Wallace and Gromit were first introduced in the 1989 film A Grand Day Out. Aardman Animations

Pirates, penguins, Wallace and Gromit … the Aardman show delights

Aardman studios has produced some of the most-recognised animated characters of the past three decades, including Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. A new exhibit at ACMI brings their creative process to life.
Peter Cushing in Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope. LucasFilm

A genuinely believable CGI actor? It won’t be long

Despite the furore over the ‘ghosting’ of Peter Cushing in Rogue One, directors will continue to push for improved technology enabling digital replication of actors.
Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso and Diego Luna as Captain Cassian Andor in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, set for release on December 15. © Lucasfilm Ltd

Star Wars goes Rogue – but will this risky move backfire?

The next Star Wars film, which opens on December 15, will be a prequel to the first one, made in 1977. Just how much Star Wars can the world stomach? And is looking backwards to move forwards such a good idea?
Seventy real horses mixed with the fake to create the chaos of battle. Iloura

How Game of Thrones’ Emmy‑award‑winning battle scene was made

An Australian VFX company has won an Emmy for its work on season six of Game of Thrones. Over eight months a team of 120 pulled out every trick in the book to create the visceral ‘Battle of the Bastards’.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been praised for avoiding computer generated effects, but why does CGI deserve such a bad name? Image courtesy of Lucasfilm.

Friday essay: Star Wars, Mad Max and the ‘real’ vs digital effects furphy

A growing vocal minority blame poor computer generated images for ‘ruining’ the movies. But digital effects can co-exist with real sets and stunts - and films have always been fake.
Cinema has always been about spectacle – it’s not yet walking dead. AAP/Marcus Walters, Gerrit Fokkema

TV’s golden age has freed cinema to do what it does best

At the opening night of the Victorian College of the Arts graduate film screening season this month, keynote speaker Clayton Jacobson (writer/director of Kenny, 2006) mentioned to the audience his belief…
Film and television workers cut their teeth at places such as Melbourne’s Channel 31. Sascha Grant

Moving community TV online is a turn‑off in more ways than one

Last week, Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed that community television broadcasts will be pushed online at the end of 2015. Turnbull’s announcement came as a surprise to many of those…

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