Visual Effects involves handling a myriad of 3D scene files, text files, and image files. The big industry giants, Industrial Light and Magic, Pixar, Disney Imagemovers Digital, and others have refined their workflows over the years and keep a pretty strict set of guidelines for dealing with data files. However, these media giants also do not publish their pipeline standards. This, I feel, is a mistake and represents an "old guard" mentality that somehow, internal file handling processes represents a HUGE competitive advantage for them. I disagree on the basis that the final output, the images, do not get better due to good organization of files. It is the skill of the artists that makes the difference. In fact, it is in the big studios best interests that they try and unify or open source their naming conventions and file handling processes to create standards in the industry.
A long time ago, in a galaxy....... a single visual effects house did the effects work for a project. Now, no motion picture studio in the business would allow all their eggs in that one basket. Big blockbusters' effects work is divided amongst many facilities, each with their "own way" of doing things. It is time for a common framework to be established to deal with the data. We are all under the same crazy deadlines, there is no real competitive advantage in hiding the secrets of folder/file naming conventions and data management. On the contrary, having a proprietary system of data management only increases costs, training time per artist, and confusion between facilities that are sharing the workload of effects work on a project.
When I started doing the first of many higher profile video game cinematics from my home office, I quickly realized the power of a "common language" of data handling. In a business where everyone is trying to put their own individual creative look on their work to differentiate themselves, when it comes to file handling, the last thing you want is to be different. When artists and supervisors can use a common "shorthand" when reviewing images, the whole production gets more efficient. That no longer translates into getting it done any faster... it means getting it done.. period. Visual Effects Artists are the Samurai warriors of the industry, often nomadic, able to adapt, but always needing time to perfect their skills. We need to all respect a "bushido" code and use the same guidelines in battle. What determines success is the skill at which we wield our weapons.
As a starting point to derive a standard practice of data handling and naming conventions, visit vfxproduction.tv and click on the Industry Standards link.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Making Nothing into "Something"
Well, here we are! Embarking on a journey to create some compelling content that focuses on.... well.. creating compelling content! A wise woman once said it takes at least ten years to master any skill. ALthough I have been involved in computer graphics for over 15 years, I have only spent about 2 years creating web content and tinkering with the idea of making an online "property" or presence. A place where visual effects professionals and hobbyists could go to learn some cool tricks of the trade, share experiences, or get inspiration. There are already a few excellent portals of this kind of information, however, I feel that what is missing is concise and complete information about how visual effects can be accomplished.
What others have done, and done very well I might add, is give a nicely formatted "gloss-over" of very talented artists' work. The kind of 5 minute sound bites that we get bombarded with every day for those of us who try and watch the "news". What I have been searching for, and what leads me to attempt to build this site, is a place where visual effects shots are explained from original concept to finished output, in a way that just focuses on the details for that shot. There are so many skills that go into an effects shot - Cinematography, lighting, cg modeling/sculpting, rigging, animating, CG lighting/texturing, rendering... the list goes on... and on... It is not feasible to be a master at all of those diciplines, but it is possible to use just enough of each piece of the puzzle to create some amazing imagery. And it is essential to understand what needs to happen at every stage in order to create a great effects shot.
I have finaled over 500 effects shots professionally in the last 5 years, and the pace was too fast to be able to get the image I really wanted - compromises had to be made. There is a point in every shot where you have to cut the corner and get it done, however, when your skills are honed and you have mastery in a few disciplines, those cut corners are usually not noticed by the client. We have to face it, professional visual effects work is not fine art (although Pixar and their budgets allow it to be fine art), it is really about a sales pitch. We are selling fantasy as reality. We are taking nothing, some pixels on the screen, and making them into "something".
So a place called vfxproduction.tv is born. I am hoping to share my experiences in visual effects with others, and produce some really compelling content over the next 10 years, eventually mastering the skill of demonstrating the processes that create great visual effects. The best way to demonstrate the techniques is to show the viewer real production, real shots, and the real obstacles that are overcome to get final output. The site is not about feature sets and how to basics. It is about the shots.
- Matt Moses
vfxproduction.tv founder
What others have done, and done very well I might add, is give a nicely formatted "gloss-over" of very talented artists' work. The kind of 5 minute sound bites that we get bombarded with every day for those of us who try and watch the "news". What I have been searching for, and what leads me to attempt to build this site, is a place where visual effects shots are explained from original concept to finished output, in a way that just focuses on the details for that shot. There are so many skills that go into an effects shot - Cinematography, lighting, cg modeling/sculpting, rigging, animating, CG lighting/texturing, rendering... the list goes on... and on... It is not feasible to be a master at all of those diciplines, but it is possible to use just enough of each piece of the puzzle to create some amazing imagery. And it is essential to understand what needs to happen at every stage in order to create a great effects shot.
I have finaled over 500 effects shots professionally in the last 5 years, and the pace was too fast to be able to get the image I really wanted - compromises had to be made. There is a point in every shot where you have to cut the corner and get it done, however, when your skills are honed and you have mastery in a few disciplines, those cut corners are usually not noticed by the client. We have to face it, professional visual effects work is not fine art (although Pixar and their budgets allow it to be fine art), it is really about a sales pitch. We are selling fantasy as reality. We are taking nothing, some pixels on the screen, and making them into "something".
So a place called vfxproduction.tv is born. I am hoping to share my experiences in visual effects with others, and produce some really compelling content over the next 10 years, eventually mastering the skill of demonstrating the processes that create great visual effects. The best way to demonstrate the techniques is to show the viewer real production, real shots, and the real obstacles that are overcome to get final output. The site is not about feature sets and how to basics. It is about the shots.
- Matt Moses
vfxproduction.tv founder
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