Three*9

WRITTEN/PRACTICAL COMPONENT ENTRY Avatar Presentation @ Autodesk University

Three*3

WRITTEN COMPONENT ENTRY  5D notes.

5D concerns the coming together of designing in virtual space in film, TV, animation, interactive and architecture. Rick Carter (Production Designer, Avatar) wants 5D to ‘sprout’, “Story is design and design is the story”.

A few definitions were unveiled at the ‘5D: The Future of Immersive Design Conference”;

- Previs - a collaborative process of cinematic discovery based in a 3D virtual environment.

- Pitchvis – intended for the purpose of pitching projects.

- Technical Previs – real-world camera and shot layout to streamline production.

- On-Set Previs – on location, on the fly, to respond to the needs of the director and crew, utilising realtime techniques.

- Postvis – pre-emptive VFX in which previs assets are integrated into live action plates and a director’s tool for editing.

John Underkoffler (Scientist and Designer of human-machine interfaces) discussed design and world building in terms of using your hands for touch and intimate contact. “The language of cinema itself can be used to describe space, time and narrative”. He envisioned on interactive, multimedia, realtime experience. There is the question of how technology change storytelling (realtime in particular).

http://www.awn.com/articles/people/getting-immersed-5d

 

Two*8

WRITTEN COMPONENT ENTRY Avatar VFX notes.

According to James Cameron (& colleagues), Avatar is a game-changer for the way that VFX movies are made, watched, discussed and written about.

The virtual cinematography workflow which allowed Cameron to directly observe how an actor’s CG performance would interact with the CG Pandora environments in realtime on an LCD monitor (on-set), furthered the process infinitely. Rob Legato developed the workflow, and it is revolutionary due to its allowance for the firector to interact with CG elements as if he/she were shooting live action. The arts of digital and live action movie making, as well as the ideas of pre and post-production are becoming more and more merged. The paradigm of “5D” apparently a reality.

The ability to make key creative decisions within the digital environment is something that will alter the industry and its roles for the next few years. The access to ‘explore’ this digital realm, which he was responsible for, allowed Cameron to use his filmmaking practically in a virtual set, which is something, which has not been possible before Avatar. Cameron scouted these virtual sets, as he would have a physical environment.

Rob Powers was responsible for the development of the virtual environment; allowances for Cameron to alter foliage layouts, day/night shifts in the moment. Another technique allowed for the creation of an environment ‘sphere’ which contained a never-ending environment which was set to a certain radius so that the rendering demands on the software were not excessive – so the realtime render engine could keep up with matte paintings, and the organisation of all these elements was completely configurable.

Creating such a reality was only possible through the precise manipulations allowed by a computer. Such creatures and world were simply not possible any other way because they could not exist in reality, or be expressed as efficiently though the use of prosthetics or the like.

A new compositing system was devised for 3D; placing depth information on everything that was being rendered, which will become the standard for compositing because of the flexibility it allowed for, according to Joe Letteri “Even if you’re doing a non-stereo movie, it’s just easier to composite in 3D than in 2D”.

One breakthrough that is highlighted in the article (aside from those already mentioned) was the explosions. The need for the explosions to interact with CG objects required that the explosions themselves be CG. Chris Horvath (who was instrumental on the fire fx in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) was responsible for the shading. The explosions used the same fluid simulation engine used for ‘The Maelstrom’ in Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End. There were modifications to the engine so that it behaved appropriately.

Letteri states that there will be a lot learned from the experience(s) of Avatar, “I think what everyone discovered as you went along is that if you’re going to put a virtual stage together like a live-action shoot, then this becomes the front end to a visual effects piece. Because you not only start thinking in terms of takes and selects, but as shot design. You have to be able to switch from one to the other. And it requires a level of infrastructure for the whole thing that I think is going to benefit everyone if we can come up with some system across the board to make that easier”.

http://www.awn.com/articles/visual_effects/avatar-game-changer/page/6%2C1

One*4

 SKY recently announced that they would not be accepting any 2D to 3D conversions for any content submitted to the broadcasting channel. In the first released press statement they have specified that no more than 10% of the content may be 2D;

"To enable the 3D programme to retain the highest quality throughout, a minimum of 90% must be native 3D footage," Sky states. "Where non-HD footage is utilised, it should sit within the editorial context of the programme. The 2D originated footage must be HD, be of segments not exceeding one minute, converted in a suitable manner to fit the 3D content and be of shots where there is minimal benefit from a true dual camera 3D acquisition." 

 Does this mean that the recent Alice in Wonderland adaptation by Tim Burton will never screen on SKY due to the fact that they film was filmed in 2D and post-processed for 3D? Who knows. I made the choice not to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D due to this fact - yes I am interested to see the difference between Alice 3D and Avatar 3D; one film being filmed specifically for 3D and the other processed after the thought. But for me I want to experience a film in the cinema the way that I feel it was meant to be viewed, with Avatar it was 3D at IMAX, Alice is 2D. Not being shot with stereoscopic camera's I feel that there may have been too much relying on the fact that they could figure out how it would look in 3D later on. Admittedly this is difficult to judge without having seen it in 3D, but the only parts of the film that I felt would benefit from 3D would have been those in the forest's of Wonderland.

I am hoping that 3D does not become a gimmick, which at the moment it is feeling like it is rapidly falling into this category. I can respect those filmmaker's who after seeing the success of Avatar decide that they do indeed want their film presented in 3D and make the effort to reshoot some of the film so that it will be as authentic 3D as is possible in the timeline (Clash of the Titans).

But to film in 2D with the intention of presenting in 3D from the beginning, but not wanting to handle the large camera's feels like a pretty weak excuse.

For the full article from SKY follow this link. Or for more details on their 3DTV look here.

Five*

James Cameron was recently interviewed by Charlie Rose, the link to the interview is at the bottom of this entry. It's around 30 minutes long and there is a general discussion about Avatar in regards to what Cameron had hoped to achieve with his project, and the level of the success that it has had. Cameron stated in the interview that he had wanted to pull all the stops out and blow people away with something that they had never seen before in the cinema. This is an awkward task with today's films so saturated with CGI and unnecessary VFX that the task of 'wow-ing' the audience with something new was near impossible.

The majority of the interview is spent discussing reviewers opinions of Avatar and to make a point for the film to force the audience to view humanity the way that nature perceives us; as a foreign intruder (a view which has caused some audiences to feel moral outrage at being portrayed as the 'bad guy'). These discussions combined with his suggestions on how to create a story that  finds a key to the audience's heart; keeping the story simple and relatable through exploring the universals of human experience (common ground) and express them in new ways.


Watch it. Or rather listen to it. Definitely worth it.

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10866#frame_top