Visual Effects Tips 2

[Visual Effects Tips 1 post]

Time is important in visual effects. There’s never enough of it so make every attempt to minimize wasted time and simple mistakes.

Many of these examples are animation or compositing but most apply to the majority of visual effects work from texture or matte painting to lighting.


Checking materials
When starting a task or shot check the materials you’ve been provided.
Are all the materials correct?
Does the live action match the count sheet?
If there’s a match move is it correct?
If you’re composting are the supplied renders correct with correct alphas?
If there are problems flag them immediately. If you don’t check you may not know that there are problems until well into the shot, at which time trying to correct the mistakes will take longer and be more difficult.

After confirming everything is ok become familiar with the material. If it’s a greescreen take a look at the screen and potential problems extracting the mattes. If you’re going to roto the live action run the clip a few times to see what’s happening so you can plan your approach.

Note to visual effects companies: Make sure your contracts include explicit details for deliveries to your company. File formats, schedules, naming, file organization, size, etc. Sometimes it’s amazing the amount of incorrect material received from a client. On one project I worked on the editorial dept seemed to have a PA who was simply recopying everything onto hard drives and shipping them with no information and no organization. The visual effects company then would have to spend hours sifting through the material to determine what was new and what had changed. In other cases I’ve heard of some editorial departments constantly providing incorrect count sheets. By having this info in the contract the first time this happens flag it to the client and inform them that additional lapses that require rework or unplanned man hours correcting will be billed on a time and material basis. Additional costs seem to be one of the few ways to get a clients attention unfortunately but it also means that the meager profits will be less likely soaked up by these types of sloppiness or errors on the clients part.


Thinking
Now that you’ve reviewed the materials take a moment to think through the task at hand and how this will be accomplished. What are the critical elements, what are the steps that will need to be done, what tasks will have to be done by other departments, etc. What are the items that will likely change or that will need special care? If this a stereo shot or will be converted to stereo after the fact then you will have to consider the implications of working in real 3D space. If you’re compositing you’ll need to think of the layering process.


KISS
Keep it simple stupid. In your plan for the task try to keep it simple. You have to anticipate the areas that will need to be controlled independently and break it up accordingly but avoid going crazy with layers or keyframes if possible. A complex shot will probably require more than simple work but don’t needlessly make the project or the work complex.


Sharing
As you start thinking of the shot and the steps required keep in mind it’s likely you will have to pass the work on to someone during the course of the show. That someone could be you having to re-open the project and make changes two months after it was finalled or it could be you re-starting the shot after it was put on hold for three months. Or it could be a co-worker who has to take over the shot while you finish something else or the shot may have to be split up because of an impending deadline.

With that in mind you want to make it so no one, including yourself, has to spend hours reverse engineering what you were doing and why. (I’m not even going mention the possibility that a sequel may mean some of these files and projects are opened years later)


Fundamentals
Start with the fundamentals. If you’re an animator then you want to make sure you have the proper poses at the correct key frames. Don’t get lost in trying to do the secondary animations, just focus on the fundamental animation. If you’re a compositor adjust the black levels and adjust the basic color of the assortment of elements you’ve been provided before throwing in all the layering atmospherics and other enhancements.

Once these are done and approved then you know you have a solid foundation to build on. It allows the supervisor or director the ability to review the work before you spend a lot of time on it. There may be radical changes that would make all the additional work worthless.

There will be times when it will be useful to do slop or rough animation, renders and composites. Frequently it’s necessary to block in an entire sequence so the director and editor can review before proceeding. Other times it may be necessary to provide shots for test screenings that were scheduled to be done in the future. Regardless you’ll get notes on the shots and the first impulse will be to take these quick and dirty versions and start making adjustments. However it’s almost always best to get back to the foundation and the basics before addressing the notes. If the black levels are off or the basic timing of animation is wrong, it will still be wrong even tweaking the other aspects of the shot. And in the end it’s likely you’ll waste a lot of time and have to scrap it to get back to where you should have started from.


Priorities
You should have a To Do list for every shot you work on. With feedback from the supervisor or director you may be changing the order of priorities. Neither the director nor supervisor will want to ask multiple times for the same thing. Let them know if there is an issue accomplishing that.

If you’re reviewing yourself play the shot through and note the items that stand out to you as not in keeping with what the final shot should be. Determine the priority based on which issues truly jump out the most and which ones are fundamental issues versus getting sidetracked and spending time noodling with a few pixels in the corner. If it had to go in the movie tomorrow what are the top 5 items to be fixed or changed?

As you work on each item mark it off your To Do list so you always know how much you’ve done and how much is still to be done.


Monitor
Is your monitor actually calibrated? Are you using the correct lookup table and gamma settings? Are you seeing the same results you see in dailies review and that the supervisor and director see? If not check with your company to see if your system can be calibrated or you’ll have to develop an eye to compensate for the difference. Be aware if your system or playback has limited color depth.


Reviews
If you’re presenting to the director or supervisor it’s usually worthwhile having the previous version loaded and ready to review since many times it will be used for reference and comparison. If you’re showing with and without results in something like Nuke then wire up the viewer so you can quickly cycle though the different versions or variations if possible. Having to zoom out, find the areas, relink the viewer, etc are time consuming and should have already been done ahead of time.  Sometimes it’s worth putting in a switch to quickly change the composite flow. Create snapshots in After Effects or other apps.


Reviewing your work
For your own reviews crank the gamma up and down and the exposure up and down to spot any inconsistencies or level issues. Try the alternate lookup tables (make sure to return to normal once done reviewing). Will the shot hold up in the DI or once it’s transferred to video? Are areas being clipped or is there a mismatch of blacks and levels? Is there any quantizing? Check the blue channel for grain issues. Have you added the proper amount of grain and does the whole shot match?

Play it slow, fast and in reverse to see if everything is working as it should. This can sometimes show flaws in the animation or simply allow you to spot fluctuation problems.

When you’re staring at something a long time you may not spot some of the flaws that might be obvious to others. Painters sometimes look at their work in a mirror to give them a different feel for the painting. This was common in the pre-digital days with matte painters. Flopping the image in the viewer or composite will provide this same option of seeing the shot in a new light.

Be honest with yourself. If the animation or whatever you're working on isn't working consider how to fix it. Discuss with a co-worker, lead or supervisor if you know it's wrong but aren't sure how to proceed.


Organize
Do your work in an organized fashion that follows logical thinking. If your company has templates or guidelines be sure to follow those. It’s easy in some apps such as Nuke to end up with something that looks like a mess of spaghetti. This will chew up your time daily to maintain and change and it will mean that anyone else who needs to work on the composite will spend extra time digging through the composite.

Come up with some basic conventions yourself if none is provided by your company or lead. Try to be consistent about the approach and naming. Group parts of the shots as modules. This makes it easy to enable/disable sections or to switch sections. If you’re working in Photoshop you might want to put sections in folders to keep it more organized. Likewise with some roto packages and other apps there are opportunities to group related items.


Document
It’s not always clear what your project file is doing. It may seem totally obvious to you now but to others or even yourself a few weeks from now it will likely be a totally mystery. If you’re writing software code then include comments. If it;s a complex process with multiple files consider writing a Read Me file or some basic document describing what the process is and how it works. By including some forms of documentation it will be easier and faster to keep track of what is what. Many software packages offer methods to document the work as you’re doing it. Label layers in After Effects and Photoshop. This minimizing the amount of guess that is done or the toggling of layers to determine exactly what each is doing. Label key nodes in Nuke.

Some apps allow adding comments. Nuke provides Sticky Notes so you can mark a specific area with a reminder to yourself or an explanation why you’re doing it this way. Their backdrop can be placed behind a number of nodes with text and with user defined colors making it easy to spot key areas even on a large and complex composite. Nuke also provides No Op nodes that can be labeled. Take a look at the software you’re using to determine how you can use labels and other built in documentation. If none exists consider writing up a short text file in the director with your notes.

Add slates to your rendered images and add useful comments there. These are going to become very valuable when you have to dig back through them for yourself or a client.


Save often
Many software packages have autosaving functions. Make sure these are turned on but also get in the habit of saving yourself to make sure your work is being saved where it needs to be saved.


Save versions
Save your files and projects as you go along with version or take numbers. Use the company defined file structure and naming conventions. Especially important if you’ve made major changes. It’s very frustrating when the client or supervisor likes a test or previous version you did but you didn’t save the project. Now you have to spend time trying to recreate what you already did once before.


Optimize
When you work on a shot you will likely have to render quite a few takes on your machine and/or on the render farm. If for some reason your render isn’t optimized that can equate to quite a few hours of lost production time and processor time.  As you manipulate, test and review interactively an unoptimized configuration can mean the difference of trying multiple changes in a short time or become a slog of spending most of your day making a few simple changes. It may mean the difference of producing a great result on a short turnaround or a mediocre result since you didn’t have time to manipulate and render a better version.

Optimize your renders when possible. Know the application you’re working in and know what options there are when rendering. Here’s a list of optimizations for Nuke. There’s likely more than a few lists for all visual effects software packages. Avoiding things that slow down the app and doing more of the things that speed up the app may have a big impact on the day to day work. Consider using low resolution proxy models or elements when you can for working on animation or basic testing. Consider pre comps and caching when working on the top layer. Consider rendering just a frame range of the shot and combining it previously rendered frames to check the new frames in context.

For specific tasks you might turn off some of the advanced settings - motion blur, fur render, etc. as long as you know what you’re evaluating. You might be able to disable specific areas of a composite or render if that’s not what you’re working on. Just make sure to restore all of the settings for the final render and another other renders that require full reviews.

There’s no point in spending 3 days trying to shave a few seconds off the entire shot render but if your render is running much slower than it should due to simple changes, then it’s a waste of time and resources.

The other thing to consider optimizing is yourself and your approach. If you’re working a lot in one software package then get to know all the keyboard and mouse shortcuts. Configure the app keys or your Wacom to take advantage of specific and frequent tasks. Use macros or scripts as needed for repeating common tasks. In Photoshop use actions for tasks that you do a lot of.


Check your results
Check all the renders or tests you generate and consider them in terms of the request from the director or supervisor. Make sure to check your work before passing it on to others to use. Do NOT assume that its correct. If you’re an animator check the final animation for any stray keyframes or oddities. Rotoscopers should make sure the motion and coverage is correct. If you’re rendering simulations make sure they’re the required length and have correct alphas. If you’re a TD make sure there aren’t any glitches or bad frames rendered.

It’s far better to find out now and fix it rather than getting a frantic call late at night two weeks later.

Once you’ve checked the results make sure everything has been correctly entered int whatever asset database your company may be using. Make sure to prep the files for archiving if you’re finished.


Keep a log
Keep a log of the time you work and the shots and tasks you’re working on. You likely already do this for your timecard or for production but it’s worthwhile recording it as well for yourself. It can be a real eye opener to see how much actual time was spent on a shot or given task or how much linear time it took by the time the back and forth happened with the director. Use this as a reference when you’re asked to bid on a shot or when you’re asked how much time you think is required to get the version done. All of us in visual effects are eternal optimists. We assume we can whip out the next version in a couple of hours. Time after time of saying that with a client waiting and disappointing them with something two days later is a problem. It’s also a problem for the visual effects company who bids on the amount of time required and unknowingly underbids the work simply because everyone is optimistic. The company should in fact be doing their own reality check of what the typical shot requires but most companies don’t work that way. No point in budgeting 2 hours of roto per shot on a new show if the company average was 8 hours of roto per shot on the last show.

Also keep a record of the bids you provide when bidding a show. Don’t be surprised if the numbers changed quite a bit when you go to do the actual work months later. Especially problematic when they try holding you to it. The supervisor or producer may think you were pessimistic and ‘adjusted’ the amount of time much lower. Or in some cases they may have added a lot of padding.


Check the next phase
Once you’re done with your tasks and passed the files or elements on it’s usually out of your hands. And the company probably wants you to be focusing your efforts on the next task. But when possible it’s worth checking the next step, the next render or task. You can check to make sure the correct version is in fact being used of your animation. You can make sure the root elements or renders are the right ones and are being used correctly. It’s possible there’s been a mixup or confusion on the next step and by viewing the 10 second shot you can flag an error that may not be evident to others.


Check the final
If a shot you worked on in any form is finalled check it out. Its worth doing a reality check of what you did and how it was used in context of the shot and project. Did you over build details of the model that never show up given the action or smoke levels? Did texture map you painted work? Did that elaborate 30 second shot get cut down to 2 seconds? Would you have done more on a specific aspect that would have made the shot better? There may not be much you can do about some of these things but it’s worth getting the experience and understanding how things come to be. It’s also worth considering how would you approach this same task or type of shot next time. Would you change anything? Have you learned anything you can apply to the remaining shots or to future projects?

[I'll have future tips posts. Feel free to add your own tips in comments]

What happened?

What happened?

A week or two ago the LA Time ran an article on some of the problems of the visual effects industry. It covered someone who had been in visual effects for awhile and wanted things as bold as health care insurance (you know, that thing that comes with most full time jobs). The amount of overtime, it’s difficulty on workers physically and the need to keep finding work to help pay for things (like health care) were also among the topics.

And anytime someone who has been working in this industry for awhile speaks out there are always detractors. In forums where this issue was discussed young people who are in this industry always asked “what happened to all the money this experienced person had been paid?”  "Why don't they just quit?" And I’ve talked to a few of these people. They think, ‘wow, visual effects pay is nice. Anybody who works a long time has got to be rolling in money. Rich, rich, rich. As in taking a personal helicopter to their yacht to go to their private island where their pet pandas eat caviar out of golden bowl, rich’. Well maybe not that rich but certainly the feeling is these people should have been able to stash away millions and be able to retire with no cares.

Young people myths
1. You will create, discover or invent the next Facebook and be a multi-billionaire by the time you’re 30. It was a million when I started but hey, inflation.
2. You will be a rock legend playing to millions of fans.
3. You will always be in high demand for your visual effects skills and always be offered work. Certainly aways able to work as much as you like.
4. Companies will have bidding wars just to have you join their projects.
5. You will have your choice of projects and will be able to pick the coolest ones.
6. You will always be paid more on each project.
7. The expenses you have at 23 will be the same expenses throughout your life.
8. You will have perfect health for your entire life.
9. You’ll never make any bad decisions.
10. It’s easy to save and hey, you’ll start saving more as soon as you buy the latest xbox game and your new car and that other thing you just have to have.

Expenses
When you start out you’re single and have little needs and certainly minimal commitments. I was surveyed when working on Close Encounters about how much I spent on groceries per week. I answered less than $10. 1 gallon of milk and a box of cereal and I was set for breakfast and dinner. Fast food for lunch. I took a bus to work for little transportation costs. (2 hrs bus to travel what would have taken 20 minute by car) Later I bought a bike and then later a car. Unfurnished apartments saw a bed, chair, basic desk and tv. These days you’d probably add in a computer and video game box. You can always have roommates. So to a young person with very modest real expenses, the pay of visual effects is fantastic. They can buy and indulge in whatever they want. After all, they’ll be doing this for years.

It’s easy to get in the mindset that the work will always continue and to spend it as if you’re a full time staff employee. You’ve worked hard for your money and see no problem with splurging at times on the things you want. You can’t even wrap your head around the idea of retirement plans since that seems so distant. At 23 you’re fine making work the highest priority.

But then you grow up. Maybe get married. The desire to get a little nicer place and actually buy furniture and framed pictures along with real dishes and silverware. All this stuff starts to add up quickly, especially if you’ve never priced it. Maybe move up from a few pairs of jeans and show t-shirts to real clothing.

You may have children and before you know it you have a couple of cars to pay for along with a house mortgage and other expenses. You now have a lot of bills to pay per month. Don’t forget that costs (housing, food, clothing, etc) tend to rise faster than your wages actually do so it will cost you more. And there’s always added unexpected expenses. Your car breaks down and needs repairs, your house needs some work done, your child needs braces.  If you have children you’ll probably want them to attend college. It currently costs around $100,000 or so to send one child to college. How much will it cost 20 years from now? What if you have three children? But of course you’ll be so rich by then  money will be no object.

Jobs
Right now you may be easily going from project to project. You’re moving up through the ranks. You’re the hot shot guy or gal. But that winning streak will not last forever. That 9 month project you’ve signed on for just got yanked by the client. You turned down a job last week because you had this project lined up. Now that job you had turned down is gone as well. You find yourself without a project for 6 months. Do you take a lavish vacation during this downtime? How’s your high wages looking now that they’ve been cut in half?

You have a buddy at another company but that company has gone out of business so now there are even more people like you looking for work. The studios have cut back on making films. The tax incentives in your area are cut back. The tax incentives have increased elsewhere. The studios and companies have discovered yet a new location with lower labor costs. The works drying up at least for the time being.

A company tells you they can’t pay your going rate.They underbid a project and can’t afford to make the project they have agreed to do for the price they agreed on. Company management decision. Sorry. Take it or leave it. You have years of experience and can make it worth their while but they’re offering you 1/2 of what you’ve been paid. Oh and they require 80 hours weeks, no overtime. Can you wait it out and find other work nearby? Are you willing to leave your family and move around the world to work?

You interview at another company. They’re looking for someone who has experience in this new thing that was just announced yesterday and they require people who’ve already done 5 projects in it. Impossible but they persist. You’re experienced in a lot of things but they think this is so new how could you possibly grasp this new concept. They say they can get 2 young people for your cost and simply have the department head guide them. And these hip new people will obviously have lots of great ideas. The idea that they will be making a lot of mistakes and lack the experience never dawns on the company since many of them have been moved into management positions without experience or knowledge.

Your career, like your job, will likely be feast or famine. You will have lows and you will have highs. One thing you likely won’t have is consistency. I know people who worked at ILM over 20 years that are laid off for 6 months or more at a time with no definitive date to restart. All because the sales people and management there couldn’t get projects in. And that happens at every visual effects company.

And that money you’ve been saving? Now you have to start spending it to cover all of your expenses since they don’t stop.

Life happens
You make a lot of plans and have set a course for your future but something always comes up. Many things are out of your control. Many times due to random issues or small minded management. If you saw the movie UP (spoiler alert) you saw how their plans for a family changed. You saw how their plans for the ultimate trip were always thwarted by one thing after another. The time flies by.  Real life is like that. To quote John Lennon “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.”

What seems to be crystal clear black and white issues to the young turn into shades of gray with multiple view points for those experienced in living life.

Your time
You like to boast of the number of hours you worked the week before. Shows just how tough and how committed you are. You and your friends compare number of hours worked like bikers compare scars. That’s what makes you great. The number of hours you worked. And certainly the company will respect you and rehire you since you worked so many extra hours for them. Oops. Turns out the company doesn’t care. They now require everyone to work extra hours. Well those older workers complaining are just whiners. You’re much tougher than that. Besides in a few years you’ll be so rich by then money will be no object.

As time marches on you actually want to spend some time now at home. And you realize that your children only grow up once and most of that happens while you’re at work. That 4 or more extra hours you spend working per day more than your neighbor and those weekends may not be so wonderful then. Maybe you get overtime pay but that doesn’t begin to pay for the loss of seeing your spouse or children at a certain point. Your priorities change and you want to balance work and life.

Do you think your company will be willing to employ you for normal (non-vfx) hours? What leverage would you have to work less hours? After all, the rest of the crew is being forced to put in 60-80+ hr weeks so you feel compelled to do the same. Well it was a good idea while it lasted. And your spouse can always take photos at your daughters birthday party you missed (again).

Health care
Most young people don’t understand the big deal about health care. The astronomical costs of the care and insurance have little bearing on them because at that point they’re in perfect health. Believe me, that can change in a moment. You slip off your skateboard or have some strange pain in the middle of the night. An overnight stay in the hospital can set you back over $20,000. An appendicitis could cost you $135,000. Do you have enough money saved to cover those types of emergencies? Even if you have insurance you have to cover at least 20% and have deductibles. The insurance companies know the odds and they always win. You could be diagnosed with a chronic illness (even in your 20's) and forever be labeled as an existing condition. Your health insurance costs will skyrocket at that point, if you can find coverage. What if you hurt your hand and can’t work for 6 months? Many insurance plans don’t cover disabilities or job loss.

And if you have a family any of these things could happen to someone you love. Most of the foreclosures in this country happen due to medical expenses. And most of those are by people who were covered by insurance or thought they were covered more than they were. The insurance companies have plenty of outs to minimize their payouts.

But hey, it’s you. You’ll never have these problems.

What about your parents and siblings? Are they going to remain in perfect health and do they have enough saved to cover themselves? What about retirement homes at some point for your parents or someone you love? Currently they run $3,000 to $6,000 a month in LA. They can be over $10,000 a month for skilled nursing. How much will it be when that happens? But of course you’ll be so rich by then money will be no object.

Pensions
Many jobs have pension funds. Visual effects do not. How much money will you have saved for retirement? Will your social security cover you in your retirement? The average person doesn’t save much for retirement since other things were always a priority and used up the money. Can you live the manner you are now for the next 30 years without working or being paid?

Joe Harkin had an issue with joining the union originally since he didn’t think he should contribute into a pension pool that others would be using. That process is similar to any type of insurance. You pay money in every month for health insurance, car insurance, house insurance, etc. Rates are based on the number of people paying in. The insurance companies have done the math and it’s simply a matter of the odds that something will happen to any of these people. If you’re fortunate never having to need it you may think why should I bother. The day you’re hospitalized is the day you will be thankful that so many have contributed as well that it will help cover those who drew the short straw through no fault of their own. If you pay into the pension the idea is you will be able to access the funds set aside for you if the fund has been properly managed and the corporations don’t force it to be closed so they can make even more profits.

But you’re tough and smart. You’re going to go it alone. Skip that insurance and pension stuff. That’s for suckers. It's a dog eat dog world and you're not about to contribute to something that may benefit someone else and you certainly wouldn't want people to contribute to help you. People should not be banding together to help each other. You should grow all your own food, build your own roads and learn medicine so you don't need any health care.

You’ll be loaded with so much money from all your savings that it will cover anything that could possibly happen.

Decisions and savings
It’s certainly easy enough to make bad decisions in life. Some seem like good decisions at the time. Things change. Many things out of your control. That house you bought and still owe money on is now worth less than half because of the housing bust but you still have to pay the entire amount to the bank.

For those who made solid investments in stocks, bonds and other instruments that have long been reliable investments - the tech bubble happened in 2000 and wiped out a number of retirement funds and other savings. In 2008 the Wall Street bankers directly caused the destruction of the world economy. That wasn’t your fault but you’re the one that will be paying for it the rest of your life. So 75% of this careful scrimping and saving is gone in an instant. Was that part of your plan? What will happen when the next one happens and how much will you lose? But of course you’ll be so rich by then money will be no object.  For more info on the current economy and why this happened click here.

Unions
Unions are made up of communists and caused the downfall of the American auto industry, which has to be true because you read that somewhere on the internet. Hey, you’re an artist, not a mechanic. You can look after yourself and don’t need a union. Unions are for slackers, whiners and old-timers who can’t make the grade.  If they don’t like it they can quit. Switching to a different career is easy. After all there must be a large call for Maya animators or Nuke compositors in other industries. Those people working next to you who have been doing this for years? Their problems aren’t your problems. (not yet) You’ll be immune to all of those problems. All those others union members working in the film industry (directors, writers, actors, cinematographers, etc) are all suckers. You’ll show them by working unpaid overtime, going without continuous health insurance, no pension plan, and no profit participation. Yeah, you’ll show them how it should be done. You’re obviously a lot smarter than all of those people combined.

If you don’t like what a company offers or what they’re doing you’ll tell them and they will simply bow to your suggestion. If that doesn’t work, and why wouldn’t it, then you can always quit. There’s plenty of work always out there. What’s the big deal? And of course you’ll be so rich by then money will be no object.

Starting in visual effects
Anyone considering going into visual effects should understand what it involves and what the trade-offs you’re making. You will have to go from project to project, company to company. This is a world of freelance. There are no guarantees. There will be times where you will be unemployed. You will have to work hard. You will be asked to work ridiculous hours at times. You may or may not have health insurance where you work. You may or may not be paid overtime. You’re the only one looking out for yourself. The company will not be looking out for you.

Many young people graduate from some schools with the entire notion that they now deserve a job, no matter how good they actually are. They expect their professors to set up their interviews and help them get their job. They feel a sense of entitlement. They did the school and now it should simply rain money and fun projects. Some students focus on the notion that they will graduate and fill a visual effects supervisor role without the mess of having to do that hands on stuff. They’re busy looking up wages of visual effects supervisors on the internet without considering what the job actually entails. They think whatever they’ve learned and where ever they learned it will be more than sufficient to jump in the deep end on a show in full speed mode. They consider many job categories as being beneath them. These people will be very disappointed. School cannot teach you experience. You will learn an enormous amount on each project you work on and that experience is what helps you become a better visual effects artist.

If you’re doing this for the money you’ll be disappointed. If you don’t love doing visual effects and being interested in absorbing the experience and knowledge of working on different projects you should consider going into some other industry.

But hey, it’s you. The world will recognize your genius and none of any of this will affect you.

Summary
Life happens. Sh*t happens. It happens to one and all. The world is not a video game. You control what you can and you do the best you can with life as it comes. Don’t judge others based on your ignorance. You don’t know their story or what they’ve had to deal with. Show some compassion.

Really think about your future. Pensions, 401k, health care, family time, etc are not things that should be considered 10 years from now. Do you plan to work at just one company for your entire life? Will they be able to keep you busy and not have to lay you off for 6 months or more at a time? Will they even be in business for the next 40 years? Will all companies you are going to work for going to be well organized and only make smart decisions? Are all companies you work for going to  consider your needs? How are you going to have health care coverage as you go from company to company? How are you going to have a pension plan as you move from company to company? How are you going to make sure you’re paid overtime when you are working?

At some point you’re going to have to seriously look at a union and what it offers. Oh that’s right, you’ll be so rich by then money will be no object.

[Update: Just to be clear some of the this was meant as obvious tongue and cheek. Humorous exaggeration to make a point. It seems it may not have been obvious to a few people and they're taking some of this as a personal attack on them personally or think that others may take offense(?!) A sense of humor is very useful in visual effects.]

Related
Forbes article 20 things for 20 year olds

Visual Effects Union, take 2

(Update 4/23/2012 fixed missing BECTU link)

Yesterday there was an IA Union meeting with a number of visual effects artists. Most were from Sony Imageworks but there were others attending to get information firsthand regarding a possible visual effects union. The visual effects community received a fair bit of press regarding this including the Los Angeles Times articles here and here (retweeted by Roger Ebert), Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood, Cartoon Brew and VFXSoldier here and here.  The Animation Guild has posts related to this here, here and here.

Well now that the Visual Effects union is ramping up again, what’s next?

It looks like the IA is taking this more seriously now. (And don’t count IBEW out).  Evidently the IA has a website in progress but they will likely setup a temp site/blog regarding the visual effects union in the meantime.  [ IATSE Visual Effect Union website is now up ] They seem to realize the need to get with the new millennium and provide information on a website. They’ll even have a twitter account [ @vfxunion ] and likely do a visual effects podcast interview. [ podcast is here ]  They’ve asked the Animation Guild to help out in this process since they’re the closest specific union to visual effects and understand some of the issues better. The Animation Guild already covers animators at Disney and Dreamworks along with compositors and other artists.

I’ll cover a few things here but none of this is official, which is why a union website straight from the organizers would be a good thing. I had listed suggestions for the union here which they have reviewed along with a number of other blogs and input from artists directly.

A few artists from Sony Imageworks got the ball rolling and created their own website, SpiUnion. They actually have a number of questions and answers there which everyone should read. Sony Imageworks is somewhat unique in they are owned by a studio so indirectly at least they are connected to the decision makers and profit makers. Sony Pictures and Sony Animation are both union based but Imageworks (visual effects) is not. The IA will continue to have meetings with those interested from Imageworks. The notion is to be able to provide information and to help educate visual effects workers regarding what a union is, how it works and what the potential benefits are. This would be Union 101 because most visual effects workers have no direct knowledge or experience with unions.

The IA will likely have meetings around Los Angeles for visual effects workers who want information and have questions. These would cover many of the same issues as above.

I’ve covered much of this already in other posts but suspect I should repeat a few things here. I’m not a union rep so take these with a grain of salt. I urge those in the US to talk to a union rep to get clear answers about these and other questions you might have.

Visual effects was in fact covered by unions once upon a time. 
This simple statement still draws puzzling looks from workers and management. Suffice to say that until digital there was a fair bit of union coverage. Close Encounters and others shows were union. Union camera for models, optical printers, motion control, etc. Matte painters, model builders, animators, etc were all union. ILM was union. The transition of digital effects and the proliferation of companies resulted in non-union as the new normal.

‘This will be the nail in the coffin’ of the US visual effects industry. 
This old chestnut still lingers and is often repeated without considering what’s actually going on. The union knows there’s no point in going through this and burdening the visual effects companies with huge union costs. If added costs were to cause a company to close then it would be of no benefit to the union or workers. The union expects to work with each company and negotiate an arrangement that makes sense. It’s like SAG (actor’s union) which has different actor minimums depending on the type of project. Small, low budget short films have different rates than large studio productions.

There are a number of factors that go into deciding where the work goes including quality, availability, price, artists, and communication among others.

What does a union mean to a US visual effects worker?
The union should be able to provide reasonable health care coverage that is continuous when you move from one union company to another as you work on projects.  You still have to put in so many hours to qualify for health care but you don’t have to start from scratch with each company. In addition you get a pension, vacation and a few other benefits.

The union would enforce some basics such as working conditions and minimum wages for given categories. Misclassifications, payroll scams that charge workers, unpaid interns, uncompensated overtime, missing payroll and other problems would be dealt with.

As a union member you would vote on who represents you just like other unions. This means visual effects people would be involved in overseeing the union.

As an individual you have very little power. If you don’t like something or aren’t paid (such as some in Montreal experienced) there’s not much you can do by yourself. You can talk to management or quit. As a union member you would have collective bargaining. If you’re part of a union there’s strength in numbers to ask for reasonable things. If a shop misses payments then the threat of the entire crew leaving gives the company an incentive to correct their problems.

Standardization of titles would also be likely to happen.  People would be less likely to be given fictional titles (higher or lower than their true involvement).

Visual effects workers would at least achieve some parity with the rest of those working in movies and television. Which may help to gain some respect.

How can the union deal with all the different jobs involved in visual effects?
The current notion is this would be a visual effects union which would cover the entire range of work and which would allow flexibility. Since the guidelines and contracts will be written up with visual effects people, these are areas that would be fleshed out.

How much does it cost to be in the union? 
The IA has stated that if you’re with a company that becomes union then they will wave the initiation fees. Most dues are a few hundred dollars a year. Check the SPiUnion site for some of the specifics. In any case the dues are a very tiny fraction of your pay and the benefit obtained by being in the union vastly outweigh the costs. Compare the cost of individual health care with the cost of union dues and that will become very clear.

What about profit sharing?
The IA already shares some of the profits from the studios. The studios have to put in a percentage of profits into the health and welfare fund. It’s the basis for much of the Hollywood unions health coverage.  And visual effects is one of the few groups working on films and television that get no profit sharing currently.

What about outsourcing?
The union can’t stop outsourcing. Most outsourcing is based on tax incentives of different countries and areas. One of the best things that could happen to the visual effects industry is for all tax incentives to go away so all companies are competing based on quality, efficiencies, cost and other factors they control, not a politician. The union can lobby the US or state government to provide tax incentives or they can lobby the WTO to stop tax incentives but those are difficult battles.  In the end as long as politicians can convince the right people and those being taxed don't complain, incentives will continue.

What about a small company with no benefits and no overtime compensation?
Well there would obviously be some costs involved for the company. Right now you as a worker at this type of company are absorbing all of those costs directly. Anytime you’re misclassified, working free overtime or having to pay all your own health insurance you’re absorbing more than many people are in other jobs. Why should you bear the brunt of poor management? Is there a reason you wish to fund the company by personally paying for what most jobs pay for? It may simply be a matter of balancing the company pay rates and what they contribute.

What does a visual effects union mean to those in other countries?
There’s been some suggestion for a worldwide union for visual effects workers but the complexities and differences in laws and regulation across multiple countries makes a true international union unworkable. The IA does have a presence in Canada and there is a visual effects union there as well. (IA891)  In this case there may be some type of mutual agreements for those who move between areas that some of the coverage might be able to continue. In the UK there is an entertainment union called BECTU. I don’t know anything about it but those interested could investigate.

One impact on even those in another country is a visual effects union here in the US would provide at least a frame of reference in terms of working conditions and other factors. You can always ask for some of these same types of things in your deal memos or at least know where you stand.

What does it mean for the companies?
If a company already has health care for employees this may prove to be less expensive since it’s funded in part by studio profits and the union has thousands of members so the insurance rates are likely less than a medium shop with 100 people. As noted previously the union will want to avoid being a financial burden on companies.

The union would also likely provide some reassurance regarding the ability of the people in the union. The International Cinematographers Guild has classes and certifications as new equipment and positions start up. A visual effects union could do something along the same lines.

Given a choice between working on similar projects at a union company (with continuous benefits and known working conditions) and a nonunion company, most workers would prefer to work at the union company. That’s an incentive to get and keep good people.

What does it mean for the studios?
The majority of people working on movies and television are already union based. From directors and writers to the grips and wardrobe department. So this shouldn’t be out of the ordinary for them. Again if the union adds an unreasonably cost of doing business to the companies or studios then it will be unlikely to be successful. But the studios are used to negotiating and certainly aware of all the various unions and what’s required.

What about a visual effects trade association?
A trade organization is meant for companies, not workers.
The union does nothing to prevent a trade association from forming. In some ways it may encourage the companies to form an association so they can negotiate as a group with the union. Rather than continuing to wait for a visual effects associate to form, visual effects workers can take control over their situation and proceed if they wish to support a union.

What about the VES?
The VES is an honorary society to help educate and honor visual effects. Part of what it’s been attempting to do the last year or so is to make up for the fact there is no union or trade association. If either of these existed then the VES would focus on it’s origin mandate and help as necessary in other areas.

[ More info: IATSE Visual Effect Union website ]


[Update 12/3/2012  There was a VES sponsored event regarding VFX Union with a panel of people both pro/con union, including a representitive from the union.  fxGuide has a write up of the meeting. Video should be available at some time in future at the VES website for members. And yes, the auto industry was mentioned.]

[Update: Film Unions info ]

Related post with more details:
Visual Effects Guilds

More VFX wage issues

More bad news for Visual Effects Artists around the world. (and bad news for VFX vendors as well).
Keep in mind that most of the top money making movies of all time are heavy VFX movies. (Titanic, Avatar, Star Wars, Matrix, etc)

Consider joining the Visual Effects Society to help provide a more united front.


Via Twitter' from neonmarg

Visual Effects Industry gets weaker everyday

Working in China doing VFX

VES Handbook

I wanted to let everyone know that there is a Visual Effects Society handbook being written by quite a few visual effects artists, myself included. There's already a publisher involved and the plan is to release it next year.

I have a few different articles halfway done for this blog that hopefully I'll be finishing up and posting once I have more writing completed on the handbook.


Update:
For full details on the handbook and it's release please follow link below.
Latest Info: Handbook has been released posting.

Designing Visual Effect Shots

Designing Visual Effect Shots, Part 1

(This posting started getting very long and cover a lot so I’m breaking it into smaller postings. I’ll get into more specific details in future postings.)

The success of a Visual Effects shot is not only dependent on the technical aspects of the shot but also the creative aspects. It all starts with the initial shot design.

A well designed visual effects shot will have impact and help to tell the story clearly. A poorly designed shot may confuse the audience and at the very least will squander an opportunity. A poorly designed shot can actually cost more if the studio or director decides in the edit stage that it’s just not working. At that point the shot could be re-shot with a better design (unlikely) or many attempts will be made to fix the shot in post without a clear understanding of the problem.

Note that the design criteria for visual effects versus normal live action shots are primarily the same. The differences with visual effects shots are:

1. Usually the entire visual effects shot is not visible or apparent at the time of shooting. Images will be added later or the existing image will be modified. This requires pre-planning. A live action shot is usually working or not working on the set. If a camera angle makes a stunt look boring then they’ll know that when reviewing the video on set.

2. On live action the Director of Photography and Camera Operator are focused on the look of the shot in addition the director. The director respects their opinion. With visual effects the director and a storyboard artist may have designed the initial shots before the visual effects people are even hired. How much influence the visual effects supervisor and his team have on shot design depends greatly on the director and how much respect they have for the visual effects process. The better directors understand this and take advantage of the visual effects team.

3. Visual effects sometimes deal with design issues that don’t come up directly in live action. How to show the scale of smooth object floating in space? How to transform this paperweight into a creature?

4. Visual effects can be much more limitless. With live action you have set and equipment restrictions which may prevent you from doing certain types of things. A visual effects shot can have more freedom of action, movement of camera and lighting effects.

5. Visual effects can require a deft hand of design and editing just as a comedy sequence requires some finesse of timing, angles and specific phrasing.
Spider

Below are some of the many issues to keep in mind when designing a visual effects shot. These aren’t rules, just a set of suggestions.

Does the shot help to tell the story?
This should be a fundamental of any shot or scene in a film, whether live action or visual effects. Sometimes visual effects are only used as eye candy. The director wants to wow the audience with a car crash, explosion or a visual effects shot. If that can be done and still work to tell the story then that’s great. If it’s only purpose is eye candy to wow the audience then it may be a lost cause.

Audiences these days have seen a lot visuals between films, tv, video games and the internet. They’ve come to expect something new and different. Visual Effects are not as special and magical as they once were to the audience. There was a wow factor in the early days of computer graphics when things were new. It becoming more difficult to find techniques that provide the wow factor. Shot design is a major factor to making the wow factor even using standard techniques. As a case in point, THE MATRIX used ‘bullet’ time and most people thought this was the first use of it. There had already been at least one movie with the same effect (LOST IN SPACE) and a few commercials but the combination of art direction and design combined with the story made an impact.

Even in the early 80’s people thought much of what they saw was computer graphics. A number of visual effects commercials were designed to look like computer graphics even though many of these were done by traditional animation techniques. Logos would fly through the air with metallic glints. These were all done with a number of pieces of artwork and passes on an animation stand. For ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK at Dream Quest we used physical models of building painted black with white lines.

What is the point the shot has to make?
Maybe it’s to establish a castle or to show a creature emerging from a box. Whatever the reason it’s important to keep that in mind throughout the process. Given the length of time from the initial design to the completed final, the shot can veer off course quite a bit.

At the time of shooting someone may have a ‘better’ idea. Why don’t we frame it like this? Why are we wasting all of that frame area there? This is when the visual effects supervisor has to remind them that the empty area on the side will hold a creature in the final shot. Another reason why storyboards are essential is to provide a clear visual of the final shot. More likely it will be a subtle change that will have a big impact later. (Let’s put this prop here, lets add a real explosion in the foreground.)

In post production the editor may want to reframe the shot or use a different element entirely. The compositor may put in more smoke in the foreground. Everyone involved in the shot (director, supervisor, animator, technical director, etc) are likely to be focused on the details and lose sight of the purpose of the shot. In an attempt to make the shot even ‘cooler’ you lose the focus of the shot. It’s only when it’s cut in will the real problem become obvious again. The reason for the shot may now be so obscured that the audience will be confused and lost. If that’s the case it throws them out of the movie. Try to always review the shot in context and take a step back to check the intent of the shot.

Does the shot fit in the movie? Does it fit into the sequence?
Unless it’s a specific dream sequence, most visual effects shots are supposed to blend into the rest of the film. This is true whether it’s a period piece or a science fiction future thriller. The design of the shots, the camera motion and the lighting should match the live action. If you have a hand held action sequence and cut to a locked off visual effects shot, then it will stand out.

My suggestion to directors is to design the shots as if everything is really there. How would you frame and shoot this in live action? There’s a tendency to treat the design of even simple visual effects as different than the rest of the film. “We’re paying for the shot and by gosh we’re going to show it off” is sometimes the approach taken. If it’s a real building they might frame it from a ¾ angle and not make a big deal of it. If it’s a matte painted building then it’s likely to be designed to be shot straight on with clouds added to the sky. All of those are clues to the audience that something about the shot isn’t right.

It’s possible for a disconnect to happen since the director usually sits down with a storyboard artist months before shooting. These shot designs may be a different aesthetic than how the director of photography approaches the live action. The director is involved with both teams but there are thousands of choices to be made that may place them out of sync. There may be times a second unit director is approaching the shots differently than the main director. Sometimes in post the director realizes he can change a lot, especially on a virtual shot Focusing on a hand full of shots may cause them to shift away from the rest of the film.

Adjust the design of the shots based on their context and what they’re supposed to accomplish. If they’re supposed to be realistic backgrounds then all the more reason to fit them into the rest of the movie and avoid drawing attention to them. Once again, how would you treat this if it really existed? If it’s a dramatic effect then design the shot to take advantage of that and push it within context of the film.

(more design posts to come)

Depth of Field and VFX

Depth of Field and VFX

This is in response to a question from a reader about depth of field and how it relates to visual effects.

Models
With miniatures you need enough depth of field to hold focus from the front of the model to the back of the model. This means a lot of light and a stopped down lens. Lack of depth of field is one of the key things that give away the look of the model since in real life a large area would be photographed from a further distance and (possibly in sunlight) so depth of field wouldn't be a problem.

Greenscreen/Bluescreen
If you're shooting a greenscreen then you'll typically want to make sure all the foreground people and objects are in sharp focus. This is easily and frequently overlooked, especially by directors of photography. (And at times by the VFX supervisor) If you have a sunlit, exterior background image then it's likely to be shot at f8-f16. This provides a reasonable amount of depth of field. But when the DP lights the stage he probably won't be lighting to same intensity levels. If the lack of depth of field is apparent then it causes two problems. If the back end of the foreground is soft then you're forced to blur the background even if there's something important to see. It's impossible in real life to have only a mid-section that's blurred. If the director really needs to see what's back there then you're forced to try to sharpen the edges and back detail of the foreground. The end result will never appears natural. The other problem is the audience senses that this is unnatural (i.e. they only see this in vfx shots). An 'exterior' scene in bright sunlight with a normal or wide angle lens should be in focus throughout a normal shot.
You'll see animated films where they have cheated the depth of field. I find it best if you want your vfx or animation to appear natural is to use the guidelines and restrictions that a normal movie has. (depth of field, camera movement, etc)

Markers
The other depth of field issues for VFX people is soft tracking markers and very soft edge mattes. If you're on a stage shooting a greenscreen with a long lens then the markers may be so out of focus as to disappear. This is a big problem, especially if you're shooting a character from the waist up who's moving and jumping around. Since the markers are invisible, you have no easy way of distinguishing the camera motion from the character motion. Someone will have to manually work on that shot by eye until it looks reasonable. This can be very time consuming and require a number of takes.
Note that LED markers tend to hold up better for out of focus shots. These are markers using key ring lites (possibly modified) you see in the store. The point source of a red LED holds up better than an X piece of tape.

Mattes
The soft edges of the greenscreen matte (or a place you want the roto matte) will require delicate settings of the key. Any blur (from depth of field or motion) will cause some of the background to bleed through that area as if it were partially transparent. The blurred area then becomes more contaminated with the greenscreen. When rotoing a blurred edge it's sometimes a subjective question where the blur stops. If you include all of the blur then you'll be including some of the original background. If you clip off too much of the blur then it will look incorrect in the composite unless you blur the edges of the matte similar to the original. Fortunately software like Commotion could deal with natural motion blur so it was less of an issue. If you shot someone slightly soft in front of bright points of light (city, Las Vegas, etc) then in the edges of the blur you would have points of light that likely aren't in the new background. In these cases you may have to clamp down or paint out the offending lights.

VFX Schedules

More reader questions regarding schedules

What is a 'Shot Timeline'...is this some sort of
device used to tell the amount of time the shot should
last for or what. You also made mention of some types
of, magnetic boards, modified storyboards or computer
software which is most effective.

Scheduling is a big issue since you have a lot of resources and need to deliver in a timely manner.
There are at least 4 types of schedules. They can be corkboards, on the computer, magnet strips, etc. The specifics are
up the vfx production team (producer and supervisor)

1. Schedule of the shots. This is the true linear time estimate and is usually in a timeline. That timeline will be the length of the production.
It may list that shot KR030 starts June 14 and completes August 19. The shot itself is likely to be budgeted for less time but you have to take some delays into account. (changes from the director, waiting for feedback, shooting an extra element, etc)
Each shot laid out may also show the different stages (animation, TD, roto, etc)

2. Target shots - These are shots due in the next couple of weeks. These may just be names of the shots or their storyboards on a simple wall chart that's broken down by days.
The production team can review this and say next week they expect to complete KR040 on Wednesday. If shot RM125 won't be done this Thursday as planned then it will be moved to the next week at the likely day. This is so the team can focus on the immediate needs.

3. Storyboards - This is all the storyboards laid out in film order. Each has a breakdown of the different tasks and the initial scheduled dates. As work is done a colored dot may be applied that indicates which stage is done. (i.e. finished with matchmoving and layout, ready for animation) Red dot signifies a completed (finaled) shot or folding up the corner of the storyboarded breakdown. The storyboards may be replaced or augmented by stills from the actual footage. Most productions attach bulletin boards in the production office for this. This allows everyone to see the big picture. You get a true sense for what's been done, how much work remains and if there are some shots that are being overlooked.

4. Schedule of artists - Your key resources are the artists. There's a timeline with each artist (TD, animator, compositor, etc) that lists what shots they're scheduled to work on and when. An artist may be working on 1 to 5 shots at a time. After completing a shot the next shot for them is already scheduled. If a director adds a additional shots or something changes in the schedule then the production team will review this board/timeline to see who's available and what they should re-assign. If they need a shot sooner than expected it may have to be moved forward in the schedule and given to a different artist.


How are 'final shots' determined. If the feature
film has about 25 effect shots how can I conclude that
I am expected to get 5 final shots a day for 5 days.
Also, what happens if the finals isn't what the
director had in mind...will the shot be repeated and
isn't this waste of time.


A shot may be internally finaled by the supervisor but it's not truly finaled until approved by the director.
It's important to understand the director was involved in all stages of the shot (from the original design, the shoot and now post production) The director will have seen the shot tests from animation and at least preliminary renders and composites. This has to be done so they can cut it into the film and judge it context. Changes can occur at any point. If the director doesn't final the shot when it's expected to final it's usually because the final polish hasn't been done to their liking. Note that even after a director has finaled a shot it could still be unfinaled at some point later (studio hates it, new concept). In these cases that's a major change order (time and money).

Time - If you have 25 shots due in 5 days then you have to final an average of 5 shots a day. To calculate this you take the the number of shots left to do and divide by the remaining time you have (assuming 5 day week that the director can approve them). This will give you the average number of shots per day. You can just as easily calculate number of shots per week or average days per shot. The initial time is based on the date when you have the turnover of the shots (when they've been edited and production tells you these are the takes, shot numbers and details).
You're likely to start off woefully less than the average at the start of post production since you have to fill the pipeline and it can take some time to get the film scanned, cleaned, matchmoved and ready to work on. The number of shots actually finaled rises exponentially as you get closer to your finals date (contractual day you have to complete so they can get it in theaters). More things will have been worked out, the crew has hit their stride, the director and supervisor are now seeing through new eyes (200 shots in the next two week, akkkk!), you're waking up in a cold sweat at night and hopefully the studio has stopped fiddling with the shots.

Related:
Time's a wasting