New Demo Reel, mainly due to EPIC FAIL of an FX shot

[rklein]

Hey guys,

I've edited my demo reel again, adding some new shots and taking out others...which I don't think all by itself is a matter for announcement anymore.

But I bring it up here because I now consider one of my best shots to be an epic fail. Last year i did a scene with Jayden Cole as Wonder Woman that tallyho (and others) refer to as 'turning to ash.' That was not my intent of the shot. My goal was to show Wonder Woman turning to stone, and then crumbling away. Only a slight difference, I know, but it matters to me.

This is NOT an attack on tallyho, or anyone else, for their interpretation of the shot. I very much appreciate honest reaction and feedback. But if it had been my goal to show Wonder Woman turning to ash and blowing away, I would have done things different. The fact the I wanted to show one thing, and so many people saw it as something else, means I now consider the shot a failure.

I've redone the shot, which hopefully everyone now sees as WW turning to stone and crumbling away.

OK, I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks for taking a moment to read this.

http://www.flyingsuperheroes.com

https://vimeo.com/165803235

As always, if you have a production and are in need of visual effects, please contact me.

-rklein
aka R the FX Guy

[Heroine Addict]

I guess people read it that way because a similar ash effect is so prevalent in the vampire genre. Which could work in your favor as several producers on here make vampire videos.

[tallyho]

For me the bits falling off her are too small and crumbly to be stone (but hey I did geology!) so maybe if you are keen to re do it have her split into maybe 3 or 4 bigger pieces and then shearing off on that sort of bedding plane as you have done.
Its still a good effect and I like it.


Also if you want to make it more stone like, maybe go for a lighter grey shade/off white that looks less 'ash' like.

[rklein]

H.A. - a valid point. I have absolutely no problem doing an ash effect, but I would do ash much more wind-blown and random motion of particles.

tallyho - sorry, I took a lot of science but not much geology and have no idea what a bedding plane is, but I have lightened up the shade of stone.

[tallyho]

A bedding plane is the line between layers of rock (you see them as stripes in places like Monument Valley because they are horizontal, but more often they are sloping) and often rock fractures or shears along bedding planes as they are a point of weakness, so in this context I was referring to the sloping face that is left on the stone after the top of her crumbles away. I still think it was a brilliant effect whether ash or stone.