of what I'm trying to produce: https://www.rorschach.org/

https://redd.it/1s6jq2x
@vfxbackup

Made some changes to my scene. Would love to hear if there is anything else i can do :)
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1s5xgqg

https://redd.it/1s5xqex
@vfxbackup

What does it mean to be a 3D Technical Generalist?

What kind of skills and knowledge would a person need to have to be a 3D technical generalist?

I really love making art and I was a traditional art student, but I am thinking of changing my area of study from 2d traditional art to 3d art. I did a little research and found out what a 3D technical generalist was and it sounds like a goal I should strive for, as a start.

At the moment I am taking a course on GameDev about Blender to start wrapping my head around how Blender and 3d art work in general as a start. Any advice on how to start studying or researching would be very helpful.

Thank you.

https://redd.it/1s6f8t7
@vfxbackup

Portfolio

https://redd.it/1s62qhy
@vfxbackup

: 5 years into VFX (Texture Artist)---- stick it out or pivot?

24M, ~5 years in VFX, currently working as a texture artist at a well-known studio (in India).
I’ll keep it real I’m feeling stuck.

Been at my current studio for 3+ years. Pay growth is meh, work hasn’t really leveled up, and most of the “good” shots go to seniors or other sites. What we get is usually leftovers or production work.
I do my job well, get good feedback, no issues with performance but none of that seems to translate into actual growth.

Biggest issue: the work doesn’t feel like art anymore. It feels like assembly line work inside a fixed pipeline. Do task ---submit ---- repeat.
On top of that, the industry overall just feels… unstable. Everyone I talk to like my coworkers, friends in other studios same vibe: uncertainty, layoffs, low confidence in the future.


Tried looking for other jobs LinkedIn is brutal. Barely any relevant openings, tons of applicants, and mostly no replies. Feels like hiring is heavily referral-based or internal.


I still work on my portfolio (interested in environments/lookdev), but honestly, motivation takes a hit when the bigger picture looks like this.


So I’m at a crossroads:
Do I double down, improve my portfolio, and try for bigger studios like Weta FX, Industrial Light & Magic, Cinesite, or Eyeline Studios (even though I’m not based in those countries)?
Or do I start planning an exit while I still have a stable job?


Switching isn’t easy either can’t fully commit to something new while working full-time, and I don’t want to half-ass both and end up worse off.
Also feels like specialist roles (model/texture) are getting saturated, and everyone wants unrealistic “generalists who know everything.”


If you were in my position, what would you do?
Stay and push harder, or start pivoting?

https://redd.it/1s6zvqd
@vfxbackup

We recreated a Fast & Furious scene with my friends.

https://redd.it/1s71pvn
@vfxbackup

Text to 3D tools in production pipelines, is anyone actually using these

Genuine question for other artists and tech people. Has anyone integrated AI 3D generation into a real production pipeline? Not personal experiments but something that actually ships.

I've been evaluating tools for our studio, 15 person team working on a stylized action project. Art team is overloaded and we need to speed up environment asset production without hiring.

Tested Meshy, Tripo, and a couple others over the past few weeks. Generated about 50 test assets across all tools.

Raw output is usable for distant LODs and background clutter but not production ready for anything mid distance or closer. Topology is universally bad across all tools, every model needs retopo. Meshy had the most consistent PBR textures, workable base after a material pass. Style consistency is the biggest unsolved problem though, outputs vary even with identical prompts.

We built a Houdini script to auto retopo and it helps but adds pipeline complexity.

My current take is AI generation works as a "first draft" tool that replaces the initial blockout phase. It does not replace the modeling team. Just shifts their work from creation to refinement.

Estimated time savings if we integrate properly: maybe 20-30% on environment props specifically. Characters and hero assets are still fully manual.

https://redd.it/1s70ugc
@vfxbackup

3D Gaussian splat, in vfx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8yRlA7jqEQ

https://redd.it/1s7063u
@vfxbackup

Houdini make particles simulation effect

https://redd.it/1s7jcha
@vfxbackup

hey I'm a high school 18 , interested in 3d animation, cgi , and vfx im thinking about going to college soon but im not sure which degree fits all of them or individually and I dont want to make mistakes and I want to find the right degree for each of them. Also im trying to learn blender atm.



https://redd.it/1s7iy8u
@vfxbackup

Hello everyone, I’m excited to show you my vfx breakdown before neural networks can do everything I’ve learned.

https://redd.it/1s7ns7k
@vfxbackup

Update: Fixed the 3D smoke based on your suggestions. Is this hitting 100% realism yet?

https://redd.it/1s7v2bo
@vfxbackup

Updated the 3D smoke based on your suggestions. Is this giving 100% realism yet?

https://redd.it/1s833n9
@vfxbackup

Are there any self-taught VFX artists who never earned an art degree nor went to an art school?

Hello. I'm an English major with a concentration in Creative Writing. I've been interested in animation and VFX for more than a decade and I just started teaching myself software such as Blender and Nuke and I want to work independently to gain experience as a VFX artist and filmmaker or intern at a VFX studio or animation studio like ILM, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Pixar, or Walt Disney Animation Studios.

So, which leads me to this question as the title says. What are some examples of a self-taught VFX artist who has never earned a degree in the related field nor went to an art college/university?

https://redd.it/1s84mza
@vfxbackup

VFX and props tour destinations

I'm looking for some art installations to plan a vacation around. I'm looking for something like a studio tour where they make heavy usage of 3D CAD to create sets, props and figures. I'm more interested in sets that have some amount of animatronics involved. Bonus points if the genre leans towards steam punk.

We've already been to Weta workshop and Hobbiton - this was exactly the type of tour I'm looking for. I looked into doing something like Industrial Light and Magic, but it looks like that's an insiders tour only. I also looked into the backstage tours at Disney, but I can't find any recent information on this tour. I had some interest in the Warner Brothers tour in Tokyo, combining with the Studio Ghibli museum.

For more context, I'd prefer something that shows off art done in a career-based, professional or movie making capacity as my kid has an interest. Though we're definitely up for a well done museum in addition to a VFX studio tour.

https://redd.it/1s86mtx
@vfxbackup

VFX breakdown with Matthew Aina

https://redd.it/1s860vl
@vfxbackup

Making-of: 4DGS inside a real theme park attraction – from capture to real-time playback
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS7CGItWd10

https://redd.it/1s8fbp8
@vfxbackup