Customer Reviews

The VES Handbook of Visual Effects: Industry Standard VFX Practices and Procedures

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Phenomenal collection of modern day procedures and "tricks" used in visual effects. There is no other single source available that covers our art and techniques more completely. The only way to acquire all this knowledge on your own would be decades experience. I highly recommend this book.

Well it's about time! The VES Handbook is the definitive resource for anyone interested in the art, technology and business of visual effects. I will refer to it often. As one reviewer said, it will not help you finish a shot but that is not the point. This book gives the "how" and "why" of the ever-evolving visual effects industry. Every producer, director, supervisor or industry hopeful should get a copy. Most vfx artists will already know the techniques of their craft, but this handbook provides detailed explanations of every facet of the vfx pipeline and de-mystifies the processes for those who want a more comprehensive understanding of an industry that touches almost every film, commercial and television show produced today.

I have rarely been as excited about a book as when my copy of the VES Handbook arrived. I have subscribed to (and read from cover to cover) every issue of Cinefex Magazine since 1993 and bunch from before then, and just snapping the book open to a page I found I knew almost nothing! This is as comprehensive a book as I have ever seen, and is to VFX filmmaking what the American Cinematographers Manual is to the camera operator. I wonder how they will keep this relevant as the technology keeps zipping forward, I pray that Okun and company have future editions in their sights.

The VES Handbook of Visual Effects offers a fine technical reference for any college-level collection strong in media technology. It surveys visual effects techniques and best practices learned from both research and practical applications, covering techniques for all VFX artists and producers and applying technical knowledge to industry standards. A 'must' for any involved in any aspect of visual effects production.

This book provides a very thorough, in depth look at the creation of visual effects for the entertainment industry. I have a comprehensive collection of books on the subject of visual effects and I can tell you that this book provides the most detailed descriptions of the various tools of the trade I've ever seen. It's an extraordinary undertaking and the Visual Effects Society has done an excellent job. This is not a book geared toward fans as much as film industry professionals. It's structured as a collection of articles by top industry pros about various areas of visual effects production. This is a must for anyone working in the VFX industry or aspiring to do so.

As an active member of the visual fx community this book is an extremely valuable tool in breaking down the barriers between the various departs of film pre-production, production and post-production and the disparate disciplines therein. Well researched from the top experts in the field. Highly recommend.

It's easy to say this is the best book on this subject. I think it's the only one. Whether you are a VFX guy, director, or producer, this is the guide to the VFX process.

The book is fairly long and heavy, with lots of color photos. Each chapter/section is written by different authors, but the work as a whole holds together very well. Every section is very well written, but the focus is more on a workflow/producer level rather than something actual VFX artists could use. If you are actually involved in making visual effects I doubt you will find this all that useful on your library bookshelf. It's not the kind of book you'll be referring to over and over again. If you want a detailed guide to current visual effects practice I don't think you could find much better than this, but this book is unlikely to help you get a shot finished.

"Computers today provide artists with a powerful tool to create fantastic images, but computers alone cannot make those image. It's the eyes of the artists -their imaginative and innovative use of these new tools- that create the wonderul new worlds we see in games, on television, on the web, and the cinema. The magic is really and truly from the artist's vision."

I am not a visual effects artist, just your average Final Cut Pro editor. I wanted to know more about visual effects because I thought it would help me in other areas of filmmaking, such as writing, directing, and producing. Even though I don't plan on becoming a professional in this field, I find that it's always good to at least know that you don't know -- Ignorance is bad business.

This handbook packs in a lot of information. Most of which is over my head. It's very dense. Has a fair share of diagrams and pictures, but not enough for a beginner like me to fully grasp. I guess if I already had a visual effects or animation background, this handbook would make sense and basically be a reference guide for expanding on the practices and procedures of various types of projects.

If you are brand new to visual effects, prepare to be overwhelmed with content. I can't say that this book was really for me, but I give it 4 stars because I feel like it covers a lot of ground in it's field and could be a valuable resource for people already in the profession or want to be.

I, on the other hand, just wanted to get a taste of the complexities of VFX and now having read through this handbook, I know that I can't just open up Apple Motion 5 of After Effects CS5.5 and expect to do visual effects now that I have this book. NO no, I will hire a VFX professional.