You may have seen the Boing Boing post a few days ago about a group of super fans who made there own version of Star Wars : Episode 4 with cardboard props, KFC helmets and a Bobby McFerrin inspired soundtrack. The film makers have also posted a Visual Dictionary of props storyboards and designs that really adds to the whole experience. Click on the picture above to see more.
LINK to the original video
So a buddy of mine showed me this Mad TV sketch 12 hours into a 16 hour greenscreen shoot I was directing over the weekend. After screaming ridiculous things like “You look up, you see a huge dinosaur!” and “There is magic all around you, and you like it!” until I literally lost my voice, the accuracy of this clip had me showing it to everyone who got within a 4 foot radius of my iPhone.
Favorite line:
“Do I look fat in this?” “Yes, very much so, but we’ll CGI it out.”
LINK to a related unitard post
So hey, I admit it. I post a lot about what’s wrong with VFX films today and give off a generally bitter (yet loving) vibe about the industry in general. So it may surprise you to hear that I got a chance to see Cloverfield this weekend and it was great. Sure you can nit-pick, but you gotta hand it to the Bad Robot crew for updating the classic “My God there’s a giant monster trashing the city!” flick and making it interesting and relevant to today’s audience. Kudos to you, nerds who thought up Cloverfield.
Moving on to something I can mock freely…The Asylum is a flimmaking outfit with a simple business plan. Wait for Hollywood to come out with an original movie and quickly, blantantly and mercilessly rip it off . The titles these folks come up with rival the porn industry in their hilarious ridiculosity. Here’s a taste; Snakes on a Train, Pirates of Treasure Island, Transmorphers and my personal fav Da Vinci Treasure. Monster is their latest rip-off of, you guessed it, Cloverfield. In fact, it’s just like Cloverfield except it takes place in Tokyo and the monster isn’t really a monster at all but a slimy, poorly rendered tentacle. Oh I almost forgot, there’s also another important distinction that needs to be made, Monster is a godawful mess of a movie.
To be fair I can’t believe these films are supposed to be good, and it sure is fun to laugh at the trailers. Just don’t try to sit through the entirety of one of these cinematic abortions. It’s much more fun to read the IMBD reviews and save you self a few precious hours of your life that you’ll never get back. Below are some of the more choice reviews for Da Vinci Treasure.
It is impossible to overstate just how bad this film is. Bad acting, scripting, location sets, horribly transparent cost-cutting (the Ford Econoline van with obviously U.S. plates in “Italy” was about the last straw, made worse by the pedestrian attempt to electronically blot out the plate after the van comes to a stop).
And how about
this is by far the most terrible movie i have seen, do yourself a favor and don’t watch it!
Finally, I think this one sums it up nicely
My comments are straight forward; I highly recommend no one watch this movie. If you want to waste your time you’d be better off putting a bullet in your head than watch this movie. I’ve never seen such a stupid, very badly acted and the worst script writing in my entire life.I’d rather watch puke drip down a wall than watch this movie ever again
LINK to the trailer for Monster
Here’s a dirty little secret of CGI. VFX artists and supes depend on a limited bag of tricks to pull off even the most complex of shots. In fact these techniques are used so much you don’t have to look very to find them in nearly every TV show, feature film, commercial, youTube video or school fund-raiser slides show with eye-shot. If it makes you feel any better, you can call these war-horses an homage but thing about clichés is, that that they work. Heck even I am far from beyond the judicious use of these VFX canards. So at the risk of getting my membership at the Magic Castle of Visual Effects revoked for revealing secrets to all you muggles out there, I present to you some of most overused techniques in the biz.
Camera Shake
What is it?
If a civilization from a distant galaxy was analyzing our technology based solely on visual effects based media, they would have to conclude the computers that made CGI were built from parts formerly used to make tripods. It seems that these days a computer generated bunny bouncing on a field of clover will cause a shake comparable to 10.5 tremor. Shaking the camera makes sense when bomb blows up or 18 wheeler scrapes by the lens, but lately any vibration above a pin drop opens the door to a rumble-fest.
Why do we use it?
Camera shake is essentially a psychological tool to try and trick the viewer into thinking that a real camera photographed a CG element. Why else would the camera react unless something was physically affecting it? The other tid-bit of insider info about shake is that it increases as objects get closer to lens. Without camera shake streaking and obscuring the it, an object close to the camera lens would be very hard to render in enough detail to hold up without the help of our old buddy camera shake.
Lens Flare
What is it?
A lens flare occurs when a light source is pointed directly at the camera lens and light reflects on the glass elements inside of it. Optics engineers, DPs and Grips spend there entire careers trying to eliminate lens flares in order to get the cleanest image possible. VFX guys dole out lens flares like candy on Halloween. Every compositing package has the ability to generate lens flares and they all pretty much look the same. Some artists keep a reel of actual photography of lens flares to give their shots a more organic look. This can work fine, but a flare over a poorly rendered CG element isn’t going to fool anyone.
Why do we use it?
Well the obvious answer is, to cover up crappy CG. But there is a more artful application as well. A lot of recent VFX work revolves around the idea of creating one continuous, impossible-to-get-in-camera shot. This type of shot requires tons of preparation and a great degree of technical skill on set to pull off, and we all know what short supply those things are in. Lens flare to the rescue! A well placed camera pan into a flaring light source is a sure fire way to transition between two shots seamlessly.
C.F.I.L (Crap Flying Into Lens)
What is it?
It seems that CG cameras are imbued with a magical magnet-like property that causes materials of all types to be hopeless attracted to them. Everything from a school bus to used tissue seems get sucked into a vortex that inevitably obscures the frame. In the early days of “traditional” animation, action could only occur on a flat plane to camera. Making objects appear to travel closer during a shot meant scaling them up each frame, a laborious process to say the least. Now with 3d all bets are off we can show an object of any depth at any angle without any extra work. But just cuz’ ya can do it, doesn’t mean ya’ should do it. The impact intended by this shot with tons of crap comming into the lens has been greatly diminished by it’s over-use and with stereoscopic 3d flicks about to make a comeback, I don’t see that changing any time soon.
Why do we use it?
This one is really a case of artists and production folks alike collectively saying. “Hey we took the time and money to build this thing. Let’s see it for God’s sake!” On a VFX project people spend countless hours building junk in 3d, looking at turn-table after turn-table and obsessing over every detail. Then they see it in a shot and vanishes so quickly you hardly notice. Inevitably some genius cries out “Why don’t we have it fly into the lens!”. Cheers erupt, all that hard work has just earned a few more frames of precious screen time. It’s kinda the opposite of the Camera Shake scenario (see above).
God Rays
What is it?
God Rays are volumetric beams of light, like the kind that you get when you turn on a flashlight in a smoky room. There are a coupla’ ways to create them, the fastest being to shoot an element over black. But times being what they are, the more common method is to create them by either rendering a volumetric light pass in CG, which can look great but takes some time, or to use a filter in a compositing program which is wicked fast but can look, well… crappy. Over-use of the God Ray can result in not-so-glorious blast that seem to come out of nowhere. Case in point, this heavenly effect has a bad habit of appearing over screaming faces, especially at the end of a dream sequence or just before time travel.
Why do we use it?
When used properly, God Rays can create a nice sense of depth and atmosphere to a CG scene or matte painting. Unfortunately, they are more often employed in poorly designed, cheesy magic effects. Designing magic is tricky, a spell should always look connected to it’s caster in a unique way. All to often a supe will see the words “magic spell” written on a script page and they’ll automatically set to work lighting the shot up like a Frankie Goes To Hollywood video.
Bad Camera Work
What is it?
As the name implies, this is the technique of simulating a novice behind the lens in order to lend more credibility to a shot make it seem more “real”. This technique has it’s roots in documentary photography and cinema vérité, styles that burned the aesthetic of reality into our subconscious. The dark side of all this a plethora of CG DPs who aim a camera like a Storm Trooper aims a blaster. Lately, every camera pan misses it’s intended target and has to whip back to find it and nearly every other shot also has a snap zoom or focus pull that intentionally misses the mark. Maybe a side benefit of this will be a generation of filmgoers immune from motion sickness.
Why do we use it?
In an attempt to convince the viewer that the scene they are watching is real, VFX pros have created detectable presence behind the camera. The logic goes like this. If there is a real person shooting the CG stuff it too will appear real, right? The problem with line of reasoning is that the virtual cameraman that we’ve created to film our scenes is a chowderhead. In a lot of cases the effect of an overall shot is lost by an artificial life form screaming “Look, I suck at working a camera!” from behind the frame. Well, here’s hoping in the future good shot design and dazzling technical artistry will win out over gimmicky grandstanding. Until then, hang onto your barf bags folks!
What could be better than spending countless hours doing menial tasks for little recognition and no pay, just for the slim chance of getting a job with even longer hours and slightly more pay at the end of it all? Such is the dilemma of the VFX intern. An internship can be looked at as a once in a lifetime opportunity to get a glimpse into the real world of how the industry works. But it is also a hazing ritual with a tradition as old as civilization designed to weed out those that truly wish to enter a specialized trade from those who would sit around playing World of Warcraft in their parents’ basement all day if they hadn’t been coerced into the workforce by way of a threat to disconnect the cable modem. But don’t worry kids. The fact is, most of us started out as interns (or something similar) and know well the sacrifices you need to make, to forge a career in VFX. As one who has jumped through this burning ring of fire myself (unpaid intern Dreamquest Images 1990) I offer you these humble tips to see you through.
Don’t Be A Teacup
“Teacup” is a derogatory term used by managers of all types to describe young folks who’s psyches are so fragile that even the slightest critique will reduce them to a sobbing pile of goo. I’ll say it again. Don’t be a teacup. If you feel you are being abused, you’re probably not. VFX artists and supes need to react to notes from all sources and find ways to deal with the stress of constant judgment. It’s just part of the job. So if you feel all steamed up, count to ten, suck a lemon, do some push-ups whatever it takes. Listen to feedback no matter how much it stings and move on. If you need to cry it out, that’s what bathrooms are for.
Bonus Tip: If you think someone is really abusive and out of line, don’t make a big beef in front of everybody. Request a private meeting to air your concerns in a rational and reasoned way.
Make Friends In High Places
Keep an eye out for who bangs the drum on your VFX slave ship. The people who run the show at your shop are always faced with scheduling issues that might require some intern power. If you make your name, face and skills known to the powers that be, this increases your chance of getting called up to the big leagues should the opportunity arise. A friendly “Hello!” at the coffee urn is a good start, but asking for a personal reel review is even better. Make sure you ask for specific criticism on what you can do better. If you can swing it, watch your reel with El Nacho Grande so you can ask questions and get a little extra face time.
Bonus Tip: Don’t stalk, it’s creepy. If you see a supervisor at Trader Joe’s, a quick acknowledgment is fine but let the poor guy (or gal) get his Hummus and get out!
Get Stuff Done
No mater how mundane the tasks you are given, do them to the best of your ability and as quickly and efficiently as you can. Remember, your internship is a test. If you balk about how boring it is to run around town all day dropping off and picking up tapes, people aren’t going to ask you to help out with roto or tracking (the first tasks you’ll probably be asked to do vfx-wise). Complaining is not an option and neither is being lazy. Once your are finished with a task immediately tell your direct supervisor you are done and ask for another assignment. This is the visual effects equivalent to “Thank you sir, may I have another” (that’s an Animal House reference for those who are generationaly impaired).
Bonus Tip: Always volunteer to go on set, even if it means extra hours for no pay. The experience you get on a VFX stage is worth it. Just keep you mouth shut when your there.
Grab For The Brass Ring
That’s an old timey expression that means that you should reach out for the good opportunities that may come your way, not some kind of veiled reference to facial piercings or other body modifications. Oddly enough, the golden opportunity you’ve been waiting for will probably come in the form of a chance to work all night doing thankless drudge work but that’s besides the point. The point is that an iternship is all about getting a foot in the door and showing a VFX company that you have something to offer. You need to be as flexible as you can be and put yourself out there for any chance at all to get real-live production experience.
Bonus Tip: Working on productions for free once (or even twice) is an opportunity, more than that can be exploitation. After a while everyone needs to get some compensation even if it’s at a Barista pay scale.
Last month Variety published an article about the increased role of the VFX supe on set subtitled “Tech Pros Move Up In Film Production Hierarchy”. Here’s a taste.
“Not so long ago, visual effects were an isolated corner of post-production, a ‘black-box’ process headed by amiable engineers who kept largely to themselves. ..That has turned the job into a kind of uber-technician-diplomat whose job touches all departments”
I guess that officially makes 2008 The Year of The VFX Supe! To help guide us the dangerous wilds of our new found celebrity I’ve come up with a few tips to ease the transition.
Tip #1: It’s Time For a Makeover
A Hawaiin shirt under a custom-made photographer’s vest coupled with Trebekian facial hair just won’t cut it anymore. Put away the mullets and fanny-packs fellas cuz your with the big boys now. Get subscriptions to Details and Esquire now! Before you know it you’ll be on the carpet with Cloney and Pitt.
Tip #2: Get On The Scene (like a VFX machine)
Since VFX folks have a tendency to fall on the sedentary-anti-social-misanthrope end of the civility scale, newly found celebrity will have to include a social make-over of sorts. Topics that need to be focused on include; volume modulation in both conversation and laugh, human to human eye contact and of course grooming. Please take note that waiting in the comic book store for new books to arrive on Wednesdays is technically NOT considered socializing.
Tip #3: Use Smaller Words
Now that you’ll be released into the wild it’s time to be your own personal Henry Higgins and start listening to the way that you talk. To get started, try this role playing exercise. Don’t talk about Blade Runner for 5 minutes. How’d you do? If you made it more than 30 seconds your on the right track. Other off-limits topics include; the relative merits or high end video cards, TOS vs TNG and whether Greedo shot first just to name a few. A good rule of thumb is that if a conversation topic sounds interesting you, it will probably be insufferably boring the the non-vfx people you are trying to impress.
Tip #4: Keep Your Friends Close and Enemies Closer
Having a VFX Supe involved in every aspect of production on every flick from Tranformin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo to Rainbow Bright: The Movie means that lots of folks on the practical side of things will be out of work as a direct result of what you do. From now on, every Art Director, Make-Up Effects Artist, Special Effects Whacko, heck everyone with the possible exception of the guy who makes the smoothies will be giving you the stink eye every time you walk on set. So be careful, many these people are crafty and have access to high power explosives.
Tip #5: Stop Letting Others Drag You Down (and also don’t forget the little people)
Your time has arrived! You’ve been baptized into the realm of the Hollywood Gliterazzi and now you’ll have to engage in that age old Tinsel Town tradition of blaming others when things go wrong and taking credit for just about everything when things go right. There is only one thing you must do to maintain your good standing. If you are ever in a position to receive an award of any type for your work, make sure you mention that you “couldn’t have done it without my super-talented crew”.
LINK to Variety article
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiARsQSlzDc[/youtube]
It never fails to amuse me what people will put together for a demo reel. This CG train wreck almost caused me to simultaneously fall backwards off my chair and spew milk out of my nostrils. There is some kind of perfection in just how awful this animation is.
LINK to more gloriously bad CG at the Jackal’s Forge Gallery Abominate
While working late to finish a project this week, many emails were exchanged on topics ranging from the current state of the render queue to whether or not you can sustain internal injuries from eating pizza for diner 14 nights in a row. Artists are a visual lot and some of those emails came with the added flourish of an animated GIF to accentuate and clarify the point of the message. VFX guys are generally not known as master wordsmiths so these images are often used to express everything from frustration to praise and everything in-between. I’ve compiled a greatest hits page of this low-frame-rate gems for you to browse, enjoy and use as you wish.
LINK to VFX GIF Gallery
special thanks to Q and L. Jolly
Gizmodo posted today about some fan art for a redesigned Starship Enterprise that has been presented as leaked artwork for the new Star Trek film. The images in the article were created by the one and only Gabe Köerner who I’ve worked with in the past and is known throughout the industry as quite the character. You may recognize Gabe as “That Trekkie Kid” from the docu-nerdfests Trekkies and Trekkies 2. The post also contains a classic interview with Gabe that just makes you laugh at what happens when you let a typical VFX artist off-leash. Here’s a taste…
The prongs on the front of Syd Mead’s Sullacco from ‘Aliens’ gave me the idea for the deflector dish. If the rest of the ship was graceful curves, the deflector is the ‘asshole’ of the ship, the part that no matter how sexy you are, you still have an asshole.
Amen, brother!
LINK to the whole post on Gizmodo
I know you’ve all been dying to know how a VFX professional celebrates the festival of lights. Well the wait is over! Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you the PEZnorah (that’s a menorah made from Pez dispensers).
I think this piece wins the prize for most character licensing agreements violated by a single arts and crafts project. Happy Holidays!
LINK to Lifehacker’s PEZnorah gallery
