vfx operations
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Feature Animation Visual Effects As A
Job Shop @
![Page 2: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Input: Scripts, Storyboards, and Sound
![Page 3: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Outputs: Image Sequences
![Page 4: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Process Overview
Rough Layout
Character Animation Final Layout
Modeling
Rigging
Pipeline
Front End
Editorial
Approved Concept Art
Editorial
Lighting Final Render
Cloth & Hair FX (Particles, Smoke, Etc)
Texturing Look Dev
Back End
![Page 5: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Objectives
Reduce Flow Time
Low Variability
Maintain Quality
![Page 6: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Yikes…
Rough Layout
Character Animation Final Layout
Modeling
Rigging
Pipeline
Front End
Editorial
Approved Concept Art
Editorial
Lighting Final Render
Cloth & Hair FX (Particles, Smoke, Etc)
Texturing Look Dev
Back End
![Page 7: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
![Page 8: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Animator’s Working View• Fast• Manipulate in real-time
![Page 9: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
• Smooth• Check contact points• Check motion blur• See details• Check quality of
conversion to lighting format
Animator (and Director) Quality Check Render
![Page 10: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
d
Zooming In: The Animation Workflow
Animator Works with Scene Publishing Animator
Review Director Review
QC Render (Video File)
Good?No Yes
Good?YesNo
ANIMATION
![Page 11: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Two Publish Problems: Render “Death” and Bad Output
Animator Works with Scene Publishing Animator
Review Director Review
QC Render (Video File)
Good?No Yes
Good?YesNo
Death:• Often from new assets (rigs, props)
that had never been published• Scenes that had a technical glitch• Required Pipeline TD intervention
and can take days to track down• Relatively rare
Bad Output:• Often result of changes to props
(removed or renamed props) between publishes
• Generally easy to fix• Very common
![Page 12: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Problem: The Render Recipe was Cumulative
![Page 13: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
d
Repetition Due to Variation in Publishing Output
Animator Works with Scene Publishing Animator
Review Director Review
QC Render (Video File)
Good?No Yes
Good?YesNo
ANIMATION
![Page 14: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
New Process Variability
Publishing Output Quality LowOriginal Process Variability
Specification Width
First RenderSecond RenderFinal Render
![Page 15: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
The Fix: A Recipe Syncing Pre-Process
PublishingPublished Scene File Publish Pre-process
Existing Recipe
Check and update based on scene contents
![Page 16: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
New Process Variability
New Publishing Variability
Specification Width
![Page 17: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Result
Reduced repetitions of render cycleReduced overall process time
Cut down on overtime (Saturday) work
![Page 18: VFX Operations](https://reader035.vdocuments.site/reader035/viewer/2022062218/58a8cfb91a28ab53138b6b11/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Takeaways
• There are workflows inside of large processes• Quality / bottleneck issues within
workflows impact overall quality and flow time• Get employees on the front line
involved to unpack workflows within processes