This funny (and old) clip from the BBC series Time Trumpet reminds me of two excellent points…
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- Many VFX shots today are completely unnecessary. From green screen comps that could easily have been done on a location to CG elements that take months to perfect but could have put on film in an afternoon, the business is completely out of control. The powers that be would much rather push everything off on a VFX company that they can rake over the coals after production has wrapped than spend a few extra pennies up front to get the job right.
- The green screen unitard will go down as one of the most awkwardly hilarious things in film-making history.
LINK to the Time Trumpet clip
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Yep, just the other day as a matter of fact I was shooting this body that was supposed to have a “Ghost” axe in it’s chest. We shot the Person/Victim and a “tracking pass” and the “Supe” was going to move on . He was going to put a CG Ghost axe in latter He said. When I asked “diplomatically” if he wanted to shoot the real axe in place as a “guide” He initially demurred but after a slightly “harder” “Are you sure?” we shot it and of course the real axe was all that was used in the final . There was never any reason for a tracked in CG axe. We don’t need no stinkin’ tracked in CG axes
I am also reminded of many years ago sitting in the very back of the screening room at dailies for this major Sci-fi flick. when some shots came up of a small space ship. Well one of the shots had the very tip of a wing clipped off in picture by an errantly placed flag. The Supe and his “digital supervisor” started talking and endlessly re-rerunning the NG take. Discussing back and forth how they could “fix” it. “Well I could take a piece of the wing from the other side and copy it and flop it…” “”or maybe we can take a wing from the other shot and track it in” this went back and forth for a good 5 to 6 minutes. With the rest of the poor souls in the screening room just wasting time sitting there listening to this nonsense When finally I turned to my assistant and whispered “Watch this” Then I loudly said ” or we can go walk 100 yards back to the stage turn on the lights move the flag ten inches re- shoot it in 3.5 minutes and move on” There were 30 seconds of silence during which time the DP and I exchanged glances that indicated we both knew neither of the “supes” were competent at all. Then the “Supe” said “uh, yeah ok next clip please” and we moved on……
This post finally pushed me to comment. I couldn’t agree with #1 more. The amount of time and money squandered, simply because someone either A) wasn’t paying attention or B) wanted to avoid making a decision, is phenomenal. Even though it (arguably) affords me some degree of job security as an artist, I sometimes find the sheer wastefulness maddening.
The unitards, on the other hand, are bound to become a fashion staple within the next decade. You are looking at the future of the American corporate workplace right there.
I agree 1000000% with prbroste . Not paying attention and avoiding a decision are MAJOR problems, right up there with total incompetence . It is to the point when something as simple as someone actually making a decision is a completely refreshing change. Mostly of course it is a case of total insecurity and fear of being wrong (or found out to be incompetent) and other Ego related problems. I have worked with “Supervisors” that have had me do 11 versions of a shot on stage, but this is after 14 versions of Pre-vis. (and this has happened repeatedly). It is called being really really lame. Let alone the incredible waste of time, money and artist hours. It means not only do you not know what you want but you do not now what you are doing. I have had an alleged “Supervisor” lay down targets and insist on doing “Tracking Passes” for locked off shots . WTF?. At this point even the clients who hired her realized she was lame and ignored her. One of my faves? Shooting Bill Cosby in a dark sweater and black pants against BLACK for compositing in a white BG scenes. Brilliant. The Roto Artists all bought new cars.
hi…
exellent…
Very funny, and a bit painful, because it’s true to a certain extent.
To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. So vfx people tend, sometimes, to think of solving problems in ways that are familiar or sexy or cool, even if sometimes those are not the quickest, easiest, most cost-effective ways…
On “Ghostbusters,” I remember a meeting, between the camera / machinist group, (We were building 65mm cameras, printers, animation stands, roto rigs from scratch) and the Artist / Animator group. (They were drawing animation that would – hopefully – be shot on equipment that didn’t exist yet).
In hindsight, there nowhere near enough time and money to pull it all off. Any sensible persons would have had doubts, but…vfx people…you know.
An earnest Animator (I think it was Terry Windell) said, to the camera designers, “We need an electronic device that will close the camera shutter, block all the light, and prevent the film from being exposed, while the computer backwinds the film.”
It was quiet in the room a good while. The device they were describing would probably take a week to build and implement, and we had very little time.
I was young then, and didn’t want to say anything, certainly not anything that would tick off my colleagues, or hurt the Animators’ feelings. We all looked back and forth at each other. Smiles began to waver.
Then Jerry Jeffress, one of the truly brilliant human beings I’ve ever met, broke the silence.
“What you are describing, is a lens cap.”
Sam Longoria
filmmaking
[...] new fangled computer thingies. Here’s a comment from Sam Longoria left on my previous post When Not To Use VFX – Step Away From Greenscreen Unitard that falls into the catagory of golden nuggets of wisdom from a bygone age. On “Ghostbusters,” [...]
“What you are describing, is a lens cap.”
priceless…