Current Trends of VFX

Week 1:

Current trends in the VFX industry include:

  • The use of deep fakes/ de-aging technology:
  • extensive use of blue screen/ keying:
  • use of ‘the Volume’ and large curved screens for realistic backgrounds and environments:
  • Motion-capture:
  • real-time rendering

Comparing Harold Edgerton’s work with modern VFX shots:

1.

2.

Week 1 Consolidate Task:

1 – Dr. James Fox and the ‘Age of the Image’ 

In episode 1 of his series ‘Age of the Image’ 1, Dr. James Fox talks about his idea of a revolution in visual culture that has made us into ‘image addicts’. Fox uses this phrase to describe the obsession we have with images in our age, using the example of people taking selfies with the Mona Lisa rather than admiring it with their own eyes. It is clear that Fox is correct when he talks about images in this way, images dominate our daily lives now in a way that they did not used to. While years ago, it was common for people to take their own photographs, for most people this involved being selective about what they photographed as they were typically limited to a single roll of film, which they would then have to wait to even see. This is no longer the case; we now take multiple photos of the same thing with our phones as we are not limited by physical storage. We take photos of things we may previously have thought were not worth using up film for. For the average person, photographs are much more accessible now than they have ever been. We can go on our phones in the morning straight after waking up and swipe through more images than someone a hundred years ago might’ve seen in their whole life. We consume more visual media than ever before, our society is dominated by social media, and viewing and interacting with images and videos is now part of our daily life. 

References: 

i ‘A New Reality’ (2020) Age of the Image,  Series 1, episode 1. BBC 4, Television, 24 February, 21:00.   

Week 2:

Allegory of the Cave: Plato uses the allegory to explain the differences between those who are closed-minded and believe what they are told without thinking and those who have been enlightened and think for themselves. The people in the cave believe that what they see on the wall is real as they do not know any better, it is not their fault.

Socratic method: a form of education which does not involve lecturing people and talking down to them, but instead involves asking thought-provoking questions to start a discussion which allows the other person to find the answers for themselves. This method usually involves asking questions which, when answered by the other person, intentionally expose the flaws and contradictions in their reasoning and logic. One reason for the use of the Socratic method is that people can become angry and offended if someone simply just tells them that their way of thinking is illogical or stupid.

Images have become more and more realistic and convincing over the past century, and like the prisoners in the cave – we can’t always tell the difference between what is fake and what is real:

Even the fact that in films we cannot always be sure whether an effect has been made practically or digitally means that we cannot always figure out whether what we are seeing was actually on set or not, whether something was physically there or if it is only a digital illusion.

VFX shots such as this one successfully achieve photorealism. Even though it’s CGI, the textures, colours, lighting and the way the light interacts with the materials are very convincing – to the point where as the viewer we believe that this is what that kind of creature would look like through a camera lens. None of the defining elements of the character’s appearance are real though, there is nothing truthful about this image. The popularity of computer generated imagery and photo manipulation has only made photographs less bound by the laws of reality.

Week 2 Consolidate Task:

2 – The Photographic Truth Claim 

Tom Gunning uses this term to describe the belief that traditional photographs accurately depict reality. One of the main factors that challenge this is the digitisation of photography – photographs can easily be manipulated, no longer showing what was actually there when the photograph was taken. Even in the age of images, there is no way for us to be 100% sure that any image we see is completely real and has not been manipulated in some way. Photographs are similar to the shadows in the cave in Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’, if someone does not know any better then they will believe that what they are seeing is actually real. Gunning also mentions that the act of faking photographs has a long history.2 There have always been ways to alter what a camera actually captures, and optical illusions have been presented in photographs since at least the early 20th century. I believe people typically place more belief and trust into videos than they do photographs, CCTV being a strong example. This is because video trickery has usually been harder to accomplish than the manipulation of a single photograph, it is now in the age when completely fake videos can be made to look so convincing that there is a wider discussion about how much trust we can have in visual media to be truthful. 

References: 

ii Gunning, T. (2017)  PLENARY SESSION II. Digital Aesthetics. What’s the Point of an Index? or, Faking Photographs . Nordicom Review, Vol.25 (Issue 1-2), pp. 39-49. https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2017-0268 

Week 3: 

Famous fake analogue photos:

People have always employed methods of camera trickery and many methods of creating fake images that were pioneered over a century ago are still used within digital software.

Old political photo manipulation:

Famous fake digital photographs:

Week 3 Consolidate Task:

3 – VFX Compositing 

Compositing in VFX is the process of making different elements look as though they were filmed at the same time with the same camera. This takes many forms, one of the most notable being green screen keying and background removal to compile multiple visual elements together. A very common requirement in film and TV is using digital software to create large crowds or extensions of physical sets. For example, this type of compositing is very common in the television series The Crown. In Framestore’s breakdown of their work on The Crown Season Four 3, there are many examples of combining real crowds of extras and actors with CGI backgrounds or set extensions – for example, the shot of the large crowd standing in front of the Sydney Opera House. The compositors must take the layers of extras, the foreground and the CG building and make them into a convincing final shot that looks as though it was filmed on a single camera at a real location. One way they do this is by layering multiple shots of extras on top of each other to create the illusion of a much larger crowd. The shot is framed and lit in a convincing way which is crucial to making the composition look photorealistic and therefore believable. It is supposed to be a sunny day with no artificial lighting and all aspects of the composition must reflect this, otherwise the illusion is broken. Planning the composition of a shot and having VFX artists who know how to tastefully and realistically composite and edit the different elements of that shot is what allows it to blend in with the rest of a scene.  

References: 

iii The Crown Season Four; VFX Show and Tell | Framestore. (2020, December 8). [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved November 11, 2024, from https://youtu.be/3-o62DZsAe8?si=4joOMX0Z_A9UE9-X 

Week 4: The Trend of Photorealism

The term Photorealism originates from a style of painting in the 1960s/70s that aimed to recreate the high level of detail in photographs, often using photographs as reference. According to Louis K. Meisel, Photo-Realists use mechanical or semi-mechanical means to transfer the information from a camera onto a canvas.

  • Richard Estes, Diner, 1971

  • Richard Estes, The Plaza, 1991

Lots of VFX work aims to ensure that the digital and computer-generated parts of a shot exist and interact with the real environment in a realistic and convincing way, as though the digital elements were filmed with the same, real camera as the actors and physical set.

  • The Crown

The description and marketing of films such as the 2019 remake of ‘The Lion King’ as ‘live-action’ shows the extreme popularity of the trend of photorealism within VFX. The whole film is CGI aside from one shot, yet it is so successful in achieving photorealism that people refer to it as live-action, as though it were filmed with physical cameras.

  • The Lion King, 2019

Examples of photorealistic CGI:

  • The Jungle Book, 2016

  • Blade Runner 2049, 2017

  • The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, 2013

  • Dune: Part Two, 2024

Potential problems with this trend could be:

  • the decline of practical effects due to an overuse and over-reliance on CGI
  • the decline of heavily styilised visual storytelling, if there is too much emphasis on everything looking completely realistic.

Week 4 Consolidate Task:

4 – The Trend of Photorealism 

Photorealism has been a very large trend in the world of computer-generated imagery in the past few decades. There has been a heavy focus on pushing the boundaries of our ability to create photorealistic images with computers, whether it be in film and TV or video games. One of the biggest conversation topics about video games since the 1990s has been how realistic the graphics look and how impressive it is that a team was able to create such an immersive artificial environment, however in the past twenty years the level of graphic detail has improved so much that what we considered impressive less than a decade ago would now be considered outdated by many. The same applies to VFX in movies and TV, as there is heavy overlap in the technology and software used. In the 21st century, cutting-edge visuals have a very short expiration date before they become antiquated. For example, the CGI elements in the Star Wars prequel trilogy that were supposed to be cutting-edge at the time have aged very poorly due to the advances in technology since then. Audiences and creators seem to have such an immense craving for being fooled by VFX that we keep finding ways to develop it further. While photorealistic paintings are achieved by great artistic talent, photorealistic VFX requires great artistic talent as well as technology that can keep up with the ambition of the person using it. This is why it keeps getting better and better, as photorealism in CGI and VFX overall is not only a matter of the entertainment industry but is a key part of the history of technological development. We are now at the point where we can successfully create photorealistic VFX, if you showed a still of the 2019 adaptation of ‘The Lion King’ 4 to someone 40 years ago, they would have no reason to believe that it wasn’t a photograph of real animals. However, there is still conversation about pushing the boundaries even more – photorealism in digital media has become a technological obsession that continues to dominate visual storytelling. 

References: 

iv How “The Lion King” Remake Was Animated | Movies Insider. (2019, August 29). [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved November 14, 2024, from https://youtu.be/DlJkEe315mM?si=SoFgaNTU3hC2Fvlx 

 

Week 5 Consolidate Task:

5 – Keyframe Animation and Motion Capture 

Motion capture has been one of the major developments in filmmaking in the 21st Century, however its origins date back to the use of rotoscoping in the early 20th century. Motion capture is often associated with its uses in digital animation, notable examples include Andy Serkis’ performances in the Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes franchises. However, digital motion capture is essentially an automated method of rotoscoping movement – just in a digital 3D environment. The comparison between motion capture and key-frame animation is not necessarily a comparison between the old and the new, but the different effects that they have when implemented. In ‘The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation’ 5, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston state that in traditional keyframe ‘pose-to-pose’ animation, the animators plan their actions out by figuring out just which drawings will be needed to convey the movement. While they take inspiration from real-life movements, they are creating an interpretation of it – they aim to capture the key poses that convey the movement they want the viewer to see, then fill in the gaps using their own skill. This often results in character animation that looks much more stylistic and expressive in a very ‘Disney’ way. In contrast to this, motion capture uses an actual actor whose movements can be recorded and mapped. Typically, hand-drawn character animation that uses rotoscoping for each frame often looks very jumpy and hyper-realistic in a way that makes it feel very different from keyframe animation. The same could be said for digital motion capture – films that use motion capture can often achieve hyper-realistic movements that can be mapped onto fictional characters however it loses the feeling of expressiveness that is found in keyframe animation. Motion capture by nature is much more limited to real human movements which works very well in certain circumstances – particularly live-action films that implement CGI characters alongside real actors, as the movements feel more real when compared to the real actors on screen. In cases where a styilised and expressive or ‘hand-drawn’ feel is desired though, motion capture and rotoscoping can feel quite jarring as in a way it feels too realistic and human. They both have quite different effects which makes them useful for different circumstances. 

References: 

v Johnson, O. and Thomas, F. (1981) The Illusion of Life. New York: Disney Editions. 

Week 6: Reality Capture

  • Depth-based scanning

  • Laser scanning

  • Lidar Scanning

  • Photogrammetry

Perspective concepts and methodologies originated in the 1420s, and involve using perspective and vanishing points to display 3D environments in a 2D medium.

Painting before perspective concepts:

Painting after perspective concepts:

Lidar scans:

Lidar scanners use laser range finders to scan a scene and record distance measurements at specified intervals. This data is then algorithmically connected into a 3D mesh. As Lidar works by recording distance measurements, by itself laser scanning isn’t very effective at recording colour.

Week 6 Consolidate Task:

6 – Case Study on Reality Capture 

Reality capture has developed rapidly in the past thirty years to the point where the average person can have access to photogrammetry technology simply by using their phone. An example of a company who are pioneers in the field of reality capture is ScanLAB Projects 6. A lot of their work involves using LiDAR scanners to capture buildings and cityscapes, which they turn into 3D models and 2D images. They also, however, create videos using their 3D models. For example, alongside the release of BBC ONE’s and PBS’ documentary series Ancient Invisible Cities, they released 360-degree films detailing the landscapes and architecture of Cairo, Istanbul, and Athens. ScanLAB’s work helps bring to life these marvelous locations for people around the world to see, through exact digital replicas. This kind of reality capture is not only effective at allowing more people to see and be immersed in these locations, but it also acts as a form of archiving – these ancient buildings and structures can be preserved in a digital record, where they are not subject to weathering and degradation. LiDAR scanning works by sending out signals of light pulses which hit a surface and then return back to the sensor, the time it takes for this to occur is how LiDAR can record distance. Once collected, this data can be used to construct exact 3D models of the landscape that was scanned. ScanLab’s work in this medium will only become more impressive as LiDAR scanners continue to become more advanced and capable of scanning larger areas.  

References: 

vi ScanLAB projects. https://scanlabprojects.co.uk/ (Accessed: November 14, 2024). 

Week 7: Reality Capture 2

The Digital Michelangelo Project:

Photogrammetry has been commonly used to create 3D scans and models of historic buildings/ objects. This is a form of preserving and immortalizing them as unlike physical objects, the digital scans will not decay or fall apart with age. For example, whatever happens to the statue of David, digital 3D scans and models of it exist meaning there is an accurate and re-creatable recording of it.

The value of this technology is evident in the use of 3D scans of Notre Dam taken in 2015 to help plan the rebuilding of parts of the building after they were destroyed in a fire. The scans of the building could help restorers study and understand how the building was originally constructed, and measure every part as it was before the fire.

Week 9: Virtual Production

The Mandalorian is a notable example of modern virtual production. On set, they used a large round LED screen which displayed CG environments. This not only accurately lights the actors and practical elements of the set, but it also allows the actors to be immersed in their environment and interact with it in a way that is not possible with the use of green screens.

This is not a completely new idea though, the use of a screen as a backdrop that contains part of the set dates back decades. Many classic films used this technique, for example the use of a screen in combination with a practical set to show a man being chased by a plane in North by Northwest (1959).

Car scenes also famously used to be shot using a projector screen behind a stationary car, for example in Dr. No (1962).

One of the biggest differences is that modern use of large LED screens often uses CG environments which move with the movements of the camera – allowing for the screen to become much more than a simple backdrop, it becomes a digital extension of the environment.

Assignment 2: Essay

Question: How do Spectacular, Invisible, and Seamless Visual Effects Influence Modern Filmmaking?