VFX AND VIRTUAL PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
OLD WORKFLOW
WITHIN THE VIRTUAL PRODUCTION BOOM OF THE 2020-2022, A WORKFLOW BASED ON A BUSINESS MODEL WAS STABLISHED AS DEFAULT, WHERE VIRTUAL PRODUCTION SERVICES WERE MAINLY LED BY TECHNOLOGICAL PROVIDERS,. DESPITE THE CONCERNS OF REAL-TIME ARTISTS ABOUT THE UNSUSTAINABILITY OF THAT MODEL, THE METHOD WAS ADOPTED BY ALL PRODUCTION COMPANIES LEADING TO THE UNFORTUNATE BUT EXPECTED MASS DISSATISFACTION OF DIRECTORS AND PRODUCERS THAT TOOK THEM AWAY FROM RELYING ON VIRTUAL PRODUCTION SERVICES ANYMORE THUS ENDING IN THE WORLD’S MASSIVE VOLUME SHUT DOWN STARTING IN THE BEGINNINGS OF 2023 (LONG BEFORE THE STRIKES)
OLD WORKFLOW / CONSEQUENCES
CONTENT ON THE WALL LOOKING LIKE A VIDEOGAME, HAVING TO REPLACE THE WALL ON POST PRODUCTION WHEN FINALIZING ON THE WALL WAS BID
ICVFX BEING EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE IN RELATION TO THE “TOOL THAT CUT DOWNS COSTS” THAT IT WAS PROMISED
SHOOTING DAYS ON THE VOLUME BEING TOO CHAOTIC, MAKING HODS POWERLESS TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEMATICS ON SET OR TO FIND WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR
THE ISSUE IS NOT VIRTUAL PRODUCTION, BUT HOW VIRTUAL PRODUCTION IS MANAGED
VAD
Under VIRTUAL ART DIRECTOR
Creative choices under Director, VFX supervisor, DOP and Production Designer
No on-set experience
Generally previs or game industry background
CONTENT GAP
Unreal Engine Content Creation
Kitbashing of market places assets or scans
CREATIVE ONLY / PRE-PRODUCTION
ON-SET
Under VIRTUAL PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
Brain Bar
Limited VFX and CGI Experience
Not enough freedom to make changes
Unreal knowledge limited to wall operation
TECHNICAL ONLY / PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY
NO INTEGRATED WORK - CONTENT JUST GETS PASSED ON
DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE TECHNICAL BUSINESS MODEL, CONTENT BECAME A NEED OF LESSER IMPORTANCE FOR WHICH ANOTHER FIRM WAS HIRED TO DEVELOP IT. THE RESULT IS A CONTENT CREATION WORKFLOW DEAD IN BETWEEN. CONTENT WORKFLOW IS HALTED MIDWAYS BEFORE GOING INTO THE LED STAGE, WHEN CONTENT SHOULD GET FINALIZED ON CAMERA ON THE DAY OF SHOOTING. EVEN WHEN AN ARTIST IS BROUGHT ON SET SHE/HE DOESN’T HAVE THE PERMISSION TO DECIDE WHAT IS BEST FOR THE CONTENT DUE TO ROLES HIERARCHY AND/OR DUE TO THE FACT HIS/HER KNOWLEDGE LACKS ON-SET EXPERIENCE. EVEN IN VFX HOUSES WHERE THEY COVER BOTH VAD AND ON-SET, THEY STILL MISS AN INTEGRATED WORKFLOW AS THERE IS NO VIRTUAL PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR NOR TEAM THAT CAN GUARANTEE A MORE ORGANIC WORKFLOW. THE CONTENT IS NEVER DONE PROPERLY TO BE USABLE AS FINAL PIXEL AND THE ONES RECEIVING IT (THE TECHNICAL TEAM ON-SET) HAVE NO BACKGROUND ON HOW THE SCENES WERE MADE NOR THEY HAVE THE CREATIVE SKILLS TO CORRECT IT . WE ARRIVE THEN INTO A CONTENT GAP WHERE CONTENT IS HANDLED BY TWO VERY DIFFERENT TEAMS, EACH HAVING ONLY A PART OF THE KNOWLEDGE NEEDED TO CREATE THE CONTENT
PRE-PRODUCTION
LAYOUT
SET DRESS
LIGHTING ENHACMENT
CONTENT READECUATION TO WALL AND CAMERA
SET AND LIGHTING BLEND
CONTENT RELIGHT PER SHOT
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY
CONTENT CREATION DOES NOT GET FINISHED
IN THE NEW VIRTUAL PRODUCTION WORKFLOW, CONTENT IS DONE AND OPERATED BY THE VERY SAME TEAM UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF AN INTEGRAL VIRTUAL PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR COVERING BOTH THE CREATIVE AND TECHNICAL
TRADITIONAL ROLES
ONE OF THE REASONS NO INTEGRAL SUPERVISION IS FOUND IN THE OLD WORKFLOW IS BECAUSE THE CONTENT CREATION IS MEANT TO BE LED BY THE TRADITIONAL FILM HODS THAT REMAIN CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT THE PRODUCTION: DOP, PRODUCTION DESIGNER AND VFX SUPERVISOR. HOWEVER, EVEN THOUGH VIRTUAL PRODUCTION TRIED TO ADAPT ITSELF TO TRADITION, EXPERIENCE TELLS US THAT TRADITION IS IN NEED OF AN UPDATE. THIS PROBLEM DID EXIST BEFORE IN TRADITIONAL VFX WITHIN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DOP AND VFX SUPERVISOR IN REGARDS TO LIGHTING, BUT THIS RELATIONSHIP ISSUE WAS NEVER EXPERIENCED BECAUSE THEY EXISTED IN TWO DIFFERENT STAGES: PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND POST-PRODUCTION. BUT NOW VIRTUAL PRODUCTION PUTS THE ISSUE INTO EVIDENCE.
TRADITIONAL VFX
DOP
VFX SUPERVISOR
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Bluescreen: Fully in charge of lighting
Bluescreen: Checks bluespill is diminished
POST-PRODUCTION
CGI shot: Barely comments on the end results or suggests direction
CGI: Grabs complete control of the lighting of the shot, changing even the lighting of the DOP
VIRTUAL PRODUCTION
(ICVFX)
DOP
VFX SUPERVISOR
PRE-PRODUCTION
Directs CGI lighting
Tries to adapt DOP's intentions to the best of her/his abilities
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Directs CGI Lighting
Tries to adapt DOP's intentions to the best of her/his abilities
DUE TO DIFFERENCES IN NATURE, IT IS HARD FOR A DOP TO DIRECT CGI LIGHTING AS REAL LIGHTING IS DIFFERENT THAT CGI LIGHTING
Traditional Cinematography
Given reality
CGI Lighting
Simulated reality
LIGHTING FOR CGI IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM TRADITIONAL LIGHTING FOR FILMS, THEREFORE SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED TO MAKE IT WORK, THE PROCESS OF SIMULATING REALITY, IN CGI, IS AN ITERATION-METHOD WHERE LIGHTING LAYOUT IS ESSENTIAL. THE DEPENDENCY ON SHADERS (HOW SURFACES REACT TO LIGHTING), MAKES IT ESSENTIAL TO REACH PHOTOREALISM. IN CGI, ART DIRECTION AND LIGHTING ARE TWO INTERCONNECTED SIDES OF A SAME COIN THAT CANNOT BE SPLIT IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AS HAPPENS WITH THE TRADITIONAL ART AND LIGHTING DEPARTMENT. VIRTUAL PRODUCTION PUTS CGI IN THE HANDS OF A DEPARTMENT WHERE IT SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN.
THE SAME ISSUE HAPPENS IN REGARDS TO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE VFX SUPERVISOR AND THE VIRTUAL PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR AS THEIR MATERIAL ARE OF DIFFERENT NATURE AND THUS DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED
IN ORDER TO FIX THIS, THE NEW WORKFLOW PROPOSES AN ORGANIC COLLABORATIVE WORKING DYNAMIC, WHILE GIVING VIRTUAL PRODUCTION AUTONOMY AS DEPARTMENT
BIDDING AND PRODUCTION ISSUES
NO VIRTUAL PRODUCTION BIDDING EXPERIENCE
BIG BIDDINGS ARE MADE BY BIG VFX VENDOR HOUSES WHO ADOPTED VIRTUAL PRODUCTION AS A SECONDARY SERVICE, NOT FULLY UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS AND PROCESS OF VIRTUAL PRODUCTION. THIS ENDS UP ON SETTING FALSE EXPECTATIONS ON CLIENTS THAT ARE THEREFORE NOT MET
INACCURATE EXPECTATIONS AND FALSE PROMISES
PUT IN RISK FILM BUDGET AND REALEASE SCHEDULE
THE LACK OF STANDARDIZATION OF VIRTUAL PRODUCTION MAKES IT HARD FOR STUDIOS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TO EXPECT ON THE WORKFLOW, THUS AWARDING PROJECTS TO VENDORS WHO PROMISES FINAL PIXEL QUALITY WITH LITTLE PRE-PRODUCTION TIME, THUS CREATING A BID FOR CONTENT FINALIZATION DURING PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY WHICH IS THEN NOT A REALITY FORCING STUDIOS TO INCREMENT THE BUDGET ALLOCATION TO REMAKE THE CONTENT IN POST-PRODUCTION AND WORSE, HAVING TO BATTLE WITH A POST-PRODUCTION AND RELEASE SCHEDULE THAT WAS DESIGNED TO BE FINAL VFX DURING SHOOTING THAT DID NOT HAPPEN
THE NEW WORKFLOW ADOPTS A 3 TIERS WORKFLOW TYPE TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR CLIENTS AND STUDIOS TO PROPERLY BUDGET AND SCHEDULE FOR ICVFX
