High End VFX’s Post

Shahid - Ramadan At the moment, when we received a brief for this project, we decided that we have to find a way to win this bid and make it happen. Initial idea was to create an interesting commercial to show 7 unique digital environments and Crescent following through them with the main actors for a unique song created for celebration of Ramadan. We received 2 different treatments with different approaches for future implementation: everything would be shot on Chroma Key, or everything would be placed on LED screens and shot as an environment.  Initially, everyone wanted to create everything made of Stock footage and already existing assets, but during the Research & Development stage we realized that it won’t be an option because it won’t fit the idea and expectations from the client and directors. Initially, we have prepared treatment with 7 environments as it was in our production brief: - Space  - Lavender Field - Lantern  - Magical Forest - Desert - Clouds - Storm During the preproduction stage, once we won the project and started the Pre Production stage - we had to reduce the amount of environments in order to be able to fit the production timeline - 28 days. 2 weeks for Pre Production and 2 weeks for Post Production. Our biggest challenge was a timeline, which basically is not enough to plan everything thoroughly and make previz and animatic, we had to improvise on set, as well as directors didn’t want to strictly follow the storyboard, which was only ready by the shooting date. So, at the end we had to create 4 digital Environments: - Lavender Field - Clouds - Storm - Desert Additionally to the Digital Environments, we had to create: - Flying Fish - Butterflies  - Fireflies - Hot Air Baloons - Lizard - Ancient City - Crescent - TV Screen Content - Sails On the Post Production stage we had 64 shots, and all of them were needed to be working in parallel to be able to deliver in time. So, we had to improvise and work during the day as well as overnight, because we loved the idea of the project, and imagined a final result. So, it was a challenge, but we knew that we wanna make it happen. Client: Shahid Production: Bigfoot Films Executive Producer - Aly Seifelnasr Producer - Farah Abdelkader Post Producer - Aya Badr Post Production: High End VFX Producer - Alex Sytnik Art Director - Sergey Nakaryakov CG Supervisor - Sergey Metelsky VFX Supervisor - Alexander Wyatkin CG Environment Lavender Field - David Gobeev CG Environment Desert - Egor Vorobev CG Environment Clouds - Daniil Maslov + Sergey Metelsky CG Environment Storm - Pavel Klimov 3D: Sergey Metelsky, Pavel Klimov, Petr Pavshintsev Roto/Cleanup: Egor Zhuk, Stepan Rozhkovski, Yuri Korshunov Compositing: Ilya Igonin, Ilya Kireev, Egor Zhuk, Vasily Rogozin, Dima Vasiliev, Vitaly Gusev  On Set Supervisor - Felipe Suarez Hernandez DI/Editor - Vlad Nazemtsev Color Grading - Evgeny Gvozdev Sound Designer - Dmitri Lobanov Link on Vimeo: https://lnkd.in/gzY_kqg4

Texturing and lookdev for the robotic arm! Done in Substance Painter & Redshift. 😉 #cgi #3d #vfx

Explore the world of VFX with Alessandro Ongaro, the VFX Supervisor for the epic titan battles in Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire! Discover the techniques and visual effects that brought every roaring moment to life on screen, including visualization work by The Third Floor: "Big kudos to Jeremy Munro and The Third Floor, who handled all the visualization required for the film, delivering a blueprint to our vendors that took most of the guesswork out of the picture." "Another critical aspect of the film was dealing with the scale of the Monsters. Early in prep, we agreed to use the different senses of scale based on the situation so that when we’re just with the Monsters, we treat them like they were human-sized creatures rather than 350/400ft tall. This dramatically helped design and choreograph the fight scenes, arguably the film’s most complex aspect from a design perspective. This is also made possible by the excellent work Jeremy Munro and the team at The Third Floor brought to the project during the 15-month period they worked on the film." Check out the full story here: https://lnkd.in/ePJnd6tf

VFX Supervisor Aaron Wright Dishes On the Time Travel Secrets of 'My Old Ass' https://ift.tt/mVO8evH There are so few movies that come out a year that charm me. Movies with their own charisma and presence are sometimes fewer and farther between than they ought to be. That being said, one of the movies that I connected with its charming charisma this year was My Old Ass. Perhaps it's because I'm nearing the age of the main character in the future, but I saw a lot of wonder, anxiety, hope, and fear in myself, which was also in the movie. It took a lot of work for this indie to come together, and one of the unsung heroes of the film is Aaron Wright, the VFX supervisor who put a lot of care and attention into the reliability of the movie behind the scenes. We were excited to sit down with Aaron to talk about this movie. Let's dive into our interview below. Editor's note: the following interview is edited for length and clarity. No Film School: How did the team go about creating the realistic toe amputation effect for Aubrey Plaza's character? What were some of the key considerations in achieving this effect? Aaron Wright: When we first got a look at this shot, we noticed right away some key components that were going to be difficult, and also some components that would make this one of our star shots in the film. The pinky toe had some green tape on it and was wiggling around a lot, which made the foot's tendons and veins flex and move. Matching our replacement damaged toe area to the existing foot exactly was a key component to achieving believability. Other things were identified, like the flickering firelight, which had to be replicated on the toe, as well as the BG plate behind the toe. Both of these aspects were marked as difficult areas. We moved forward with the 3D foot approach and used a 2D matte painting projection as the base texture for the foot. We tracked and animated the 3D model into place using a technique called rotomation. We then used a couple of other 3D rendering techniques to get the underlying SubSurface Scattering of the skin to look correct, along with animating multiple light sources on and off to achieve the firelight flickering on the surface. All of these components were combined together in compositing to complete the look, and finally, color graded to match the scene. Since this was the main focus of the shot, and the audience’s eyes would be locked on the toe, there was no hiding any mistakes or adding layers of “smoke and mirrors” to make this a passable effect. We just had to rely on the skill and talent of our artists. NFS: How did you enhance the scar on Aubrey Plaza's stomach for the night scene? Wright: This shot was more of a straightforward shot, but it still contained some of the same difficult elements that were present in the toe shot. The flickering light and tracking the new scar onto the body was the focus. We took reference from a couple of different places, such as long-term...

In 1857, Oscar Rejlander created the world's first "special effects" image by combining different sections of 32 negatives into a single image, making a montaged combination print. In 1895, Alfred Clark created what is commonly accepted as the first-ever motion picture special effect.(Source - Wikipedia)   Fast forward 124 years to July 26th, 2019, to Season 1 premiere of Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios #TheBoys. Within the first 90 seconds of Episode 1, "The Name of the Game" you encounter a #visualeffects scene that I can only imagine took weeks and multiple talented artists to create. Of course, the visual effects scene that reeled me into this bloody diabolical and unhinged show happens five minutes and forty-two seconds into the episode. IYKYK. I still remember how I felt after watching it.    I've always heard about special effects and seen hundreds of movies and shows with special effects in them. It wasn't until The Boys that I really gained an appreciation for the behind the curtain creativity, passion and skill it takes to create the absolutely mind-blowing and frankly funny scenes. Blood, Guts and Gore, Oh My!    Reading interviews like this one from Stephan Fleet gleans even more insights into how the visual effects team works, their collaboration with other visual effects teams, and stellar execution of words on a page to screen. Every season shows more and more dedication, excitement, madness, insanity and of course incredible skills from the visual effects team of The Boys.  As one who enjoys learning how things are created behind the scenes, I've started a beginner course on LinkedIn Learning called Explore Motion Graphics and Visual Effects. Looking forward to gaining even more perspective into the minds of these creatives.   As the final countdown to Season 5 has begun, you would think I could fathom what could come next. Of course, there's no point in fathoming because what I imagine will happen, will be a million times better from this team and the entire production team with even more gallons of blood and terror. (still hoping Terror aka Bentley the Bulldog makes a final appearance in Season 5 😉 And I'm always up for being doused in the gallons of blood. 😉 😉) Thank you to the entire Visual Effects department that keeps me re-watching this show over and over again. The Art of VFX Stephan Fleet Tony Kenny Rian McNamara Xander Copp PIXOMONDO CNCPT John Griffith MPC Rocket Science VFX SPIN VFX DNEG Ingenuity Studios Dynamic Effects Collective #opentowork #openforwork #opentonewopportunities #film #television #filmandtelevision #entertainment #passion #recruiters #recruiting #journeyoflearning #projectmanager #projectmanagement #programmanager #employeeengagement #employeeenrichment #storytelling #creativity #momentsthatmatter #culture #businessoperations #marketing #productionoperations #creative #primevideo Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios #amazonmgmstudios #amazonstudios #sonypictures Sony Pictures Entertainment

As a video editor, I have a great appreciation for the amount of work and skill that goes into creating visual effects, especially for big-budget films like "Godzilla vs. Kong." The VFX teams behind these movies often push the boundaries of what's visually possible, and they play a crucial role in bringing fantastical creatures like Godzilla and Kong to life on the big screen. From what I've seen, the VFX in "Godzilla vs. Kong" are truly impressive. The level of detail in the creatures' movements, the destruction of the cities, and the overall scale of the battles is breathtaking. The seamless integration of CGI with live-action footage is crucial for maintaining the audience's suspension of disbelief, and it seems like the VFX teams have done an excellent job in that regard. One thing I particularly appreciate about the VFX in this film is the sense of weight and impact they convey. When Godzilla and Kong clash, you can really feel the power behind each punch and roar. This is a testament to the skill of the animators and the technology they're working with. Of course, as with any film, there will always be some nitpicks or areas where improvements could be made. But overall, from what I've seen, the VFX in "Godzilla vs. Kong" look top-notch and are a major selling point for the film. They elevate the spectacle and excitement of the monster battles to a whole new level, and I think audiences are going to be blown away by the visual experience.

The last post got me thinking - all supervisors and producers in VFX come from various backgrounds. I myself started as a compositor and (between us) am terrible at animation. It doesn't necessarily mean that I need to rush to buy a new course (God knows I have too many unfinished ones), but if I were to work on a heavy animation project, it would be a great idea to have a strong Animation Supervisor to rely on. But there are (in theory) should be areas that VFX Supervisor must know well. Like... probably for all your projects you going to need compositing. And planning. With some budgeting. You also need to ingest material in the right color space and format (yes, that annoying ACES thing). And while in big companies there are dedicated people who cover all that, I believe a VFX Supervisor must, if not be able to do it themselves, at least understand what they are talking about, why they are making decisions towards one solution or another, and so on. Not every company will ask you to bid on projects, but it is a great skill to have. Some of us (me included) are lucky to have amazing producers on our side and can distance ourselves from the boring reality of numbers. But what if your producer is sick or leaves you for someone who can understand resources and planning? We kind of learn all this while navigating our careers, and I bet we have different techniques, strengths, and weak areas. Being a Sup is quite a big responsibility - people come to you with questions all day long, and you need to know the answers or at least pretend that you do and trust your gut (with creative stuff, not ACES, please!). Wouldn't it be great to have a resource, page, masterclass (don't say course) or "bible" with all the base-level information that can help cover areas like I mentioned? Yeah, I know about VES book and I read it, and it is amazing, (thank you VES people for doing that!), but oh my god, the weight of this book makes it not user-friendly. Tips and tricks with small lines of code, automatic spreadsheets, examples of successful implementation of AI tools and so on? I would pay to have access to resource like this! (but of course it should be free). #vfx #cgi #vfxsupervisor #insouleffects #lovevfx

FLITE is the result of an experimental filmmaking process that puts Unreal Engine at the heart of the large scale VFX and animation pipeline FUSE, the Framestore Unreal Shot Engine.  Filmed across 5 days with a small cast featuring Alba Baptista Warrior Nun, Mrs Harris Goes to Paris), Gethin Anthony (Man Hunt: Unabomber, Game of Thrones) and Daniel Lawrence Taylor (Timewasters, Uncle) Framestore Chief Creative Officer and FLITE director Tim Webber and his production team pushed the limits of FUSE. Set in the semi-submerged London of 2053, FLITE captures the daring escape of Stevie, the reigning World hoverboard champion, from her abusive and controlling manager. “One of the key things we've wanted to do on this project was create real performances in an unreal world.  And if you want to capture a real performance in the unreal world, the world affects the performance,” explains Webber.  “Being able to project the environment onto the LED walls around the actors gives them an ability to understand their setting, what’s happening, how they're interacting in a shot. “When Alba was riding through the traffic, doing stunts and twisting upside down, we were able to create worlds in different orientations.  She could get her eye line, sense cars coming past, see the action happening around her; it really helps an actor to have these visuals around them.”   Rehearsals also saw the actors able to explore the world of FLITE using VR headsets.  The actors could experience what it was like on a futuristic Tower Bridge or tour Stevie’s apartment. “It's a breath of fresh air because I can get actual virtual reality around me, I can be in this world created by our director which is incredible,” explains Alba. Framestore continues to invest in technologies and people to bring life-like human performances into worlds both real and unreal.  Taking the hybrid approach developed for Gravity a step further, FLITE blends live action plates with CGI created in Unreal throughout. Written & Directed by Tim Webber Produced by Simon Whalley & Diarmid Scrimshaw Animation & VFX by Framestore Colour & Finish by Company 3 A Framestore Films & @Inflammable Films Production Watch the full film here: https://lnkd.in/dRQqJnh9 #FLITE #shortfilm #visualeffects #unrealengine #behindthescenes #virtualreality #CGI

Outstanding Women in VFX Spotlight: Ana Arciniega Best Work: La Brea Season 2 LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/eGRxEWCV Q: How did you get into Visual Effects (VFX)? A: Alright, picture this: a very curious soul with a hunger for tech and all things creative. That's me, diving headfirst into the world of Visual Effects! It all started when Oblique FX came knocking, my journey began after over a decade in the advertising industry, I got a title as a post producer and during this period I did hundreds of TVC, Documentaries, Short films, Music videos, it was during this time that Oblique FX discovered my reputation and sought me out to join their ranks as an executive producer, igniting a passion to delve deeper into the realm of VFX. Always transparent about my career aspirations, I made it known to those around me ultimately leading to this remarkable opportunity. From networking at events like NAB Las Vegas to unwavering presence, every step of this journey has been an exhilarating adventure. Q: What projects are you most proud of? A: Let me tell you about La Brea Season 2 – a project that's near and dear to my heart. Getting to see things from the client side opened my eyes to a whole new level of complexity and workflow. Handling a whopping 14 series for NBCU? Talk about a challenge! But hey, it's those kinds of gigs that really put my skills to the test and make me feel good. La Brea was a project full of challenges on a daily basis, we had to implement the workflow in no time and negotiate every episode/vendor to make it happen and within budget, managing the expectation from the entire network with a large production that was juggling multiple things at the same time, it was a fun challenge. Q: What advice do you have for women who want to go into the VFX industry? Is there a woman or multiple women who inspire you? Why? A: To all the badass women out there looking to dive into the VFX world, I've got one word for you: unity. Stick together, lift each other up, and don't let anyone dim your shine. Oh, and steer clear of any toxic vibes – ain't nobody got time for that! As for my source of inspiration, let me tell you about Jessica Norman. This woman is the epitome of commitment, passion, and sheer determination. She's not just a boss – she's an amazing woman with a good heart. Another amazing woman is Mariana Acuna, she is a relentless woman with a lot of energy and passion for the VFX and Virtual Production world. She is a strong woman that can carry the industry to a better outcome. #vfx #film #television #womeninvfx #womeninvisualeffects #women #womenshistorymonth #womensupportingwomen #visualeffects #outstandingwomeninvfx

CG Supervisor on Set! Sometimes, we receive projects for post that were shot without the involvement of a CG supervisor on set. Why wasn’t one invited to the shoot? Correct me if I'm wrong, but there are at least two reasons: budget savings or confidence in one's own abilities to shoot the project independently, relying on experience and knowledge. This can be the case, and sometimes producers, operators, or directors do have sufficient knowledge in the field of visual effects. However, unfortunately, this isn't always the case, and it genuinely pains me to see it. Attempting to save on a supervisor during the shoot can ultimately lead to a much larger budget during post-production, when VFX artists start grappling with shots, unsure of how to approach them. Consequently, the budget increases due to the complexity of the work arising from additional problems. And what about cleanups? Without adequate knowledge of how certain things are done technically, scenes might be shot in a way that cleaning up the footage could take a significant chunk of the budget, for work that no one will ever see. Alternatively, the operator might discard a good shot, thinking there will be problems removing an object, although in reality, that's not the case. If the project isn't graphically complex, producers might not invite a CG supervisor to the shoot, but at the very least, they could consult with one on various issues before filming. Advice costs nothing! My point is that it would be genuinely great if the budget is used appropriately, rather than on correcting unnecessary mistakes. Neither the creators nor the project benefits from this!