Black Hole

  Another one of our projects, "Black Hole", just aired on the SciFi channel.  The reaction from the audience was about what I expected.  Most people thought the movie was a bit dumb in the science area, but watchable.  The review I read also concurs with my thoughts that the destruction sequences were successful, but the creature was less so. 

"Black Hole" was a difficult job is several ways.  First, I thought there shouldn't be a creature in this movie.  A black hole is scary enough, and doesn't need the movie device of a monster on the loose.  Secondly, this was an interesting idea, (scientists creating an actual black hole on earth) and I had never seen it done before.   But third, the scale of this movie was huge!  This was a massive job to destroy St Louis on a scifi channel diet.

I spent many hours trying to talk the producer out of the creature, but the network was insisting on it.  So we were stuck.  Now I had to come up with a creature that would work in the budget/schedule we had.  I tried to obscure the creature as much as possible, and still give the network what it wanted.  We came up with a creature that was only revealed by it's effect on the surrounding environment.  However, due to the limitations of the project, we were forced to keyframe the animation.  This was very labor intensive, and led me to the decision to never take on a humanoid creature unless we have access to a motion capture system.

I understand why the network wanted a creature, so I'm not arguing their logic.  A creature provides a focus that a big disaster might not have.  My point was that this disaster was unique, and definitely in the "science fiction" realm.  Therefore it was all that was needed.  In any case, the movie turned out well, and is a good popcorn munching feature. 

Click here to see a small clip of the creature.

As always, additional images and information can be found at the Worldwide FX website.

Bigger! Faster! Cheaper!

I have described VFX++ as the culmination of cheaper hardware and the accessibility of software.  Today's laptop has the power of an 1980's supercomputer, and graphics software is cheap or easily pirated.  In other words, a teenager in his bedroom now has the possibility of competing against established facilities.  Disruptions have occured many times over the years, and this is indeed a disruptive step.  This is not the first time this has been so.  The visual effects industry has always been challenged.  As motion pictures demand ever more impact, visual effects professionals are continually scrambling to create high quality images faster and cheaper.  The industry adapted to the advent of sound, the invention of video, even the arrival of computer graphics… but somehow, this change of the mid nineties was different. 

But what was different?  The delivery and communication process. 

The internet, with its web pages, email, and collaborative possibilities has forever lowered the bar for entry in the game.  Consider this situation

• Anybody can make a virtual company online without any brick and mortar presence.
• "The "Product" (rendered film frames) can now easily be transfered over the net.
• Instant messaging and other communication systems mean that artist and technicians can distribute work across the globe easily. 
• Proprietary technology has been overtaken by off-the-shelf materials. 

VFX Companies are some of the most creative entities around, but this is a tough set of circumstances to compete against.  They have always used cutting edge technology, and that practice has led to many innovations. Motion control and CGI are just two examples.  Both of which were revolutionary when they were introduced.  However, this continual R & D has a cost.  Movie producers have demanded visuals that surpass what studios did the year before, at a lower cost.  This has forced the industry to pursue alternative solutions to ever-expanding budgets. 

• Boutique houses briefly came into vogue as large facilities succumbed to market pressures. 
• In-house vfx departments were tried by various content providers, but ultimately were disbanded due to unprofitably. 
• By far the most controversial step was the establishment off-shore facilities. 

Globalization is a reality in today’s world.  Just about every industry has been affected by it.  The VFX industry has not fared particularly well in this area.  Perhaps it is naive belief that the rest of the world can not compete, or innovate.  I think it is simply that the industry does not want to deal with globalization.

Whatever the reason, the industry has been changed in the last ten years, and will never be the same.

Tribeca

Two of our recent projects screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.  "Lonely Hearts" starring John Travolta, Salma Hayek, and Jared Leto.  (click here for trailer)

 starring John Travolta, Salma Hayek, and Jared Leto. ()"Journey to the End of the Night" starring Brendon Fraser.  (official site)

starring Brendon Fraser. ()Each did well in reviews and will be out in theaters later this year.  Worldwide FX's contributions were subtle and significant in both films.  More on our website when the films are released. 

VFX++

The idea for this weblog, came to me last week after giving my talk on this very subject at FMX.  I have been in visual effects for more than twenty years, and I have been thinking about the future of visual effects for more than ten years.

So what is VFX++?

In order to talk about VFX++ we need to talk a little bit about history.  Visual Effects, have been with us as long as we’ve been telling stories.  They are the ultimate visual prop.  They were originally shadow puppets around fires.  They are illusions.  They became the tool of magicians used to baffle the public, and ultimately they became an entertainment tool. 

The invention of the film camera in the nineteenth century allowed people to film the illusions and created a new medium for them.  A nice history of visual effects can be found here and here.

What we commonly call the visual effects industry will usually refer to the post 1992 industry, or after the mass market success of T2 and Jurassic Park.  I call this Visual Effects 1.0 because even though visual effects existed before this time, they were generally optical effects.  After T2 (I’m not going to talk about extremely specialized one-off projects such as Sherlock Holmes, Tron, or the Star Trek genesis effect, because digital visual effects were not in the public consciousness until T2 and Jurassic Park.) But the pervasiveness of computer graphics has all but obliterated this distinction, and now what we think of as visual effects are generally created with a computer.

When digital technologies first arrived on the scene, the first people to use them with any success were big optical turned digital effects houses.  This was the era of mainframe computers and hundred thousand dollar 3D programs. The technology belong to the same "wizards behind the curtains" that have always been the masters of the art.

However, the dominance of the traditional large facility didn’t last long.  The desktop computer, the explosion of the web, and the Internet in general changed everything.  Software and computing technology became accessible to everybody.  At the same time that graphics technology became available, new communicating tools also became available.  Suddenly you can create sophisticated visual effects on your home computer and share them over the web with your friends.

Welcome to the era of VFX ++

I run a visual effects company in Europe, and this is a subject I deal with each and every day.  In this weblog, I will try to expound on these ideas.  How can companies survive today?  What does this mean for the independent filmmaker?  It's an interesting journey.

and so it starts....

This is the beginning to what I hope will be a stable and regularly updated blog about my experiences, thoughts, and musings on the film industry generally and visual effects in specific.  Most of the topics will be in these three areas: 

  
• Amusing anecdotes from the ridiculous world of film making
• The activities of my company
• My thoughts on the future of visual effects

You can find out more about me in my bio page (not written yet).  I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to your feedback!