VFX MASTERCLASS: Seamus McGarvey & Jake Morrison

The Darklight Festival in association with FAS Screen Training Ireland present “Avengers Assemble - Masterclass in VFX: From Shooting to Computing”. With Seamus McGarvey (DOP) and (VFX Supervisor, Marvel)
Seamus McGarvey and Jake Morrison, key members of the team behind the multi billion dollar hit, Avengers Assemble, talk through the technical and creative processes behind the third highest grossing film of all time.

From prep to shoot: How to ensure the best possible results for the post production stage of the production. Shooting 2D for 3D, working on in-camera effects, filming green screen, lighting, 360 tracking shots, plus the best ways to prep for high end VFX.

Seamus and Jake will bring us through the special relationship of the DP and VFX Supervisor. Taking scenes from the film, they will walk through how they came to their creative decisions, trouble shoot technical problems, talk about solutions and workarounds. How, often the same problems arise when shooting on a mega budget, as do on lower budget films, and finding the solutions can be the same.

Darklight also wish to thank the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) for their help in programming this event.

BIO: SEAMUS MCGARVEY
Seamus McGarvey BSC, born 29 June 1967 in Armagh, Northern Ireland, began his career as a still photographer before attending film school at the University of Westminster in London.
Upon graduating in 1988 he began shooting short films and documentaries, including Skin, which was nominated for a Royal Television Society Cinematography Award, and Atlantic, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, nominated for the 1998 Turner Prize. He also photographed and directed over 100 music videos, for such artists as U2, The Rolling Stones, PJ Harvey, Robbie Williams, Sir Paul McCartney, Dusty Springfield and Coldplay. In 1998, the British Society of Cinematographers invited McGarvey to join. In 2004 he was awarded the Royal Photographic Society’s prestigious Lumiere medal for contributions to the art of cinematography. His credits as a cinematographer include Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, starring Nicolas Cage, The Hours, directed by Stephen Daldry, starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore, for which he earned the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Technical/Artistic Achievement; the action-adventure film Sahara, starring Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz, for which he won the Irish Film and Television Award for Best Cinematography; Along Came Polly, starring Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston; High Fidelity, directed by Stephen Frears, starring John Cusack; Wit, starring Emma Thompson, directed by Mike Nichols; Enigma, directed by Michael Apted; The War Zone; Butterfly Kiss; The Winter Guest; The Actors; A Map of the World; Charlotte’s Web; Atonement, for which he has received an Academy Award nomination (2008),a BAFTA nomination (2008) and the Technical Achievement award in the Evening Standard British Film Awards for 2007 and won the 2008 Irish Film and Television Award for Best Cinematography; A 2007 television advert for Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle campaign; and The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency directed by Anthony Minghella. In 2008 he shot The Soloist for director Joe Wright in Los Angeles. He shot “Nowhere Boy” for director Sam Taylor-Wood and reunited with director Joe Wright for the short film Cut. He shot the acclaimed Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, starring Tilda Swinton, in New York and Connecticut. He shot The Avengers for director Joss Whedon which is the third biggest grossing movie of all time. He recently shot Anna Karenina for Joe Wright.

BIO: JAKE MORRISON

VFX supervisor with MARVEL and GOAT Visual Effects.  Jake is an industry veteran and a rising star in Hollywood’s VFX circles.  With the reputation as a perfectionist who captures beautiful moments in unusual locations, creating an emotional, visceral response from his audiences, he also has a list of impressive films under his belt, including 300, Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

MASTERCLASS HOST: PJ DILLON
PJ Dillon is an Award winning Cinematographer (The Runway, Her Mother’s Daughter, 32A), who recently premiered charming retro Sci-Fi film ‘Earthbound’. Follow him on Twitter.
Application Procedure:
To secure a place on this Masterclass, you must apply online at the Screen Training website: https://www.screentrainingireland.ie Deadline for applications is: 12pm Mon 20th Aug, 2012. Successful participants will be notified by close of business on Mon 20th August.

For queries contact Leona Cully at creativedevelopment@fas.ie  or Nicky Gogan at events@darklight.ie

Avengers Assemble DVD in shops Friday, September 14th!