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MillimeterSupervisors Step Up
Jul 1, 2008 12:02 PM, By Ellen Wolff
Hollywood sees an influx of former visual-effects supervisors directing.
Andrew Adamson began his career at PDI as a technical director on Toys, and he has since directed the first two Shrek movies. He recently took the helm of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian after much success with the first film of the same franchise, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
Not surprisingly, the challenge of directing actors was foremost in Brevig's mind during Journey to the Center of the Earth. “I spent a lot of time overcompensating in terms of the actors,” he says. “One thing I've learned from doing effects for 25 years is that it doesn't matter how great the effects are if the audience isn't invested in the actors.”
While Journey star Brendan Fraser brought extensive experience acting in visual-effects movies such as The Mummy, the film's other actors were novices. So Brevig devoted two weeks to rehearsals, during which he showed them rough previz animation of the planned effects. “During all the years I was a visual-effects supervisor and second-unit director, I figured out what helps actors give good performances when they're acting to thin air,” Brevig says. “So by the time I got to this movie, I was extremely comfortable knowing I could help them give performances. I didn't spend a moment on set talking to them about effects.”
Supervisors who are now tackling directing often have directed second unit on major visual-effects films, commanding crews as large as what they have as fledging directors. But Dixon cautions that this experience can be deceptive. “It feels like you're directing actors, so you can end up thinking you're doing something that you're not really doing,” he says. Having recently supervised effects for director Harold Ramis' upcoming comedy Year One, Dixon says he was struck by how effortless directing can appear in the hands of a pro. Watching other directors, he says, “is like going to school.”
Because successful supervisors frequently see top directors in action, they know whom to call for advice. While making Journey, Brevig solicited opinions from Adamson, James Cameron, and Barry Sonnenfeld. “They were very generous,” he says. “Sometimes they said, ‘Here's what I did in that situation.’ I followed their advice, and it proved to be the right way to avoid pitfalls. Other times, they'd say, ‘Yeah, you're screwed!’” Brevig says a key piece of advice was to not let studio people see incomplete visual effects without showing them an example of what the finished product will be. Most people don't share an ex-supervisor's skill for extrapolating from a work in progress.
Because first-time directors don't get the budgets that a Cameron commands — Journey was made in Canada for the tax advantages — visual-effects knowledge can help a supervisor-turned-director get the most bang for the buck. “You can help guide your crew through that minefield of efficiency. Don't shoot wide if you don't need to,” Dixon says.
“I saved tens of millions of dollars on Journey because I designed the sequences knowing what's technically expensive and what isn't,” Brevig says. “I'd place the camera 2in. to the left of where I wish it could go because that would save $30 grand in compositing.”
Cutting corners is no longer necessary for Adamson, whose huge success with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe has earned him world-class visual-effects crews. But on Prince Caspian, he still remained very involved in planning and overseeing the effects. “The decisions about where money will be spent ultimately will impede or aid your vision,” he says. “Having some involvement gives you the control to put the money in the right place.”
A key example on Prince Caspian was Adamson's reliance on Scanline VFX to simulate a towering water god for a climactic scene. Scanline's Stephan Trojansky, who recently won an Academy Sci-Tech Award for fluid simulation (see digitalcontentproducer.com/mil/features/video_water_water_everywhere), had to come up with new solutions for this effect. “I wasn't entirely sure we'd have it together,” Adamson says. “I couldn't cut around it, and I said, ‘Stephan, don't leave me hanging!’ I used to write that kind of software — not anywhere near the level of complexity Stephan does, but at least we could communicate on a fairly technical level when necessary. I like to think that's one of the benefits of understanding the medium — you use it where it's necessary as opposed to using it because you're excited by the technique itself.”
Adamson says he is betting that fellow supervisor John Dykstra will bring a similar savvy to the task of directing The Tortoise and the Hippo, which Adamson will produce for Walden Media, producer of the Narnia films. Dykstra, an Oscar-winning visual-effects supervisor on Star Wars and Spider-Man 2, will make his directing debut on this film, which features realistic CG characters in live-action scenes.
“I think this is ideally suited for a visual-effects supervisor looking for a directorial gig,” Dykstra says. “If it were a live-action romantic comedy, then it would be kind of hard to sell visual-effects talents as a value-added skill. I'm looking forward to working with Andrew because his experience will be invaluable.”
So we may yet see an emerging network of visual-effects supervisors helping each other take the step to directing. “It seems like a natural extension of what we've been doing,” Dixon says. “When you've gotten good in your field, it makes sense to look for new challenges. We lust after learning more.”
Continue the discussion on Crosstalk the Millimeter Forum.