Post Production and CGI

To work towards my final designs and to have a clearer idea of what is done by the Production Designer  I have to look at what happens in the post-production stage. Post production can be in the form of anything from sound and editing through to visual effects and CGI. For the purpose of my project question I will concentrate on visual design that is closely linked to the role of the production designer and see how they are related and whether they are only involved in the later stages of design or if there is a crossover?

I recently started following some of the post production companies on the internet as I found that many of the books I was reading contained plenty of information about special effects over the last few years but little about what’s happening now. It seems that this is one of the areas of the industry that is constantly evolving and adapting new software, so inevitably books are not up to date with some of the information. Instead I am researching the companies that do the work, various articles about technological advancements and looking at the films that are produced.

Two companies that do post production design work are Framestore and Boogie Studio.

Framestore image from World War Z found at http://www.framestore.com/work/world-war-z [sourced on 24/04/14]

Boogie Studio had a great visual on their blog site that represented the post production stage of film making and how all the parts i.e. sound, editing, VFX, etc fit together.

Image from http://www.boogiestudio.com/blog/2011/07/13/what-is-post-production-the-three-stages-of-post/?lang=en [sourced on 22/4/2014]

The three stages of post production are:-

– Editing
– Audio Post (includes dialogue, music, sound effects)
– VfX (Visual Effects)

The effects side of the process includes:-

Colour Timing:- Photo chemical process of colour correction.

Visual Effects (VFX)
“Although most visual effects work is completed during post-production, it usually must be carefully planned and choreographed in pre-production and production. Visual effects are designed and edited in Post-Production, with the use of graphic design, modeling, animation and similar software. A visual effects supervisor is usually involved with the production from an early stage to work closely with production and the film’s director to achieve the desired effects.” (MORIN, D.A., 2011)

The VFX team also do.

Matte painting:- painting usually of a location which is then combined with live action, sets or models to produce a composite. Traditionally this was painted onto large glass sheets, today it’s done digitally on a computer.
Digital Animation
Digital Effects
Color Correction/or grading:- This is an alteration or enhancement done by either a chemical, electronic or digital process. See Colour Timing.

Composite:- An image made up of a combination of two or more elements that are filmed at different times or places. This can be done by a in-camera technique or today using digital software

 CGI:- 2D and 3D images produced entirely by computer software

The visual team at Boogie Studios produce:-

Pre-production: 3D pre-visualization
Pre-production: Stereoscopic consultation
Pre-production: Script & VFX Breakdown
Live action production & special shoot: Onset visual effects supervision
Live action production, 3D production & Post-Production: 3D Stereography
3D animation production: 3D model pack, FX & 3D animation production
Editing & Finishing: Online Smoke editing & conform
Editing & Finishing: Color grading suite
Effects & Compositing: Motion design for film and television productions
Effects & Compositing: Nuke Compositing

References:-

Visuals and information:-

MORIN D.A.(2011) What is Post Production? The Third Stage of Production. [Online] Available at http://www.boogiestudio.com/blog/2011/07/13/what-is-post-production-the-three-stages-of-post/?lang=en%5Bsourced on 22/4/2014]

Framestore website image from World War Z found at http://www.framestore.com/work/world-war-z [sourced on 24/04/14]

RICKITT, R., (2000) Special Effects: The history and technique. London: Virgin Publishing Ltd.

Other sources of information and reading:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_grading [sourced on 24/4/14]

http://www.framestore.com/ [sourced on 24/4/14]

http://framestoredigital.com [sourced on 24/4/14]

http://www.boogiestudio.com [sourced on 22/4/14]

 

 

 

 

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