Filming the Fantastic: A Guide to Visual Effects Cinematography

Description

Don't waste valuable time and budget fixing your footage in post! Shoot the effects you want effectively and creatively the first time. This full-color step-by step guide to visual effects cinematography empowers you to plan out and execute visual effects shots on a budget, without falling into the common pitfall of using high-end computer graphics to "fix it in post," which can be an expensive, drawn out process. Instead, learn how to put your shots together before you start shooting-whether you're working in digital or film. Learn how to effectively photograph and create miniatures, matte paintings, green screen set ups, crowd replication, digital rear projection, and so much more to create elements that will composite together flawlessly. The main purpose of effects is to promote the story, not just to wow an audience with amazing tricks created digitally. This book describes methods for creating seamless effects that don't call attention to themselves but enhance the scene as a whole. The technical foundations of film and digital capture are given in the introductory chapters of the book, and you are presented with real world scenarios that illustrate these basic concepts in a practical sense. Step-by-step illustrations of photographic element creation empower you to learn how to effectively pre-plan and execute your own visual effects challenges.

Mark Sawicki is a camera man, artist, and actor. He has had many roles in the world of film, from teaching visual effects for over 15 years at the UCLA extension, authoring video programs on the art of clay animation, and being an independent stop motion animator on several MTV videos. He won an Emmy Certificate for his contribution to the television series, Star Trek while working as a cameraman for Illusion Arts. He won a Clio for his camera work while at Celestial Mechanics Incorporated. Mark is currently a digital colorist and effects camera supervisor at Custom Film Effects. A few of his recent films include Premonition, The Black Dahlia, 40 Year Old Virgin, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

"This step-by-step guide shows how to create visual effects during shooting rather than using computer graphics after shooting. This second edition reflects recent innovations in technology and equipment. Introductory chapters explain technical fundamentals of film and digital image capture, and later chapters cover specific types of effects such as stop motion, blue and green screen, miniatures and computer graphics, and the Cineon digital film system. Two chapters are devoted to cost cutting measures. Color photos, color screen shots, and photos of equipment illustrate techniques and effects on almost every page of the book."--SciTech Book News "The fun stuff in the book is not just about war stories, shared from the comfort of an overstuffed armchair, but procedures that you can execute this weekend. As a VFX and Post Production supervisor, I know that the instruction in the book is not the full story, but it is for those who SHOOT the plates. Pairing up with a dynamic post production compositing team is a completely different phase in a long process of filmmaking. Shooting miniatures, simple practical photography tricks, and other "it doesn't have to be complicated" tips fill the book. Plus, my absolute favorite part of the book - an introduction to some characters in the circus of production. Mark Sawicki has been teaching visual effects for over 20 years at UCLA Extension. This book is definitely some of the great teachings that Sawicki has to offer, relayed in a tone which you might find at an intellectual dinner conversation; not stuffy - just all of the stuff that is important to know (with a couple of jokes and war stories peppered in). If you've decided to start making movies on a small consumer camera, or if you've taken delivery of your second RED camera - check it out"--Digital Producer Magazine