Managing Visual Effects

From ADG Art Direction Wiki

by Kurt Williams, Visual Effects Supervisor

In order to outline the tactics for comprehensive visual effects design in a movie, we must first dissect how the shots will be ultimately put together. I have watched, in recent years, the Art Department’s role on a movie expand along with the art form’s visual expectations. With films increasingly dependant on visual effects as a primary source of imagery, the potential for partnership between the visual effects and the Art Departments has never been greater.

The immense amount of effort that goes into layering set dressing, props and construction techniques cannot stop where the digital world begins. Visual Effects Supervisors are too often burdened with incomplete designs for set extensions when the practical set has been painstakingly developed by the Art Department. Without these details, it is difficult to design and, at the same time, navigate the technical hurdles that are inherent in the all-too-short postproduction period. It is important to note that digital extensions, character designs, and the like can be designed by outside sources – character design specialists, visual effects houses or matte painters. The key is for the imagery to be re-injected into the design core and be represented in illustrations and artwork to be approved by Production Designers, Directors, Producers and studio representatives.

Cultivating the Art Department and Visual Effects partnership requires an open system for collaborating on a daily basis early in the design process.

Compatible technologies and software, used by both the designers and the visual effects houses, are becoming a requirement. Housing the storyboarding and the pre-visualization teams in one location assures successful and efficient communication between the departments. For instance, using Maya® to pose a character, move set walls or build geometry into place for early illustrations can be very fast.

3D set designs can be imported directly into previsualization sequences without redundant work by the pre-vis artists. When the pre-vis team is using Maya®, for instance, that Maya scene file can be delivered to the final visual effects vendor with the environment’s geometry, set pieces and character animation intact. Often a visual effects vendor will work on those scenes, and then return them to be placed back into the pre-vis. This completes the loop back to the hub.

The collaborative atmosphere easily reaches out to departments hungry for information, such as special effects, props and set dressing. Designing the action in the sequence requires a careful discrimination between live action set pieces and digital extensions. This directly effects many departments on the movie, as well as outside visual effects houses providing miniature elements or computer generated imagery.

Positioning cameras with accurate lens information in illustrations and pre-visualized sequences provides an easily understood image that clarifies the approach to a scene. If, for instance, in pre-visualization we wish to alter the color of the virtual set from the practical set, visually communicating the approach allows us to demonstrate our internal decision, identifies budget issues, and manages the expectations of the director, producers and studio.

This systemic approach gives everyone responsible for the imagery a clear role. For the visual effects community, it gives them a voice and the marching orders are as clear as possible, which ultimately saves time and money.

The other by-products are many but, most importantly, there is an accurate view of the scene that helps define responsibilities and makes the budgeting task clear. The Art Department becomes an information source for the movie, and that is simply good management.