VFX Voice

The award-winning definitive authority on all things visual effects in the world of film, TV, gaming, virtual reality, commercials, theme parks, and other new media.

Winner of three prestigious Folio Awards for excellence in publishing.

Subscribe to the VFX Voice Print Edition

Subscriptions & Single Issues


April 01
2020

ISSUE

Spring 2020

Final Frame: From Old School to Real-Time

(Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)

The above still shows Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, director Frank Capra and cinematographer Joseph Walker on a crowded set during the filming of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington from 1939. Anyone from the early years of filmmaking walking onto the set of a superhero movie or other elaborate filmmaking set today, such as The Lion King or Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, might go into a state of shock at the dramatic changes. Instead of large and bulky mechanical cameras that need to be loaded frequently with nitrate film, no video village for feedback, large painted backdrops, small crews, hand-built film sets, giant hot lights, etc., they would enter a world of multiple, small lightweight, digital and virtual cameras; greenscreens; bluescreens; virtual sets; mechanical props; tracking markers; pyrotechnics; model and miniature work; actors in mocap suits; hundreds of onset specialists; customized iPad Pros; and newer real-time engine rendering technology. And post-production? That also would be mind-blowing for the time traveler from earlier days of filmmaking. Instead of painstakingly cutting film strips, they would experience small computers with enormous processing capacity, CGI, 3D animation techniques, and armies of visual artists and tools involved in the pre- and post-production process. Real-time production is set to even further alter the dynamics of filmmaking in the 2020s and beyond.


Share this post with

Most Popular Stories

MILK VFX GIVES NEW WINGS TO GOOD OMENS TO CAPTURE THE EMOTIONS
06 September 2023
Final Frame
MILK VFX GIVES NEW WINGS TO GOOD OMENS TO CAPTURE THE EMOTIONS
Good Omens follows the antics and adventures of angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley.
CRAFTY APES VFX REACHES NEW HEIGHTS WITH I’M A VIRGO
12 September 2023
Final Frame
CRAFTY APES VFX REACHES NEW HEIGHTS WITH I’M A VIRGO
When it comes to tall orders, I’m a Virgo Visual Effects Supervisor Todd Perry asked Crafty Apes VFX to produce a 13-foot high teenage protagonist named Cootie, who gets to experience the world beyond his sheltered existence for the first time in the satirical Prime Video series created by director/writer Boots Riley.
TURNING BACK TIME FOR INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY
08 August 2023
Final Frame
TURNING BACK TIME FOR INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY
Receiving the franchise baton from Steven Spielberg (Jaws), James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari) embarks on the fifth and final adventure with a character who made archeology, fedoras and bullwhips cool, and provided Harrison Ford with his third iconic cinematic persona.
FIN DESIGN + EFFECTS REFLECTS ON THE GLASS-AWNING FIGHT SCENE FOR EXTRACTION 2
29 August 2023
Final Frame
FIN DESIGN + EFFECTS REFLECTS ON THE GLASS-AWNING FIGHT SCENE FOR EXTRACTION 2
Thought to be dead mercenary, Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) returns in the Netflix sequel Extraction 2 where the action shifts from Bangladesh to Austria under the direction of Sam Hargrave.
TRANSFORMING THE MONKEY KING FOR AMERICAN BORN CHINESE
15 August 2023
Final Frame
TRANSFORMING THE MONKEY KING FOR AMERICAN BORN CHINESE
Working on the Disney+ fantasy series American Born Chinese holds a special place in the heart of Visual Effects Supervisor Kaitlyn Yang (Raised by Wolves), because the content on the screen and the creative talent in front and behind the camera reflected her ethnic heritage in an authentic and meaningful way.