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A visual effect is the integration of liveaction footage and generated imagery to create environments which realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or simply impossible to capture on film. Visual effects using computergenerated imagery (CGI) have become increasingly common in bigbudget films, and have also recently become accessible to the amateur filmmaker with the introduction of affordable animation and compositing software. As a beginner to Visual Effects the number of software applications and training programs available may intimidate you. When deciding what program(s) to use and how to learn them it is important to know what your long and shortterm goals are. Are you looking to break into the visual effects industry working on major motion pictures as part of a pipeline that includes huge a VFX team? Are you a one man team looking to increase the production value of your YouTube channel? Or perhaps you’re looking to just have a bit of fun with visual effects in your free time. Visual Effects often involves working for clients with specific needs. Although with increasingly capable and affordable technology there has been an emergence of filmmakers that can direct, edit, and do visual effects on there own projects. This article is dedicated to the beginning filmmaker and/or visual effects artist interested in understanding of the basics of what visual effects are and how they can be of use in filmmaking. A visual effect in its most basic form, is digitally manipulated live action footage. The use of computers to add/or remove anything that was not originally in the shot would be a visual effect. What are Visual Effects? (VFX) Visual Effects Basics Introduction by the VFX Bro www.vfxbro.com Getting Started Understanding the industry and deciding what route to take in order to achieve your goals. Page 1 Software A brief overview of some of the most commonly used visual effects applications. Page 23 Technique We take a look at some of the basic techniques used for achieving commonly seen visual effects. Page 45 Anyone that benefits from advertising can benefit from visual effects. Video has an inherent appeal to audiences. Most of us want to “see” something before we want to “read” something. In the context of internet marketing, visual effects can be used to enhance the consumer experience by educating the viewer about product or services, putting a face on a company, and building a company brand. A quality video that demonstrates how a product works, with attractive visuals, would provide solid evidence that the product can indeed solve a particular problem. It sets off emotional triggers that static text simply cannot do, ultimately influencing buying decisions. Who can benefit from vfx?

VFX For BeginnersFINAL · PDF filematchmoving"Boujou"is"similar"to"PFTrack"and"Syntheyes."" The"following"software"applications"are"commonly"used"for"visual" effects"on"both"professional"and"consumer"

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Page 1: VFX For BeginnersFINAL · PDF filematchmoving"Boujou"is"similar"to"PFTrack"and"Syntheyes."" The"following"software"applications"are"commonly"used"for"visual" effects"on"both"professional"and"consumer"

 

A  visual  effect  is  the  integration  of  live-­‐action  footage  and  generated  imagery  to  create  environments  which  realistic,  but  would  be  dangerous,  costly,  or  simply  impossible  to  capture  on  film.  Visual  effects  using  computer-­‐generated  imagery  (CGI)  have  become  increasingly  common  in  big-­‐budget  films,  and  have  also  recently  become  accessible  to  the  amateur  filmmaker  with  the  introduction  of  affordable  animation  and  compositing  software.  

As  a  beginner  to  Visual  Effects  the  number  of  software  applications  and  training  programs  available  may  intimidate  you.  When  deciding  what  program(s)  to  use  and  how  to  learn  them  it  is  important  to  know  what  your  long  and  short-­‐term  goals  are.  Are  you  looking  to  break  into  the  visual  effects  industry  working  on  major  motion  pictures  as  part  of  a  pipeline  that  includes  huge  a  VFX  team?  Are  you  a  one  man  team  looking  to  increase  the  production  value  of  your  YouTube  channel?  Or  perhaps  you’re  looking  to  just  have  a  bit  of  fun  with  visual  effects  in  your  free  time.    

Visual  Effects  often  involves  working  for  clients  with  specific  needs.  Although  with  increasingly  capable  and  affordable  technology  there  has  been  an  emergence  of  filmmakers  that  can  direct,  edit,  and  do  visual  effects  on  there  own  projects.    

This  article  is  dedicated  to  the  beginning  filmmaker  and/or  visual  effects  artist  interested  in  understanding  of  the  basics  of  what  visual  effects  are  and  how  they  can  be  of  use  in  filmmaking.    

 

A  visual  effect  in  its  most  basic  form,  is  digitally  manipulated  live  action  footage.  The  use  of  computers  to  add/or  remove  anything  that  was  not  originally  in  the  shot  would  be  a  visual  effect.  

What  are  Visual  Effects?    

(VFX)  Visual  Effects  Basics  Introduction  by  the  VFX  Bro   www.vfxbro.com  

Getting  Started  Understanding  the  industry  and  deciding  what  route  to  take  in  order  to  achieve  your  goals.    

Page  1  

Software  A  brief  overview  of  some  of  the  most  commonly  used  visual  effects  applications.    

Page  2-­‐3  

Technique  We  take  a  look  at  some  of  the  basic  techniques  used  for  achieving  commonly  seen  visual  effects.    

Page  4-­‐5  

Anyone  that  benefits  from  advertising  can  benefit  from  visual  effects.    Video  has  an  inherent  appeal  to  audiences.  Most  of  us  want  to  “see”  something  before  we  want  to  “read”  something.  In  the  context  of  internet  marketing,  visual  effects  can  be  used  to  enhance  the  consumer  experience  by  educating  the  viewer  about  product  or  services,  putting  a  face  on  a  company,  and  building  a  company  brand.  

A  quality  video  that  demonstrates  how  a  product  works,  with  attractive  visuals,  would  provide  solid  evidence  that  the  product  can  indeed  solve  a  particular  problem.  It  sets  off  emotional  triggers  that  static  text  simply  cannot  do,  ultimately  influencing  buying  decisions.  

Who  can  benefit  from  vfx?  

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3Ds  Max  

3Ds  Max  is  a  3D  modeling,  animation  and  rendering  software.  The  application  relies  on  widely  used  computer  3D  technology  which  works  by  creating  groups  of  "points"  (known  as  vertices)  who  form  surfaces  when  connected.  The  illusion  of  three  dimensions  is  created  by  modeling  objects  out  of  multiple  surfaces.  Still  pictures,  movies  and  game  environments  (among  other  media)  can  be  created  with  this  technique.  

After  Effects  -­‐  Adobe  

The  most  commonly  used  visual  effects  software.  It’s  primary  uses  include  motion  graphics  (title  intros  and  logo  animations)  and  compositing  (adding  fake  stuff  into  live  footage).  This  program  is  great  for  beginners  to  visual  effects.  It’s  ease  of  use  and  wide  range  of  uses  make  it  the  perfect  tool  for  Indy  filmmaking  and  small  productions  teams.  

Boujou  

A  3d  motion  tracking  software  that  allows  the  insertion  of  computer  graphics  into  live-­‐action  footage  with  correct  position,  scale,  orientation,  and  motion  relative  to  the  physical  data  of  the  original  footage.  Also  known  as  matchmoving  Boujou  is  similar  to  PFTrack  and  Syntheyes.    

The  following  software  applications  are  commonly  used  for  visual  effects  on  both  professional  and  consumer  levels.  They  all  differ  and  serve  a  unique  purpose  on  a  visual  effects  pipeline.    

Cinema  4D  -­‐  Maxon  

Cinema  4D  is  a  3D  modeling,  animation  and  rendering  software.  The  application  relies  on  widely  used  computer  3D  technology  that  works  by  creating  groups  of  "points"  (known  as  vertices),  which  form  surfaces  when  connected.  The  illusion  of  three  dimensions  is  created  by  modeling  objects  out  of  combined  multiple  surfaces.  Still  pictures,  movies,  and  game  environments  (among  other  media)  can  be  produced  with  this  technique.    

Cinema  4d  is  used  on  a  professional  level  most  commonly  for  motion  graphics.  It’s  ease  of  use  gives  it  less  of  a  learning  curve.  Cinema  4D  allows  for  direct  exporting  into  After  Effects  which  also  makes  it  a  preferd  software  among  After  Effects  users.  

Flame  –  Autodesk  

Perhaps  the  most  highly-­‐acclaimed  compositing  software  is  Flame,  which  runs  on  its  own  operating  system.  The  cost  of  this  program  is  cost-­‐prohibitive  for  most  consumers,  rendering  it  more  of  professional  compositing  software.  The  high  level  of  interactivity  required  for  client-­‐assisted  production  and  quick  turnaround  on  time-­‐critical  projects.    

.    

 

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Working  alongside  on-­‐set  industry  luminaries,  as  well  as  the  occasional  actor,  is  exciting,  says  Eric  Alba,  a  free-­‐lance  visual-­‐effect  artist  who  has  worked  on  science  fiction  TV  shows,  including  "Star  Trek:  The  Next  Generation."  "On  the  best  days,  I  get  to  blow  up  cars  on  set,"  Mr.  Alba  says.    

The  worst  part  of  the  job  can  often  be  dealing  with  clients.  Particularly  for  advertising  customers  who  only  have  a  conceptual  idea  of  what  they  want,  says  Chris  Wells,  a  visual-­‐effects  supervisor  with  Hydraulx,  "You  have  to  dig  into  a  client  and  ask  a  lot  of  abstract  questions  to  really  get  the  palette  and  the  mood  they  want,"  Mr.  Wells  says.  "There  can  be  a  lot  of  trial  and  error."  Willingness  to  relocate  is  crucial,  as  the  lion's  share  of  jobs  are  available  in  just  a  handful  of  cities  such  as  Los  Angeles,  New  York,  Chicago,  Vancouver,  British  Columbia,  and  San  Francisco.  The  long  hours  also  can  wreak  havoc  on  personal  relationships,  Mr.  Alba  says.  "I've  called  this  job  the  widow-­‐maker.  

Best  and  Worst  Parts  of  Being  a  VFX  Artist  

Learning  These  Programs  

Maya  

Maya  always  looks  like  a  special  software  for  cg  artists  because  of  its  “node  base”  system.  It  has  a  really  strong  ability  about  animation,  particles,  dynamics,  rendering,  modeling  etc.  

Maya  is  great  if  you  use  it  all  the  time.  If  you  don't  use  it  constantly,  you  will  need  to  "re-­‐learn"  it  everytime  you  pick  it  up.  Maya  has  some  of  the  best  animation  features.  

Mocha  

Software  used  for  planar  tracking  and  rotoscoping.  Comes  with  tools  for  wire  removal,  clean  plate  generation,  lens  distortion  correction  and  mesh  warping,  to  deliver  an  all-­‐in-­‐one  VFX  tool  set.  mocha  Pro  is  designed  to  complement  any  editing,  compositing  and  finishing  environment,  and  offers  digital  media  artists  a  powerful,  intuitive  and  innovative  planar  tracking-­‐based  solution  with  a  streamlined  interface,  accelerated  workflow  and  the  power  to  easily  manipulate  and  track  shots  not  possible  with  traditional  solutions.  It  allows  artists  to  easily  track  shots  where  point  trackers  fail:  shots  with  noise,  shots  with  motion  blur  and  shots  that  go  offscreen  or  are  obscured.  Mocha  AE  comes  free  with  After  Effects  CS4  and  above.    

Nuke  

Primarily  a  compositing  software,  it  is  similar  to  After  Effects  but  used  on  a  more  professional  level.  It  is  one  of  the  most  commonly  used  compositing  softwares  on  big  budget  movies.  Nuke  and  Flame  are  used  by  most  professiona  vfx  companies.    

Nuke’s  uses  a  node-­‐based  approach  which  allows  for  powerful  workflow  within  a  vfx  team.  It  also  has  the  ability  

to  integrate  3d  models  making  it  ideal  for  3D  compositing  and  environments.    

Nuke  also  allows  for  deep  compositing    which  means  that  artists  can  work  with  ‘deep  images’  containing  multiple  opacity  or  colour  samples  per  pixel.  This  allows  rendering  of  CGI  elements  without  predetermined  holdout  mattes,  avoiding  the  need  for  re-­‐renders  when  content  changes.  

PFTrack  

A  3d  motion  tracking  software  that  allows  the  insertion  of  computer  graphics  into  live-­‐action  footage  with  correct  position,  scale,  orientation,  and  motion  relative  to  the  physical  data  of  the  original  footage.  Also  known  as  matchmoving  PFTrack  is  similar  to  Boujou  and  Syntheyes.    

PFTrack  is  probably  the  most  sophisticated  tool  when  it  comes  to  the  algorithms  used.  It  also  supports  object  tracking,  facial  feature  tracking  (used  for  motion  caputure).  PFTrack  2011  is  node  based  which  is  easier  for  Flame  and  Nuke  users  to  work  with.    

Syntheyes    

A  3d  motion  tracking  software  that  allows  the  insertion  of  computer  graphics  into  live-­‐action  footage  with  correct  position,  scale,  orientation,  and  motion  relative  to  the  physical  data  of  the  original  footage.  Also  known  as  matchmoving  Syntheyes  is  similar  to  Boujou  and  PFTrack.    

SynthEyes  offers  a  complete  high-­‐end  feature  set,  including  tracking,  stabilization,  motion  capture,  and  mesh  building  

 

 

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  4  Continued…  

-­‐Mark  Tobin  

Visual  Effects  Technique  Green  Screen  Green  screening  is  a  technique  for  compositing  (layering)  two  images  together.  A  color  range  in  the  top  layer  is  made  transparent,  revealing  another  image  behind.  Also  known  as  the  chroma  keying  technique,  it  is  commonly  used  in  video  production  and  post-­‐production.    

   Motion  Tracking  Motion  Tracking  allows  the  insertion  of  computer  graphics  into  live-­‐action  footage  with  correct  position,  scale,  orientation,  and  motion  relative  to  the  photographed  objects  in  the  shot.  The  term  is  used  loosely  to  refer  to  several  different  ways  of  extracting  motion  information  from  a  motion  picture,  particularly  camera  movement.  Motion  tracking  is  related  to  rotoscoping  and  photogrammetry.  It  is  sometimes  referred  to  as  match  moving.    

                                                                                             

!

   3d  Modeling  A  3d  model  is  a  representation  of  any  three-­‐dimensional  surface  of  object  (either  inanimate  or  living)  via  a  3d  modeling  software  such  as  Maya,  Cinema  4d  or  3Ds  Max.  The  product  is  called  a  3D  model.  It  can  be  displayed  as  a  two-­‐dimensional  image  through  a  process  called  3D  rendering  or  used  in  a  computer  simulation  of  physical  phenomena.      

                                                                                             

More  important  is  an  eye  for  artistic  detail,  such  as  light,  shadow,  and  texture.  “You  can  teach  the  technical  knowledge,  but  you  can’t  teach  a  great  eye.”  

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  5  

Matte  Painting  A  Matte  Painting  is  made  when  we  combine  two  or  more  image  elements  into  a  single,  final  image.  Usually,  mattes  are  used  to  combine  a  foreground  image  (such  as  actors  on  a  set,  or  a  spaceship)  with  a  background  image  (a  scenic  vista,  a  field  of  stars  and  planets).  In  this  case,  the  matte  is  the  background  painting.  In  film  and  stage,  mattes  can  be  physically  huge  sections  of  painted  canvas,  portraying  large  scenic  expanses  of  landscapes.    

   Physical  Simulators  

Physical  simulator  software  allows  simulation  of  the  way  bodies  of  many  types  are  affected  by  a  variety  of  physical  stimuli.  They  are  also  used  to  create  Dynamical  simulations  without  having  to  know  anything  about  physics.  Physics  engines  are  used  throughout  the  video  game  and  movie  industry.  They  are  often  used  for  high  budget  films  involving  natural  disasters  such  as  2012.    

!

 

Rotoscoping      Rotoscoping  is  the  process  of  manually  altering  film  or  video  footage  one  frame  at  a  time.  The  frames  can  be  painted  on  arbitrarily  to  create  custom  animated  effects  like  lightning  or  lightsabres,  or  traced  to  create  realistic  traditional  style  animation  or  to  produce  hold-­‐out  mattes  for  compositing  elements  in  a  scene  and,  more  recently,  to  produce  depth  maps  for  stereo  conversion.    

 

 •  The  pay:  Earnings  vary,  

depending  on  whether  you  

are  employed  by  a  company,  

a  studio  or  as  a  free-­‐lancer.  

Typically,  short-­‐term  

commercial  jobs  pay  more,  

but  television-­‐show  and  film  

jobs  provide  more  job  

security.  Junior  visual-­‐effects  

supervisors  earn  an  average  

of  $2,500  a  week.  

•  The  hours:  Workdays  are  

usually  at  least  10  hours  long.  

Deadlines  are  high-­‐pressure  

and  rarely  flexible.  Many  

artists  say  they  work  through  

the  night  to  deliver  a  project  

on  time.  Visual-­‐effects  artists  

bemoan  that  there  is  no  

union  representation  to  

regulate  hours  and  working  

conditions.  

!  

Visual  Effects  as  a  Career  

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 How  do  I  work?  

I  like  to  shoot  on  the  Canon  7D  because  it  

shoots  in  high  definition  and  has  the  option  of  the  shooting  at  60  

frames  per  second  which  is  great  for  slow  motion  shots  

For  Free  Visual  Effects  Training  on  Adobe  After  Effects,  Mocha,  and  PFTrack  check  out  www.vfxbro.com  

   For  90%  of  my  visual  effects  I  use  After  Effects,  Cinema  4d,  PFTrack,  and  Mocha.  I  do  most  of  my  work  on  a  2010  MacBook  Pro  15’’  with  8  GB  of  RAM  and  a  2.5  ghz.      I  shoot  video  primarily  on  the  Canon  7d  and  5d  with  a  Canon  50mm  f1.8  and  a  Tokina  11-­‐17mm  f2.8  lens.  I  use  a  Flycam  Nano  Steadycam  to  get  my  moving  shots.      When  working  with  other  on  a  project  that  involves  several  visual  effects  shots  it’s  important  that  the  edit  is  locked  so  I  can  avoid  doing  visual  effects  on  shots  that  aren’t  necessary  for  the  final  cut.