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When you think about visual effects, you probably imagine space ships, lasers, explosions, or aliens, but that's only part of the picture. Those are the effects that "want" to be seen, and are part of the spectacle of cinema. However, there's another kind of visual effect that strives to remain unnoticed. Things like removing the wires that enable stunt performers to jump and fly through the air, some set extensions, and screen replacements on phones or laptops. Working in the corporate world, most of the VFX work I do is of the invisible variety. However, as you probably guessed, I'm not doing wire removal or set extensions. Instead, I do mostly eye replacements. Yes indeed - the most common is when an interview subject looks over at the crew for approval immediately after answering an interview question. If this goes unnoticed on set, and if it was otherwise the best take, it comes across my desk. Don't get me wrong, eye replacements are fun to do, but they can be quite challenging because of how attuned we are to recognizing if something is "off" with somebody’s face. On the positive side, I can use this instinct to help fine tune the effect until it looks realistic. Victory Studios prides itself in providing video production services of all kinds like visual effects. In addition we can provide audio/video production, video rental equipment, DCP creation, Digital transfers from video or film, and pretty much anything you need to tell a story on video.

VFX Compositing You can't talk about VFX without mentioning compositing. The first time I heard the word compositing, before I got into the industry, it just seemed like a vague term that didn't have a whole lot to do with adding fire and explosions to my test clips. Though I didn't know it at the time, compositing was exactly what I was doing, albeit not to a high degree of quality. Compositing isn't new, and it certainly isn't limited to the digital age. Before computers, compositing happened optically. In other words, different parts of the image were exposed to different elements to build the scene. Generally speaking, today, compositing is a bit of a catch-all term that refers to the seamless blending of disparate elements in a shot. Elements like background plates or matte paintings, characters on green screen, fire and explosions, miniatures, CGI, and so on. All of these elements, likely having been created at different times in different locations, must be seamlessly blended into one complete image that looks like it was captured in a single shot on set. This is where attention to detail really comes into play. Every shot has different characteristics in noise, lens distortion, sharpness, color, and luminance values. Each element must be manipulated to match each other in order to make the shot look real and to avoid breaking the illusion. It's difficult work, but that's why they call it "Movie magic". We do compositing at Victory Studios - and a lot more: rental equipment, studio rentals, digital transfers for both video and audio and live streaming production.

When I started Victory Studios, I always dreamed that some day our company would have a large building with multiple companies filling the space. Each company would provide a different part of the video production puzzle. The companies would be able to share expensive things like studios and rental equipment. Each company would be an expert in their field. Any client that came to Victory Studios would experience the best in audio, editing, com puter graphics, rental equipment, studio production with full equipment support, and production expertise. All would be available at the top of the game. That has finally come true with companies like Bad Animals, Mastertrax Audio, Fresh Made Media, Serious Gear and Tenacious Ventures – all housed inside the 4 walls of Victory Studios. In fact, Victory Studios has become the dream and anyone seeking pro duction services on any level will find the best here. When you work with the companies at Victory Studios, you have access to the best there is in the complex world of the Video Production business.

Preserving Vintage Films: A Gentle Approach to Film Transfer and Restoration. As old 8mm and 16mm film ages, the film can shrink, deteriorate and breakdown in condition. As little as a 1% shrinkage of the film can be enough to cause issues with a conventional projector. “Vinegar syndrome” affects film that was improperly stored and can be as mild as an unpleasant vinegar smell or as bad as brittle, fused, curling film that can render the film impossible to view on a standard projector.Our film transfer machine does not carry the film by the sprocket holes with teeth like a traditional projector but rather uses light sensors that detect the sprocket holes to regulate speed and detect frames for exporting which is much gentler on film that might be more prone to breaking. The film is carried along the chain by tension over rollers that only handle the edges the film causing no friction on the picture of the film. Even if the film is in great condition, there will be no risk of damage to the picture by only touching the outer edges. Film that may be brittle or that contains old splices prone to breaking can be transferred at a slower speed to reduce the amount of pressure that would cause those problems; the proper playback speed can be adjusted digitally when exporting the captured files. Film that has deteriorated may not result the best picture quality scan due to the physical condition but we are able to preserve films that may otherwise be impossible in other equipment. These old films are irreplaceable and we try our best to preserve any film that not deteriorated past the point of our ability to work with it. - Victory Studios

Remastering Video Victory Studios has been involved in tape transfer since its inception in the 1980s. Fortunately, we still maintain a diverse and technologically capable tape operation room for transferring tape to digital formats. As a result, we often encounter remastering projects. Recently, we completed some remastering work that included up-rezzing standard definition music videos from the late 80s – the early 2000s. They were initially mastered in the 4:3, 720 x 486, NTSC format of the time. We have a conversion hardware box that can perform many wonders to the original video signal. In this case, we are sending the 7 20 x 486 NTSC video signal through the box and outputting an up-converted signal at 1920 x 1080 HD to create a high definition, up-rezzed video file. The next step in the remastering process involves ingesting that video file into software to utilize its deinterlacing capabilities, as well as strong noise reduction capabilities and do any editing that may be required (frame replacement, etc.). Lastly, we sync up the newly remastered video with a brand new, remastered, WAV file to complete the process and end up with a remarkable looking, and sounding, remastered video file. This is an example of the powerful technical video work that Victory Studios can perform for you. -Josh Mallinger

The Death Spiral of Modern Corporate Art In 1921 William Beebe, an American explorer, published a book titled "Edge of the Jungle". In this book he describes his discovery of what is now known as an ant mill or death spiral, a phenomenon in which a trail of ants gets looped back on itself, forming a continuous circle. The ants, simply following the pheromone trail produced by the ants in front, will walk in a circle until their eventual death. It is in this situation that we find the state of corporate art today. I'm not talking about the mass produced prints of generic paintings you find in hotel rooms, I'm talking about the graphical characters used most commonly on the websites of companies like Facebook, Google, Vimeo, and others.The style crept into existence in the early 2010s, but didn't take off in a big way until 2017 when an agency designed an art style for Facebook that they called "Alegria", saying "We designed and built a scalable system rooted in flat, minimal, geometric shapes. The figures are abstracted — oversized limbs and non-representational skin colors help them instantly achieve a universal feel." While it may indeed be scalable and universal, it definitely comes across as impersonal, lazy, tasteless and tone-deaf. Once a couple of high profile companies adopted a similar style, many others jumped on the bandwagon. I was expecting the trend to die out years ago due to it's near universal rejection by ordinary people, but it would appear that we've reached a death spiral where every company tries to follow the trends of every other company until they all have the same stale, impersonal corporate image. I know I'm not the only one who feels repulsed upon seeing art in this style. Now that Alegria or styles like it have taken root, to try anything else could be considered risky. Until enough high profile companies take that perceived risk, I anticipate us being stuck where we've been for the last 10 years. -Aaron Amort

Elevate your production with the Haulotte Optimum 1530e Scissor Lift at Victory Studios! Included complimentary with our main sound stage the scissor lift is the best way possible for you to access our full wall to wall ceiling grid and conduct your rigging in safety, comfort and with expediency. Never haul a heavy light up a ladder again! Contact Victory Studios to reserve a studio with included scissor lift today! - Randy Stalcup

I don't know about you, but I can't stand seeing Facebook memories pop up on my feed... ...except for anything having to do with local music - whether it's from a festival, a gallery of photos, or a behind-the-scenes look at Band in Seattle. Sometimes I forget that the reason I got this job was because I was already talking about music on the internet, and was capable of talking to a camera (shout out to our old editor who had the difficult task of keying out me with green hair in front of a green screen). That was seven years ago, and here we are in the middle of season 9. Since then, we've featured over 100 artists - some that have shot to stardom, some that have remained local strongholds, and some that have come and gone. While I wouldn't say we're in a post Covid world by any means, there is a different feeling in the air now that the entire entertainment industry was put on pause for 2+ years. Festivals are re-envigorated, bands are excited to come play here again, and I don't know if it's just me but locals - from Bellingham to Tacoma - are making some really really good music right now. People were stuck inside for 2 years, and for many - using music to cope with the overwhelming loneliness and existential dread. And now, now that we're able to exist just a little more comfortably, festivals are back and they are strong. We had Fisherman's Village Fest in Everett and Folklife in May. We have Capitol Hill Block Party and Timber Fest in July coming up, and Day In Day Out hits their third year in August. Thing! Fest comes to Port Townsend at the end of August, which I have yet to attend but I hear it's wonderful. But, I know I can trust Adam Zacks to put on a killer festival; he did it with the Sasquatch Festival for years. We have Freakout Fest in Ballard coming in the Fall, and Bumbershoot is back, and that's not even all of them. I learned to love Seattle music at these festivals, and it's been the best outlet for not only my own listening, but discovering artists to have play on our show for years. Looking up things online, watching videos and listening to music is one thing - but there really is nothing like seeing a band live. - Abby Williamson

Staying Creative in Corporate Post Production: face it, corporate post-work isn't the most glamorous gig. There usually isn't much room for creativity or experimentation, which, for the video professional, can be frustrating. Not being able to grow creatively led me to seek alternative ways to develop my craft. The path forward, which may or may not be surprising to you, is to spend your creativity on increasing your efficiency. In my experience, finding ways to be more efficient can activate the creative side of your brain while you experiment with faster or more efficient ways of achieving whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. The best part is, anything you learn to increase your efficiency can also be applied to your creative passion projects, which is great because we all know how hard it is to find time for those. -Aaron Amort, ( Video Editor / Producer )