Visual effects on Caprica: Interview with Gary Hutzel

SCI FI Wire has a new interview with Caprica's VFX supervisor Gary Hutzel. The article is here. It contains some vague spoilers.

Hutzel previewed the upcoming episodes in the press room at the Visual Effects Society Awards, where he won for the model work on Battlestar Galactica.

"When we first see Gemenon and we're within a cathedral, we want that to feel very natural to the audience," Hutzel said in an exclusive interview last weekend in Century City, Calif. "That cathedral will probably draw very little attention aside from the fact that it'll look like a terrific location. Other than that, I don't think people will say, 'I've been transported away out of the show.' I think instead they'll say, 'This is a dark place,' which is correct for the tone of the scene. This is a dark place where bad things could happen."

The point is to make the audience believe that this is the real world we arrive at just before our demise and not some robot fantasy. "My goal always is to make my storytelling, the visual-effects storytelling, a part of the natural flow of the story," Hutzel said. "I never want to do anything that is jarring or will take the audience out of the show. I never want the audience to stop and say, 'We've gone to a fantasy world.' Caprica, like Battlestar, is not a fantasy world. It's a real place. What I need to do is always maintain that framework so we never break that window for the audience. They never feel like they're in a fantasy show."

Synopsis for 1x06 Know Thy Enemy and first clip with James Marsters

Maureen Ryan at Chicago Tribune has posted an exclusive clip from this Friday's episode, "Know Thy Enemy," with Liam Sproule (Keon) and James Marsters (Barnabus). You can watch it on her blog.

And this is the synopsis for "Know Thy Enemy:"

Rival industrialist Tomas Vergis arrives on Caprica demanding a meeting with Daniel, threatening to reveal proof that Daniel stole the chip that is key the U-87 Cylon, and Graystone’s military contract. Vergis whirls up a publicity storm that steals the heart of the Caprican public, and surprisingly serves up a friendly offer to Daniel that could save Graystone Industries. But there’s a catch to his proposal that could haunt Daniel for years to come.

Clarice, panicked that off-world STO leadership has been backing a rogue named Barnabas, steps up her plans to acquire Zoe’s avatar program and may find her answer through befriending Amanda. Meanwhile, wanting to fulfill her own promise to Zoe, Lacy goes with Keon to meet the enigmatic Barnabas, opening herself up to a new world of danger.

After the revelation that the avatar of his daughter Tamara is still lost in V-World, Joseph starts his quest to find her in a virtual world he knows nothing about.

Sasha Roiz on Alpha Waves Radio

Sasha Roiz did a podcast on Alpha Waves Radio the other day and, among other things, he gave away some interesting teasers for the rest of the season, as well as info on which cast member is the best karaoke singer. An interesting dodge, too, when asked if Sam would be visiting V world. You can listen to the whole thing here.

The interview lasts for half an hour and starts about 45 minutes into the podcast. 

Bonus scene: Sister Clarice drunk dials Amanda Graystone

Bonus clip from the last episode:

Unconfirmed: SyFy hiring staff for season two

This is not coming from SyFy, so it's still just a rumour, but it could mean some great news in the near future. SFX magazine writes:

After such a Lengthy commissioning process, and a slightly shaky start, a second helping of Batlestar Galactica spin-off Caprica was not necessarily a given. But fans that were expecting to be singing "Cylon, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodnight!" at the end of season one can breathe a sigh of relief: Caprica will definitely be returning to our screens.

While the Syfy channel are still remaining tight-lipped about season two's prospects, the show’s critical plaudits have been a delightful surprise. So much so, that they’ve already begun hiring staff for season two behind the scenes, according to a source working on the production. They told us that that they've been booked to start work at the end of the year, which should tie into a Jan 2011 air date.

Teaser and clip from Caprica 1x06 Know Thy Enemy

SyFy has released the teaser for the next episode, "Know Thy Enemy," and also a clip introducing Tomas Vergis, the other tech mogul on the show.

Vergis is played by John Pyper-Ferguson, another familiar face from Battlestar. (He appeared as Pegasus CAG Cole Taylor in season two.)

The teaser:



The clip, with John Pyper-Ferguson and Eric Stoltz:

Madrid event: Ron Moore and Alessandra Torresani

This blog reports that Ron Moore and Alessandra Torresani will appear at an event in Madrid on March 11. They will do a Q & A session and the pilot will be screened in HD.