Kerner Optical posted this incredible behind the scenes footage of the miniature tank work they did for Pirates 3. I got the opportunity to blow up some models for the a TV a couple of month ago and nothing in VFX compares to the rush of exploding something for real. Beats being chained to a monitor that’s for sure.
via VFXPlanet
Those of us blessed enough to have children know what a struggle it is to have to sit through agonizingly long hours of the pure crap that passes for kids entertainment these days. VFX pros also know how hard it can be to describe to young people exactly what it is that Mommy or Daddy do at work every day. To top it all off, a lot of the time the stuff we do work on just isn’t appropriate for the eyes of innocents. To that end, here’s a list of five of my favorite VFX flicks that you can watch with your kids and hopefully get them interested in finding out more abot the craft. By the way, if your children are really interested, I could always use some help with roto.
The Wizard of OZ - 1939 (Unrated)
Why it’s great It’s the one that started it all. Matte Paintings, wire work, make-up, pyro and much more combine to create a fully realized fantasy world.
You might want to skip Parents of male children might want to gloss over some of the more sappy musical numbers for fear of creating an “over-attachment” to Judy Garland. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Prepared to be annoyed by High-pitched little people singing peppy songs. Not quite that bad compared to the insanity inducing Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) but close.
Mary Poppins - 1964 (G)
Why it’s great Shear volume of innovative VFX techniques. Sure there is quite a bit of piano wire and bungee chord practical type stuff but you can also see some choice matte painting work and compositing on the “Jolly Holiday” sequence still holds up. DVD extras on the 2004 DVD include an informative “deconstructing a scene” section.
You might want to skip The song “Feed the Birds” is a about a homeless woman who tries to sell you groady bird seed to feed diseased pigeons. You should probably teach your kids to steer clear of such folk.
Prepared to be annoyed by… Dick Van Dyke’s “english” accent. In some scenes I swear I can see Julie Andrews wince.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - 1980 (PG)
Why it’s great What’s not to like? Stop Motion, Motion Control, Yoda, Solo in Carbonite, this one is firing on all cylinders. Tons of techniques to explore with interested young ones. 2004 DVD comes with the Ken Burns Directed doc “Empire of Dreams” to get you into the behind the scenes mood.
You might want to skip The Wampa. It freaks out some youngsters, especially in the special edition. Luke’s kiss with Leah might bringup some tough questions.
Prepare to be annoyed by Billy Dee’s ’stash. It’s almost like you want to slap it right off his face.
Apollo 13 - 1995 (PG)
Why it’s great Incredible example of effects that look real, lots of great CG and compositing to obsess over. 2-Disk Anniversary DVD includes documentary footage of the real space race for comparison. Heck the kiddies might even learn something from this one.
You might want to skip All the scenes of the worried hair-dos back on planet earth. For your convenience, the 2-Disc set has a shorter version of the movie originaly made for IMAX with the back at home cut-aways removed.
Prepared to be annoyed by Repeated use of the phrase “Huston, we have a problem” by your kids to announce everything from potty related accidents to unintentional glass breaking. Wallace & Grommit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit - 2005 (G)
Why it’s great The amount of character that this film squeezes out of a couple of lumps of clay must be seen to be believed. The Rube Goldberg contraptions are great launching pads for discussions of cause and effect and timing in animation. The simple yet extremely effective composition and lighting in this film is also something the deserves a close look.
You might want to skip You should probably skip the movie all togther if you are worried that this film might be a gateway to more British humor. If your kids like this I see lots of Monthy Python and Black Adder in your future.
Prepared to be annoyed by Puns. “Anti-Pesto”, “24-carrot” bullets, “PC Mackintosh” it sends chills up my spine just writing these.
Have a fav of your own? Feel free to leave comment and tell us what is is.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbV7loKp69s[/youtube]
This film is titled Catalog and was created by John Whitney to advertise the capabilities of his new company Motion Graphics, Inc. in 1961. The images in this clip were created by Whitney’s “Analog Computer”, which was actually an re-purposed anti-aircraft gun sight from WWII. Whitney was essentially the grandfather of motion control (and oftern refered to as the father of CGI), Douglas Trumbull used some of the techniques shown in Catalog to develop the slit-scan process used for the stargate sequence in 2001: A Space Odessy. Later in his career, Whitney abandoned his analog turing machine and produced more wonderfully hypnotic experimental films produced entirely by digital means. His 1975 film Arabesque stands out amongst his digital works. A true pioneer in the field, bringing the art world and computer science together for the first time, John Whitney has a well deserved place in the pantheon of visual effects visionaries.
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=3Et_LsxlX8Y[/youtube] I remember this Behind The Scenes from when I was one the first kids on the block with a cable box. It often appeared between my multiple viewings of Beastmaster and Emmanuelle (can you tell I was a latch-key kid?) and inspired me to find out more about the magical realm of visual effects. It’s got everything from a 30′ scale model to a giant chrome plated logo. As low-brow as it is, this is a prime-time example of the real vfx deal.LINK to the HBO page on the CLG Wiki
The interactive website for Halo 3 lets the viewer navigate through a massive battlefield filled with tanks, explosions, aliens and all kinds of other good stuff. You’d think that a colossal marketing effort of this magnitude would be your basic CG wank, but not this time. The whole website was created using a series of Motion Control moves on an incredibly elaborate model. Everything you see on the site was crafted by hand. The main model was constructed by New Deal Studios with characters crafted by Stan Winston. The detail simply needs to be seen to be believed. Each explosion was made from a translucent plastic and lit from behind, the smoke trails from the RPGs and tank shells are cotton. They even made muzzle flashes for the guns. The expressions on the characters have enough emotional impact to stand up to the tightest close-ups.
The site allows you to take a self guided tour over the model. As you travel there are a few stop points along the way were you can see a 360° panorama of the carnage. The camera moves were achieved by the use of two separate Motion Control rigs fitted with Probe lenses placed on both ends of the model. The moves were shot in segments that could later be cut together into one continuous take. The end result is simply spectacular. Best of all, you can take snapshots at any point in your travels that you can download later.
Special thanks to Nyarlathotep for the low down on this one LINK to the Halo 3 Believe Site
LINK to stills of the diorama
Well the Red One camera shipped last Friday and all the VFX guys I know are going nuts. Love it or hate it, it’s real and it’s here. This jesus-camera seems to have a crazy devoted following. A lot of people love the 4k for 20k idea (the Red shots a 4k RAW image and costs 20k US$) and the fact that this camera has enough tech-bling to make any visual effects nerd pop some major wood. Here are some of the discussions going on around the industry right now.
Does it really cost $ 20k?
The answer to this is a definitive “NO!”. The body itself is useless out of the box. No lenses, rails, grips, viewfinder or even a power supply. I went to the web store and filled a cart with just the basics (2 lenses, basic body kit, viewfinder, memory, power supply, an LCD and some cables) and the bill shot up to over $ 32,000. Pricey to be sure but still a fraction the cost of a new Viper.
Is the image quality really all that great?
Oh yeah. Peter Jackson’s clip was cool, but the full rez frames on fxguide really show the detail you can get from this puppy. I’m practicly foaming at the mouth waiting for a decent VFX DP to shoot some bitchin’ zero-G explosions. I’m curious how the exposure will hold up when you blast fire at this thing.
Does it really work?
Well, sorta-kinda-maybe-not-quite-yet. There is currently no support for, sound, high-speed, time-lapse and the live output is is limited. Also getting images off the camera and into the computer is a bit dicey. Right now you have to shoot onto compact flash, export to firewire and then covert to frames using a piece of Red software. Red has assured it’s customers that all this will be fixed by a series of continuing updates beamed into the camera through the interwebs.
Let the record show that I did not buy a Red One, nor do I plan to in the near future. There seem to be too may questions at this point for me as far as visual effects goes. I don’t see how this camera can shoot motion control for one. And from what I’m hearing, if you want to use the Nikon mount you also have to use an external follow focus motor. This camera is a major departure from the conventional wisdom of film cameras for VFX. Will the old way of doing things be swept away by the ever advancing tides of change? Or, is the Red One just a huge steaming bottle of snake oil? Only time will tell.
Some other Red Links
fxguide covers Red launch (with unboxing photos)
I wasn’t really planning on doing this again so soon, but Nyarlathotep’s comments on my last Hacktionary post were so stop on I felt a full posting on the front page was in order. Enjoy, I couldn’t of said it better myself.
CBA- Could Be Anything . Refers to unknown object in frame usually things such as C stands, Lit up Barndoors, or errant crew members.
Example:
Supe- Whats that flashing in the right corner of frame. Artiste- CBA Supe- It looks like Melvin! Artiste- CBA , Yeah it’s Melvin
YSNP- Yeah Sure No Problem.
Example:
Client- I want it to go the same speed and travel the same distance but in half the time. Supe- YSNP
NFWOE - No F**king Way on Earth. Both of the above are universal answers to any VFX change request question and are usually completely interchangeable.
Example:
Client- I want it to go the same speed and travel the same distance but in half the time. Supe- NFWOE. That is physically impossible. Client- But Why?
Rasterbation- Any CG activity that is impractical or of no value. Sometimes relating to work done in CG that must translate to the Real world where Real World Physics and actual Physically Limitations of the equipment and environment have not been taken into account. Includes things such as adding non-existent axis to moves to avoid gimbal lock or providing data for lenses that the end-user does not have. or improper Rotational Axes nesting orders.
Example:
Pre-vis Artist- Oh, there’s a floor on the stage? My move starts 10 feet below the Car. Supe- Dude you’ve been Rasterbating. Now we’re screwed.”
My buddy Azathothx turned me onto this great article about the technical struggles involved in creating the VFX for the first Star Wars flick. It’s got some great pictures (see above) and some real nuts and bolts descriptions of the techniques used and their history. It also has some juicy quotes like this one from Richard Edlund.
“A problematic visual-effects shot has its own special clunk. Whether it fails in design, execution, or the final composite doesn’t matter. The audience doesn’t necessarily know exactly what’s gone wrong, just that something has, and it can drop them right out of the movie.”
Jar-Jar anyone?
LINK to the full text of the article
Really well executed Moco work here from Ollie Larken. I’ve supervised over 100 Motion Control shoots myself and I’m in love with the process. You just can’t get something like this any other way.
LINK to Larken’s film Lapses in Light
