VFX Geek

Upholding Standards

2006-01-05T00:47:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons visual effects work is because of standardization.

Here's how I see standardization in visual effects...

Still photographers (we are talking mid-1800's onward) shot in whatever format (aspect ratio) they wanted or could afford. Most still cameras were custom built or built in very limited production runs (as fast as one guy could make them). Same was true for early motion picture cameras until Bell & Howell came out with a mass-produced film camera in the 1920's.

What made Bell & Howell camera especially important to the development of visual effects was that it increased the ability of filmmakers to shoot multiple images within the same frame of film through a variety of clever masking techniques. You could block the light from hitting part of the film the first time the film went through the camera, mask the part you just exposed, and run it through the camera again, this time exposing the part of the film you covered in the first run through the camera.

Capturing motion pictures with any kind of assurance that you would get an image required an agreement between the people flogging cameras and projectors and those flogging the film to go in the cameras. Slot A had to fit into Tab B (within a reasonable tolerance). Things had to fit because it made good business sense -- a weavy, wobbly image would make audiences heave, head for the door or both.

Later when motion picture film size was standardized for a variety of true and apocryphal reasons, camera operators cranked their cameras at speeds which suited them, speeds may or may not have been replicated by the projectionist who may have been taking his or correspondence course in modern electronics between reel changes. This meant that there was no guarantee that the exhibitor would run the film at the speed the filmmaker intended.

Then along came sound in the late 1920's and the speed of the film going through the camera *had* to be standardized so that every character didn't sound like a schoolkid hopped up on helium or Paul Robeson waking up after a long night partying.

So film speed was standardized to a specific frame rate which turned out to be 24 frames per second.

The need for things to "fit" is especially important in creating the illusions of visual effects.

Much of the early history of visual effects involves developing increasingly tighter registration and synchronization of cameras used to shoot the elements for a shot.

Not just the light had to match among elements.

The movement of the elements in the shot -- and the movement of the film through the camera as well -- had to match. The elements had to tell the story without drawing attention to themselves -- and without being copied readily by the joker in the studio down the boulevard. (Mark Cotto Vaz and Craig Barron's highly readable Invisible Art, a loving history of what has come to be called "matte painting," tells of the lengths early filmmakers went to guard their particular tricks of the trade.)

As time progressed, developments in optics and the electromechanical components of film recording and projection permitted closer and closer registration and synchronization, both during the shoot and during the post-production process (in processes such as optical printing).

Nowadays, organizations like SMPTE help keep technical standards in line and confusion to a minimum.

This is all by way of introducing the key visual effects concept of matching.

Though the human visual system does have its drawbacks (for example, we suck at judging distance and scale in the absence of other visual cues). it is very good at noticing things that break a pattern, appear misaligned, wonky, skewed, or "somehow" not right.

To be successful at pulling off a "trick" shot you had to have control over the frame.

My view that the human trait of noticing patterns (even making patterns in one's mind when a pattern really does not exist -- see, for example, Al Seckel's work in optical illusions) has been selected through evolution. The creatures who were more likely to notice the change in patterns were probably better at spotting food and predators, were therefore more likely to survive and pass their genetic makeup to their offspring.

One of the great advantages of computers is that one can write a set of instructions that enable optical, electromechanical and digital equipment to tirelessly repeat a series of actions within tolerances than a human cannot maintain over time. These are sometimes called "passes" and there can be dozens of them in a single visual effects shot which are then combined into a single visual effects shot. Though I am loathe to introduce vfx jargon in this blog, this is a term probably you need to know: motion control.

In motion control, a camera can shoot a variety of elements which can be combined into a single image by creating the illusion that all of the elements were photographed by the camera at the same place and time instead of being shot separately as separate passes and composited together.

(We see here again the world of visual effects playing with the fourth dimension of time.)

Of course, the moving picture itself is an illusion in the sense that it is succession of still frames because of the peculiarity of the human visual system called persistence of vision.

Matching, synchronization, standardization -- all attempts by filmakers to get control over the frame and the movement of elements within the frame.

The 2D / 3D Convention

2006-01-04T01:32:00.000-08:00

To understand visual effects its important to understand the issues surrounding the representation of the "real" three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional surface and have that surface convey some notion of the three-dimensional world to audiences.

What seemed OK for a cave dweller -- brushing out a few buffalo-looking smudges on the firelit cave wall and calling it a day -- was not OK for the rampantly curious Renaissance person eager to understand the natural world -- including the heavens.

To the enlightened Renaissance picture-maker picture-making had to be done, well, scientifically, mathematically.

We have been wrestling with geometric perspective (the set of tools and conventions dealing with the represention a three-dimensional scene on a two-dimensional surface) ever since. Perspective and its fun-loving peers -- parallax, scale, apparent motion, depth, aerial perspective (things look bluer and less contrasty the further away they are) have become encoded into software tools and into creative discussions about shots. But we've got to remember that the 2D/3D distinctions are conventions.

Motion pictures are themselves illusions which take advantage of the inability of the human imaging system to distinguish between continuous movement and the illusion of continuous movement caused by a succession of still images present in the same space at a certain standard rate per second.

One might say the scientific, industrial, technological, economic, artistic, scholarly developments until our own day have been but a series of mini-Renaissances. In my view, we are experiencing another mini-Renaissance as digital distribution enables the mass exhibition of 3D versions of effects-driven and animated CG features in what had been strictly 2D venues.

The 2D/3D distinction continues in visual effects today in larger vfx shows where departments are called "the 2D team" and "the 3D team" -- 2D generally referring to compositing of live and virtual elements, 3D generally referring to the creation and animation of virtual characters, objects and enviroments.

Someone once said something like "movies are like life with all the boring bits cut out."

Filmmaking in general and visual effects in particular concerns itself manipulating our conventional, everyday sense of height, width and depth as it tweaks with our conventional understanding of the fourth dimension: time.

Visual effects work because they rely on the ability to deceive the human imaging system (for example the difficulty humans have with shared contours) as well as through a careful manipulation of the audience's expectations and assumptions.

Quite a feat, really.

A Conceptual Approach to VFX

2006-01-04T01:27:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think it might be valuable to take a conceptual approach to the history of visual effects.

For an approach that deals with visual effects techniques and methods, my favorite sources (other than from other people working in the business!) are Mitchell's Visual Effects for Film and Television, Fielding's The Technique of Special Effects Cinematography and Rickitt's Special Effects.

These are great if you want to learn the so-called "optical effects," bipack cameras, motion control, glass (matte) painting and our old pal, the Schuftan Process. Mitchell's book in presents an interesting distinction between "special" and "visual" effects -- special effects modify the real world whereas visual effects modify the virtual world.

For a look at digital visual effects methods, check out the historical sections of Mason's CG 101, Alias' The Art of Maya and Kerlow's The Art of Computer Animation and Imaging. And, of course, the yearbook of the vfx industry Cinefex. There are other good sources.

Some people dig this stuff, others do not. I dig it. However, my claim: You do not need to know this stuff to understand what you need to know about visual effects and where it has taken and will take us as visual creators.

Here I will try to explain visual effects in terms of concepts you may already know from your own visual creative endeavors including, but never limited to [and secular and sacred] painting, sculpture, mosiac, sketching, camouflage, stagecraft, collage, graphics, architecture, interior design, textile design, sacred design, fashion, computer programming, printing, calligraphy, music, dance, filmmaking, still photography, stage magic, industrial, scientific and medical imaging and, of course, storytelling.

Which also suggests that people who do visual effects are interested in many things. In my experience visual effects people (at least the ones that've had the most impact on me) have been hyper-curious, inventor types, who make connections between and across technologies and methods. Sometimes you make money in it, sometimes you don't. Nearly always there is a reward at seeing the illusion you created and the story the illusion tells.

I've already discussed the role of story in visual effects. In a nutshell: No matter how groovily high-tech the effects on the screen, all were conceived and created by humans in pursuit of a story created by humans.

Which is why I'm reluctant to use the term "computer-generated imagery."

A computer no more generates imagery than a hammer builds a house.

Let There Be Light

2006-01-03T01:31:00.000-08:00

The curious among us have wondered how and why we see what exists around us. Galileo, DaVinci, Aristotle, Einstein, my sixth grade science teacher Mr. Moore.

In addition to creating The Calculus (along with Mr. Leibniz) and practicing a kind of alchemy bizarre even for alchemy, Sir Issac was heavily involved in optics, specifically. the composition of visible light and documenting light's behavior on earth and in space near Earth in predictable mathematical terms.

Much of visual effects is about the creation, manipulation, transport and recording of visible light. its compposition and its behavior. (Of course, visible light is itself a relatively small chunk of the entire electromagnetic spectrum. But that's another post. Or maybe another blog)

So at a fundamental level, the history of visual effects is in some way also the history of humanity's understanding of light's interaction with materials, environments, characters and objects, the various visual elements of the story we are telling.

Not surprisingly, much of the creative discussion during the capture of a live-action visual effect is how to light the shot so that it does not look like a visual effect to the audience.

Much of the creative discussion of a visual effects shot as it moves through a production pipeline is about light and its close pals color and shadow.

Chances are much of the creative discussion surrounding your own creative visual endeavors addresses issues of light and light's role in conveying your intention or story to your audience. You choose to color something a certain way or emphasize some parts or elements of your creation above other parts and elements. Sometimes "reality/verite" is most important, other times the mood is more important. It depends on what you are tyring to convey -- your story.

The nearly continuous study of optics since ancient times (with a little hiccup in the so-called Dark Ages) led to development of perspective during the Renaissance. Many of the conventions established by perspective -- the representation of three-dimensional objects, characters and environments on a two-dimensional surface -- are still with us today in visual effects in terms of the separation between 2D and 3D.

Thankfully, humanity's constant curiosity about light has led to the development of imaging systems based on how we currently understand the properties of light and our ability to generate, capture and store it on a physical (film, tape) or virtual (computer memory) medium.

Farewell to MONSTER HOUSE!

2005-12-15T00:10:00.000-08:00

So it’s time I told you all about something amazing...

For the past eight months I’ve been working on a show called MONSTER HOUSE at Sony Pictures Imageworks. My role in the show wraps next week and I will move onto my next adventure in vfx…

MONSTER HOUSE is a performance-capture show (some people call it motion capture, or “mocap” for short, but, hey, the industry still uses “M.O.S” in screenplays, so why not a little hip anachronism for us vfx geeks?). I'll write more about the advantages and risks of performance capture Sony-style in a future post.

I come from a “live action” vfx background, where you get a plate and jazz it up with cool 2D and 3D gags using digital and analog methods. (I hope I’m not getting too technical here! :-)) Something less than all of the shots in the show are vfx shots.

But MONSTER HOUSE is ALL visual effects.

Everything has to be created. No, seriously, I mean every thing.

Every character, object or environment must fit into the world along with all the other characters, objects or environments while at the same time making sure these elements also tell a coherent story and generate an emotional response in the audience. And you’ve got to put these characters, objects or environments in 1200+ shots, each of which may need to touched by multiple people in different orders depending on the needs of the shot and the particular story element it is meant to convey.

Since nobody wants to see what they’ve seen before and all storytellers (ncluding the MONSTER HOUSE team) want to “push the envelope” you have to adopt technologies that may be only a few months older than your greenlight.

So you create all of these characters, objects or environments using technology which was probably not designed to do what you want it to do (by definition, because you want to do something that has never been done before).

And the software vendors upgrade in the middle of your production cycle. And servers crash and…

You also have to do it in far less time than you’d like with far less money than you need.

Only rare humans are capable, much less adept, at surfing the deluge of information that a production entity generates while still maintaining a creative and critical eye.

I have worked with many of these rare people at Imageworks on MONSTER HOUSE.

The work on MONSTER HOUSE has undergone a remarkable transformation even in the short time I’ve been on the project.

As part of my work for the show (my title was Sr. Production Coordinator - gathering and coordinating the bidding estimates of person-days the team projects it will take to create a particular shot which then, you guessed it, translates into mega-dollars), I found myself reviewing the shots and sequences as they progressed. The characters' lives flashed before my eyes again and again on my Linux box.

I have seen the MONSTER HOUSE characters respond to adversity again and again. I feel that I've known some of the characters for years longer than I’ve really “known” them. The world of Mayville exists in some part of my brain as somewhere not real but not imaginary either. But it's definitely a place I will remember.

I'm also sure what usually happens when I'm among smart, motivated and talented people has happened during my tenure on the show -I've learned things that I don't even know I learned.

One of the lasting rewards of production that you get to live in another world in a way that not even the most rabid fan of “just” the movie gets to experience. I believe this desire to be part of more than just the movie is what drives many people into visual effects (it drove me through a long, rambling route to vfx after seeing 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY in 1970s re-release).

Production is a collective dream that begins, grows and fades with the show as the lasting artifact of that dream.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have been a part of the dream that was, is and will be MONSTER HOUSE.

To VFX or Not to VFX

2005-11-30T01:03:00.000-08:00

To recap: Visual effects serves storytelling. A visual effect without a story is a "test."

If you're considering visual effects for your project, ask yourself:

1. What story (or story point) do we need to convey?

2. Can we convey the story without images? If not…

3. Can we create the images required without using visual effects? If not…

4. Can we create the images by using a combination of “practical” and “visual effects” methods?

5. What human, financial and technical resources do we need to create the images?

6. How have other practitioners addressed this challenge before us?

7. What is the least expensive way (time = money) to create the images at the quality level required? [Remember, it called "show-business" for a reason.]

A Working Definition of Visual Effects

2005-11-21T00:51:00.000-08:00

Here is my current working definition of visual effects...

"Practices, methods and technologies relating to the creation and manipulation of elements within moving images that enable storytellers to guide an audience’s conception of time, space and/or reality, thereby eliciting a desired emotional response and/or conveying critical story information."

Beyond Words - Story & Visual Effects

2005-11-19T23:08:00.000-08:00

Which scenes first come to mind when you think of STAR WARS, STARSHIP TROOPERS, THE MATRIX, KING KONG (the 30's one), CITIZEN KANE, GONE WITH THE WIND, THE WIZARD OF OZ, TITANIC, METROPOLIS, JURASSIC PARK, HARRY POTTER, SHREK GLADIATOR, LORD OF THE RINGS?

Chances are pretty good what you remember is a scene which relied heavily on the art and science of visual effects.

There's also a visual effects approach/category called "invisible effects" which basically means those shots or sequences in which you are unaware of visual effects in the presentation.

There is another more complex (and usually more expensive) approach to visual effects which combines image capture expertise (cinematography), post-production work (washing out colors via a digital intermediate, for example) and visual effects to tell the story.

Many practitioners are now using a combination of practical and digital effects in an effort to keep the human visual system (developed over millions of years) concentrated on the emotions the image is trying to generate in the audience rather than on the technology used to achieve it (vfx geeks like myself find both pretty cool!).

The masters of the art know which expertise to bring to bear to create an image that -- until excruciatingly late in the process -- becomes the public's lasting vision of that shot or sequence and their representation of it in their mind's eye...

Yes, it can be done wrong. Yes, sometimes creative impulses collide instead of blend. Yes, sometimes even withing the same show some work can be great and other work can be mediocre.

But when it works, it is a remarkable almost alchemic transformation of human thought, human communication and technology into archival images of the way things are, were or might be.

Visual effects is about trade-offs, about getting the best image possible that will serve the story under the financial, schedule and political/team circumstances in which you find yourself.

Visual effects is fundamentally about the people you work with to solve problems, not the specific technology you employ to solve the problem. There are multiple solutions to any visual effects problem. The solution chosen has everything to do with the human and technical resources available at the time.

Visual effects practitioners most often work in teams using resources at hand. Though magical and effortless-appearing in the end, it's often a long, hard (but often very soul-rewarding) slog to get there.

The field has its “rock stars,” of course, but these personalities most often represent teams of other people who take on and relinquish many roles over the course of a visual effects project.

The way I see it, visual effects is akin to old time stage magic, trompe l'oeil painting, camouflage, scientific demonstration, theatre, architecture (especially the architecture of sacred places such as temples, cathedrals and so on, collage, sculpture...

Rather than looking at the evolution of visual effects as a linear progression of people technology and methods (the textbook approach), we will look at visual effects as a succession of solutions to various problems, many of which exist in motion picture production to this day.

Since the beginning of the era of recorded visual entertainment, practitioners have solved problems on many levels in demanding and chaotic project-based ad-hoc organizations.

On one level, visual effects deals with the problems of human perception – finding ways to take advantage of the strengths and weakness in the human visual system. Cues such as scale, perspective, depth, color, pattern, texture, intensity, shadow, parallax each of us instinctively use to place ourselves in the world. Visual effects take advantage of these cues

On another level, motion pictures are themselves illusions in that they depend on a visual circumstance called persiustence of vision which enables successive frames of still images to be perceived as continuous action.

On still another level are the technical problems related to the tools and materials used to develop a visual effects solution. But no matter what the eventual technical hurdles, visual effects starts with the written representation of the story -- the script -- and very quickly moves into iterative visual representations of the story.

The bottom line always is the story: depictions of real or imagined events with characters, objects and environments illustrating some aspect of the human experience.

Tis light makes color visible; at night
Red, green and russet vanish from thy sight.
So too the light by darkness is made known.
All hid things by their contraries are shown.
Mevlana C. Rumi (1207-1273)

Casting Your Visual Effects Team

2005-11-14T21:08:00.000-08:00

There are three basic criteria for adding people to your visual effects team:

1. CAN they do the job? In other words: Do they have the experience and/or skills needed for the job?

If not, go to the next candidate. If so...ask yourself:

2. WILL they do the job? In other words: Is the candidate willing to do the job required at the specified pay rate?

If not, go to the next candidate. If so...ask yourself:

3. Do they FIT into the organization or team? This is a very subjective thing but perhaps the most important one of the three criteria.

Even if they can and will do the job, if they do not 'fit' with the team, then you need to go to the next candidate.

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood." - Marie Curie

Key Methods in Visual Effects

2005-11-14T20:37:00.000-08:00

The shot is the basic unit of measurement, evaluation, scope and workload for a visual effects project. A shot contains one or more visual effects which in turn consist of one or more elements. A series of related shots is called a sequence.

Here are some of the methods visual effects teams use to create shots...

CG -- Computer-generated environments, characters and objects; sometimes called "3D".

There are several sub-tasks required for the creation of CG elements, including:

modeling - creating the 3D entity or entities (objects, characters, environments)
rigging/setup - preparing the entity(ies) for animation
animation - moving the entity in 2D or 3D space
texturing - adding surface characteristics to the entity
lighting - determining the sources, levels and types of illumination on and around the entity
shading - determining the "look and feel" of a given light on surfaces or areas within an image
rendering - creating a human-viewable image of the 3D entity

Compositing -- A broad term for the art and practice of combining elements created with a variety of methods (film, video, CG) into a single shot to give the illusion that the elements exist at the same time and place. Also called "2D" or "comp."

Miniatures -- Scale models of objects, sets and environments. Miniatures are then recorded and used as elements.

Motion Control -- A way to repeat (almost) exactly the same camera move over and over. This allows the team to create moving elements which the compositor can combine as if they were shot at the same time.

Matte Painting -- A 2D image which when composited with other elements extends a set or create an environment in which the action of the shot takes place.

Motion Capture (or "Mocap") -- A method of recording movements of live performers thereby reducing the expense/time of animating a character from scratch; also called performance capture.

Greenscreen (or Bluescreen) -- A way of using a computer's ability to identify a single color and replace it with another element. Allows teams to "cut out" or "matte out" that part an element they do not want the audience to see and replacing it with something they do want the audience to see. This sounds a lot easier in theory than it really is in practice.

"Of course the game is rigged. Don't let that stop you - if you don't play, you can't win." - Robert Heinlein

Key Documents in Visual Effects Production

2005-11-14T20:18:00.000-08:00

Bid - Contains the current estimate of the scope and cost of the work to be done by the visual effects team. Bids may list the following information:
- location of the shot in the story (e.g., scene number from script)
- a shot number or other identifier
- brief description of the shot (may also include direct quote of the relevant action from the story)
- anticipated workload (in hours or days) per shot or sequence
- current projected overall total budget in dollars

Often, bids change over the course of a project as new shots are requested, previously anticipated shots omitted and so on. When shots are added, the project is re-bid or charged as "overages" depending on what the producer works out with the client.

Schedule - Contains the dates and durations for the deliverables as well as milestones (events in the creative and/or financial life a project, typically an event that triggers a transfer of money from one entity to another).

Shot List -- Contains information from the bid from a production standpoint but is different from a bid in that it does not have cost information. Constantly updated as project evolves.

Purchase Order -- An agreement to purchase a product or service at a specified price. Companies (including your client) provides these to vendors (i.e., your visual effects team); you provide them to your sub-vendors. When in doubt, always get a purchase order (or the PO number).

Work Order -- Similar in mechanics to a purchase order, a work order is an agreement by an organization to pay for services by a staff member or freelancer for a specified service at a specified price (although rate information may be contained in a deal memo -- see below -- and not shown on the work order).

Deal Memo -- This document contains the organization's understanding of the rate of compensation per unit of workload for a team member (usually day or hours) and payment terms (times and amounts).

Seat Cost -- All costs related to providing a unit of workload of a specific type of work (e.g. compositing) using a specific vfx technology (e.g., inferno); typically seat cost includes amounts to be paid to team members as compensation plus other organization-wide costs (rent, utilities, support, client services, etc.).

Rate Card -- A list of the cost per unit of work the organization charges a project for a specific type of service; typically a mark-up of the seat cost.

Actuals -- A record of the amount workload units by a team member within a given period of time (e.g. hours per day. hours per week).

Timecard -- A record of the time spent by a team member on a project task; used to calculate actuals

Invoice -- A request that an entity pay money to another entity because a certain milestone has occurred.

Deliverable -- A work product reviewed or evaluated internally (by the team) or externally (by the client) -- as opposed to more ephemeral intermediate work products (like whiteboard diagrams, scribbled post-its, internal tracking lists, and so on).

Edit Decision List (EDL) -- A key project document that indicates which portions of what footage will be used in the visual effects shot; sometimes called "counts".

Log -- Lists the shots contained on an archival storage media (hard drive, CD, DVD or tape). A copy of the log should always travel with the media.

Camera Data Sheet -- For live action shots involving visual effects -- contains basic data about the lens, film speed, film stock, exposure, distance, height, angle of inclination for specific "takes."

The vfx team needs this information in order to create "virtual" cameras that match as closely as possible the moves of the camera that shot the live action footage.

"There's no business like show business, but there are several businesses like accounting." - David Letterman

Key Steps in Visual Effects Production

2005-11-14T20:00:00.000-08:00

Let's grossly oversimplify, shall we?

Visual effects production consists of the following processes (which can occur simultaneously, sequentially, not necessarily in this order, or not at all):

STORY
Understanding the emotional and/or informational objectives of a narrative or event within the narrative.

DESIGN
Conceiving and documenting a series of images conveying the objectives of the story.

METHODOLOGY
Selecting existing techniques (or developing new ones) to create the envisioned images within schedule and budget parameters.

ESTIMATION/BIDDING
Calculating the resources required to implement the design using the proposed methodology.

RESOURCING
Assembling the resources (money, people, equipment, materials, etc.) required to implement the methodology.

IMAGING
Using the resources gathered to create shots as designed using the prescribed methodology (or a revised methodology)

DELIVERY
Showing images to people who need to see them.

ITERATION
Repeat the above processes as needed.

"In organizations, real power and energy is generated through relationships. The patterns of relationships and the capacities to form them are more important than tasks, functions, roles, and positions." - Margaret Wheatley

VFX Producers & VFX Supervisors

2005-11-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

The major role of a VFX Producer is to deliver shots at a certain quality level within certain time and budgetary limits while identifying and (hopefully) reducing risks to the project as it progresses.

Despite what you may have read in the popular and trade press about visual effects (which often focus on issues of technique and technology) visual effects production is fundamentally about people.

Visual effects production is about transforming peoples' intangible intellectual property into a tangible product -- in the case of visual effects, this product is most often a series of images.

A VFX Producer needs to:

-- encourage processes that enhance the ability of the team to "realize" this transformation of intellectual property and remove obstacles to this transformation

-- understand how information (creative, technical, financial) flows into, from and within the production team

-- discover the team's relationships to other teams inside the organization (for example, management, engineering, systems, sales and marketing) and outside the organization (for example, vendors, service providers, clients, press) and how these relationships affect the flow of information

-- respond to constant change as gracefully, diplomatically and intelligently as possible

So what's the difference between a VFX Supervisor and a VFX Producer?

Like nearly every role in the entertainment industry, this varies according to the project.

On the shows I worked on...

The VFX Supervisor was usually responsible for working with the client and production entity to create an effect to help the client convey a story point or achieve an emotional response in the audience. Generally, the visual effects supervisor is the creative lead of a visual effects team.

A VFX Supervisor is also the one who is present on set or location during the shooting of sequences which require visual effects. In the case of an all-CG show, the VFX supervisor is involved in every shot. If you hate hanging out on set at all hours and in all weather, best not become a live-action VFX Supervisor.

It is generally a primary responsibility of the live-action VFX Supervisor to make sure the production team shoots the plates the visual effects team requires. As such, the VFX Supervisor often has a very close working relationship with the show's director, director of photography, propmaster, makeup person, special effects lead, stunt coordinator, assistant director, script supervisor and editorial staff.

Often the VFX Supervisor has in-depth understanding of visual effects methodologies and may be able to communicate on a more technical and "creative" level with the visual effects team as well as with the (client) production team.

The VFX Producer owns the budget and schedule and is responsible for translating the client's creative goals into hours, rates, dates, dollar amounts and headcount.

The First Visual Effect

2005-11-10T22:40:00.000-08:00

One night during a long winter in prehistory an ape-like human (or human-like ape) reached out into the air of the cave as the firelight danced against the irregular walls.

She found that by moving her hand in the space between the fire and the wall she could make a shadow appear on the wall.

The shadow grew larger and less distinct as she brought her hand closer to the flame, smaller and sharper as she brought her hand closer to the wall. By changing the shape of her hands she could create a shadow that provided recongnizable outlines of objects, creatures and other aspects of the world around her.

The pursuit of food and protection from enemies and predators occupied much of our ancenstors' daily life, so it's no surprise that cave paintings and petroglyphs (permanent versions of the shadows) frequently represented elements in the world -- animals, water, fire, stars, Earth's moon and other people (allies and enemies) and basic interactions with it -- the search for food, battling enemies, making alliances, making sense of one's world. It's likely that these same themes echoed in the shadowplays on the cave walls.

Visual representations of the natural world were themselves later abstracted into letters, characters and pictograms which when combined allowed humankind to make further abstractions, record complex concepts and document methods, even create new languages -- such as those of mathematics and computing.

This prehistoric being found that with light (from the sun or its terrestial cousin, fire) comes shadows. By combining shadows on the cave wall into a sequence the being found she could describe past and future events or events occuring in the netherworld between fact and fiction extemporaneuosly in the mind and body of the storyteller.

Surely these proto-beings had already recognized that certain objects around themlooked like other objects -- a bent root, for example, that reminded of a lions head or a leaf that reminded them of the creatures flying through the air.

It is safe to assume that storytellers who touched the emotions of those around them while providing emotionally convincing images (in shadows or in movements of their bodies -- the precursors of dance and theatre) would be most sought after.

With the advent of weapons and increased control of fire and food resources, humanity could devote less time to food and security and more time to develop their views of the world in terms of dance, scuplture, painting, architecture, costume, music, ceramics, textiles, jewelry.

Perhaps this early shadowplay was the root of visual entertainment, something to pass the long cold winter nights without succumbing to the forces seemingly bent on their destruction and to break the monotony of the endless search for food. Something to push away the unknowingness and the fear if only for a few moments. Perhaps these episodes of visual storytelling started as a mere distraction, then grew over eons along with the human will to live more fully by experiencing (vicariously) events beyond their own situation.

One might argure whether a storyteller really creates a story or wills a pre-existing story thread into existence by telling it. One wonders how many stories have been borm, lived and died in the minds of all of our ancestors staring at the fires.

Of course, we will never know how this all really started. By definition, history requires writing and writing requires language. But visual effects had been around long before humans got around to writing.

(It continues to fascinate me that otherwise grown-up adults who would not be caught dead doing karaoke have no problem doing shadow puppets with their hand. Or maybe its just the people I hang out with.)

Stories either about ourselves or our gods (involving love, betrayal, sacrifice, victory, faith, belief, defeat, war, death, life, courage, politics) form the backbone of myth.

My intention is to present a perspective on visual effects that is as jargon-free as possible, using the following working definition of visual effects:

"Technologies, practices and methods and relating to the design and creation of moving images that enable storytellers to guide their audience's understanding of time, space and/or reality, thereby eliciting an emotional response."

The above story contains the key conceptual elements required to understanding visual effects and its evolution into a major mass media tool:

Storyteller
Audience
Story
Light Source
Elements
Imaging System

I will address each of these concepts and their relationship to visual effects in future posts.

"The diversity of the phenomena of nature is so great, and the treasures in the heavens so rich, precisely in order that the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh nourishment." - Johannes Kepler

The VFX Team Phrasebook

2005-09-19T01:23:00.000-07:00

A list of phrases that might come in handy for people involved in producing visual effects.

Here are some phrases that have helped me in the past and continue to spring to my lips. (I probably do not use them nearly as often as I should!)

"What do I need to know?" -- Especially good for "cutting to the chase" when getting a communication from someone on your team. It demonstrates that you trust them to tell you what you need to know instead of having to pry it out of them. Try it the next time you talk to a team member and see what happens!

"What are you working on?" -- Asked in a pleasant, non-confrontational tone, this phrase is one of the most useful for vfx producers. Especially if you have asked them to work on the wrong thing. Sometimes you will find out that they indeed working on the wrong thing or on the right thing but for the wrong team.

"I need your help..." -- Always ask for help. You cannot possibly know everything there is to know. There are people a phone call or a table away who can help you. Chances are someone you know has dealt with a similar situation before.

"What am I looking at?" -- You should be aware of what you are seeing (in general, of course, but specifically when you are viewing a shot). For example, are you seeing an early animatic of a shot, a preliminary composite or a final candidate?

"What works for me is..." -- Avoid blurting out your opinion on something (especially if others on the team, or that suit in the corner who might be a client, could construe your words as 'negative'). This phrase helps minimize natural defensiveness that occurs with all of us.

"What might work better for me is..." -- A less confrontational way of saying that you think something about a shot could be improved.

"What are the biggest current risks (or 'red flags')?" -- This is something you must ask several times to several members of your team over the course of the project. One of your tasks is to identify risks to a project's schedule, budget and/or quality then propose and implement processes to reduce the risk. Risk areas might include: people, money, time, scope, tools.

"I'm sure we can work something out..." -- Often you will be put in the position of negotiating for products, services and/or resources (time, money, people) on behalf of your organization or team. The people you might be working things out with may be from your team, your organization, a from a vendor or other service provider, a client. Your job is to deliver vfx shots and to do whatever you can to make sure this happens. Sometimes this means doing a deal, an exchange or barter. Don't freak. Make the person on the other end of the line your ally.

"I'm not familiar with that term/method/technology..." -- Don't bullshit. Don't assume knowledge that you do not have. Do not say that you have seen movie that you have not seen. Above all, do not take credit for work that you did not do.

"What needs to happen?" -- A way of helping an individual or team (as well as yourself) identify actions or events that need to happen in order to deliver a shot.

"Who needs to see this?" -- There is no substitute for actually seeing a work product. You must always be thinking about who needs to see a work product and make sure they see it. Is someone "out of the loop"? What can you do about it?

"I prefer the folly of enthusiasm to the indifference of wisdom."
-Anatole France

Top 10 Things You Can Do To Deliver Great Shots

2005-09-19T01:06:00.000-07:00

Of the dozens of tasks a VFX person might do in a day, some are more important than others.

Here are a few in no particular order. They have all been important at various times and stages of the projects I have worked on.

You may notice that none of these things are exclusive to visual effects. None of them have anything to do with a specific production method or technology. Most are mundane. One might say common.

TEAM = SHOT
Still, in my opinion, the more a VFX Producer does the actions below (and actions along similar lines) the better the team will be. The better the team, the better the shot. I would go so far as to put it into an equation for the die-hard Newtonians among you:

TEAM = SHOT

Make no mistake. The team shows up in the shot. The shot is the reflection of a team. A dysfunctional team has a greater likelihood of delivering a dysfunctional shot. An integrated, communicating team has a greater likelihood of delivering an integrated, communicating shot.

So even though it might not seem like it at first, all of the actions listed below have to do with delivering shots -- because all of these actions impact the people creating the shots. The people you are responsible for.

As with everything, your mileage may vary. Use what you want. Chuck the rest.

1. Keep your team fed and caffeinated!
If your team is working "above and beyond" (e.g. weekends, through lunch, late) you must feed them good food at regular intervals.

In addition to real meals, buy a dozen donuts for the team from time to time. Budget for team meals in your bid. It is a small expense that pays big bonuses in terms of productivity and morale.

Coffee (along with capital) are the industry's lifeblood. If you cannot make sure that there are pots of money around, make sure there is a good source of java nearby!

2. Send unproductive people away!
Let's face it, people are not productive all the time. If you want to work with machines this is not the biz for you.

You need to keep an eye out for long-term and short-term burnout on your team. If you feel someone is not being productive or they have a personal issue that needs to be resolved, ask them if they would prefer to give it another try tomorrow. The team may even thank you for it.

Like the cops say to drunk frat boys on Bourbon Street: "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

3. Know the difference between a fact, an opinion and a guess!
One of the things you will notice in the entertainment industry is that opinions and guesses often masquerade as "facts". The power or influence of the person giving the opinion or guess often has the power of turning an opinion or guess into a fact.

There is nothing inherently wrong with guesses or opinions (or facts). It is your responsibility to know (to the best of your ability) which is which.

For the record, this article and most of this site fall into the category of "opinions."

4. When in doubt, deliver the shot!
Your main responsibility as a visual effects producer is to deliver shots. If a shot can be seen by a client, it should be seen. Don't make the mistake of keeping a shot under wraps for "just a few more tweaks."

5. Thank your team!
Sounds really simple and low-cost. It is. A simple thanks goes a long way towards productivity and morale.

You would be surprised how many people forget this.

If you can be specific about what you are thanking them for (e.g., "Thanks for staying up late to debug that particle system") but even general thanks are nice. This includes the people on your production team, the people providing administrative support to your team (e.g. clients, messengers, cleaners), everyone.

6. Celebrate!
When you reach a major project milestone, celebrate with a few pizzas. It shows your team that you know they are more than just bodies churning out shots. Here's a rule:

If you think about celebrating, you should!

7. Make sure your team gets paid!
This is not another department's problem; it's yours. You need to make sure that people on your team (including vendors, freelancers and staff) are getting paid the amounts promised and you should raise holy hell (diplomatically, of course) if they aren't.

8. What Just Happened?
Think you know everything there is to know about the project? Guess again. Chances are that something happened in the past few hours that will impact the scope, schedule and/or budget of the project. Find out what it is.

9. Lighten Up (Francis)!
Most of the people in the visual effects field enjoy what they are doing. Have fun, laugh, tell jokes. The times I got into hot water with my team happened when I took myself too seriously.

Keep it light. Laughter can also be a great source of creativity and stress relief. And always remember: this is not a life-and-death business. There is always -- yes, always -- something to laugh about. Find out what it is.

10. Avoid the Blame Game!
We've all been there before. A shot is in hot water. Tempers are flaring. Words are said. Avoid the temptation to assign blame for a problem to a person, event or technology.

Visual effects is a team effort.

This means that a problem with any part of the team is a problem for the whole team.

What may look like an easily identifiable source of a problem may turn out to be a systemic problem (which needs your attention) or it may be just a fluke (which you cannot do anything about by definition).

Blaming demonstrates neither leadership nor understanding

The Next Media Thing

2005-09-19T00:52:00.000-07:00

I know this may be outside the realm of visual effects, but, hey, when you think about it, EVERYTHING is potentially a subject for exploration by visual effects!

Or at least, that's what I tell my accountant...

Seriously. part of my life's work is to help design and create the next mass visual communications medium (hereinafter referred to as "The Next Thing"). This is a big one, but hey it's a blog...

Before you say "this guy's a nutter!", hear me out...

I believe that individuals in the visual effects field have a critical role to play in the development of "The Next Thing" because it it they who have the experience and expertise in simulating alternate futures and presenting them to a mass audience.

I further believe that "The Next Thing" will:

- be used for both individual, interpersonal and public communication

- be unregulated, decentralized and free

- require a massive development and creative effort by thousands, perhaps millions, of individuals across the earth working in linked teams

- require a significant new ordering of organizations (in terms of structure, compensation, working environment, production pipeline, and so on)

- "piggyback" on other media technologies and will enhance, not replace, other media

- NOT be the "last" form of media

- influence world culture as much as any other previous major media (e.g.: painting, architecture, sculpture, music, graphics. photography, writing, speech, books, newspapers, radio, film, television, internet) -- at least until it is replaced by the "The NEXT Next Thing"

- use some aspect of human physiology (e.g. brainwaves, biochemistry, conscious or unconscious physical or mental activity) to guide the form, context and the direction of the communication

- involve as many human senses (as both transmitters and as receptors) as possible, although vision will likely be the primary way people will engage in it

- develop languages and interfaces that describe visual phenomena and allow these phenomena to be deconstructed and recombined

- be simulated in other visual media (e.g., television, movies, games, comics) long before it becomes an everyday reality

- require no special or secret technical knowledge or understanding to use

- more closely reflect the underlying chaos and complexity of nature at both the quantum and universal level than current types of media

- be independent of the specific language and technological capabilities of the artist or audience

- combine aspects of art, education and entertainment

- enable people to store and later replay their communications

- enable humanity to express and experience concepts, ideas, relationships and emotions in ways that cannot be expressed (or expressed well) in other media

- enable humanity to break down long-standing economic, political, social, geographic, technological and cultural barriers to discover heretofore unexperienced commonalties between people

- spawn new industries dedicated to creating content for it

- require participation in the development of the media both audience and artist

- make celebrities of individuals and teams who will excel in designing this new form of media

- provide the basis for an increasingly global visual language independent of spoken and written languages and their attendant cultural, religious, class, social and political biases, prejudices, assumptions and associations

- provide humanity with a way of understanding the "Big" questions, such as: Why am I here? Who am I? Where does my body end and my mind begin? Is anybody else out there?

- continue to develop after my life has ended

We in the visual effects field will be simulating this next media.

We have a lot of work to do in the coming years...

Why NOT enjoy the ride?

Just What the Heck is a VFX "Pipeline" Anyway?

2005-09-19T00:44:00.000-07:00

A visual effects production system is often
called a "pipeline" for some reason...

Maybe because film production pioneer
Howard Hughes was an oilman...

Maybe because one of the major VFX "epicenters" ( Los Angeles) still has working oil wells & oil pipelines ...

Maybe it's because of all the surfing we (though not me) do in California (a 'pipeline' is the curve a wave forms as it breaks -- dude)...

Maybe it comes from computer architecture (after all, the people that invented computer
graphics were major-league gearheads)...

...as in this definition of 'pipeline' from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (© 1993-2003 Denis Howe) excerpted here...

"A sequence of functional units ("stages") which performs a task in several steps, like an assembly line in a factory. Each functional unit takes inputs and produces outputs which are stored in its output buffer.

"One stage's output buffer is the next stage's input buffer. This arrangement allows all the stages to work in parallel thus giving greater throughput than if each input had to pass through the whole pipeline before the next input could enter.

"The costs are greater latency and complexity due to the need to synchronize the stages in some way so that different inputs do not interfere.

"The pipeline will only work at full efficiency if it can be filled and emptied at the same rate that it can process."

All of us, technologists and otherwise, deal with pipelines and the processes which comprise them.

Process Analysis in VFX

2005-09-19T00:36:00.000-07:00

A working definition of a "process" is "the sequence of tasks required to produce a desired outcome or result."

An effects production pipeline: people, processes and processors.

A VFX person might find herself in charge of "process improvement" for a project, team or organization. It follows that you first have to know what the process currently is in order to have any hope of improving it.

But how do you analyze a process?

Here's a list of questions to help you get a better idea about a process:

What is the purpose(s) of this process?

Who are the current "process experts"?

What impact/effect does successful implementation of this process have on the customer/client?

What are the specific tasks required to implement this process successfully at present? (Note: if this process takes more than about 10 steps to complete, you MAY want to create a new process OR you MAY reduce the level of task detail). Tasks should be listed in Verb-Noun format: e.g. "fill bathtub", "put dog into bathtub", "wash dog"

How specifically does someone implementing the process know whether or they have implemented the process successfully?

What outside sources/inputs of information does successful implementation of this process require? (Note: Outside sources could include databases, documents, forms, web sites, books, expert knowledge, and so on)

What are some of the ways we could measure this process?

What is the relationship of this process to other processes?

What is currently ambiguous, confusing, unclear about the process?

How much trouble would your "Aunt Betty" have implementing this process provided the process was described accurately? Why?

How many questions did the investigators (i.e., you) ask during the course of investigating this process?

Which questions were not answered satisfactorily by the process experts?

What unfamiliar words, acronyms, terms or expressions came up during your investigation? Please provide a list of these and your best "working definition" for each.

What improvements would you recommend making to the process?

What else would you like to tell us about your experience in investigating this process?

What outputs does this process generate?

Visual Music at LA's MOCA

2005-03-22T00:53:00.000-08:00

Last week I went to an amazing exhibit at Los Angeles' Museum of Contempory Art called "Visual Music." Synethesia - for some, a unity of the visual and auditory senses, for others, a troubling medical/psychological condition. For Visual Music, synethesia, and attempts by artists to create it in the 20th Century, serves as a unifying element.

The exhibition is a combination of a modern art exhibit and Exploratorium. It features works of abstract art from familiar names like Kandinsky and Klee to the outrageous experimental films of John and James Whitney in the 1960's and Oskar Fischinger in the 1920's and 30's. Also represented are the rock band background graphics you see swirling behind the guys in tie dye in old 16mm film clips from the era and several installation pieces that got me wondering --"how are they doing THAT"?

What surprised me after seeing so much "perfect" digital work as a digital media producer, was the unmistakable human hand in the artwork. This was expecially true in the fine selection of early experimental films. Even the interplay of film scratches and dirt wove their own inexorable fugue over the underlying animations.

Strongly recommended for all digital media people who want to engage an audience's non-visual senses and emotions through imagery. Through May 22. Free Thursdays. MOCA info here.

The Inquiring Producer

2005-03-20T23:31:00.000-08:00

A list of questions that might come in handy for people producing digital media.

What information/people/technology are we missing?

Who needs to be here?

How do we know when we have been successful?

What could happen?

What will probably happen?

What is the team learning?

Does the team have the skills it needs to do what it is being asked to do?

How has the team been involved in the decisions?

Do the systems and processes in place support the work? If not, how do they need to change in order to better support the work?

How are creative, technical and financial decisions made? Has this changed?

What are your key numbers and dates? Does your team agree?

Where does the team think it is?

Where does the organization think the team is?

Are your resources available? If not, what are some possible 'backup plans' or 'Plan B's'?

Is the information the team needs getting to the team?

Is information from the team getting to the people outside the team who need to know it?

Where does the team start? Where does it end? What are its boundaries?

Why [fill in the blank]?

What is the one thing I can do NOW that will help the team deliver on time and on budget?

"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes." -Oscar Wilde

A Producer's Phrasebook

2005-03-12T01:25:00.000-08:00

A list of phrases that might come in handy for people involved in producing visual effects or other digital media.

Here are some phrases that have helped me in the past...

"What do I need to know?" Especially good for "cutting to the chase" when getting a communication from someone on your team. It demonstrates that you trust them to tell you what you need to know instead of having to pry it out of them. Try it the next time you talk to a team member and see what happens!

"What are you working on?" Asked in a pleasant, non-confrontational tone, this phrase is one of the most useful for producers. Especially if you've asked them to work on the wrong thing (this happens!). Sometimes you will find out they are indeed working on the wrong thing -- or on the right thing but for the wrong team.

"I need your help..." Always ask for help. You cannot possibly know everything there is to know. There are people a phone call or a table away who can help you. Chances are someone you know has dealt with a similar situation before.

"What am I looking at?" You should be aware of what you are seeing (in general, of course, but specifically when you are viewing a shot or other work product). For example, are you seeing an early animatic of a shot, a preliminary composite or a final candidate?

"What works for me is..." Avoid blurting out your opinion on something (especially if others on the team, or that person in the dark Armani suit in the corner who might be a client, could construe your words as 'negative'). This phrase helps minimize natural defensiveness that occurs with all of us.

"What might work better for me is..." A less confrontational way of saying that you think something about a shot could be improved.

"What are the biggest current risks (or 'red flags')?" This is something you must ask several times to several members of your team over the course of the project. One of your tasks is to identify risks to a project's schedule, budget and/or quality then propose and implement processes to reduce the risk. Risk areas might include: people, money, time, scope, tools.

"I'm sure we can work something out..." Often you will be put in the position of negotiating for products, services and/or resources (people, time, money) on behalf of your organization or team. The people you might be working things out with may be from your team, your organization, a from a vendor or other service provider, a client. Your job is to deliver shots and to do whatever you can to make sure this happens. Sometimes this means doing a deal, an exchange or barter. Don't freak when they say something you didn't expect. Make the person on the other end of the line your ally.

"I'm not familiar with that term/method/technology..." Don't bullshit. Don't assume knowledge that you do not have. Do not say that you have seen movie that you have not seen. Above all, do not take credit for work that you did not do.

"What needs to happen?" A way of helping an individual or team (as well as yourself) identify actions or events that need to happen in order to deliver a shot.

"Who needs to see this?" There is no substitute for actually seeing a work product. You must always be thinking about who needs to see a work product and make sure they see it. Is someone "out of the loop"? What can you do about it?

"Life is not that which one lived, but that which one remembers, and how one remembers to tell it." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

What Are "Visual Effects"?

2005-03-10T15:17:00.000-08:00

An exploration of the meaning and scope of the term "visual effects."

Visual. Effects.
An adjective followed by a noun, no big deal. We see the combo all the time: Roasted Garlic, Playful Whale, Bad Apple. The expression seems to suggest that there are other kinds of effects in addition to "visual" effects. This is (ta-da) indeed the case. Sound Effects. Makeup Effects. Prosthetic Effects. Special Effects. Mechanical Effects.

So what do we mean by “visual effects” ?

Check Wikipedia and you get a very good summary of the field but not really a clear concise definition:

"Visual effects is the term given to a sub-category of special effects in which images or frames of a movie, are created, recorded, or manipulated for film and video. Visual effects usually involve the integration of live-action footage with computer generated imagery or a variety of other elements in order to create environments or scenarios which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or simply impossible to capture on film. They have become increasingly common in big-budget films, but have also recently become accessible to the amateur filmmaker with the introduction of affordable animation and compositing software..."

The "sub-category of special effects" is off base, however, since it gives the impression that "special effects" is somehow separate from visual effects. The point of effects both special and visual is to create story-specific images which generate an emotional response in an audience.

This I Believe
Visual effects is about the alteration of time and space.
It is about magic, trickery and deception.
It is about making your audience (or your client's audience) react to a story.
It involves light and how light interacts with the environment.
It addresses the bending, compression and expansion of "reality."
It involves prediction, not just for budgets and schedules, but also for where the audience's eyes will go in any given image.
It involves technology.
It involves seeing, listening.
It is about history (past and future).
It is integrative and disintegrative.
It is always about the story.

Bloody Typical
Are there any "typical" aspects of visual effects that might help us get to a better understanding of what it is people like us do?

Visual Effects almost always have some kind of commercial and economic purpose to save production costs and/or time. How? By creating objects, characters, events and environments for less cost and time than it would cost/take to physically recreate the event/environment (if they could be created at all). Visual Effects occur in moving image "mass" media: film (digital and chemical), internet, television, music videos, videogames, commercials...

Visual Effects nearly always involves the manipulation of time and/or "reality"...

Visual Effects are used by storytellers (regardless if the "story" is fiction or non-fiction) to elicit an emotional response in the story's audience or to convey information more rapidly than by other means available...

A Working Definition
So a working definition of "visual effects" might be:

"Technologies, practices and methods and relating to the design and creation of moving images that enable storytellers to guide their audience's understanding of time, space and/or reality, thereby eliciting an emotional response."