GameDev VFX: Features of the effects artist's work. VFX specialists perceive the world around them differently

It's a very sad situation for 3D artists right now. It came to the attention of VFX artists during the Academy Awards, where Life of Pi won highest award for special effects in the film, and those who did these special effects were left without salaries.

And although this situation has two sides, one side is not better than the other.

Yes, on the one hand, it seems that if foreign monsters of the VFX industry go bankrupt, then our studios (and Ukrainian studios are almost on par with Indian or Chinese ones in terms of the cheapness of the product) have a chance to take their orders. But on the other hand, there is no joy from this! Absolutely! Because foreign film studios set strict conditions (both in terms of money and deadlines, and in terms of the quality of the result). Therefore, work may appear, but it is really slave labor.

When I was there and listened to reports from studios that were working on foreign projects, approximately the same phrase always sounded: “.. the budget was very small, and the deadlines were incredibly tight, so only our Russian ingenuity made it possible to deliver Hollywood quality in such a time frame and for such a pittance...” And then, after a few seconds, another phrase: “..but we know that if we show what we are capable of, we will receive more orders and fully enter the American market..”. Think about it! Horrible! It sounds like Scott Ross' line from: "I'll work 16 hours a day and you won't have to pay me anything, because I'm working on Star Wars, damn it!"

I've been working for myself for quite some time now. My wife also works for herself. Therefore, I know from my own experience that once you have done work for a customer for cheap, you will NEVER be able to raise the cost bar!

Price competition is negative competition. This means that if you lower your price, your competitors will also lower their price (at least to your level). You will have to lower the price again. And so on until you and your competitors work for free.

It's like that joke:

Godfather, let's bet you $100 that I'll eat a spoonful of shit?
- Why, we argue! - says another godfather.
The godfather ate a spoonful of shit, and the other one gave him $100. But another felt sorry for $100 and he also said:
- I bet, godfather, I’ll also eat a spoonful of shit for $100?
- Why, let's argue! - says the first godfather.
The second godfather also ate a spoonful of shit. The first one returned him $100. The two of them stand and one says:
- Don’t you think, godfather, that we got drunk on a ball of shit?

This is the true nature of price competition.

Moreover, don’t think that since animation studios are going bankrupt, this won’t affect us, ordinary Tri-Deshniks. No! Will affect! It's been affecting me for a long time!

Look, for example, at the animators with (fast forward to the 5th minute 40th second):

Yes, it is possible that it was in the video above that there was banter, but on real projects this happens all the time. People actually work 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for weeks and sometimes months!

Why say “people”, I worked like that myself. Working seven days a week is the norm. And sometimes I had to work for three days in a row without sleep. This is crazy!

Even if you subscribe to the "But I'm working on The Hobbit" religion, keep in mind that only 10% of the VFX people who actually worked on the film appear in the credits. Those. Simply put, you won’t even be able to boast to your family that you are in the Hobbit credits.

Let me summarize. The film studio puts pressure on the animation studio, the animation studio puts pressure on its employees. As a result, if an animation studio refuses to work or asks more money and time at the film studio, then the film studio simply blacklists the animation studio and then damn it will receive orders. And there are only six film studios in the world...

If an employee tries to ask for payment for overtime (overtime), then it is more profitable for the animation studio to fire him and hire another slave in his place, since no one will receive money from the film studio for overtime.

Okay, my introduction has taken a while.

What to do?

If you are contacted first customer - this means that your level of work is worthy of being paid for. If so, then I suggest set a minimum hourly wage for your work as a 3D artist, $5 per hour. If you calculate the monthly salary (salary), then the calculation is $5 * 8 hours a day * 22 working days = $880 per month. But since this is a guaranteed salary, and not unreliable freelancing (when there are orders, then they are not there), I suggest accepting the minimum salary for a trideshnik is $750 per month.

And it doesn’t matter who the customer is. This could be a company where your sister recommended you. This could be an ignorant customer who thinks that 3D is cheap. This could be an experienced customer who knows that 3D is expensive, but also knows that you can find a schoolchild/student who will do the work for a review.

It also doesn't matter what order it is. This could be a rendering of a sign, quickly and cheaply. This could be a visualization of a house or room. This could be a 3D logo animation. This could be modeling a stool...

Your 3D experience doesn't matter either. Maybe you only opened 3ds Max the day before yesterday. Maybe you spent the entire summer stuck in Maya. Maybe you spent a month sculpting sculptures in ZBrush.

None of this really matters! Only one thing is important - Your first customer contacts you and asks how much it will cost make something like this. And since he asks this, it means for some reason the customer thinks that your result will suit him. And this is the most important thing!

Now there are two important steps on your part:

1. You must understand that an hour of your time cannot cost less than five US dollars ($5). And your salary cannot be less than $750.
2. You must tell everyone you can about this, so that not only you, but also any other trideshnik can act in the same way. Repost this article on your blogs, in social networks, on forums, etc.

Why will this work?

I decided that I needed to start with the minimum wage. I simply did not reinvent the wheel and went along the supposedly beaten path. After all, in our state there are such concepts as the minimum living wage and the minimum wage. Then why not create a minimum rate for trideshniks.

This will work for two reasons:

1. Small customers simply will not be able to find cheap performers, since any clever man before naming the price for his first order, he will go to the Internet with the request “salary of a trideshnik”. As a result, he will come across either this article or your repost. I am sure you will have the courage to name this minimum amount to the customer.
2. Animation studios will formulate budgets based on new realities. If the minimum salary that yesterday's students/schoolchildren will ask for is $750, then tri-desk students with minimal experience will ask for even more. And what can we say about the pros?

What will happen?

Roughly speaking, 3D artists and 3D technicians will be respected as expensive specialists. It means that favorite hobby, will bring not only pleasure, but also money.

By the way, if you think that going abroad will change your situation (USA, Germany, England, New Zealand, Canada), then you must consider one fact. In the contract of those people who go to work abroad, it is often stated in plain text that they have a 100 (one hundred!) hour working week. This is 7 days a week, 14 hours of work a day!

How to do?

Write (namely write) a detailed work plan. Using this plan, you estimate how long you think this work will take or ask the search engine about it. Add here the time for rendering (if needed). Add here the time for correspondence with the customer. Safely multiply the resulting hours by two. The total hours are multiplied by $5. Tell the customer the amount.

The most important thing that you must understand here is that the resulting hours (for example, 13 hours) do not mean at all that the work will take almost two days (8 hours each). No. You must tell the customer the following phrase: “Due to part-time work, this work will take 3-4 days.” But you set the cost not as for 4 days, but as for the time that you calculated.

This way you will have some time to spare if you miscalculate. You will also have the opportunity to surprise the customer with faster execution if you get it done earlier. Or you can spend extra time not Just get the job done and gorgeous get the job done. After all, you must understand that each of your work should be included in your portfolio and that you should not be ashamed to put it there.

After all, when placing an order for this customer, you create a result that will attract next customer.

What not to do.

If you are already working on a project, then you should not immediately run to your boss and say “I want more money because I saw this article.” This is not a reason to increase your salary. When you were hired, you announced your price yourself. Nobody cares about your language Then didn't pull.

It’s another matter when you have worked for 9 months - this is the generally accepted period for reviewing wages. Also, your incredible progress as a specialist or the start of a new project may be a reason for revising your salary.

Scary?

Yes, scary! A whole bunch of doubts at once:

1. What if he says that this is too much?
2. What if he finds someone cheaper?
3. What if he says that he needs it faster?

I'll try to dispel these doubts:

It's cool to live in times like these.

It’s cool to live in such a time and be involved in something great and important!

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Visual effects and computer graphics have become an integral part of our lives. Today anyone can study the mysterious and Magic world post-production and become an expert in this field. The tips below will help you level up your VFX and CGI knowledge.

This is fairly obvious advice, but beginners very often ignore it. The habit of looking and analyzing should become part of the work process or training. After watching a film with cool visual effects, watch it again, but not as a viewer, but as a specialist. Try to find mistakes and problems, there are actually a lot of them. Analyze how the frame was created, how it was lit, and why it was done that way.

Copy

Try to repeat frames from your favorite films or videos. Of course, a cool team of artists worked on creating one cool shot. But I am sure that most of the shots can be recreated with a minimum budget. The task is to create something similar with a minimum budget and maximum quality. Remember, you are doing this in your own best interest. professional development. As a result, these works will fit perfectly into the portfolio, and they can be published on behance.

Who am I?

When you watch Hollywood's acclaimed CGI blockbuster, remember that a team of professionals worked on every frame. Each team member did one highly specialized job. One group modeled while another lit the models, some painted the environments, some animated the characters, and some did the compositing, blurring the line between reality and the CG world. If everyone did everything, the result would be disastrous.

Therefore, it is important to decide what your soul is about. What are you willing to do for 10-12 hours a day without regretting a single second spent on work? You can choose several directions for yourself, but it is important to highlight the primary ones and, if possible, tighten up the rest.

Learn the Basics

Being a highly specialized expert is important, but you need to understand the entire process of creating a visual piece. If your job is to rig characters, then you need to understand and know how those characters were modeled, how best to light them, and how they will be composed with the footage. Basic knowledge in each of these areas will give you a huge boost to development.

Chat and meet experts

Go to CG and film related events. Of course, there are very few of them in the CIS, but when they happen, real visual effects sharks gather there.

It's never too late to learn or how to save a few years

A few years ago, it was believed that only a select few could become a VFX artist. In fact, that's how it was. Only the most diligent and persistent could find the valuable information they needed and spend hours studying programs through trial and error. Now everything is exactly the opposite. There is so much information that you could spend your entire life watching tutorials alone. But you won't get that far.

The only one the right way There will be training from professionals. Only under the supervision of a master will a student conquer the heights of the CGI industry.

The only question is where to go to study?

There is only one answer here - to the best masters of your business. For example, take studio courses TerminalFX, just look at them portfolio to understand how cool the teachers work there.
The money spent on training will pay off tens, if not thousands of times. Sphere computer graphics It is just gaining momentum and specialists are always needed here.

Well, for inspiration, a selection of cool showreels and breakdowns. I really hope to one day see your work in the showreels of these cool studios:

What do effects artists do in the gaming industry? What skills do you need to improve and where to look for inspiration? And finally, the most important thing - how to get into the profession (spoiler: it's easier than it seems)? These and other questions were answered by Anton Gritsai, Sub Lead VFX Artist of the Krasnodar studio Plarium.

- Anton, tell us about the specifics of the work of a VFX artist. What place does it occupy in game creation?

In my opinion, a VFX artist is a great finalizer. He creates the final image and completes the work, which has gone from concept to modeling and animation. VFX specialists last place in the pipeline, but perhaps one of the first in importance. All because in modern games effects are used not only as decoration, but also as an interactive marker that affects gameplay. For example, an effect signals that something is about to happen, and the player must have time to react to such an event.

- What are the main tasks facing a VFX specialist?

There are two of them: creating visual effects according to the style of the project and optimizing effects for devices. The second task is justified by technical limitations dictated by a wide range of mobile devices.

- How does the work of a Real-Time VFX Artist differ from the work of a film effects artist?

These two specialists are often confused. At first glance, they achieve similar results: something glows, moves and explodes. But there is a difference, and sometimes a significant one. Key Difference when working on game effects - response speed. Real-Time VFX Artist controls every aspect of the effect in real time and instantly tracks changes, allowing you to learn from mistakes faster. But the Cinematic VFX artist has to wait an hour or two for the render to see the result and make adjustments. Another significant difference is that real-time effects need to be optimized for the devices on which the game runs. The weaker the device, the more difficult it is to create a beautiful, fast-working effect. For mobile games, technical limitations are almost of paramount importance.

- How does a VFX artist interact with other game industry specialists?

As a rule, work issues are discussed with employees of the 3D modeling, animation, and sometimes texturing departments. But VFX specialists interact most closely with programmers, including those who deal only with graphics - Graphic Dev. Together we solve non-standard problems on current projects and build the most ambitious plans for the future.

- What skills does a VFX artist need?

The basis of any effect is the design of 3D objects, so the VFX artist needs experience in classical and procedural modeling. A 3D object displays texture - this is where artistic skills and knowledge of graphics packages such as Adobe Photoshop or Substance Designer. In order for the textures to come to life and begin to move, you need to know the principle of how shaders work, be able to create them, which means you will need skills in programming and modular prototyping. In addition, an important component of effects is dynamics, and to create it you need to understand animation. And of course, you need to know the development environment, in my case it is Unity 3D.

Another useful skill will be flexibility, since the developer’s tools are updated and modified from year to year.

Also, to create high-quality effects, a VFX specialist must have a broad outlook. This can be intimidating for young artists. Starting from scratch is difficult: you need to have basic skills in at least several areas and continue to develop. Experts in everything are a rarity. Everyone has weaknesses and strengths, so learn to work as a team, complementing each other. This has a positive effect on the development of professional and personal qualities of specialists.

- Skills are important, but in this creative profession inspiration is still needed. Where to look for it?

A characteristic feature of a VFX artist is observation. You need to be attentive to details, interested in little things, and then you will be able to look at the world in a new way. I consider having your own visual library to be one of the principles of success. It’s good to regularly replenish it, for example, by watching movies, focusing on special effects and action scenes. It’s also useful to look at the effects in games of any platform: from mobile to console. You should play more often and focus on successful projects.

As for my personal inspirations, I really love the web series The Slow Mo Guys. In slow-motion videos, we can see in more detail the dynamics of real physical processes in order to try to translate what we see into the language of effects.

- Are there many VFX artists on the Russian labor market?

There are not enough specialists. Professionals have found work a long time ago, and only compelling reasons can force them to change companies. The root of the problem lies in the shortage of young VFX artists. This may be due to the lack of good training programs.

- What does it take to become a VFX artist?

I think it's enough to love visual effects so much that you wake up one morning and say to yourself, “I want to learn how to do them.” This applies to both those who have artistic taste, and those who have excellent technical potential.

There are many entry points into the profession, and everyone chooses their own path. The main thing is to keep in mind that in the end you will have to strive for the harmonious development of all necessary skills. Some people purposefully prepare to become a VFX artist, while others become one by accident and devote their entire lives to this work. In my case, it was a unique experience: since childhood, I loved drawing and never stopped practicing, and while studying to become a specialist in computer systems and networks, I managed to combine technical knowledge with artistic skills, and I realized myself as a Flash specialist. After completing a number of freelance projects (mostly small orders and mini-games), I felt that for a real breakthrough I needed a launch pad with a team of like-minded people. In those days, a little-known company with a small staff, Plarium, became a treasured place where I found true friends and truly opened up. I wish everyone who reads this article to go to the end and believe in their dream.

- Do they teach the profession of VFX artist in Russia?

Unfortunately, in Russia little attention is paid to training VFX artists. Of course, it would be useful to master such a relevant specialty at universities, and we are talking specifically about creating effects for mobile games. Plarium understands the current situation well, so the company plans to contribute to the popularization of this area.

- Tell us about your career at Plarium: what are the requirements for VFX artists?

Requirements for professional skills and personal qualities. Sometimes how well a person suits our team as a person becomes a good reason to approve a candidate. We will train a specialist below the required level on site, this is a fixable matter. And to maintain the positive atmosphere in the team that was formed long years, is possible only by hiring a person whose values ​​correspond cultural values companies.

- What tasks await candidates?

Here is a list of categories of effects that specialists from the Krasnodar studio Plarium are working on:
- Character Effects (effects for characters and mobs);
- Spells/Abilities Effects (effects for strikes, spells, explosions, etc.);
- Environmental Effects (effects for the environment, effects for the background);
- UI Effects (effects for the user interface).

Most often, the work involves creating effects for mobs, bosses, secondary and main characters. Their features can be enhanced by effects such as glow, fire and others. Typically, each character has unique spell and physical effects. For locations, they also come up with characteristic effects that complement and sometimes enhance the atmosphere of the place. For example, the land of volcanoes cannot do without sparks and streams of exploding lava, and a picturesque area with plants cannot do without falling leaves and waterfalls.

Now about the UI. The interface is an integral part of any game, and effects are needed here too. Some are responsible for usability or game mechanics, others decide on the design and style of the project. There are practically no identical tasks, and every day a specialist faces new challenges.

- What opportunities for development are there at Plarium Krasnodar?

The company sends employees to trainings and conferences in other cities and pays for online courses. Here they encourage healthy image life, organize team building activities and maintain a favorable climate for fruitful work. I’m ready to say with confidence: Plarium is the place where the boring phrase “Everything is in your hands” truly takes on meaning.

Start your career as a VFX artist

Do you want to create visual effects for mobile games? Plarium Krasnodar studio is looking for employees! We are waiting for your resume by email: [email protected].

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In this article I would like to convey to the broad masses of the game development community some features of working on special effects. The topic is undeservedly ignored and there is very little information on it. Hence the often incorrect understanding of the specifics of this specialty of artists. Although there are effects in one form or another in every project.

• What is more difficult to do?

I often come across the opinion that making effects is not particularly difficult. Modeling high poly, texturing in Substance Painter, handpainting, animation - yes, it is difficult.

In fact, this is both true and not true at the same time. On the one hand, it is really difficult and time-consuming to master all the Zbrush tools and thoroughly study the anatomy human body and earn professional equipment sculpture Gain an understanding of the properties of materials and the ability to customize and create them. Just like learning how to do natural animation of characters or objects. These skills are undoubtedly in high demand. But by practicing only in one area, an artist improves only in that area. With effects, things are a little more complicated. To create a high-quality special effect, modeling, sculpting, and texturing skills are required. different styles, hand drawing, including animation (and this is not easy), animation skills, understanding of the same shapes, the interaction of colors, shades. Inventive design thinking. The most important thing, in my opinion, is the ability to come up with an effect that causes a clear association with the action in the game that it decorates.

I always give a simple example for those who want to enhance mediocre graphics with cool effects. Imagine beautiful woman and decorate it with jewels. She will become even more beautiful, more refined. But she is also great without decorations. Now imagine a scary fat woman and decorate her with the same diamonds. Yes, we will see that she tried, that she has money for these trinkets, but general impression it won't help. It will be so-so. It’s the same story with the art and effects. 100% art becomes 150% when adding effects, and 30% art becomes only 80%, still not even reaching the norm. And often good effects only emphasize the low level of graphics, which leads to even greater dissonance in the perception of the whole on the screen.

Thus, we come to the conclusion that an effects artist is already an accomplished universal artist, at a minimum. Perhaps he lacked creativity or was tired of modeling/drawing on one topic (tanks, characters, weapons). Effects give creative freedom, but at the same time take away creative peace. I can’t do effects from 9 to 18, and then turn off my brain and go home and do other things. The mind constantly spins all sorts of schemes and options for the next effect. And I do them on weekends and in my free time.

So what’s more difficult, to sculpt another character for a month or to come up with something new every day or two, to be a one-man orchestra?

• Time.

Often managers, PMs and just people looking for a fixer for their project incorrectly estimate the time frame for this work. It is generally accepted that we will do the effects at the end of the project, when the release is just around the corner. And there are often cases when they write to me - we need to make 200-400 effects, the time is 3 months. And they mean that every effect should be no less than epic. In extreme cases, it’s better than that game we’re making a clone of. It is not difficult to calculate that 400 effects in 66 working days is 6 effects per day. And it’s good if these are simple effects, like a pulsating glow or magical elven lights in the night forest. But no, 80% of the effects will be of the category - do something, I don’t know what, but it will be very cool. For example, the shackles of the fly agaric soul or the magical transformation of a tree into a bear. Yes, dozens of images and ideas immediately arise in the imagination, and it seems that it will look really cool. But only when you take on the implementation of such an effect, which is atypical for associative thinking, you will encounter several alterations. And each time you have to start almost from scratch. What will demotivate you, thereby stretching out time. And in the end, when the effect seems to have been achieved, the programmer will come and kill everything in the bud because mobile game it won't work :).

From personal experience I will say that on average it takes 1 day to achieve 1 effect. Sometimes 2-3 days if the effect is multiphase. This rhythm allows you to work stably and not burn out after a month. Although the brain, of course, boils regularly...

On initial stage creating effects will be even slower. There is no library of already created universal materials and textures. Each time they will have to be created from scratch. Some are fast, some not so fast. I'll focus on textures especially. A high-quality and well-made texture allows you to reuse it as much as possible in the future. Which has a positive effect on productivity and on the size of the project and on the work time.

• Special effects

What exactly is a game effect, and how is it created? In short, each time it is a unique micro-project, which contains the entire pipeline of a full-fledged project. Namely, planning, sketches, storyboarding, creating and assembling a working blank, working out an idea that was not invented, bringing models, textures, materials to ideal condition and in the end, like the cherry on the cake, tuning the timing and colors in order to fit into the style as much as possible and the dynamics of the game. Yes Yes. This also needs to be taken into account. A dynamic game requires dynamic effects, a measured RPG or turn-based strategy measured, not distracting and at the same time emphasizing the charm of the game. You can also add tuning here after integrating it into the game. When you can appreciate all the art together. Until this moment, it is advisable to imagine the whole picture in your imagination, which is also not given to everyone. And it is very difficult to convince the recipient that this nondescript effect is exactly what is needed, that it will perfectly fit into the atmosphere of the game in the place where it should be.

• Tools

I'm working in the Unity particle editor. On this moment it is flexible enough to create game effects of almost any complexity. Downside The medals will be performance and memory footprint. Here you need to look for a balance.

I would like to make a separate point about the tools for setting up and testing effects in a project. This can be a scene where there are all the necessary capabilities, size guidelines, the ability to launch certain actions for which effects are made. Ideally, this should be an interactive polygon in which the artist can configure everything, turn it on, run the necessary animations, etc. It often happens that there is nowhere to collect effects at all, except in an empty stage. Which will then lead to alterations, adjustments in size, colors, processing of textures, materials and much more, when all this stuff is built into the game. Test site - a must have! And it should be ready at the very beginning of working on effects!

There is also a stereotype that the editor must write his own shaders and scripts. Yes, some people do it, but that's not our job in general. And finding a specialist who makes cool art and also codes like a god is almost impossible. This is confirmed by the presenter VFX artist at Riot Games, in one of his videos about creating effects for League of Legends, he said that during his entire work he did not write a single line of code.

To help the effects artist, simple scripts that can be written by any programmer are suitable. Like rotation, shifting texture coordinates. As a last resort, you can find them on the Internet or even buy them. The stores are full of stuff. As in many creative fields, imagination is much more important. final result than a bunch of cool shaders, scripts and other tools. Often the same can be done by simple means, just by creating optical illusion. By the way, up to 30-40% of the effects can be achieved using illusions, in my experience. Example - billowing smoke does not have to be a huge 256 frame animated texture. It will be enough to make 1 successful sprite, which, with proper settings, will create the illusion of real billowing, living smoke.

Developed imagination, non-standard approach Your problem solving and ability to invent will help you create great effects.

Another plus creative approach versus the technical one is that cool third-party shaders, effect designers, scripts, etc. may stop working when porting a project from PC to mobile phone. Or even from Android to iOS. Therefore, I am for an integrated approach that takes into account most possible project development scenarios. In which you won’t have to redo everything every time. But on different platforms of the same project, the effects should look the same.

• Sufficiency and appropriateness.

Another important factor that people who set tasks for the expert like to neglect. It seems to them that every effect needs to be cool, rich, and bright. And then everything together will look cool and bomb. But that's not true. More often it leads to the opposite effect. Everything will look like a huge colorful mess, in which it is not clear where the background is, where the effects of the main character/heroes are, where the environment effects are. What is going on. Everything was mixed up - people, horses, effects :).

It makes much more sense to divide effects into several categories, which will avoid color and dynamic chaos on the screen at any given moment in the game. For example, environmental effects (glow from lanterns, fire, haze, butterflies in a meadow, splashes from a waterfall, rain, etc.), effects of explicit character actions (attacks with weapons, magic) and ambient effects (dust from steps, breathing in the cold ). These categories should not be regarded as a strict rule. Everything depends on the project and may vary. But there should always be some kind of separation, so that the effects can be divided according to the intensity and coolness of what is happening, so to speak. For example, there is nothing epic about the dust from footsteps, and an effect in which this dust will always fly out from under your feet in huge, juicy spots will look stupid. This will already lead to an association with levitation (feet shrouded in clouds). And here the rule of unambiguous association of action and effect is violated.

• Beginner effects artist.

Start with simple effects. Understand all the capabilities of the particle editor you are using. Often their potential is not obvious.

Develop in different areas. Not only in creating effects, but also in modeling, classical drawing, animation, animation, materials science. Learn new software. Read technical literature. Study the characteristics of human vision. Watch scientific programs about mechanisms, space, nature, people. Notice this or that interesting points In movie. Take an interest in psychology and the peculiarities of color perception.

Learn from other artists. Collect references of pictures, gifs with effects, color palettes, record video from the screen of games, so that later in slow motion you can understand how this or that effect was made.

Don't try to create a clean effect right away. Work on general forms, colors, the dynamics of what is happening. It is quite possible that you will have to do everything differently. And this can save both time and nerves.

All these things will gradually develop in you not only a competent, highly qualified specialist, but also a well-rounded person.

Thank you for your attention. I will be glad to answer any questions you may have in the comments :).

Vitaly Volkov

CG supervisor at Green Light, teacher at Scream School of computer graphics

There's a lot of computer graphics in movies.

Special effects
and visual effects are
not the same thing

Usually everyone says: “This film has cool special effects” or, conversely, “How did they get the special effects,” meaning a large number of explosions, collapsing houses, running robots, flying monsters. But there is a fairly significant difference between the concepts of “special effects” and “visual effects”. Special effects are something that can and should be implemented using film set, those effects that can be filmed live. Visual effects are something that is finalized during the post-production stage.

Special effects include all kinds of atmospheric effects on the set - rain, snow, fog, light smoke - and various pyrotechnic effects such as explosions and bullet hits, when small charges are planted and explode in certain time. There is work with stunt mechanisms, this also includes tricky plastic makeup and work with miniatures, when reduced models of objects collapse and explode, and it turns out to be more effective than drawing on a computer.

Then post-production begins, and the VFX is finalized on the computer. We also work on the set when we need to shoot against a green screen. But in general, a realistic effect is always competent planning and collaboration SFX and VFX departments. At the post-production stage, it is necessary to remove cables from the frame, replace and modify makeup, and often improve shooting effects. If it was an explosion, make it stronger, break out more windows, and so on.

Visual effects are used for a reason

Why aren’t certain things filmed live, why are they done on a computer? There are three main reasons.

When there is simply no way to film something live what is written in the script and what is in the director’s head. Departure spaceship into orbit, a man jumping from an airplane - you can imagine a lot of things.

When there is a threat to health or actors' lives, film crew or those around you. This is always clearly thought out: can we blow something up, can we set a stuntman on fire. If there is a danger, then all these things are transferred to computer graphics.

When using computer graphics It’s much cheaper and more effective to do than filming it live.

Visual effects are not getting cheaper, but their quality is improving. If you compare the explosions five years ago and now, the bar is raised, the effects become more realistic. But the labor costs remain the same, so the graphics remain in the same price range.

On good project The VFX supervisor starts working at the pre-production stage. When the project is announced, a VFX supervisor is already hired, and he reads the script, because you can add five lines to the script and the entire production will become several million more expensive. An experienced, good VFX supervisor senses this when reading the script, and can help the writers and directors come up with a solution for this scene that will also look visually good, but will cost tens of times less.

VFX specialists perceive the world around them differently

Our profession is at the intersection of creative and technical areas. The result of the work is beautiful pictures, but to make them, we have to develop complex technical solutions. Every new day brings new challenges that we haven’t solved yet - it’s a lot of fun. As an effects specialist, I have been studying the world around me for a very long time, looking at it like an artist: trying to figure out how chiaroscuro works in certain conditions, looking at perspective, what happens to the air when the sun sets, or how the wind blows dry leaves, or how sparks fly from a fire. I am also trying to understand the nature of all these phenomena. Here mathematics and physics come to the fore. After all, in order to repeat what I see with my eyes on a computer, I need to assemble mathematical models that give the same visual result. All that mathematics, which seemed terrible and incomprehensible at school, becomes incredibly interesting: you see how a tornado spins or a computer flame breaks out from your manipulations.

Let's say there is a helicopter drawn entirely on a computer; it should be well placed in the frame. We need to recreate the material of this helicopter, the metal plates, figure out how they reflect light, how scratches glare in the sun - this requires knowledge of physics and mathematics. Or, for example, to control the nature of explosions: there is complex models, built on mathematical models developed many, many years ago. Here we work as engineers.

Until recently, no one in Russia taught visual
effects

Many years ago I was choosing which institute to study at and looking for where they taught computer graphics. There was nothing like that. Everything was limited to separate courses on Photoshop and 3D Max. Nowhere was anyone taught how to make graphics specifically for cinema. There are few VFX specialists in Russia due to the fact that until recently we did not have any systematic education on this topic. I'm very glad that now there is Scream School - the only educational institution in our country, where all this knowledge is systematized and given to students. I myself graduated from Scream School when it had just opened, in the first test year, and the school became for me a bridge into a new industry. Now, five years later, it is gratifying to see that many specialists are happy to share their knowledge.

We have specialists throughout the country visual effects less than quantity animation studios in China. But the level of our specialists is very high. Many of our VFX specialists easily move to the West, to Hollywood, because they are talented, experienced people who know how to make beautiful things. The volume of computer graphics in our projects is quite large, but in many respects we manage it on our own. There are cases when work is outsourced to China or India.

Most often, routine work has to be outsourced. For example, cutting masks. Several people ran by, waved their hands, and then it became clear that we wanted to replace the background behind them. Initially, they decided to save money, didn’t hire a supervisor for the set, didn’t film these people against a green screen, and now we have to practically cut them out frame by frame, trying to capture their movements. Masking is the most routine job in our entire industry. These types of jobs are most often outsourced. At the studio, we rarely do large amounts of masking.