Scott Stokdyk (left) of Imageworks (Spider-Man 2) and Chas Jarrett, visual effects supervisor on Troy.

Clients expect more than just correctly-shot plates, they expect extensive R&D, tests, design work and re-work as part of the standard visual effects package. And in many cases clients also expect the supervisor to make this work invisible to the shooting portion of the production. Adds Jarrett, “I don’t want the director to be worried about the technology. I just want the director to tell me what he or she wants to see.”

One of the issues visual effects supervisors face is that clients often do not understand the complexity and resource requirements of the shots they ask for. This is especially true in visual effects for episodic television where clients typically demand effects they have seen on the latest visual effects-driven blockbuster for a fraction of the cost and schedule. “Episodic clients often expect shots similar to those appearing in the recent summer blockbusters,” suggests Passionino, “but they also sometimes have difficulty understanding that the shot they want may have taken weeks or months to complete. They want it in a matter of days.”

Some visual effects supervisors find themselves battling blowback from the over-hyping of visual effects. As Okun sees it: “We have so [hyped] what it is that we do as visual effects people and what can be done with visual effects — making it sound like it’s easy and fun and no problem — that now, nobody believes that some things are hard to do.” Computers are so ubiquitous that everyone thinks they can understand what is take to do the work. The work is often so good that it looks relatively effortless. Adds Okun, “Everybody and their brother feels qualified to be a visual effects supervisor.” Other visual effects supervisors feel that quality among the leading facilities in major production centers is becoming consistently high. Says Hollings, “What’s really changing is the speed at which clients expect shots.”

You’ve Got the Whole World in Your Hands: Outsourcing Visual Effects
Clients ask for all of the above at the lowest possible price. The development of visual effects production centers outside of Los Angeles has, of course, been going on for years. Thanks partially to a succession of financial incentives for local production, the U.K., Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have developed world-class expertise in complex visual effects production.

The next frontier for outsourcing is Asia, especially China and India. Still, some supervisors see the increasingly visual complexity of today’s productions requiring, if not face-to-face communication, then at least a common language. “It’s hard enough getting people who speak your language to understand your vision,” says Hollings, “much less people who do not speak your language.”

Even with a technically competent outsource facility, it’s important for the visual effects supervisor to have a local representative to “keep an eye on things” and identify and communicate cultural differences (such as the meaning of the word “final”). Sometimes the problem with younger firms is over-engineering — doing the work so exactingly that it is impossible to render within a reasonable time.

Supervisors such as McGovern, who do extensive international work, have also found themselves becoming experts in exchange rates and the minutiae of international co-production deals which dictate how and where production funds can be spent. “On set,” explains McGovern, “you’ve got to know when a production problem arises if it will kill you and has to be solved on set or if it can be saved one way or another in post — the decision is needed immediately — if you force an on set problem to be solved by production it better have been the only way to fix it or at least the most cost effective way.” Understanding the local culture is key. “In one instance [working with an Asian overseas vendor],” adds McGovern, “not knowing the culture very well we were very complimentary about the first pass of the work, it turned out to be a bad move because then the work never got any better.”

However, Hollings sees a silver lining to this increasing global expertise, especially when a maxxed out facility is faced with hundreds of additional shots late in a production schedule, which was the case with Sky Captain. Supervisors routinely engage the services of additional facilities through the course of production. Says Hollings, “It gives you a comfort level knowing that there are all the companies out there with a lot of talented people.” Unlike several years ago, if your lead facility cannot handle the work, you can still complete the project.