Cinefex/ˈsɪnɪfɛks/was a quarterly journal that debuted in 1980 and coveredvisual effectsin cinema, with a particular focus onscience-fiction films.Each issue featured lengthy, detailed articles that described the creative and technical processes behind current films, the information drawn from interviews with the effects artists and technicians involved. Each issue also featured many behind-the-scenes photographs illustrating the progression of visual effects shots – from previsualization to final – as well as the execution ofminiatures,pyrotechnics,makeup and other related effects.
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Categories | Cinema,Visual Effects,Science Fiction film |
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Frequency | Quarterly (1980–2016) Bimonthly (2016–2021) |
Paid circulation | 32,000 (1999) |
Founder | Donald 'Don' Shay |
First issue | March 1980 |
Final issue Number | 172 |
Country | United States |
Based in | Riverdale |
Language | English |
Website | www |
ISSN | 0198-1056 |
A defining characteristic ofCinefexis its unusual 8 in (20 cm) by 9 in (23 cm) configuration, a format Shay chose to enable him to reproduce film frames in a format similar to their original film aspect ratio.
Inception & publication history
editThe magazine was founded byDon Shay,who alone wrote and produced the first issue, released in March 1980, which covered the effects work in the filmsAlienandStar Trek: The Motion Picture.Earlier, Shay had written extensively on thestop-motion effectswork in the original 1933 filmKing Kong,published in the British publicationFocus on Film,and had authored a definitive piece on the effects inClose Encounters of the Third Kindfor the magazineCinefantastique.Shay had also published five issues of an earlier fantasy film magazine from 1962 to 1967, titledK'scope(forKaleidoscope,which appeared on the cover of the first issue), as well as collaborating with Ray Cabana on the one-shot magazineCandlelight Roomin 1963.[citation needed]
In 2004, Don Shay received the Board of Directors Award from theVisual Effects Societyfor "illuminating the field of visual effects through his role as publisher ofCinefex."[1]He was made a lifetime member of the VES in 2016.[1]
In 2014, Don Shay retired as publisher, handing the reins to his son Gregg Shay, who took over ownership in 2015.[2]
History
editThe magazine was entirely reader-supported for its first ten years. In 1990, advertising director Bill Lindsay launched an advertising program that enabled Shay to hire editor Jody Duncan, the publication's head writer for several years. In January 2001, associate editor Joe Fordham, who previously wrote for VFXPro, joined the staff. He had previously written a freelance article in Issue 77 (1999).[2]
In July 1999, Cinefex launched a website, with selected onlinefeaturettesmeant to compliment the print publication.[3][4]In 2009, it began publishing a digital version of its print edition online, that was otherwise identical to the printed version.[5]Beginning with Issue 127 (October 2011),Cinefexwas made available digitally for theiPad,featuring enhanced features such as embedded video and before and after comparisons of visual effects shots. Gradually, back issues of the magazine were also converted into digital copies, available for purchase in the app.[5]
In October 2013, Graham Edwards joined as a writer for theCinefexblog,[6]later transiting to become an author for the main publication.[7]Beginning in 2011, Edwards hat previously written a retrospective review of the first 40 issues ofCinefexthat got the attention of publisher Don Shay.[8]
A 2014 event presented by theVisual Effects Societyand held atUCLAcelebrated "35 Years ofCinefex"and featured a panel discussion with Don Shay and Jody Duncan, moderated byMatte World Digitalfounder Craig Barron.[9][10][11][12]The event highlighted the magazine's definitive coverage of the most explosive and innovative era in visual effects history, a period that saw the early use ofmotion controltechnology inThe Empire Strikes Back,the development ofcomputer animation(showcased in the groundbreaking 1993 filmJurassic Park), the pinnacle ofperformance capturetechniques, as executed in 2009'sAvatar,as well as advancements in hydraulics and robotics employed in practical, in-camera effects.
In late 2015, as the quarterly magazine transitioned into bimonthly publication,Cinefexblog editor Graham Edwards joined the team as a full-time writer.[13]
As larger, better-funded magazines folded,Cinefex– once described inHollywood Reporteras 'a niche survivor'[citation needed]– expanded from quarterly to bimonthly publication beginning in 2016.
In its February 2021 issue, #172,Cinefexannounced its final issue of the magazine after 40 years of publications. Gregg Shay, the magazine's publisher, cited the effects ofCOVID-19 pandemicas a reason for the magazine to officially end and discontinue its publication.[14][15]
Reception
editIn 2001, twenty years after the original publication ofCinefex,Ramin Zahed ofVarietypraised the magazine, writing that it is "one of the top chroniclers of the advancements in the visual effects industry over the past 20 years" and "one of the few places where you can turn to when you're desperate for the right information about special effects credits."[4]InThe Empire of Effects,author Julie A. Turnock writes "Cinefexhas played an important role to those hoping to join the effects industry as well as to scholars who are writing about it. "while noting that, like otherindustry publications,Cinefexrelied on access bystudiosandproducers,and would thus "present the effects production in idealized form".[16]Turnock describesCinefexas a "fan-directed effects and science fiction–oriented publication".[16]In a 1999 interview, Don Shay states "We took the position early on that it was more important to be accurate than to maintain the customary sense of journalistic detachment" regarding theCinefexpolicy to allow interview subjects to proofread and make corrections prior to the publication of an article.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ab"VES Honors".Visual Effects Society.20 February 2019.Retrieved2024-07-28.
- ^abFordham, Joe."Adios Cinefex".flashfilms.us.Retrieved2025-02-08.
- ^abFordham, Joe (2021-08-10) [1999-12-22]."Twenty Years With Cinefex Magazine".flashfilms.us.Retrieved2025-02-08.
- ^abZahed, Ramin (February 22, 2001)."Cinefex".Variety.RetrievedMay 5,2021.
- ^ab"FAQs about Cinefex iPad Edition".web.archive.org.2012-08-24.Retrieved2025-02-08.
- ^Edwards, Graham (2013-10-01)."Launching Today – The Cinefex Blog".Graham Edwards.Retrieved2025-02-08.
- ^Edwards, Graham (2013-12-18).""Formula For Fire" – My First Cinefex Article ".Graham Edwards.Retrieved2025-02-08.
- ^"Revisiting Cinefex".Graham Edwards.2020-11-20.Retrieved2025-02-08.
- ^"Cinefex 35th Anniversary Event- Part 1 - Visual Effects Society".Retrieved2025-02-08.
- ^cinefexmagazine (2014-09-15).Cinefex 35th Anniversary Event – Part 1.Retrieved2025-02-08– via YouTube.
- ^cinefexmagazine (2014-09-15).Cinefex 35th Anniversary Event – Part 2.Retrieved2025-02-08– via YouTube.
- ^cinefexmagazine (2014-09-15).Cinefex 35th Anniversary Event – Part 3.Retrieved2025-02-08– via YouTube.
- ^"Cinefex".Graham Edwards.2011-11-01.Retrieved2025-02-08.
- ^Hardawar, Devindra (February 24, 2021)."Farewell Cinefex, you unlocked the magic of VFX for everyone".Engadget.RetrievedMay 5,2021.
- ^"Cinefex on Twitter:" After 41 years of publication, we at #CinefexNOW are sad to report that Cinefex 172, just off the presses, will be our final issue. Many thanks to all our loyal fans.… ".Twitter.2021-02-23. Archived fromthe originalon 2021-02-23.Retrieved2025-02-08.
- ^abThe Empire of Effects: Industrial Light & Magic and the Rendering of Realism.University of Texas Press. 2022. pp.20–21.doi:10.7560/325308.ISBN978-1-4773-2531-5.
External links
edit- Official website
- Back issues(Index)
- fxguide story and podcast interview with Don Shay
- Twenty Years With Cinefex Magazineby Joe Fordham, 1999 (republished on Fordhams blogflashfilms.usin 2021)
- Cinefexon theApp Store