The Filmmaker's Guide to Visual Effects, 2nd Edition

The Filmmaker's Guide to Visual Effects, 2nd Edition

by Eran Dinur
Released September 2023
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781000880106

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Book description

The Filmmaker’s Guide to Visual Effects offers a practical, detailed guide to visual effects for non-VFX specialists working in film and television. In this book, Eran Dinur introduces readers to visual effects from the filmmaker’s perspective, providing a comprehensive guide to VFX, from pre-production through post-production.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Half-Title Page
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Dedication Page
  6. Contents
  7. Preface to the 2nd Edition
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. Introduction
    1. Who Is This Book for?
    2. Visual Effects on a Shoestring
    3. About This Book
  10. Part 1: VFX Fundamentals
    1. Chapter 1: Core Concepts
      1. Special Effects or Visual Effects?
      2. What Does CGI Really Mean?
      3. 2D, 3D, and Stereoscopic 3D
      4. Realism and Photorealism
      5. The Danger of Overindulgence
      6. Animation, Games, and Visual Effects
      7. Digital vs. Film
      8. Film vs. Television
    2. Chapter 2: VFX as a Filmmaking Tool
      1. Common Types of VFX Shots
        1. Fix-it Shots
        2. Screen Inserts
        3. Driving Shots
        4. Rig Removal and Period Cleanup
        5. Set Extensions
        6. Crowd Augmentation/Crowd Simulation
        7. Action Elements
      2. Advanced VFX
      3. Case Study: Changing a Camera Move in Post
    3. Chapter 3: From 2D to 3D: The Quest for the Lost Dimension
      1. Camera Movement and VFX
      2. Parallax
      3. Perspective Shift
      4. 2D Workflow
      5. The Missing Dimension
      6. Recreating the Camera
      7. 3D Workflow
        1. 3D vs. 2D
      8. 2.5D: The Hybrid Solution
      9. Case Study: The Opening Shot of Hereditary
    4. Chapter 4: Separation: Roto, Green Screens, and the Challenges of Extraction
      1. Rotoscoping
      2. Green/Blue Screens
      3. The Challenges of Extraction
      4. Background Matching
      5. Spill
      6. Non-solid Edges
  11. Part 2: The Inside Look
    1. Chapter 5: The VFX Workflow: An In-depth Look at the Various Crafts of Visual Effects
      1. Pre-production Crafts
        1. Previs
        2. Concept Art
      2. Camera Tracking
      3. Layout
      4. Modeling
        1. Technical Modeling
        2. Organic Modeling
        3. Procedural Modeling
        4. Cost-saving Alternatives
      5. Texturing and Shading
        1. Shaders
        2. Textures
        3. UV Mapping
      6. Case Study: Uncut Gems-Inside the Opal
      7. Rigging
      8. Animation
      9. Motion Capture
      10. Lighting and Rendering
        1. CG Lighting Essentials
        2. Key and Fill Lights
        3. Sky Light and Image-Based Lighting
        4. Global Illumination (Indirect Light)
        5. Outdoor Lighting vs. Indoor Lighting
        6. Ambient Occlusion
        7. Rendering
      11. Compositing
      12. Matte Painting
      13. FX: Particles and Physical Simulations
        1. Rigid-body Simulations
        2. Cloth Simulations
        3. Fluid Simulations
        4. Liquids
        5. Cost-saving Alternatives
        6. Particle Systems
        7. Crowd Simulation
      14. Remote Work and Cloud-Based VFX Facilities
    2. Chapter 6: Workflow Case Studies
      1. Shot 1: Background Cleanup
      2. Shot 2: The Homestead Strike
      3. Shot 3: Piranha Attack
      4. Asset Work vs. Shot Work
      5. Shot 4: Tsunami Mayhem
  12. Part 3: VFX in Production
    1. Chapter 7: Pre-production
      1. Preliminary VFX Breakdown
      2. The VFX Supervisor and VFX Producer
        1. Model 1: Dedicated Production VFX Supervisor and Producer
        2. Model 2: Company In-house VFX Supervisor and Producer
      3. Preliminary Bidding
      4. Inside the Bidding Process
      5. Storyboarding
      6. Previs and Concept Art
      7. VFX Production Meetings
      8. Tech Scouts
      9. Detailed Budget and Schedule
      10. Case Study: Ellis Island
    2. Chapter 8: On Set
      1. Collaborating with the VFX Supervisor
      2. On-set Data Acquisition
        1. Camera Information
        2. Lens Grids
        3. Color Chart Reference
        4. Chrome Ball and Gray Ball
        5. On-set Reference Photography
        6. Spherical HDRI Light Domes
        7. Lidar 3D Scanning
        8. Photogrammetry
      3. Green/Blue Screens
        1. Action Coverage
        2. Screen Consistency
        3. Dirt and Tears
        4. Folds
        5. Non-green Parts
        6. Cast Shadows
        7. Tracking Markers
        8. Smoke and Atmospherics
        9. Reflections
        10. Lighting Green Screens
        11. Roto or Green Screen?
      4. Shooting VFX Elements
        1. Camera Movement
        2. Camera Angle and Position
        3. Lens Type
        4. Framing
        5. Choosing the Right Background
        6. Frame Rate
      5. Case Study: The Crane Dare
      6. Shooting Driving Plates
      7. Crowd Tiling
        1. Setting up the Camera
        2. Locked-off Camera
        3. Moving Camera
        4. Setting up the Crowd
        5. Moving and Rearranging the Extras
        6. Roto or Green Screen?
        7. Shooting Sprites
      8. Case Study: Multi-camera Crowd Tiles
      9. Screen Inserts Setup
      10. Stunts and Visual Effects
      11. Special Effects and Visual Effects
    3. Chapter 9: Post-production
      1. The Post-production VFX Workflow
      2. VFX Basic Color Workflow
      3. Image Formats in VFX
        1. Bit Depth (Color Depth)
      4. Video Formats
      5. Color Space and ACES
      6. The Spec Sheet and Pipeline Test
      7. VFX and Editorial
        1. The VFX Editor
        2. When to Deliver Shots to the VFX Team
        3. Handles
        4. Edit Refs (Offlines)
        5. Editorial Temps
      8. Budgeting and Scheduling
        1. Budget Updates
        2. Change Orders
        3. Scheduling
      9. The Reviewing Process
        1. Mockups
        2. Style Frames
        3. Animation Versions (aka Playblasts)
        4. Turntables
        5. Comp
        6. Final Approval
      10. Communication
        1. Providing Feedback
    4. Chapter 10: Real-time Rendering and Virtual Production
      1. Real-time Rendering in the Studio
      2. Real-time Previs
        1. Augmented Reality and On-set Previs
      3. Virtual Production
        1. A Little Perspective
        2. Old Technique—New Technologies
        3. Virtual 3D Environments
        4. Understanding the Limitations
        5. The Bottom Line
    5. Chapter 11: The Future
      1. Machine Learning
        1. Technical Assistance
        2. Face Replacement
        3. 2D to 3D Conversion
        4. Creative Assistance
      2. Volumetric Capture
      3. Marker-less Motion Capture
      4. Photoreal Intelligent Digi-doubles
      5. On We Go
  13. Index

Product information

  • Title: The Filmmaker's Guide to Visual Effects, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): Eran Dinur
  • Release date: September 2023
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781000880106