Image Advances – Richard Edlund, ASC, VES
Chapter Captain: Michael Fink
Why Use Visual Effects? – Michael Fink
Chapter 2 Pre-Production/Preparation
Chapter Captain: Scott Squires
Overview – Scott Squires
Breaking Down a Script—Budgeting – Scott Squires
Monitoring the Budget and Schedule
Working with the Director and Producer – Scott Squires
Production Departments – Scott Squires
Designing Visual Effects Shots – Scott Squires
Creatures and Character Design
Visual Effects Techniques – Scott Squires
Additional Suggestions for Determining Techniques
What is Previs? – Mat Beck
Development of Previs Techniques – Mat Beck, Stephanie Argy
The Applications of Previs: Who Benefits From it and How? – Mat Beck
Postvis – Karen Goulekas
Cautions and Suggestions for Good Practice – Mat Beck
The Role of the VFX Supervisor in Previs
Previs: Advanced Techniques – Mat Beck
Camera Angle Projection – Steven D. Katz
Chapter 3 Acquisition/Shooting
Chapter Captain: Bill Taylor, ASC, VES
Working on Set – Scott Squires
Common Types of Special Effects – Gene Rizzardi
A Brief History of Special Effects
The Special Effects Supervisor
Working with the Visual Effects
Visual Effects in Service to SFX
Special Effects Design and Planning
The Elements: Rain, Wind, and Snow and Ice
Front and Rear Projection Systems for Visual Effects – William Mesa, John Coats
Front Projection (Blue or Green Screens and Picture Imagery)
Large-Area Emissive Displays (LCD, LED, Plasma, and Jumbotron Screens)
Greenscreen and Bluescreen Photography – Bill Taylor, ASC, VES
Negative Scanning and Digital Conversion
Backing Uniformity and Screen Correction
Recommended Specifications and Practices
How to Expose a Green Screen Shot, and Why
Cameras for Bluescreen or Greenscreen Photography
Working with the Cinematographer
On-Set Data Acquisition – Karen Goulekas
Lidar Scanning and Acquisition – Alan Lasky
On-Set 3D Scanning Systems – Nick Tesi
Prepping the Actors for Scanning
Review All That Has Been Scanned
Lighting Data – Charles Clavadetscher
Using Conventional Still Cameras
Reference Shooting Considerations
Clean Plates – Scott Squires
Alternates without Clean Plates
Monster Sticks – Scott Squires
On-Set Animation Capture: Witness Cam (IBMC) – Joel Hynek
Wireless Nonvideo Motion Capture
Factors Affecting Witness Cameras
Dealing with the Data in Post-Production
Real-Time Visual Effects and Camera Tracking – Charles Clavadetscher
“Near” Real-Time as a Step Towards “Instantaneous”
The Future for Real-Time Visual Effects
Triangulation as a Method of Recording Camera Data – Stuart Robertson
Camera/Subject Positional Information
Photographic Reference – Charles Clavadetscher
Rules, Setup, and Testing – Charles Clavadetscher
Digital Cinematography – Dave Stump ASC, Marty Ollstein, David Reisner
VFX Photography – Eric Swenson
Filming Live-Action Plates to be Used in VFX – Bill Taylor, ASC, VES
Camera Position (Station Point)
Vibration and Camera Stabilization
Shooting Elements for Compositing – Mark H. Weingartner
Generic versus Shot-Specific Elements
Assorted Methods for Shooting Elements
High-Speed Photography and Filming Elements – Jim Matlosz
Supervising Motion Control – Mark H. Weingartner
Import and Export of Camera Move Data
Types of Motion Control Systems
Acquisition of Motion/Still Photographic Textures for Mapping onto CG – Mark H. Weingartner
Motion Tiling and Synchronous Plates
Stills for Textures and Lighting
Stop-Motion – Pete Kozachik, ASC
Evolution of Stop-Motion Photography
The Time Required to Shoot in Stop-Motion
Setting Up a Shooting Space for Stop-Motion
Use of Motion Control in Stop-Motion
Use of Stop-Motion in Visual Effects
What are Miniatures? – Mathew Gratzner
What Are Miniatures and Why Are They Used?
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Miniature Effects
Design and Integration within the Film
Forced Perspective Miniatures – Dan Curry, ASC Associate Member
In-Camera Compositing of Miniatures with Full-Scale Live-Action Actors
The Fabrication of Miniature Effects – Brian Gernand
Scale and Purpose Requirements of a Miniature
Previsualization and Miniatures
Incorporation of Mechanical, Practical, and Pyrotechnic Effects with Miniatures – Ian Hunter
Fire, Explosives, and Collapsing
Shooting Locations and Conditions
Photography of Miniature Effects: Motion Control – Matthew Gratzner
What is Motion Control and What are its Benefits to Miniature Photography?
Execution and Technique Using Previs
Photography of Miniature Effects: High-Speed Photography – Ian Hunter
The Use of Miniatures in the Digital World – Ian Hunter
Special Effects for Miniatures – Clark James
Chapter 4 Performance and Motion Capture
Chapter Captains: John Root/Demian Gordon
What is Motion Capture? – John Root
Is Motion Capture Right for a Project? – John Root
Which Technology is Right for a Project? – Tracy McSherry, John Root, Ron Fischer
Gauging a Project’s Needs and Constraints
Passive Retroreflective Optical
Preparing for Motion Capture – John Root, Demian Gordon
Hardware – John Root, Andrew Smith
Software – John Root, Demian Gordon
Facial Motion Capture – John Root, Gareth Edwards, Oleg Alexander
Real-Time Motion Capture – John Root
Motion Capture Resources – John Root
Virtual Production – Bruno Sargeant, Virtual Production Committee, David Morin (Chair), John Scheele (Co-chair)
Chapter Captains: Rob Engle/Lenny Lipton
How 3D Works – Lenny Lipton
Toe-in versus Horizontal Image Translation
Positive and Negative Parallax
Stereoscopic Design – Sean MacLeod Phillips
Designing for Multiple Release Formats
Immersion-Based versus Convergence-Based Stereo
Virtual 3D Photography – Rob Engle
Virtual 3D Photography Defined
Pros and Cons of Virtual 3D Photography
Manipulating the Screen Surround
Special Cases for Virtual 3D Photography
Native 3D Photography versus 2D to 3D Conversion – Rob Engle
On-Set Stereography – Chuck Comisky
2D to 3D Conversion – Matt DeJohn, Anthony Shafer, Tony Baldridge, and Jared Sandrew
Visual Analysis of 2D Depth Cues
Pre-Production and Previs for Conversion
Main Stages of 2D-to-3D Conversion
Major 2D-to-3D Conversion Workflows
Pixel Displacement or Pixel Shifting
Other 2D-to-3D Conversion Workflows
Stereoscopic Visual Effects – Christopher Townsend
Prepping for the Third Dimension
Visual Effects in the Third Dimension
Accuracy and Attention to Detail
Stereoscopic Digital Intermediate Workflow – Jeff Olm, Brian Gaffney
Stereoscopic 3D Process Milestones
Projection Screens for Stereoscopic Viewing
RealD Mastering Considerations
Geometry and Correction of Undesirable Binocular Disparity
Stereoscopic Window – Bruce Block, Phil McNally
Placement of the Window in Relation to the 3D Scene
How to Create a Stereoscopic Window
Producing Movies in Three Dimensions – Charlotte Huggins
Development—Getting the Green Light
Production—What to Look Out For
Chapter 6 Post-Production/Image Manipulation
Chapter Captain: Marshall Krasser
Resolution and Image Format Considerations – Scott Squires
Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) – Jim Houston, Andy Maltz, Curtis Clark, ASC
Image Compression/File Formats for Post-Production – Florian Kainz, Piotr Stanczyk
4k+ Systems Theory Basics for Motion Picture Imaging – Dr. Hans Kiening
Part 1: Resolution and Sharpness
Part 2: Into the Digital Realm
Part 3: Does 4k Look Better Than 2k?
Part 4: Visual Perception Limitations for Large Screens
Film Scanning and Recording – Charles Finance
Color Management – Joseph Goldstone
Digital Color Image Encodings and Digital Cameras
Color Management at the Desktop
Bringing Color Management to Film Workflows
Digital Intermediate – Christopher Townsend
VFX Editorial – Greg Hyman, David H. Tanaka
Editing within a Shot: The Art of Pre-Compositing
Modern Day Tracking and Disseminating of Information
Editorial Workflow in Feature Animation – David H. Tanaka
Editorial Crew Staffing and Structure
Editorial Involvement with Feature Animation Production Stages
Communication with Artists – Eric Durst
Communicating with Artists in Other Departments
What Makes a Good Visual Effects Artist? – Scott Squires
The History of Compositing – Jon Alexander
The History of Optical Technique
Traveling Matte Technique and the Digital Age
Historical Notes on Blue Screen
Compositing of Live-Action Elements – Marshall Krasser, Chris Balog
Rotoscoping and Paint – Marshall Krasser, Sandy Houston
Digital Painting and Plate Reconstruction
Matte Paintings/Creative Environments – Craig Barron, Deak Ferrand, John Knoll, Robert Stromberg
Matte Paintings: Art of the Digital Realm
Matte Painting Pioneers and History
Visualizing the Matte Painting Shot in Pre-Production
On-Set Supervision for Matte Painting Shots
Basic Skills and Tricks of the Trade
Miniatures and Computer-Generated Sets
The Need for Creative Compositing
3D Matte Painting – Tim Mueller
Chapter 7 Digital Element Creation
Chapter Captain: Kevin Rafferty
Digital Modeling – Kevin Hudson
Overview: The Importance of Modeling
Modeling for a Production Pipeline
Engineering Aspects for Polygons
Rigging and Animation Rigging – Steve Preeg
Texturing and Surfacing – Ron Woodall
The Importance of Texture Painting
Types of Geometry: Their Problems and Benefits
Prepping the Model to Be Painted
Various Other Map-Driven Effects
Texture Painting in Production
Digital Hair/Fur – Armin Bruderlin, Francois Chardavoine
Digital Feathers – Armin Bruderlin, Francois Chardavoine
Similarities between Hair and Feathers
Differences between Hair and Feathers
General Geometry Instancing – Armin Bruderlin, Francois Chardavoine
Dynamics and Simulation – Judith Crow
When Is Simulation Appropriate?
Software Solutions: A Broad Overview of Current Options
Particles – Craig Zerouni
Rigid-Body Dynamics – Craig Zerouni
How Rigid-Body Dynamics Are Created
Digital Lighting – Andrew Whitehurst
Light in Reality and in Computer Graphics
Case Study of Reality Compared with Simple CG Simulation
Visual Sophistication through Texture Mapping
Physically Derived Shading Models
Goals of Lighting in Visual Effects
Work Flow for Successful Creative Digital Lighting
The Technologies of Lights in Computer Graphics
Direct Lighting: Source to Surface to Camera
Creating Light Sources from Environment Maps
Physically Plausible Rendering
Shader Basics – Derek Spears
3D Compositing – Derek Spears
Crowd Generation and Simulation Techniques – John Knoll
Animation Cycles for Replication
CG Prosthetics and Actor Enhancements – John Knoll
On-Set Tracking and Capture Considerations
3D Products, Systems, and Software – Richard Kidd
Digital Element Creation Process
Chapter Captains: Richard Winn Taylor II/Habib Zargarpour
Films versus Games – Habib Zargarpour
Cost of Iterations and Changes during Production
Transmedia Production Design Techniques
Games and Platforms – Henry LaBounta
What Are Game Engines and How Do They Function? – Matt Whiting, Jeff Lander
What Are the Production Steps in Creating a Game? – Neil Eskuri
Game Cinematic Sequences – Richard Winn Taylor II
Game Engine-Rendered NIS Scenes
The Design and Production Process
Chapter Captains: Stephan Vladimir Bugaj/Lyndon Barrois
What is an Animation Project? – Stephan Vladimir Bugaj
Full Animation versus Visual Effects
Difference Between Visual Effects and Animation – Rob Bredow
A Survey and History of Animation Techniques – Frank Gladstone
Considerations for a Full CG-Animated Feature Pipeline – Stephan Vladimir Bugaj
Managing an Animated Film – Don Hahn
Film Management and Personal Style
Building the Core Creative Team
Writing and Visual Development
The Production Process: An Animator’s Perspective – Lyndon Barrois
Working on CG-Animated Content in Live-Action Features
Character and Environment Interaction
Chapter 10 Other Workflow Considerations
Chapter Captains: Dan Novy/Stephan Vladimir Bugaj
Virtual Studio Technology – Dan Novy
Analysis of a Production Workflow – Stephan Vladimir Bugaj
Service Bureau versus In-House Requirements
Design of a Production Workflow – Dan Rosen
Deploying a Production Workflow – Stephan Vladimir Bugaj
Infrastructure – Dan Novy
Tracking Assets – Stephan Vladimir Bugaj
What Is Task and Asset Tracking?
Commercial Task and Asset Tracking Systems
Building Task and Asset Tracking Systems
Scene Assembly – Stephan Vladimir Bugaj
2D Scene Assembly (Compositing)
Working across Multiple Facilities – Scott Squires
Appendix A: Charts and Formulas
Appendix B: Credits/Titles to Be Submitted in Accordance with VES Guidelines