Category: Design for Animation, Narrative Structures and Film Language

“Lion King” (2019) was one of the first movies to involve the Virtual Reality in the process of creation, thus completely reshaping the production pipeline. It all started when the director Jon Favreau was working on the movie “The Jungle Book” in 2016, shooting of which was done in just one warehouse, with use of SimulCam, such that they could see the combination of real-life and CG characters on the screen. Taking it to the next step a set-up for working in Virtual Reality was created and implemented, such that the shooting team could see low-resolution version of the final assets and could trigger the long clips of animation on command. So, it was important for the assets to be worked on before the stage of shooting, with the details added and refined only after the scenes were shot. Those were done by MPC, working on the master scenes in London, whilst developing an “asset management system” such that the scenes could be translated into something that was compatible with Unity, the game engine.

With the use of HTC Vive headsets Jon Favreau, Caleb Deschanel and Robert Legato with other important crew members could submerge into the virtual world being able to explore it like a real set. Within the virtual world they had access to a lot of settings, such as the lighting, placement of sun, choice of sky (out of 350), position of the camera, variety of lenses.

The team would make suggestions ‘based on what they thought it was going to look like when they filmed it’, be it changing the way an animal is walking, or position of assets in the shot. Despite the expensive side of virtual reality equipment, the ability to pre-determine such key characteristics which make-up a big part of the movie all in the virtual reality meant that it would require less crew and equipment, the choice and application would be instantaneous and hence more convenient infrastructure-wise. This way it brings more flexibility to the set. But one has to still have a great sense artistically and visually wise to be able to use all the various instruments to their advantage.

MPC lead lighting artist, Samuel Maniscalco, would have to light the world according to several factors, such as time of the day, location of the scene, placement within the larger story. The lighting was determined in the Unity such that it was possible to know the direction is was falling and how it would affect the drama when it was finalised. However, the downside of the VR production is that it was only possible to see how properly it was lit later after the scene was shot. Thus, it is important for the filmmaker to understand the process in advance. Having someone as part of the filming crew who knows how to use the visual tools straightaway and be able to adjust lighting, colour and editing on the spot is a big must, as that way they could show the director immediately of what they are intending to do. Thus by the time that the film was being shot, a big digital file would be created, which would contain the performance of the characters and the settings in 360 degrees, with all the dialogue and songs pre-recorded and synced with the characters in the virtual world. The only left thing to do was to record with the virtual camera and apply the virtual lighting.

The actual shooting of the movie was held in a 25-foot-square area called the Volume. Despite it being physically restrictive, due to technological involvement, they could update the scale of their movement in regard to the scene, for example, moving a meter in real life would translate as moving two or four inside the virtual world. Using a camera or something that would represent the camera, Favreau and his crew would physically move it around the stage. The three-dimensional flight path was tracked and reflected inside the virtual world, thus enabling the team to ‘shoot’ inside Unity. Having a custom setup where it was combining the Vive with OptiTrack sensor system and US Digital encoders, the crew could use and track the conventional camera equipment, be it Steadicam stabilisers, cranes and wheeled dollies. Furthermore, those filmmaking tools could be repurposed for other uses, such as a coded pan or tilt on a dolly or head, tilt up thus lifting the camera up in the air like the arm of a Fisher dolly. A drone pilot was hired to operate a virtual quadcopter such that aerial shots could be captured in a believable manner. One of the difficulties that arises with the Virtual Reality toolset is how to make the film appear having a human touch to it, having to understand how to imitate the conventional filming if the movie was shot in real life. One of such examples was the requirement of the drone for a wide aerial shot of Zazu. Following the pre-set put virtual path an operator with great experience of drone-like movement in real life, would know how to move it, such that it felt natural for the audience eyes.

Use of the Virtual Production implied that the animation inside the master scenes were always repeatable and identical, meaning the filming crew could shoot the action as many times as they needed to. This also got rid of the need to use multiple cameras, allowing for the operator to focus on a single camera. After the shoot, the so-called “3D scene files” would get sent to MPC, where in their turn, they would translate the camerawork into a version of the movie that had final production quality, assests and animation. This was a very new workflow for the company, but it had its advantages, such as eliminating the need to track the camera as it was done already. However, this sort of production increased the amount of work done by the VFX company, as MPC did all the visual effects: animation, compositing, lighting.

Overall, “Lion King” brought new technological step and advancement in the world of cinematography. Whilst being on a more expensive side, the use of Virtual Reality has some impressive applications and brings the ability to use countless instruments, all accessible via one headset and pair of tools for the hands. Being both the advantage as well as a disadvantage it reduces the necessity for a big crew during the stage of shooting but would probably require more people from the side of post-production as well as pre-production. Nowadays, more projects are bringing the virtual reality to the production appearing more and more convenient and available for other projects.

References:

https://ascmag.com/articles/making-the-lion-king

https://www.wired.com/story/disney-new-lion-king-vr-fueled-future-cinema/

‘The Lion King’ and ‘The Mandalorian’s’ Jon Favreau is all-in on virtual production, real-time and LED walls

http://engadget.com/2019-07-29-lion-king-remake-vfx-mpc-interview.html

How Virtual Production Worked On-set of the Lion King

Gaining more and more popularity, the series game Assassin’s Creed has united people from various background over the love of both game, history, design, style and storyline, especially the last few games being set in Ancient Egypt or during the time of Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. Whatever the time period, the artists would conduct a careful and an informative research of the clothes, architecture, interior design, design of day-to-day objects and everything that would submerge the player back into the time period they are playing in.

For the Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, set during the 431-442 BCE in Ancient Greece, with the consultancy from of Dr. Stephanie-Anne Ruatta the Ubisoft team travelled to Greece to take notes, pictures and sketches of the buildings, to get to know topography, archaeological sites and to visit museums, in order to understand and collect the knowledge of the country during the period of Classical Era. Once all the information was obtained and the research conducted, the designers built the map onto which seven different biomes were successfully integrated. Examples of sub-biomes involve snow-capped mountains, marshlands, clay form and burned forests as they add visual diversity and give each region its own unique characteristic and the purpose it served at the time.

To add the details to everyday life of the people based in that time period more than 4,000 unique props were created, such as clay jars, baskets of fruit, ropes, furniture, tents, scrolls, chests. To get around the time-consuming task of placing the props around in the world, the team would build individual component that would already be populated by the props, such as table with jewellery or a basket full of fruit, which further could be mixed and matched to be placed in various sceneries. As the game is based during a war, each city state had to have its own army, which is allied with either Sparta or Athens, so attention to their uniform, weapons, philosophy and behaviour was important.

Details such as textures play a big part in design for families of assets. Each artist was in a charge of a different kit of materials using different software, making sure that their own materials were coherent with the needs of modellers. In the pipeline of the game the modellers created 3D assets, Level Artists placed those to build the world and Materials Artists who created the materials for those assets.

One of the game features that require more thought and careful attention in pre-production are the cinematic scenes which would portray interaction between the main character and historically important figure or show the dramatic event in their life that would lead to a specific outcome of their fate and where they are at right now. One of the most powerful scenes of such that I found was the flashback, when playing the role for Kassandra, of how she was thrown of a cliff by her father. As an audience we see the desperation of the mother as she is trying to stop her child getting killed, the impotence of Nicolaos, the father, as he believes in what has to be done by the placement of the camera angles and composition of the shot.

The sharp transition from him kneeling in front of the child and appearing heartbroken to taking her off the ground and holding over the cliff intensifies and highlights the change in his mood. From caring father, to the ruthless and harsh leader that he was, following the strict order of executing a punishment, the scene is only intensified by the storm that is happening on the background. All the details found in the scene remind us of the importance of gods’ presence in Greek culture: from clothes, priests, statues, to the lighting strike as Nicolaus releases his grip and lets Kassandra fall (maybe presence of Zeus, or resemblance to the god). Those are constantly present throughout the game, as they were intertwined with the societies beliefs and way of living the life at the time.

References: https://archaeogaming.com/2019/04/19/consulting-for-ubisoft-on-assassins-creed-odyssey/

https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/22vdPhUVHV68b2FEjcotkW/assassins-creed-odyssey-the-game-that-greece-built

https://80.lv/articles/001agt-material-production-for-assassins-creed-odyssey/

https://www.exp-points.com/vincent-qa

Question 1:

How does the colour scheme of the TV-show “The Umbrella Academy” develops over the 2 seasons and portrays the developing mood of the show? Developing a colour scheme for each character as well as the house, i.e. when they all come together. Specific colour grading to qualify the happiness of a memory, such as warm and golden tones for halcyon memories and colder, bluer, metallic for unhappy memories.

Question 2:

How does the effective visual and sound editing to the music playlist of the movie “Baby Driver” enhances the audiences’ ability to see the world through the main character’s eyes and perspective? How does it suit the scene and the pace at which it occurs? Choice of songs to be edited to for various heists and how they fit with the inner feel of Baby.

Question 3:

How the use of long shots, prolonging the sequence and low rhythm would be used in Stanley Kubrick’s films in order to build up the suspense? How does it help to transfer the feel of danger, terror with the use of these techniques, thus successfully fulfilling the genre of thriller and horror?

Question 4:

The use of camera movement and visual flow in the movie “La-La-Land” to create the feel of theatrical piece shown on a screen. Various techniques and ways to move the camera around in order to tell the story physically and interactively. How does the magic feel of the movie is shown through the rhythm of camera?

Question 5:

Lighting in the “Dark Knight” movie to highlight and translate drama and mystery onto the scene. Use of low-key lighting to intensify the danger that Batman brings, such as bringing the eye attention to weapons or muscularity of the body, which shows his strength, stealth and ability to be threatening.

My current interest is heavily based around photography, specifically in landscape, architecture and people. Last year, I started putting up my work on an Instagram page @inspire_di, few of which you can see here:

As a videographer, my passion is in capturing the real life style videos such as travelling or holidays. So for the past few years I would film and edit a lot of family and friends movies about day-to-day life situations, travel vlogs or some sort of celebration. My current project on the side, which pushed me a lot creatively as an editor, is a movie about my dad’s last year birthday celebration. Whilst having the feel and aesthetic of taking the audience on the journey with me in the video, I was also inspired by Peter McKinnon style of capturing B-Roll in between those scenes.

Having a chance to complete an internship in a Visual Effects company, I got introduced to the world of VFX. Practicing the skills as a compositor and trying to achieve that feel of realistic and organic involvement of a CGI element in the scene or even small adjustments to the shot, inspired and motivated me to pursue the current Masters. I want to further develop the skills and get a better base around them as well as see what other possible roles and practical skills I could be pursuing in the sphere.

I am interested in the research area of applied technology in the world of VFX and how with the new challenges arisen it pushed the sphere to develop techniques and come up with the solutions to the problems created by specifics of the movie. I also want to develop further my skills in rotoscoping, chroma-keying, 2D and 3D tracking as well as grasp the understanding of 3D modelling and push myself as a 2D artist.