Ghosts in the Machine: VFX Tools Which Changed the Game

Andrew Wood, creative director, The Mill London; Josh George, senior 3D artist, Coffee & TV; and Rob Hodgson, creative director, MPC LA tell us about the tools of the trade which changed the game for them.

Pen and tablet

“Basically, the pen and tablet were revolutionary. They were introduced just about when I started in the industry, around 20-odd years ago. Before then, editing suites were massive with lots of buttons and levers. They looked like some sort of flight deck.

In that form, I think it was very much a technical skill. However, as soon as the pen and tablet came into play (first introduced by a company called Quantel) it allowed the more creative minds to get involved – people who could draw, basically.

The first one I used was a bit of a clunky old thing, with a cable from the pen to ‘the box’. It only held a small number of frames and only worked in PAL, but it enabled you to draw and fiddle and work out what you wanted to do. It was, and is, a great creative tool" - Andrew ‘Barnsley’ Wood, creative director, The Mill London

ZBrush

“Of all the various bits of software, plug-ins and render engines I have used in my 3D career to date, there is only one program that has truly changed the way I work: ZBrush.

3D artists have been able to make incredible things for many years, but before the arrival of ZBrush and 3D sculpting packages, realistic modelling was always quite a time-consuming and difficult job. However, the introduction of a platform that allows you to make complex models in a more natural way has given artists true creative freedom. For any character or creature project the first thing that I do is open ZBrush and sketch in 3D.

"[ZBrush] broke the barrier between traditional artistic techniques and the more technical side of creating 3D models."

I started using ZBrush in 2007. The advent of digital sculpting was a watershed moment for me. It broke the barrier between traditional artistic techniques and the more technical side of creating 3D models.

The makers of ZBrush have continued to innovate as the software has moved forward. The introduction of [virtual sculpting material] DynaMesh has really started to make sculpting digital models feel like working with actual clay. Sculptris Pro [editing mode] has also taken its capabilities to another level by allowing you to dynamically add and reduce polygons wherever and whenever it’s needed, giving you an uninterrupted workflow that feels extremely natural” - Josh George, senior 3D artist, Coffee & TV London

3D tracking

“Hmm, a piece of kit that has had the most creative impact over the last 20 years? There’s a lot that has changed and improved, but out of all of it, I think 3D tracking – benchmark technology that enables us to track a scene from a physical camera in the computer and then put a CG element into that scene. It’s not as sexy as matte black carbon-fibre camera rigs, multirotor drones or real-time motion capture, but it is a fundamental building block in our work.

Take MPC’s Samsung Ostrich (which won two gold Lions for VFX and animation). The spot hinged on the audience being able to connect with a CG ostrich. To tell that story, the director needed the freedom to move his camera as he wanted with the confidence the CG ostrich would seamlessly fit into the shots.

"...the ability to place our creations in the scene has freed up the director to shoot the narrative as he chooses."

There was a time when complex visual effects were framed as either lock-offs, simple camera moves, or required pre-planned, motion-control rigs. The lack of spontaneity would alert us to something unnatural and take us out of the moment. In this Samsung spot, the director shot real ostriches – Steadicam, handheld, on camera cars, etc. on location in their environment, and we replaced 80 per cent of the real ostriches with computer-generated ones that performed – walked, ran and indeed flew perfectly on cue. They even displayed real, genuine emotion. I could talk about the synthetic muscles, the feather simulation, the lifelike animation, but the ability to place our creations in the scene, into the unencumbered camera work, has freed up the director to shoot the narrative as he chooses, and ultimately seal the emotional connection between the audience and our CG characters” - Rob Hodgson, creative director, MPC LA