Knowing that you can only tease TV viewers so long with the threat of various horrific terror attacks before you have to actually unleash one, the writers behind 24 finally pulled out the stops this year, opening the season with the detonation of a small nuclear bomb in metropolitan Los Angeles. (OK, Valencia. But technically it still counts.) Showmanship is not dead – the key image of a mushroom cloud rising above a suburban skyline was deployed only at the tail end of a two-night, four-hour season opener that put Jack Bauer, newly released from Chinese prison, through a new kind of wringer. Even though 24 is mainly fantasy, the image of a potentially real nuclear attack has been imprinted on the minds of multiple generations. At VFX house Zoic Studios, CG Supervisor Jerrod Land knew he had to get the shot done on time, on budget – and exactly right. We asked him how it came together.
Back in New York City, the folks at motion-graphics house Nailgun* had to work out a solid After Effects-to-Maya workflow in order to execute a series of cinema spots that placed 3D models of the Mercury Milan and Mercury Mariner Hybrid – derived from super-heavy CAD data – into a vibrant, animated city environment. We talked to them about sharing data in 2D and 3D, developing a visual style, and maximizing render performance. After you click through, you can watch the spots and listen to audio commentary on animation techniques.

Also this month, Dan Daley investigated a brave new world for music libraries, looking at the innovative ways library producers are making music – and the unexpected ways music supervisors are putting tracks to use.

Finally, we have reports from Grass Valley's annual pre-NAB Media Summit in Santa Monica (synopsis: Infinity is still not shipping, but it's slated to show up this summer, with a fancy new CMOS sensor) and the HPA Tech Retreat in Palm Springs, where issues including consumer electronics, digital archives, and others were placed on the table for discussion. Nobody offered all the answers, but it was a good place to ask the questions.