VFX TRENDS
INVISIBLE EFFECTS: THE ESSENTIAL CRAFT OF HOW NOT TO DRAW ATTENTION By TREVOR HOGG
TOP AND OPPOSITE TOP: The forest is replaced by a mountain range and the fortress walls digitally extended by Image Engine in Mulan. (Images courtesy of Image Engine) OPPOSITE BOTTOM: A series of shots needed to be stitched together by MPC as if done in one continuous take for 1917. (Images courtesy of MPC)
In the past, invisible effects were associated with rig removals, set extensions and environmental clean-up. However, the advances in photorealism and drone photography have expanded the scope to include digital doubles and what used to be considered physically impossible shots. The ultimate goal is for audience members to get lost in the storytelling and the world building rather than drawing attention to the work of digital artists. Invisible effects are not going to disappear as CGI has become an accepted part of cinematic language even for independent productions and television sitcoms. Veterans of film and television projects share various insights into the past, present and future of what remains as the bread-and-butter work of the visual effects industry. Lou Pecora, Visual Effects Supervisor, Zoic Studios “One of the things that I’ve come to rely on are my HDR acquisition tools. Except for specialized cases I don’t hold up production anymore to go out with shiny and grey balls, and a color chart. My camera assistants have the color charts and pop them into the camera at the beginning. Occasionally, I can line up color based on skin tone and other things. I use the Ricoh Theta to do all of my HDRs. I can set my brackets, walk out, everybody clears, and I’m there for a minute at most capturing the full scene and all of the lights in it. If there are light patterns I have them turn the lights on and off. You’re not going to LiDAR every set because with a TV schedule and budget you don’t have that luxury. “On Legion, I always knew that we were going to have surprises in post, so my incredible on-set data wrangler, Rebecca McKee, would walk around and photogram everything. She had a high-powered laptop and used RealityCapture to build models of every set and location. We definitely used them. The photogram
14 • VFXVOICE.COM SUMMER 2021
PG 14-20 INVISIBLE.indd 14
5/3/21 4:39 PM
