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6 Superskills for VFX Producers & Supervisors

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6 Superskills for VFX Producers & Supervisors Realise Your Vision A Guide to Collaboration 6 SuperSkills for VFX Producers & Supervisors Tried-and-tested tech and tips for keeping your teams on side, on time and on brief What’s in this guide? Me, SuperSkills? 03 The 6 SuperSkills: 1 – Understanding the director’s vision 05 2 – Setting up for success 06 3 – Onboarding VFX artists 07 SUPERSKILLS 4 – Getting the best from your team 08 5 – Having the tough conversations 09 TIPS 6 – Leaning on others 10 The 3 key barriers to collaboration 11 Collaboration in action: FuseFX case study 12 Meet the ClearView family 13 6 SuperSkills for VFX Producers & Supervisors 2 Me? SuperSkills? In filmmaking, if there’s a much-overlooked superpower, it’s collaboration. The ability to build relationships, understand other people’s point of view and work as a well-oiled machine – vital skills that nobody wins awards for, but that every successful production needs. When things go wrong, on set or in post, it’s usually because someone, somewhere has failed to collaborate or communicate in the right way, or at the right time. 6 SuperSkills for VFX Producers & Supervisors 3 Yes, you, SuperSkills Can we bottle your SuperSkill? The responsibilities of VFX supervisor and To create this guide, we recently sat down VFX producer can vary from one production with two VFX pros to collect their thoughts to the next, but the one thing you have to be on collaboration in post. Read on to find good at in every role is collaboration. You’re some tried-and-tested ways for giving motivating and feeding back to VFX artists, diplomatic feedback, getting the most out you’re working alongside the director to bring of other people, and collaborating with their vision to life, and you’re balancing this creatives and crew from previs to post. with fixed budgets and tight timelines. And if you have tips of your own, please share them with us on: Big thanks to our SuperSkilled contributors Anne Akande, Sean H Farrow, VFX Producer/ VFX Supervisor VFX Line Producer • Total Recall • Altered Carbon • Batman Begins • Devs • Unknown • Doctor Who 6 SuperSkills for VFX Producers & Supervisors 4 SUPERSKILL 1: Understanding the director’s vision As the linchpin between the “The more you absorb, the more you start “I think we have to question. We need to ideas and the execution, your to think like the director, the DPs and the assess how something’s helping the story: TECH TIP understanding of the director’s vision production designer. So, after a certain whose story are we telling – is it necessary? has to be watertight. period of time, as with all these things, you Do you need that to be in visual effects or, become a solid team who are all pulling can another department take care of it? It’s not just a case of knowing the references, in the same direction, with creativity and Because visual effects are just one part but truly immersing yourself in the world storytelling.” – SF of storytelling, there are other important of the production. But at what stage do you forms as well.” – AA bring your ideas? And is it okay to question Knowledge first, ideas second the vision? Question, question, question As you’re developing an understanding of the Character modelling, texture, rotoscoping, director’s grand plan, it can be really tempting Those onboarding meetings help you immerse final composing… VFX is a department to throw ideas in. You’re excited about the yourself in the world of the film. You’re used to collaborating. project – but try and take time to absorb absorbing references and finding common But this becomes trickier when – due the director’s vision fully or your ideas could ground. But questions are vital – especially to schedule clashes or geography – come off as guesswork. As you have more when it comes to your understanding of the collaboration needs to happen remotely. VFX artists need to understand how to bring meetings, your ideas will naturally coalesce film’s setting. Draw out the colours and the the director’s vision to life, and the director with the other team members. Your input aesthetic – do they want vivid greens in a needs to see how VFX are building the story. will also be better received by the decision- forest? What is the character’s motivation for This understanding simply isn’t possible makers: you’ll understand what excites your being here? How will they interact with the without real-time tools that bring everybody in the room virtually to discuss creative and director and DP and – crucially – you’ll know scenery? Questioning sequences directly can share their expertise frame by frame. how to frame an idea in their language. also help you understand the role of VFX and how it’s helping tell the story, or whether it’s VFX for VFX’s sake. 6 SuperSkills for VFX Producers & Supervisors 5 SUPERSKILL 2: Setting up for success Organisation helps you to “The communication has to be constant. “So, you might think you need 10 cars on an communicate effectively and show When you’re talking to locations: ‘could I airfield during the middle of the day in the TECH TIP your creativity. take a look?’ Or ‘I’ve seen this location, do winter. But with the previs then they can go, you think it will help? Do you guys think you ‘Oh, well, we don’t need it in winter now or Without an initial effort on your part to open can work with this?’” - AA we don’t need it on airfield – we can do it on up key channels of communication and plan a car.’ And that process really helps narrow shots meticulously, you and your artists can Communicate from day one run into serious issues later down the line. down the VFX challenges.” – SF Ideally you’re part of the early conversations and are involved in the process while scripts Plan with previs are still being written and revisited. But, For VFX, the early planning phase works especially if you’re based in a VFX house, best when it involves previs. Of course you’ll there’s a chance you’re not brought in early be storyboarding the complex scenes, but You need to be able to guide your teams in enough. Or as you get further into the choreographed action sequences need the right direction from the word ‘go’, no production, there are conversations and much more attention. A storyboard can’t matter how spread out they are, and no matter what restrictions may exist on set. meetings happening – with location or the art always contain the detail you need. Having department – that would be helpful to be part previs animatics to help everyone visualise Tech has to be easy, and it has to support of. So how do you get into those conversations? large VFX teams all viewing simultaneously. sequences could mean the difference You need software that allows you or The first step is to start talking to people and between choosing one location over another multiple artists to view previs work, or see start earning their trust. Signal that you’re or rethinking a scene entirely. Previs allows what’s happening on set. Non-technical available to help and offer to share the burden you to stay perfectly in sync with your users should be able to simply log on and get a view of how work is shaping up, so you or support the decisions or the workload. director and allows you to demonstrate can all stay in sync, regardless of location. precisely how you’re bringing their vision to life – and testing it – before money is spent. 6 SuperSkills for VFX Producers & Supervisors 6 SUPERSKILL 3: Onboarding VFX artists Whether you work within a VFX “Splitting up the work is nearly always a “VFX companies do their best work when house or you’re coordinating straightforward proposition. When it comes they’re involved. And they’re proud of TECH TIP outsourced VFX talent, bringing the to crunch time (which is on every show) what they’re doing. I give them as much creatives on board is an essential step then you’ve then got two horses in the race, information as I can. It may not actually be in every production. rather than one, pulling the same cart. strictly pertinent to a particular sequence We do get there more smoothly than if we that they’re doing at the time, but it gives But how do you give your artists the best had to rely on one company, however them a level of involvement, which then shot at creating knockout work? It starts with large they are.” – SF allows them to come back with ideas.” – SF giving them time, space, and context. Split the work Share the wider picture When you’re dealing with VFX houses, Involving VFX artists on a deeper level and The tech you’re using on your production splitting work between more than one can helping them to see the director’s wider should showcase creative work in the best be a great way to maximise creative output vision (context for their work) improves possible way. while hitting tight deadlines. This is especially your relationship with artists and empowers While your artists might always be at their beneficial for large-scale productions. them. They can come forward with ideas or desk with their tools to hand, there’s no Different sequences come with different ways of visualising sequences that elevate telling what devices the rest of the team are challenges, but by having more than one the production as a whole.
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