VFXhack

For much of my career, I’ve left work with a feeling that can best be described as being chased by a horde of flesh-eating undead through a swamp knee-deep in molasses mixed with 40 weight motor oil while battling a raging case of E. coli. You know that feeling that no matter what you do you can’t catch up? Well, about a year ago I got sick and tired of feeling that I was going to puke in my own mouth every second of every day and since then I’ve been putting David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” techniques to work in the production of visual effects for film and television. The results really changed the way I feel about my job and to that end, I’d like to share some of my experiences with you VFXHacksters.

Now don’t get me wrong here, my GTD skilz are about as flawed as they come. Hey, I’m an artist. If I was well-organized, then I’d be something else. Maybe something to do with crafts or scrapbooking. Anyway, I practice my own brew of slacker GTD. Just enough to keep me sane but not so much that I spend more time organizing my file cabinet than working on effects shots. One of the tenets of GTD is breaking down every project into a series of tasks or “next actions”. The idea is that you separate project planning from all of the individual actions that need to be done in order to complete that project. In VFX-speak, that means making your shot design decisions first then breaking those down into shot methodologies, CG workflows, compositing scripts, etc. Seems obvious, right?

WRONG!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen an effects shot go down in flames because the artists didn’t know what to do, or what the supe was looking for, or what the client wanted and so on and so on. The reason that I think GTD works so well for VFX is that all the creative decisions (theoretically) are made up front and all the elements that go into making the shots are just a matter of cranking through “widgets”. The key is to lock down creative early and then just jam on the block and tackle tasks till the shot’s done. But as we say in the biz, “The devil is in the details”. It’s all great to say that you’re gonna make a plan and stick to it to the bitter end, but what happens when the client changes their mind? What if you go to set and the A.D. sez “Sorry, no dust elements for you today. Anyway, can’t you make those in CG ?” Well, that will happen and your plan for any given shot from your first student film to the biggest summer blockbuster will always be a living, breathing ever-changing beast until delivery day. That said, I’m going to show you how I use some basic GTD (ish) techniques with the hopes of shining some light into the sometimes dark and scary world of VFX production.

Part 1 – Collecting

This is the science of gathering all of your thoughts and ideas about a project before sitting down and deciding exactly what you are going to do. Collecting is extremely vital in VFX because in my experience most problems occur from miscommunication (or lack thereof) early in the process. So here are some down and dirty pointers re Collecting for visual effects.

Always talk to your clients

Clients are people too and since they are the ones who have final say, you need to listen to them. Make sure you get as many details as you can as far as tone and complexity. Also, listen closely and don’t let your VFX nerdyness cloud the conversation. That big wire-fu sequence you’ve always wanted to do may not be right for the Murder She Wrote Re-union Special. Tip: Don’t use too much jargon with clients, it just confuses and frightens them.

Reference, reference, and more reference

As far as I know, no one in the history of VFX has bounced a shot because it looked “too real”. I’m always on the lookout for new reference sources. Bookmarking sites like del.icio.us are great for this as you can build and tag your library as you go. Tip: Watch out for NSFW google image searches like “furry” and “job”

Always talk to your artists

Nobody likes a dictator no matter how benevolent (are you listening, Steve Jobs?). Before you start planning a project, know the strengths of your crew. Ask them what techniques they’ve been wanting to try out. A good artist is always searching for “the new hotness” so take advantage of their enthusiasm before they grow bitter. Tip: If your crew already is bitter, ignore the sarcasm and just keep talking.

Review your budget

You can’t make Lawrence of Arabia on an Ed Wood budget. And the last thing you want to do is promise something that you can’t deliver. So take a cold hard look at how much you have to spend before you jump in.  Sometimes the best inspiration comes out of limited means. Tip: Learn Excel. Contrary to common wisdom, it does not cause your fingers to spontaneously combust when they touch the keyboard.

Keep it real

If you want it to look real, shoot the real thing. No, really. Even if it’s fully guerilla DVcam style, the right element can save your butt in a pinch. To that end, stay on top of the latest and greatest in the world of practical special effects. When it comes to things like explosions… Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing baby! Tip: Make friends with grips and gaffers, because you never know when you’ll need to pull in a favor.

That’s it for today’s lesson, kids. Next up… Now that we’ve collected, it’s time to break it down.

LINK to my favorite GTD site – Mr. Mann’s 43 Folders

LINK to my previous post – GTD Moleskins for VFX