Practical Effects for the Digital World
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Peter W. Allen: Victorian College of the Arts School of Film & Television University of Melbourne 1 Practical Effects for the Digital World. Prepared by Peter W. Allen A Brief History Of Special Effects. In the earliest days of film making there were only ‘special effects’. The term was carried over from the world of theatrical production and was a catch-all used to describe any unusual requirements a production might demand. For example if a costume were required to do something out of the ordinary, such as explode with a spatter of blood, or allow mechanical wings to unfurl, it becomes necessary to rig something ‘special’. The same approach applied for all areas of a production, anything outside the scope of normal day-to-day requirements became the purview of special effects technicians, whether lighting, costume, sound or any other discipline. In the late 19 th and early 20 th century, the nascent film industry closely followed the established processes of theatrical production. However a small group of pioneers began to recognise the specific idiosyncrasies of film as a medium and quickly took creative advantage. Alfred Clark working in the United States and George Méliès in France each independently discovered the ‘stop trick’. In 1896 Méliès had been filming street scenes when his camera jammed, after fixing the problem and resuming filming the traffic moved on, quite by accident a hearse now appeared in the same position that had previously been filled by an omnibus when the camera jammed. One vehicle appeared to magically transform into the other. Méliès, who had worked as a stage magician, began to use this and other techniques to make what he referred to as ‘trick films’. Unbeknownst to Méliès, Alfred Clark, a filmmaker working for Thomas Edison had already employed the same technique in the production of his short ‘The Execution of Mary Stuart’ (1895) which is generally regarded as being the first ever use of a motion picture special effect 1 . In Clark’s film the decapitation of Mary is depicted by stopping the camera and replacing the actor with a mannequin which is then beheaded. ‘In camera’ special effects techniques such as these were revolutionary, filmmakers 1 “History of Special Effects” Assoc. Prof. Helen Roulston. Accessed January 20, 2015. http://helenroulston.com/historyof.html
Transcript of Practical Effects for the Digital World
PeterW.Allen:VictorianCollegeoftheArtsSchoolofFilm&TelevisionUniversityofMelbourne
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PracticalEffectsfortheDigitalWorld.
PreparedbyPeterW.Allen
ABriefHistoryOfSpecialEffects.
Intheearliestdaysoffilmmakingtherewereonly‘specialeffects’.Thetermwas
carriedoverfromtheworldoftheatricalproductionandwasacatch-allusedto
describeanyunusualrequirementsaproductionmightdemand.Forexampleifa
costumewererequiredtodosomethingoutoftheordinary,suchasexplodewith
aspatterofblood,orallowmechanicalwingstounfurl,itbecomesnecessaryto
rigsomething‘special’.Thesameapproachappliedforallareasofaproduction,
anythingoutsidethescopeofnormalday-to-dayrequirementsbecamethe
purviewofspecialeffectstechnicians,whetherlighting,costume,soundorany
otherdiscipline.
Inthelate19thandearly20thcentury,thenascentfilmindustrycloselyfollowed
theestablishedprocessesoftheatricalproduction.Howeverasmallgroupof
pioneersbegantorecognisethespecificidiosyncrasiesoffilmasamediumand
quicklytookcreativeadvantage.AlfredClarkworkingintheUnitedStatesand
GeorgeMélièsinFranceeachindependentlydiscoveredthe‘stoptrick’.In1896
Mélièshadbeenfilmingstreetsceneswhenhiscamerajammed,afterfixingthe
problemandresumingfilmingthetrafficmovedon,quitebyaccidentahearse
nowappearedinthesamepositionthathadpreviouslybeenfilledbyanomnibus
whenthecamerajammed.Onevehicleappearedtomagicallytransformintothe
other.Méliès,whohadworkedasastagemagician,begantousethisandother
techniquestomakewhathereferredtoas‘trickfilms’.UnbeknownsttoMéliès,
AlfredClark,afilmmakerworkingforThomasEdisonhadalreadyemployedthe
sametechniqueintheproductionofhisshort‘TheExecutionofMaryStuart’
(1895)whichisgenerallyregardedasbeingthefirsteveruseofamotionpicture
specialeffect1.InClark’sfilmthedecapitationofMaryisdepictedbystoppingthe
cameraandreplacingtheactorwithamannequinwhichisthenbeheaded.‘In
camera’specialeffectstechniquessuchasthesewererevolutionary,filmmakers
1“History of Special Effects” Assoc. Prof. Helen Roulston. Accessed January 20, 2015. http://helenroulston.com/historyof.html
PeterW.Allen:VictorianCollegeoftheArtsSchoolofFilm&TelevisionUniversityofMelbourne
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continuedtousetheatricaleffectsbutanewindustryofeffectstailored
specificallytotakeadvantageoffilmtechnologyrapidlyemerged.
EdgarRogersisthefirstknownfilmmakertouseatechniqueknownastheglass
shotinamotionpicture2.Theprocessinvolvedpaintinganimageontoapaneof
glass,whenthescenewasfilmedthroughtheglassthepaintedimagewould
appeartobepartofthescenicbackground.
Theglassshottechniqueallowedfilmmakerstocreateseeminglyepicand/or
exoticvistasquicklyandcheaply.Howevertheglasspaintingshadtobe
completedonlocationtomatchlightingandweatherconditionswhichcould
changewithoutnotice.
Hangingminiatures,3Dmodelsofsceneryorpropsthatweresuspendedinfront
ofthecamera,createdasimilareffecttotheglassshotbutrespondedinrealtime
tochangesinlightingconditions.Miniaturesprovidedsomeothersignificant
advantagessuchastheabilitytointroducemovement,however2Dpaintings
remainedcheaperandfastertoproducethandetailedmodelssofilmmakers
continuedtousethem.
GlasspainterTedWithersatwork3
2"British-vfx."British-vfx.AccessedJanuary20,2015.http://www.galeon.com/matteart/britishVFXmatte.html.3"MatteShot-aTributetoGoldenEraSpecialFx.":LibertyLadyShinesHerTorch.AccessedJanuary23,2015.
PeterW.Allen:VictorianCollegeoftheArtsSchoolofFilm&TelevisionUniversityofMelbourne
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Inparticularlycomplexshotsminiaturesandglasspaintingscouldbecombined
withsmallprojectedimagesofpreviouslyshotfilm,allowingforvery
sophisticatedresults.
Glassshotshadoneveryobviouslimitation,sincethepaintingwasplacedcloseto
thecameraitwascriticalthatperformersneverwalkedintothesamespaceor
theywouldappeartobecutinhalfbythepaintedelement.Thiswasnotanissue
ifthepainteddetailwassupposedtobepartofaforegroundelement,howeverif
thepaintingwasofacastleonasupposedlydistanthillitcouldcreateproblems.
Inordertoplacetheperformerinfrontofanotherwiseimpossiblebackdropa
differenttechniquewasneeded.
Theprocessshot4,morecommonlyreferredtoasrearprojection,placedanactor
infrontofamotionpicturescreenwhichdisplayedapreviouslyphotographed
pieceoffilm.Thescenecouldthenberephotographedtocreatetheillusionthat
theactorwasonlocationwhereverthebackgroundfilmwasshot.Rearprojection
wasusedextensivelytocreatetheillusionthatperformerswereinexotic
locationsorextremelydangeroussituations.Twovariationsofthetechnique
existed,rearprojectionandfrontprojection.Bothtechniquesattemptedtoavoid
projectingtheimagedirectlyontotheactorwhowaspositionedinfrontofthe
screen.Rearprojectionusedatranslucentscreenwhichhadanimageprojected
frombehind,thiseliminatedtheproblemcompletelybutresultedinawashedout,
lowcontrastbackgroundimage.Frontprojectionmadeuseofamirrortoreflect
lightfromtheprojectorata45degreeangle,aslongasthemirrorwasobscured
bytheperformertheeffectworked,howeverthesetuprequiredenoughdepthof
spacetoexisttopositionthemirrorandthrowthelighttoalargescreen.Both
versionsoftheprocessshotrequiredsynchronisationofcameraandprojectorto
ensurethecameraonlyeverphotographedthescreenwhenanimagewasbeing
projected.Reliablesynchronisationtechnologyonlybecameavailableinthe
http://nzpetesmatteshot.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/liberty-lady-shines-her-torch-columbia.html.4Malkiewicz,Kris,andM.DavidMullen.CinematographyThirdEdition.NewYork:Touchstone,2014.256.
PeterW.Allen:VictorianCollegeoftheArtsSchoolofFilm&TelevisionUniversityofMelbourne
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1930s,althoughprocessshotshadbeenattemptedwithvariouslevelsofsuccess
muchearlier.
Specialeffectswerenowbeingdividedintotwodistinctcategories,thosethat
couldbecapturedincamerabyfilmingtheeffectasithappenedwereknown
variouslyaspractical,physicalormechanicaleffects.Effectsthatrequiredworkto
bedoneinpostproduction,throughsophisticatededitingorcompositing
processes,wereknownasopticalorphotographiceffects.
Theuseofopticaleffectsallowedelementsthathadbeenfilmedseparatelytobe
combinedintoasingleframe.Thisprocessallowedfilmmakerstoplaywiththe
scaleofthevariouselements.Asmallmodelcouldbemadetoappearhugeif
actorswereprintedintothesamestripoffilmatamuchsmallersize.Willis
O’Brien,oneofthepioneeringmastersofanimatedeffects,developedmanyofthe
processesthatwouldbecomestandardfilmmakingprocedurefordecadesto
come.Intheeffectscreatedforthefilmversionof‘TheLostWorld’(HoytH.1925)
O’Briencombinedstopmotionanimatedmodeldinosaurswithliveactionfootage
ofactors.ArthurConanDoyle,theauthorofthenovel,famouslyscreenedearly
rushesofthefilmtodinnerpartyguestsandclaimeditasrealfootageof
dinosaurscapturedduringanexpeditiontotheAmazon.Audiencesunusedto
suchtechnicallycomplexproductionswereeasilyconvinced.O’Brienwentonto
perfecthistechniqueswhenhecreatedtheopticaleffectsfor‘KingKong’(Cooper,
MerianC.1933),theopticaleffectstechniquesappliedtothatproductionwould
remainmoreorlessstandardpracticeforanothersixtyyears.5
Whiledigitalvisualeffectshadbeenattemptedonandoffformanyyears,the
watershedmomentforthefilmindustrycamewiththereleaseof‘JurassicPark’
(SpielbergS.1993).Forthefirsttimetrulybelievablecomputergenerated
creaturesexistedonscreenwithliveactionperformers.JurassicParkcontained
onlytwoandahalfminutesofcomputergenerateddinosaurs,butwithinafew
shortyearstheindustryhadchangedtothepointwheremanyfilmsbecame
animated/live-actionhybridswhereeveryframeismanipulatedinsomeway,
‘StarWars:ThePhantomMenace’(LucasG.1999)beinganearlyexample.
5"KingKong(1933)."TheFilmSpectrum.AccessedJanuary19,2015.http://thefilmspectrum.com/?p=5407.
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Althoughdigitaleffectsarenowubiquitous,theyremaincomplicatedand
expensive.Ifyoustaytoviewthecreditsofanybigbudgetsuperherofilmyouwill
seelistsofmanyhundredsofnamesfromvisualeffectscompaniesscattered
acrosstheglobe.ThisishowmanypeopleittakestomakeIronmanflyorThe
Hulktransform.Sohowcanalowbudgetfilmmakerwithoutaccesstohundred
milliondollarbudgetsorseveralhundredvisualeffectstechniciansrealisetheir
vision?
TheResearchProject:
Digitalimagingtechnologyhasbroughtgreatimprovementstotheeffects
industry.Howeveritisnolesstechnicallycomplexthanthedaysofopticaleffects,
quitethecontrary,witheachnewtechnologyhascomenewspecialisationsinto
evernarrowerfields.
Largescaleproductionshavetheluxuryofemployingspecialistvisualeffects
supervisorstoadvisethecrewonsetorlocation,butlowbudgetproductions
oftencannotaffordthisluxuryandasaresultfrequentlymakeerrorswhen
filmingeffectselements.Thiscancauseunexpectedcostandtimeoverrunsin
postproductionastheeffectsartistsattempttosalvagewhattheycanfrom
poorlypreparedmaterial.Sincethecauseoftheproblemwasalackofresources
topayforappropriateguidancetherewilllikelybenopossibilityofreshooting
thematerialorpayingforthemanyextrahoursofworkrequiredtofixtheerrors.
Theresultislikelytobedisappointingforallinvolvedfromthedirectortothe
effectsartist.
Ihavesetouttoinvestigatewhethersomeofthelosttechniquesfromtheearliest
daysoffilmmakingcouldstillbeappliedtoacontemporarydigitalproduction.
Theintentionistoapplyincameraeffectstechniquessimilartothoseusedinthe
earliestfewdecadesofthefilmindustrytotheproductionofashortfilmand
assesstheresultsontwolevels;
• Arethechosentechniqueseffectiveincommunicatingthenecessarystory
elementsinanunderstandableandaccessiblemanner?
• Arethereanycostand/ortimesavingsfortheproductionwhenpurely
practicaleffectsareutilised?
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Somebriefpreliminarytestshaveyieldedresultsthatallowforcautious
optimism.Theprincipleshaveheldupwellsofar,butthereismoretobedone.
Forthefirsttestsoeimagesweretakenwithacompactstillcameratotestthe
basicprinciplesofworkingwithminiatures.
Thefirstimagefeaturesatoymotorcycleandatoycow,botharoundaround12
cmlong.Thesecondtwophotographsshowthetoymotorcycleandafullsized
car,oneimageindeepfocusandtheotherinshallowfocuswiththefocalpointset
roughlyhalfwaybetweenthetwosubjectstocreatetheillusionofasimilardepth
offieldeffectoneachvehicle.
Toymotorcycleinforegroundwithtoycowinbackground.6
Toyandfullsizedvehicleindeepfocus.7
6Imagecopyrighttheauthor.7ibid
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Toyandfullsizedvehicleinshallowfocus.8
Obviouslythelargerandmoredetailedthemodelthebettertheoutcome,but
evenwithasmall,offtheshelftoytheresultsareencouraging.
Thesecondtestinvolvedavariationofthefrontprojectiontechniqueusingdigital
HDprojection.Afterfilmingashortsequenceofgreeneryfromagardenonthe
schoolgrounds,theclipwasloadedtoalaptopandprojectedwithaclassroom
digitalprojectorontoastandardprojectionscreen.
Asmallpieceofgreenery,someeucalyptusleaves,wereheldclosetothecamera
andlitseparatelywithasmallLEDpanel.
8ibid
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Theclipcanbeviewedhere:https://vimeo.com/133716919
Theonlylightsourcesintheroomweretheprojectorandthesmallhandheld
lightsource,beingcarefulnottoallowlighttospillontothescreenthescenewas
shotwithafocuspulltoachievesomedepthoffield.Againtheresultsareinitially
veryencouraging,thereissomelossofdetailandcolourinformationinthe
projectedimage,butmuchofitcanberecoveredwithgrading.
Withdigitaltoolssoeasilyavailable,whybother?Ibelievethatformany
filmmakersthereisagreatadvantageinbeingabletopeerthroughalensandsee
theshotasitwilllookwithouthavingtoimaginevfxelementsthatdon’tyetexist.
Italsoforcesdecisionsinlightingandcompositiontobemadeonset,removing
theoftenfalseimpressionthatanythingcanbealteredlateroninpost.
Itishopedthatthecombinationofenforceddecisionmakingandrealtimevisual
feedbackwillbeanassettofilmmakers,especiallythosestillfindingtheirfeeton
setforwhomthemysteriesofdigitalpostproductionaresodauntingtheyseem
bestignored.Butmoreimportantly,itputscontrolintothehandsofthe
filmmakerandmakestheprocessfun.
Minerva Access is the Institutional Repository of The University of Melbourne
Author/s:
ALLEN, PW
Title:
Practical Effects for the Digital World
Date:
2015-07-15
Citation:
ALLEN, P. W. (2015). Practical Effects for the Digital World
Persistent Link:
http://hdl.handle.net/11343/91528
File Description:
Accepted version
