'VFXWorld' Survey: What to Expect in 2007

VFXWorld surveyed its readers this month to find out how they are meeting the challenges of 2007. The questions are below. We hope the sampling of answers will provide an interesting overview of some of the projects, solutions and requests that are affecting the industry as a whole.

What projects are you working on this year?

What are some of the technical challenges of these projects?

What are some of your strategies for meeting these challenges?

What changes are you implementing to improve or expand your business?

What are you most looking forward to checking out this year?

What is the biggest change you'd like to see implemented to improve the industry?

Mat Beck, president of Entity FX, said that in addition to the sixth season of Smallville, they have the forthcoming indie features The Air That I Breathe and Into the Wild, along with various commercials. "The cliché used to be `Good, Fast or Cheap; Pick any Two.' The new mantra seems to be `Better and Faster and Cheaper or Somewhere Else; Pick One.' The good news is that the hardware and, to some extent, the software continue to get better/faster/cheaper as well. The challenge is to continue to upgrade systems, networks, pipelines and procedures, to maximize efficiencies and stay ahead of the curve.

Entity FX's Mat Beck says the cliché used to be 'Good, Fast or Cheap; Pick any Two.' Now it's 'Better and Faster and Cheaper or Somewhere Else; Pick One.' The good news is it's getting better/faster/cheaper to create vfx.

"In this effort, the two cultures of film and television can learn from each other. Another challenge continues to be riding the bucking bronco of a production as it changes direction, requiring new and different shots on short notice. We've gotten good at reacting quickly to changes in story or schedule or even the nature of a character. But sophisticated visual effects work benefits hugely from some design time and planning and attention to quality in shooting the elements that will have to go together quickly. The fact that we can work without those things is not a reason to do it; we'd rather use all our fancy tools not to fix something, but to make it extraordinary."

In terms of strategies for meeting these challenges, Beck cites previs, improved broadband communication (Entity has a new facility in Vancouver linked to the L.A. office) and improved client communication. "Our new Vancouver facility is a step toward meeting the needs of our clients.

"Similarly, improved networking and interactive communication systems allow creative discussion and control over work done in different places. Performance capture is getting more mature and powerful each day. We are continually evolving our pipelines and techniques to improve efficiency and subtlety of performance. The role of vfx has long since graduated from being a fix for individual shots to a tool for telling emotionally compelling stories. The creative collaboration to advance that process is what we will continue to offer and foster."

What is Beck looking forward to checking out this year? New performance capture technology, (always faster processors), new digital cameras such as RED that promise to bring high-quality digital filmmaking to lower budgeted projects and new projection and display systems with better resolution and dynamic range.

What is the biggest industry change he'd like to see? "I'd like to see more films considered for Best Visual Effects Academy Awards nomination and then the slate of Oscars nominations in this category expanded from three to five films. There is so much more good work being done these days."

Kevin Mack, the visual effects supervisor from Sony Pictures Imageworks, who just completed Ghost Rider (Columbia Pictures, Feb. 16), said they've developed "Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools for simulating fire in a myriad of conditions" to help meet the technical challenges of a "CG main character who's a skull on fire and rides a flaming chopper." And what is the biggest industry change that Mack would like to see implemented? "Automated software for generating perfect mattes without greenscreen or roto-scoping."

Sony Pictures Imageworks' Kevin Mack just developed Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools for simulating fire for Ghost Rider. ©2007 Columbia Pictures Indusries Inc. and GH One LLC. All rights reserved.

Meanwhile, Debbie Denise, exec vp of production infrastructure and exec producer, Sony Pictures Imageworks, has been working on Beowulf (Paramount Pictures, Nov. 16). This is the latest performance capture feature from director Robert Zemeckis, which is being rendered for a day-and-date release in 3-D stereo. As part of her duties, Denise is responsible for the oversight of the pipeline and infrastructure advances: how they keep the technology on the cutting edge and production-ready.

"For Beowulf, the latest performance capture technology allows the filmmaker to achieve a realism that conveys the emotions of the actors in a way we haven't seen before. When the performances come through the CG character as clearly as they are on Beowulf, more attention must be focused on the small details that make the performances sing. Every nuance -- from an eyelid twitch, to a small movement of the mouth -- is important in the dramatic intention of the actor. And, since the overall amount of detail has increased exponentially, every environment -- interiors as well as exterior -- require extra attention. And, to make things even more interesting, we're traveling over huge expanses of land, all of which is 3-D.

"The stereo 3-D release will be different in that the number of theaters able to display stereo 3-D will increase by 400 or 500%. This means that the film has to be just as strong visually in the stereo theaters as in your local multi-plex. The challenge in stereo 3-D is often to determine the best balance between moving an object out into the audience as opposed to leaving it at the screen plane. Moving objects too often, too close, can strain the audience's eye. Not moving it enough can leave the audience feeling unsatisfied. It's all about balance.

Kevin Mack (left) would like to see five films considered for the Best Visual Effects Oscar, while Debbie Denise (Beowulf) thinks a better collaboration among studios, filmmakers and vfx companies would benefit the final product.

"Pipeline and infrastructure have a similar challenge -- we have to balance what's best for an individual show versus what's best for the facility. Like Spock said, `The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.' Well, sometimes not! It's a balancing act.

"We're very pleased at the progress our four pipelines (visual effects, performance capture, feature animation and stereo 3-D) have made in the past few years. Now, while continuing to push the envelope creatively and technically, we are aggressively looking at ways to lower costs. In this highly competitive, global business, a successful company has to find ways to improve the product, while being most efficient."

What is Denise most looking forward to? "The films that were released in 2006 represented some big shifts in creative storytelling. I think the work of the Latin directors is truly inspiring. I can't wait to find out what new, innovative ideas people from around the world have in store for us."

And what industry change would she most like to see implemented? "I think an ideal to strive for is better collaboration among studios, filmmakers and visual effects/imagery companies. Pooling our agendas into one, cohesive vision would benefit the final product."

For Maxon Computer, whose products were used on Monster House, the biggest challenge is finding enough seasoned professional animators. © 2006 Columbia Pictures Industries Inc. and GH One Llc. All rights reserved. 

Paul Babb, who heads Maxon Computer, which last year provided modeling, animation and rendering tools for Monster House, Open Season and Superman Returns, said his company boasts a new online educational site, Cineversity, with more than 550 tutorials and 80 hours of content. "The challenges we have are mostly resources. We need seasoned professional animators for promotional and educational material. Unfortunately, there is so much work out there, we are constantly having to refer our best and brightest users to studios which need Cinema 4D animators."

John Gajdecki of GVFX (ABC's Fallen miniseries and the Disney series Three Moons Over Milford) said they are "experimenting with self sufficient, in-house departments, so the challenges are building fast efficient pipelines." They are concentrating on the "usual photoreal hard surface models, CG wings and character work." They also want to hire a combination of "expensive senior artists and promising juniors out of school." They wish "to keep software versions current, focus on keeping people happy, creatives informed and deadlines met. Art and creativity are the domain of the artists and supervisor, the rest of the machine rolls from temps to revisions to finals. Focus on creating versions up front rather than making incremental changes as notes trickle in. Billings are going down so we all have to control costs, avoid overspending and focus on solid artists who are happy.

"I like the idea of Toxik, that it ties the infrastructure together, but I'm not sure that the ROI is going to be thereContinue the move of the creative toward pre-production through previs. This is the single biggest industry change in my opinion -- it changes the 'Fix it in Post' suicidal mentality to a `Fix it in Pre-Production' system that more fully involves the creatives in the creative compromises that have to be made."

Ari Rubenstein, a vfx artist at Blue Sky Studios, who is currently working on Fox's animated Horton Hears a Who, said they are confronted with "fur everywhere: jungles, clothing...all fur-based design...fur, fur, fur." They are looking into "new compositing applications" and what he'd like to see for the industry is "more investment in creative vision, less in regurgitated formulae."

Ari Rubenstein from Blue Sky Studios is currently working on Horton Hears a Who, and finds they are confronted with fur everywhere. He said they are looking into new compositing applications. © Twentieth Century Fox Animation.

Peter Hossfeld of VCS Prods. specializes in photorealistic 3D footage and is most concerned about CPU power and investing in the latest technology that enhances it. He is interested in checking out realtime raytracing and would like to see "a full standardized digital workflow and output" for the industry.

An artist that concentrates on product visualization faces the challenge of technical accuracy and quantity of information. He desires high bandwidth streaming for HD and diversity in types of deliverables. He would like to have an existing pipeline that works well for 3D, but will need to implement a fiber channel network for post-production. He is increasing motion graphics, 3D and post-production capabilities. He is most looking forward to SIGGRAPH 2007 in San Diego, and would like to see the industry embrace "full 64-bit implementation across the board."

A 3D animator for a pre-school series faces the challenge of "shading for a distinctive look." He is developing a proprietary solution in combination with rather "traditional" methods and establishing a rather uncommon pipeline for a very modular workflow.

In general, he would like to see "a better understanding of buyers, how our business actually works, especially when it comes to 3D animation and -- I may hope -- building up of an awareness that we do need animation production on local sites even if `China is cheap' and that cutting costs is not everything."

Matt McIver of Omega Point Prods., is currently wrapping two shorts and is hiring people who are trained only to use particular software. He said transferable skills are hard to find and investing in training is a big strategy. "Expanding from visual effects to full productions allows us much more versatility." He looks forward to checking out ZBrush, Mudbox and Maya 8.5 and may be getting a quad-plex rendering setup. What is at the top of his wish list? "More mainstream distribution of beautiful but lesser known animated shorts. Even taking shorts on to standard films instead of animated features could help revive the market for small indie animators."

Mitchell Kriegman of Wainscott Studios is working on the second season of It's a Big Big World for PBS Kids, a feature and the 10th anniversary of Bear in the Big Blue House. He said, "Our principle challenge is to take our patented compositing hybrid technique to the next level, including realtime HD renders." He added that there are lots of technological developments internally to improve their capacity, and they are continuing to watch the bottom line, "expanding our film/TV studio in the Hamptons and supporting our staff and beginning to work with Stonybrook University on R&D." He will be checking out all the new developments in the gaming industry.

Speaking of gaming, the biggest challenge for one artist is pushing the envelope in both technical design and visual effects... "doing things that no one has done before. Another challenge is the extremely tight deadline and not having enough resources/staff to cover all tasks"

Matte painter Max Gabl, who is working on the digital remastering of the original Star Trek series, said the biggest challenge was "matching footage shot low budget 40 years ago." courtesy of CBS Paramount Domestic Television.

What is he looking forward to? "Bigger leaps in techniques and methodologies. Software development these days just seems to drag on, with very little major improvements. I work with some amazing engineers that can do things fast, not to mention good. Commercial software companies drag their feet when it comes to releasing some major features. When they finally do release a product, it's already dated and obsolete, not to mention, significant. There's a huge talent pool out there that's not even close to being tapped into, as well as fully utilized."

Another gamer, who is working on two "real-world" simulation products for the PC, said the biggest challenge is designing an animation system from the ground up. They are writing specification for technologies and tools that support character implementation for games on console or PC. They are working with 3ds Max 9 and then using Biped and Motion Builder in combination with motion capture animation for great results in character motion. They are hiring a "character scripter" dedicated to linking and blending animations in script to achieve smooth, believable transitions from one state to another. The biggest changes in improving their work include: "First, defining the scope of animation before we begin. Second, concepting every character so we know what we are building and what technologies or tools are needed for development. The character modeling must allow for variety and diversity with a small number of model assets. Third, define the character rig -- this will be the most important aspect for character animation. Can it be edited, hand-keyed and MoCapped, easily? Fourth, outsource for support to create character models and MoCap animation. Fifth, hire dedicated programmers and tools developers that can focus on the toughest aspects of character creation and implementation for our game."

[As for improving the industry,] "I'd like to see a consolidation of art and animation assets within the company for use by other teams or groups doing game development. Why is it that when I prototype for a new game that I have to begin again from scratch? Where is the "community" for supporting efficient, rapid prototyping -- especially for characters and character motion sets? Scripting animation assets under AI control is an arduous process. Where is the Carnage Heart style product or application for linking/blending animation assets into smooth, believable character behavior?"

A mental images software developer cited his challenges as communicating technical details of rendering clearly and effectively to artists and tds, and making the UI to get results easier and faster. He would like to see the market response to the glut of CG animated features: "[At] the studios making content, I'd like to see more openness and sharing of procedures and techniques. It is the content that is valuable and should be protected, not the methods that are rewritten or reconstructed everywhere, so as to waste money on old things over and over again. We're a modern society; we should share growth and network to higher goals."

Brun Remi of Mocaplab suggested that the biggest challenges are "the real and false attempts and successes in the crossing of the `Uncanny Valley': this region where virtual characters are worse then before despite being so close. There are a lot of traps, and there will be many false victories..."

Remi would like to see "the industry finally accept that motion capture is closer to live action then to keyframe animation" as a result of the culture, the shooting, the actors and the type of movements you get."

Matte painter Max Gabl, who has been working on the digital remastering of the original Star Trek series, said the biggest challenge was "matching footage shot low budget 40 years ago that shows no consistency in lighting and contains no camera data, among other things."

At Framestore CFC, where vfx artists are working on The Golden Compass, their biggest challenges are improving fur and water and their interaction with each other. © 2007 Laurie Sparham/New Line Cinema.

There have been no unifying strategies applied to these jobs since every shot has its own unique challenges and intricacies. "However, if time allows, I try to get a concept sketch (sometimes 3D) in front of the client for early clarifications and approvals." He has been using new equipment and has added Vue 6 Infinite to his workflow. What industry improvements would Gabl like to see? "Having more folks around in visual effects that know the rules of perspective, color theory, lighting etc. This knowledge should be emphasized in art schools and asked for when hiring in related jobs. This would speed up productivity dramatically."

A vfx artist at Framestore CFC, where they are working on The Golden Compass and Prince Caspian, the sequel to The Chronicles of Narnia, said their biggest challenges are improving fur and water and their interaction with each other. They are meeting these challenges by creating an in-house software team and are streamlining pipelines in all areas and unifying pipelines across projects. What does he looking forward to seeing? Transformers and Avatar technology at Weta Digital.

Mike Parsons of Nihilistic Software is handling the transition between generations of consoles. He is making effects that "look good even when they are spawned dynamically in many different environments."

He is attempt to find solid ways to keep vfx tasks in synch with the animations, levels and general design of the game that are subject to potential change.

His advice for the industry: "A good videogame FX middleware and toolset that would help move the art of game FX away from being so engine dependent. We could then have FX houses for videogames! In general, I think videogame FX could learn a lot form the existing handling of movie FX."

Bill Desowitz is editor of VFXWorld.