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Summer of the Supervisors

Jul 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Michael Goldman

Visual Effects Bosses on Lessons Learned

           

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Seven Films: Visual Effects Stats

I, Robot used the EncodaCam camera visualization system, among other tools, to previsualize all effects shots in the film. (Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox)

According to John Dykstra, the biggest change in feature film visual effects is change itself. Dykstra, the veteran Sony Pictures Imageworks visual effects designer who recently completed effects for Spider-Man 2, simply means that visual effects teams, thanks to advances in technology, technique, and experience, can not only “produce magic,” but do it at a faster pace, continually incorporating changes up until the eleventh hour and beyond.

“We now have the ability to let the director change his mind with more regularity,” says Dykstra. “He or she can use their intuition or the spontaneity that occurs with photographing live action in conjunction with visual effects to try different things. We aren't hamstrung anymore with doing it all separately, as multiple tasks. We aren't stuck, for instance, with motion-control cameras on-stage and being locked into certain camera moves. This is a huge change in visual effects.”

In many ways, this change has been prominently displayed on cinema screens this summer, which have featured an unusual glut of big budget, effects-driven motion pictures. Between May and September, at least 10 prominent effects movies were scheduled to debut. These films, most of which were in production around the same time, often pushed the effects envelope on the tightest of deadlines. But did they move the visual effects industry forward in any significant way?

“It's not so much that anything truly new or earthshattering was developed,” explains Matt Johnson, visual effects supervisor on King Arthur. “It's more about the fact that we've reached a place where we really can do whatever the story calls for in an affordable way. I predict this will free up a lot of scripts that have been lying around on shelves because they weren't affordable before.”

To delve deeper into what legacy this summer's visual effects will yield, Millimeter surveyed Dykstra, Johnson, and five other visual effects supervisors on big summer films: Karen Goulekas of The Day After Tomorrow; Roger Guyett, co-supervisor, along with Tim Burke, on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban; John Nelson of I, Robot; Scott Squires, co-supervisor, along with Ben Snow, of Van Helsing; and Nick Davis of Troy. Following are their thoughts on their films and the current direction of their industry.

Up Next: What is the major visual effects advancement that you are most proud of on your particular film?