Investigation - VFX (core concepts)

VFX are everywhere

Most people think sci-fi when they think CGI or VFX. However, VFX can apply to any and all genres of filmmaking. Once you know what to look for VFX can be seen everywhere. The video below is a VFX breakdown of a crime genre show, Mindhunter, that takes place in the very early 80's. When I watched this video my mind was blown by the amount of completely unsuspecting VFX shots. These are referred to as invisible effects. The intention of these effects is that you never no that they were there. Unlike a spaceship or superhero flying these effects are replications of real things. For instance in the Mindhunter VFX breakdown many elements are composited in to enhance the composition. Elements that are attributed to that era such as cars, signs, and buildings can be composited into frame. Sometimes these objects are real and sometimes they are completely digital.

VFX Core Concepts

For this investigation I will be looking into VFX since I plan on doing a sci-fi short-film for my next project. In VFX there are roughly six core components that make up all VFX. I will be briefly going over what each of these components are and how they are used (expect later investigations to focus solely on one of the six components).

Compositing

Compositing is the most basic and essential of VFX concepts. It can also be the easiest of the six concepts to perform. Compositing is when you take a layer and combine it with another layer. This can be done in a program such as Adobe After Effects. Times where this is useful could be when you can't have something actually in the frame. An example of this could be an explosion. It is not safe to have something actually explode next to an actor. The solution is to take a video of an explosion or CG explosion and composite the layers together. This is where chroma keying becomes applicable if you want to composite a layer behind/in front of a video. 

Keying

Chroma keying allows you to pick a color and remove it from the composition. In the below example the woman is filmed in front of a blue screen. In post the color blue is selected and removed leaving only the woman. This allows for another video layer to be put behind her. This is a form of compositing. The alternative method to chroma keying is rotoscoping which is what we will discuss next.

Rotoscoping

Rotoscoping is the most painful but necessary part of VFX. It is what gives me nightmares. Rotoscoping is basically cutting a subject out of an image. It is used for compositing when something needs to go behind the subject being cut out. Example could be an explosion happens but its behind an actor. Inorder to be able to see the explosion, the actor, and the background, the actor must be cut out. This involves using a software like Adobe After Effects, and manually tracing around the subject for each and every frame. It sounds as painful as it is. The reason this method is still around is because when done meticulously and methodically it is unoticable. Unlike keying which can leave artifacts or strange color imperfections, rotoscoping looks natural.

Tracking

Tracking is extremely important when adding objects to a moving shot. Example time, lets say that you have a 3D model of a box that you want in your shot. However, the shot is a pan and the box needs to stay in one place. You could try to manually position it frame by frame but that sucks and it isn't 100% accurate. So instead you select key distinguished points of high contrast and let the software do its job. What it does is track the motion of selected points in the shot. It then tells the added object to move with the selected points. This gives the illusion that the added object is staying still. Also if you want an object to move with a subject you simply track points on that subject.

Matte Paintings

Matte paintings are simply a painting of a background environment or object. Nowadays because of where technology has come you are able to create CGI matte paintings. Before CGI was where it is now people used to actually composite paintings. These are still in use sometimes today when it is easier to create than a modeled environment. Below is a shot from Star wars where a matte painting was used. The lower picture is off only the painting. The painting was made on glass so that the film could be put underneath. In unpainted areas the film would show through blending the real with the painting seamlessly. The top photo shows the film and painting combined.

CGI

CGI is the largest most inclusive of all the categories excluding compositing. Computer generated imagery includes an umbrella of necessary parts to make a whole. One part is modeling, this is essentially sculpting. When modeling in 3D the only limitation is your imagination and understanding of the software. Next comes texturing. This is what really allows for realistic models. Simulations/Particle effects, this allows for you to create all sorts of cool stuff. You can simulate explosions, fire, water, smoke, and basically any other element. Lighting, this is what enables the object to appear to blend with the real world. When matching an object to a scene you must add the same lights in the same areas in 3D. Rigging, this is what allows for the model to be manipulated and later animated. That leads us into animation where the models can be animated to perform tasks and motions. Rendering is the final task where the 3D camera within the software captures what has been created and combines everything into one final image.

Mon - script

Tues - script

Wed - script

Thurs - storyboard

Friday - storyboard/release forms