Problem Solving With Previs
Generating this kind of data is far from glamorous, but it is increasingly valuable on set. "It's all about getting that info out there early enough that people can make decisions and act on it," Frankel adds.
For this to work, the data must be as accurate as possible. "It's easy to create stuff, but it's hard to create stuff that can actually be done on set," says Edwards.
Frankel says everything built in the computer is done to scale, "so when we measure off 10 feet, it's 10 feet." Sets are built to an accuracy of as little as a quarter-inch for small locations, and as much as a foot on bigger locations.
The camera info is similarly detailed, with information on lenses accurate to a high degree in terms of distortion.
As previs grows, more department heads are becoming involved in the process, such as production designers, vfx supervisors and cinematographers. "We're completely capable of being autonomous, but we don't want to be. We need that input," says Edwards.
That's not always easy as key crewmembers may not all be assembled by the time previs needs to start. "We get people coming in and being surprised at how much is already done," Edwards says.
The work done in previs is also useful in what has come to be known as postvis, which quickly checks that live action plates will work out creatively and technically with things like visual effects. If something doesn't work, they know quickly enough to re-shoot before sets have to be struck.
Postvis also is useful in the vfx bidding process, as it gives houses a concrete idea of the number of shots and type of work required to complete a job, resulting in more accurate bids as well as savings in time and money.
"With a lot of visual effects, you have nothing to cut, nothing to work with until you get your shots back finished," says Colin Green, Founder of previs house Pixel Liberation Front. "The editorial process is hindered by the fact that you don't have these important shots until the vendor does them."
Green cites I, Robot as an example of where previs and postvis allowed the editorial process to go more quickly. "It was very difficult for the story to even be told with what was shot. We had to put in a temp version of those shots in so the film could get edited and the shots get counted."
The future looks bright for previs and postvis, with houses looking to make it an even more essential part of the filmmaking process as well as adapt it to new technologies like 3D.
Hatch, who recently worked on Roland Emmerich's upcoming 10,000 B.C. and Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, says tools are getting better and allowing more complex visuals. "People want to see more," he suggests. "It's no longer kind of blocky animation and blocky models. We try to make it, not photoreal, but make it look visually interesting, make it look like what you'd see on the real plate."
Third Floor has been doing more work beyond feature films, with commercials being an area where the short shoots make previs especially valuable. The company also has worked on videogame cinematics, architecture visualizations and theme park ride footage.
It's also moving into dramatic films, comedies and project pitches. Wassung says he recently worked on a pitch for a drama that had to convey the emotional arc of the story.
"What's making this more accessible is the fact that we can get more lighting, detail and animation so it's readable to anybody, not just the vfx supervisors," Wassung concludes.
Thomas J. McLean is a freelance journalist whose articles have appeared in Variety, Below the Line, Animation Magazine and Publishers Weekly. He writes a comicbook blog for Variety.com called Bags and Boards, and is the author of Mutant Cinema: The X-Men Trilogy from Comics to Screen, forthcoming from Sequart.com Books.
Printer-friendly version
Post new comment