The Importance of Matchmove within the VFX pipeline | TVAP EP54

In this episode with Matt Merkovich of The Matchmoving Company, we talk about the importance of 3D tracking/matchmove in the VFX industry and what it means to be a matchmove artist.

Matt is an expert user of Syntheyes and has been a great influencer in getting it where it is today. He also uses it for almost all of his work, spiralling almost three decades in the VFX industry.

Matt believes #Syntheyes is by far the best 3D tracking software out there and has by far "the best 2D tracking system in the world!", so in this episode, I sit him down to find out why he believes so.

Being a Matchmove artist myself, having been a user of PFTrack in the past and an ongoing user of 3DEqualizer I was very curious to hear why Matt thinks so.

3D tracking or Matchmove as you may call it, ties perfectly with all the other departments in the VFX pipeline, to complete VFX shots in the biggest visual effects movies out there, making this episode an important one, to gain insights from an industry veteran like Matt.

Matt's filmography spars from Minority Report, Star Trek Voyager, Doctor Dolittle 2, The Amazing Spider-Man and more. Here's Matt's 

.

Matt's company The Matchmoving Company provides 3D tracking services globally and can currently be reached through 



As always, if you liked this episode, please 👍 like, 📝 comment, 📢 subscribe, and 📣 share!


Watch our other videos
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The Importance of Matchmove within the VFX pipeline | TVAP EP54 (P-1)

Inside VFX Recruitment with Melissa Blakey, Global Head of Talent at Crafty Apes | TVAP EP53 (P-1)

Inside VFX Recruitment with Melissa Blakey, Global Head of Talent at Crafty Apes | TVAP EP53 (P-2)

Behind The Desk with Hugo Guerra | TVAP EP47


00:00:00 Coming Up
00:02:19 Introductions
00:03:54 Who is Matt Merkovich
00:07:17 Where my interest for film originated
00:14:59 From Lightwave to Matchmoving on Minority Report
00:23:28 Minority Report Matchmoving Pipeline in the 2000's
00:26:24 Evolution of Aspect Ratios
00:30:18 Comparing Syntheyes, 3dequalizer, Boujou, PFTrack and more
00:35:13 Good & Bad Tracking Markers
00:38:54 Staying relevant in an evolving industry
00:44:36 Being a VFX artist in the mid 90's
00:46:45 Shot talk - Challenges
00:48:38 The future of 3D tracking
00:53:41 Comparing 3dequalizer and Syntheyes
01:01:01 Matchmove Artists - The underappreciated department
01:03:53 About The Matchmoving Company
01:04:11 Unionize the VFX industry
01:04:11 Conclusion

How I manage being a VFX artist and a mother of two - Rebecca Holdstock  | TVAP EP41

In this episode, we chat to Rebecca Holdstock, senior matchmove and rotomation artist at Cinesite London about her VFX career, spiralling over a decade in some of London's well known and biggest studios, through to becoming a mother of two and the change that comes with being a working mother.

I had the privilege of working with Rebecca at Cinesite on The Witcher season 2, and for the first time in my life, I was working with a mother, who was signing on in the middle of the day, on a customised working hours.

This blew my mind, and triggered my interest in the topic to which we sat down to discus.

Becoming a working mother, or choosing to become a working mother in any industry is often times a big challenge and decision that affects women in all sorts of life and industries. Whilst Rebecca's story focuses on the VFX industry, it very much is relatable to all women and working mothers in every industry, and will be for every generation to come.

It therefore is a rightful and important subject to be discussing and brining it to light, to create awareness, and hopefully encourage and or prepare other women in the VFX and wider working industries.




00:00:00 Ident
00:00:05 Introductions
00:01:40 A bit about Rebecca
00:02:31 Journey into the VFX industry
00:09:32 Getting foot in the door of the VFX industry
00:13:19 Settling in the Matchmove department
00:23:49 Motherhood and being an artist in the VFX industry
00:31:59 Managing kids and shots during early days of covid
00:51:46 Planing to start a family, vs having kids unexpectedly
00:54:10 What can be improved for women working in the VFX industry
01:03:15 Advice to any artists looking to start a family
01:05:59 What should women look out for, when applying to join a VFX studio
01:10:51 Conclusion

As always, if you liked this episode, please like, comment, subscribe and share!

#vfxindustry #workingmom #vfxartist

How I manage being a VFX artist and a mother of two - Rebecca Holdstock | TVAP EP41

How We Created 3DEqualizer For The VFX Industry, with Rolf Schneider | TVAP EP40

In this episode, I had the biggest opportunity to chat to Rolf Schneider, owner of Science-D-Visions, about how he Created 3DEqualizer For The VFX Industry.

Looking back at the evolving digital scene in the 80's and 90's, we discuss working on the Commodore 64 and Amiga, to creating the first version of 3DEqualizer in 1996, to MPC and ILM purchasing their first licenses in 1996 and '97. We do a deep dive about the whole journey and how it all happened.

An episode not to be missed!

As always, if you liked this episode, please like, comment, subscribe and share!

3DE



00:00:00 Ident
00:00:05 Introducing Rolf
00:00:35 A bit about Rolf, his background and role at Science-D-Vision
00:02:15 Working on the Commodore & Amiga in the 80's
00:04:32 How we started building 3DEqualizer
00:07:06 Coming up with a name for 3DEqualizer
00:08:07 The team
00:11:35 Developing animation & (ray tracing) rendering software in the 80's
00:16:09 Getting the first studio to buy 3DEqualizer
00:22:42 Tools over interface?
00:27:07 Playing a major role in the VFX industry
00:32:17 The future of matchmove & motion tracking within 3DE alongside AI
00:36:40 Industries outside of VFX using 3DE
00:38:50 Is it easier to impliment tools into 3DE
00:42:52 How 3DE became the industry standard for the VFX industry
00:46:21 Best Wins till date
00:49:13 What keeps you going and innovative
00:53:01 What should the industry expect in the future
00:53:18 Appreciation & Conclusion

#3dequalizer #matchmove #rolfschneider

A Love of Film with Carolina Jiménez García, Lead Layout Artist, Scanline | TVAP EP25

This week Daniel caught up with Layout Artist who has 7 Oscar Nominated films, as well as an Emmy and a Goya under her belt!

Many of our Spanish speaking audience may already be familiar with Carolina as she runs an incredibly popular VFX and film Youtube, blog and Twitter account as Okingrafia. Carolina is a Lead Layout Artist at Scanline, most recently on projects like Free Guy, Moonfall and Eternals. Her career spans the Globe and major studios such as Dneg in London, Scanline in Canada, and Weta in New Zealand where she fulfilled her dream by working with the Lord of Rings crew on the Hobbit trilogy.

In this episode we roll back the curtain on the Layout Department, a little understood and vitally important part of VFX and animation pipelines. We find out what it takes to become a Layout Artist and Layout Lead, hear Carolina’s advice for artists, learn a little about working in Canada and find out about her favourite projects.

From Matchmove Lead to Lighting TD - How I did it - Maik Pham Quang | TVAP EP21

In this episode we chat to Maik Pham Quang, a Matchmove lead at Framestore London, about his career progression, as a runner, through to becoming a matchmove lead, with a decade's experience, to transitioning and changing departments to pursue his interest in the lighting department as a lighting TD.

Maik tells us about how it is leading and managing teams, managing pressure and expectations, fitting into a new department, and more.
We hope you enjoy the show!



 - Getting into the matchmove department


 - Seniority progression through the matchmove department


 - Watch Maik's 2021 Lead Matchmove reel


 - What artists think about you as a lead


 - What are the common mistakes matchmove artists make


 - What do matchmove leads and supervisors expect to see in showreels?


 - Which matchmove tasks are requested more lately on shows?


 - Switching from matchmove to the lighting department


 - Do you see yourself transitioning to another department in the future?


 - What advice would you give to the aspiring artists?


 - Should artists work at different studios to validate their skills?


 - Extras

#vfxpodcast #matchmove #lighting

Matchmove for film, AR, VR & XR with Sarah Gatefield | TVAP EP06

In this episode, I chat to senior matchmove artist and supervisor Sarah Gatefield about her experience and journey into the VFX industry. A journey which begun as a runner at Framestore London, leading on to freelancing at VFX studios such as MPC, DNEG, Trixter, Method Studios, Prime Focus Film, Pixomondo, Rise and more, on incredible films such as Harry Potter, Iron Man 3, Total Recall, The Martian, Jungle Book and many more!

We also go on to touch base on Sarah's route to dabbling a bit in the VR and AR industry.

Overall, an incredible experience and journey Sarah has been on and is still on, and one that can inspire generations to come!

Matchmove & Layout