The Practicalities of Green Screen 2

It’s surprising how many films and TV shows use green screen to create set extensions. Some like Game of Thrones, The Hobbit and World War Z are more obvious productions in which green screen is used to add effects of explosions or distant landscape. Others like The Wolf of Wall Street,where the locations are more achievable using actual locations still use green screen in a studio. I’m not entirely sure whether I’m amazed at how real they look or whether I’m shocked at the lack of in camera effects/location work but it shows what can be done entirely on computer. Given the video that I watched from the making of Titanic in an earlier post, you can speculate that the CGI choices are made based on the cost of building a set or flying cast and crew out to appropriate locations or the preference of the Director.

This is a selection of pictures that demonstrate green screen usage.

The Wolf of Wall Street

 

The Great Gatsby

Game of Thrones

World War Z

Boardwalk Empire

The Avengers

The Hobbit

The Lord of The Rings

All available at  http://ubertoday.com/before-and-after-photos-show-how-misleading-visual-effects-can-be-in-our-favorite-movies/ [sourced on 12/07/14]

The choice of location is important for some of these productions but maybe less so for others as entire backgrounds, buildings, even windows appear to be  digitally added.  But whether there is a small amount of set build or location used, decisions are made creatively, even down to the choice of floor or lighting in The Wolf of Wall Street image that is filmed in a studio. The production designer will have to be involved in this decision-making at some point in the creative process. The use of CGI can mean more time for the production designer to oversee other aspects or so that streets don’t have to be closed. More often that not, budget controls the choice of set/CGI etc as does the script or the type of film.

I’m taking the route of “as much in camera as possible”. The street alteration that I’m designing is perfectly achievable in an actual location using set dressing with CGI doing the job it was intended for, visual effects; that of extending a location which would be difficult to achieve purely on location given the story is set  50 years in the future . CGI is a tool that can enhance a scene, make it possible to suspend belief for those few moments rather than be imposing, obvious and synthetic. Some of the films work better than others. Personally  I thought The Lord of The Rings worked better than the Hobbit; The Lord of The Rings films appearing much more organic on-screen and real.

 

References:-

Before And After Photos Show How Misleading Visual Effects Can Be In Our Favorite Movies. Available at http://ubertoday.com/before-and-after-photos-show-how-misleading-visual-effects-can-be-in-our-favorite-movies/ [sourced online on 12/7/14]

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Street Location Alteration 2: Matte CGI background

Before placing all the visual and set dressing elements into the street scene I need to portray what the overall look of the CGI back ground and sky will look like. It is night-time but there has to be some light. As there is a fair bit of pollution I’m going with an orange green cast to start with. This can be altered at a later stage.

This is a white matte to make the layering easier. Below shows the sky and the start of the background, along with a building design that is partly influenced by my interiors, partly by a gothic/art deco combination.

     

The image above was created by altering a pen design that I found.  I then changed the sizes, inverted them to create a collection of buildings. This will sit at the back of the scene as a CGI matte painting. There will also be an addition of a CGI burnt out building using the existing high-rise block of flats.

 

With the background near completion I can now add in some of the design elements to the foreground.

The next phase will include altering shop and street signs where necessary and adding in some rubbish, broken glass, maybe a burnt out car etc.

 

London Locations 1: Set dressing, CGI and inspiration

This last weekend I visited London to source some potential locations that could be adapted for the story. Because the story and city are so vast it will probably take more than one trip to find everything that’s suitable and to finalise measurements and logistics of filming. I have a handful of good locations but I’m not altogether happy with the suitability until I have a go at some concept work first.

The first two locations are the tube station entrance with a small high street and a park. Whether building a shallow pond would be preferable to finding a park with a pond remains to be seen. The pond would only need to have enough water to show part submerged shopping trollies which could be cut to fit a shallow water, so to have the appearance of a deeper pond. One side could also be green screened to allow a CGI overpass in the distance. The amount of trees could cause a problem, so I will keep looking for another park that might be more suitable. The street around Shadwell is a smaller high street that potentially could be closed rather than a larger street that might prove to be more of an upheaval for local residents and shops. It could also be quieter in the Docklands area at the weekend.