The camera always lies
The Fades Effects Case Study CLICK ME
From concept to reality... With “doable” ideas fleshed out and penned into the story, it was time to start planning key shots, sequences and budgets. The tools available to us were: Story Boards, Pre-visualisation (CGI), Workshop tests, Visual effects / Camera tests. Story boards were used in the traditional way, but also allowed the production to cull unnecessary shots. This was very important for the VFX slate, as time and money was limited in post-production. When necessary, we expanded the boards by creating pre-viz animation. This helped, all teams involved, accurately judge what would be needed to accomplish the sequence. We also ran many VFX and SFX tests, proving many of the concepts before they went into a final build. These images depict examples of the core tools we used and some of there results.
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The light chests were a key, reoccurring effect that we developed from the pilot. These images show the early tests and the rig itself. Each artist wore the chest with accompanying power supply. The chests were fully controllable and remotely operated.
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Early tests for other key effects. From top to bottom: this image is a CGI particle test, used for growing blossom. Below is one of several variations of Gold Air; an early concept for the angelics, whereby they emit a form of energy from their mouths. The final image is a simple hand glow. We developed this effect by building a small light rig that the artist could were on their wrists.
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Storyboards were very important. It allowed everyone to visually grasp the big sequences. In some cases it allowed the team to condense and economise the shots to an achievable level. Please click each board image to show the final shot.
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The wings sequence required considerable design and thought. From left to right: A very sophisticated CGI wing was developed and built over several weeks. The second image is a frame from the pre-viz we created for spatial and design purposes. The final images show an early stage of the animatronic wing rig we built for physical integration. This rig would connect the physical with the digital by moving the bed sheets and knocking over the bedside items. Click the image on page 3 to see the final shot.