Investigative Study
Prince Annotation
Prince, S. (2010) Through the Looking Glass: Philosophical Toys and Digital Visual Effects. Projections, 4(2), pp. 19-40.
In this extract Prince starts by briefly explaining his ideas of ‘perceptual realism’ and the ways in which digital effects and science are intertwined. Prince outlines perceptual realism as a way in which digital effects can be effectively used in cinema, by utilising scientific information to create and render effects that are viewed as believable in terms of their physicality and appearance. This combined with a narrative of a cinematic piece makes the viewer accept the plausibility of impossible events given the context they appear in. Prince goes on to review the links between cinema and science, from early natural philosophers using camera obscuras to ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) using the most recent research into fluid dynamics to help create convincing digital effects. A main theme of the piece is the concept of “The eye as an optical instrument”, Prince highlights how early philosophers viewed the human eye as an optical instrument, comparing it to the optical devices that they themselves used in their studies. This concept is further developed by highlighting how digital effects are created in a way to match how the world is captured through lenses in tradition photography, which as previously mentioned can be compared to the human eye as an optical instrument.
Manovich Annotation
Manovich, L. (2001) 'Digital Cinema' ,The Language of New Media. Cambridge MA: MIT press.
In this essay Manovich starts by giving an overview of the emergence of cinema near the start of the 20th century. Explaining how devices such as the zoetrope displayed hand drawn and painted images in short looping sequences to create an illusion of motion, an illusion which art had yet to faithfully produce. These devices then moved on to motorised cameras, creating cinema. Manovich goes on to explain that at the beginning of its life cinema was considered to be a true indexical representation of the physical world, as it was made up of photographically captured images which could not be altered. Even with the introduction of techniques like miniatures and matte paintings on glass, cinema was still considered to be an accurate indexical representation, now however Manovich argues that this is no longer the case. As digital techniques such as compositing and 3D rendering started to be used in cinema, live action footage can now only be considered as a raw starting point of a finished film. Cinema can no longer be considered as an indexical representation of the physical world as, in theory, a full 90 minute feature film could be hand painted/created using digital software and be indistinguishable from a photographically captured film.
The Photographic Truth Claim
The photographic truth claim is the concept that photographs offer a completely accurate, and truthful documentation of reality. This idea implies that photographs supply a indexical version of the objects and environments they capture, an example of how the photographic truth claim works would be that showing someone a photograph of big ben would be believed over showing someone a painting of big ben, this is linked to the idea of photographs being indexical as opposed to iconic.
However since the invention of photography, photographs have been subject to alterations. In the age of digital media the ease and widespread use of photo manipulation has become a lot more apparent, this poses a significant argument against the photographic truth claim. The manipulation of photos is not a modern phenomenon, techniques like double exposures were commonly used in the early years of photography to create ‘fake’ photographs. In the modern world the ease of creation and distribution of manipulated photographs raises several ethical issues. Manipulated images have the potential to be used in political campaigns, this has the potential to spread misinformation quickly and effectively.
VFX Compositing: What is it and how does it work?
A final VFX composite is made up of several component parts, these parts can vary depending on the shot. For example a shot that could be considered to be a more traditional VFX shot would usually be composed of a live action plate filmed on set, a CGI element and potentially some greenscreen elements or digital matte paintings depending on the desired outcome of the shot. Whereas a fully CG shot would be made up of several different layers and passes of an animated 3D scene, both examples require compositing in order to create finished, perceptually real shots.
All composites are designed to augment reality in a way that remains perceptually real in the context of the narrative piece in which they are placed. Whether this is a CGI set extension, a fully computer-generated shot or having a CG character interact with the real world, all composites and composited elements must adhere to real world lens and camera effects. In doing so a composite can create an ‘impression of reality’, this ensures that a shot involving a VFX composite will seamlessly blend into the cinematic piece that it was created for, thus ensuring the retention of a viewers suspension of disbelief.
Photorealism in VFX
In VFX photorealism appears in different scenarios, in composite images and in computer generated (CG) images. I am going to focus on photorealism in terms of CG images. Photorealism in a CG image is where an image is made to look like a photograph, this doesn’t only include ensuring that aspects of environments like materials and physical appearance are accurate but also any inconsistencies caused by lenses or other physical properties of photography. CG images are rendered using specialised software, render engines. Modern render engines use a technique called ray-tracing. Ray-tracing is where all the rays of light that interact with a CG camera are followed through a series of bounces to build up an image. This technique in combination with physically based rendering (PBR) materials helps to create CG images that can be incredibly difficult to differentiate from their real life counterparts.
One common issue that can stop CG images from appearing photorealistic is a too clean, perfect look of objects in renders. This is combated by texture artists who add imperfections in the form fingerprints, scratches and dust to materials, this really helps the photorealistic appearance of a CG image. Another way of dealing with this issue is by adding lens artefacts after rendering, this can really sell a CG image as a photograph.
Reality Capture
Reality capture is a term given to various techniques that allow for the 3D capture of objects and environments. These techniques include photogrammetry and LIDAR scanning, photogrammetry is the process in which a high volume of photographs are used to create a 3D model, an upside of photogrammetry is that you can also acquire texture data. LIDAR scanning or light detection and ranging uses lasers to create 3D point clouds that can be converted into 3D geometry.
Lidar lounge are a company that specialise in reality capture, they provide services for various industries, including VFX, game design as well as architecture and design. A great example of the power of reality capture is the capture of a Hawaiian valley for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Bayona, 2018). Using a combination of photogrammetry and lidar scanning, while also utilising drones for aerial surveying, Lidar Lounge were able to capture a huge section of the Hawaiian countryside for use by VFX houses working on the film.
Investigative Study - Potential Areas of Investigation
Initial Ideas Presentation
Investigative Study Proposal - What is the Role of Digital Compositing in the Creation of Seamless Visual Effects?
The question that I aim to answer with my essay is ‘What is the Role of Digital Compositing in the Creation of Seamless Visual Effects?’. In order to answer this question, the essay will cover a handful of topics, starting with outlining what digital compositing is. This will serve as a good base to expand into the question, by knowing what digital compositing is, further research can then be undertaken focusing more on the role of compositing in creating seamless visual effects.
The essay will then move on to defining compositing’s place in the wider visual effects pipeline. By doing this and discovering compositing’s place in the VFX pipeline I will be able to further narrow down its role in the creation of seamless visual effects. The next topic covered by the essay will be what seamless visual effects are. This section of the essay will include research from ‘Digital storytelling: the narrative power of visual effects in film’ (McClean, Shilo T), in this book McClean breaks down visual effects into ten categories, one of these being seamless effects. Being able to define and distinguish seamless effects will allow me to determine the role of compositing in the specific area of seamless visual effects creation.
The next section of the essay will focus on my practical research. I am planning to conduct research into the question by documenting the process of creating both a seamless and spectacular visual effect. Initially I wanted to create two different five second shots, however due to time constraints I now plan to create two different stills, one showcasing a seamless visual effect and one showcasing a spectacular visual effect. By documenting the process of creating the stills, and including any parts of the pipeline that will be missed due to only creating stills, I will be able to identify the differences, if any, in the role of digital compositing in the creation of seamless visual effects and also in the creation of spectacular visual effects.
The final part of the essay will be the conclusion, answering the question ‘What is the Role of Digital Compositing in the Creation of Seamless Visual Effects?’. This section will bring together all of the investigation and research from the previous sections to specifically define the role of composition in creating seamless effects, I will then also compare the role of compositing in varying types of effect creation to see if there are any differences.
Investigative Study Timetable
Practical Research Plan
