JH: That's a really good idea. So when will your newest work be available for our readers to check out?
ED: I'm in the scriptwriting stage for an action movie, set in the 1700s. There's gonna be a lot of particle musket fire and bullet hits. But outside of that, I've just finished up a couple of web-isodes of a comedy show, a collection of improvised scenes, and interviews that I've dressed up to look like you're watching someone flipping channels while watching TV. You can check it out at http://www.impossibilia.com/
JH: That sounds very cool indeed. I’ll check that out and I’m sure our readers will too. Thanks much for all your insight on this, Elvis.
Now let’s move onto filmmaker David Basulto, of Clarity Pictures.
JH: Dave, why don’t you tell our readers about where you come from and what gets you passionate about the filmmaking you engage in?
DB: I’ve been in the industry for over 18 years now. I have done everything from development to delivery on feature films and television. Nothing has grabbed me more than the digital filmmaking workflow we have today. I love the freedom it gives us all to be creative and not break the bank!
JH: So tell us about the new film that you’re about to produce?
DB: I’m getting ready to produce and direct a horror creature feature called Devil’s Peak. It’s a werewolf tale. The biggest technical challenge is including shots and effects I want to really make stand out. Things like a town on fire, gunshots, and stormy weather.
JH: I understand you’re going to be using particleIllusion to overcome some of those challenges. What drew you to particleIllusion in the first place and how are its strengths going to be utilized in this film?
DB: I have been a fan of particleIllusion for quite awhile. Being a huge After Effects user, I was amazed at how simple it was to animate particles in particleIllusion and import that info into After Effects. Things that would take me hours in [Adobe] AE can be done extremely quickly in PI.
On my new film I will be razing a town and the fire particles in PI are second to none. Also I have a few gunfight scenes and PI’s muzzle flashes are going to be key here. I got the idea after seeing Pan’s Labyrinth. In that film they were forced to use muzzle effects instead of live blanks. Since I’m shooting in the forest I, too, have run into problems with this, so PI’s muzzle library will be perfect for me.
JH: So are there any tips you have about particleIllusion for our readers?
DB: I think the biggest tip I can give is for folks to really give particleIllusion a try. There’s a demo on the site so there is no risk other than the instant addiction. Having this application in my post arsenal allows me to be much more creative when planning shots. I love that there are new libraries each month too.
JH: Having tested and reviewed it myself, I have to agree, Dave. So when will your newest work be available for our readers to check out?
DB: We start production in January 08! It’s going to be a fun film to make! Check out http://www.claritypictures.net for updates.
JH: We definitely will. Thanks for being with us today!
As you can see from both Elvis and Dave, there are many ways in which particleIllusion can be very useful in your filmmaking workflow.
As Elvis brought up, the backgrounds you can create for titles are an often-overlooked component that is impressive. I know that, too, as I have been working on opening credits for Collide and I’ve found them very useful. Perhaps the most interesting is one background that creates a softly cracking latticework of ice. While it doesn’t apply to Collide, I half want to make a movie like the Ice Harvest, to justifyusing the effect on the opening credit slides!
To read more about particleIllusion 3, check out my in-depth review in this issue.
