Matt Aitken interview: Weta and the evolution of visuals in the MCU

VFX veteran Matt Aitken takes us on a technological journey from the first Iron Man film all the way to Infinity War.

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Matt Aitken has worked on some of the most visually inspiring films ever made including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which was largely credited for heralding in a new generation of visual arts. Since his trip to the shire and back, he's gone on to work on several more prestigious projects including District 9 and the Iron Man series. To say that Matt has spent a lifetime working on the cutting edge of visual effects would be an understatement. In his many years as a professional artist, he's seen technology evolve and change in multiple ways. 

We sat down with Matt Aitken to discuss how industry standards and techniques have changed since the first Iron Man film ushered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe era up to this year's Infinity War. While Iron Man used a lot of practical effects mixed with computer graphics, Infinity War had a massive cast of A-list celebrities and whimsical costumes that made more use of processed visual effects. Not only was there a need to bring things like Tony Stark's nano-suit and Peter Parker's Iron Spider outfit into the real world, at times it was necessary to place actors into scenes that had to be filmed separately from the rest of the cast due to scheduling issues. You can check out Matt explaining the technical processes behind what he does in the video below. 

You can see more of Matt's work on the silver screen and you can catch more interviews from View Conference 2018 here or go to the Shacknews and GamerHubTV Youtubes for more video game related content. 

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Blake has been writing and making videos about pop-culture and games for over 10 years now. Although he'd probably prefer you thought of him as a musician and listened to his band, www.cartoonviolencemusic.com. If you see him on the street, buy him a taco or something. Follow him on twitter @ProfRobot

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