Kevin Tod Haug has always been destined for a career in VFX. From a young age, he analyzed movies and TV series to work out how they were made. He joined the industry and saw it transform from electro-mechanical to digital via movies and TV series, including Tron and Star Trek: The Next Generation. He then became a full VFX supervisor on movies including Fight Club, The Cell, Panic Room, and Quantum of Solace, and pioneered creative VFX shots that allowed cameras to move through tiny spaces or make the unbelievable look real.
As the industry shifts once more with AI and virtual production, Kevin talks about his career and how he’s managed to catch successive waves of VFX technology from the 1970s to today, sharing how he used new technology to create convincing effects for low-budget Italian war movie Comandante. He shares amusing anecdotes from his career in VFX, from a literal fly in the ointment to an encounter with Prince, and he gives advice on how to stay ahead of the curve.
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0:04:31 Getting started in the VFX industry
0:08:55 How motion control revolutionized VFX
0:13:18 Using a plotter for VFX
0:19:35 When SIGGRAPH was about getting images on film
0:26:22 Shooting "Comandante"
0:33:50 The transition from electro-mechanical to digital
0:39:20 Moving to movies including "Fight Club"
0:46:23 Doing something no one's done before
0:48:23 Shifts in the VFX industry
0:56:09 A modern approach to low-budget VFX movie-making
1:02:35 Artificial intelligence