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Tools for FX and DI

Apr 1, 2005 12:00 PM, By Robert Nederhorst, Digital Domain
By Michael Cioni, PlasterCITY Digital Post

Iridas FrameCycler and Final Cut Pro HD

Iridas: Making Effects Work Quick and Easy to Check
By Robert Nederhorst, Digital Domain

Back in 2000, you couldn't find an app to do any type of professional, uncompressed frame playback on a PC. Sure, there were some 3D and 2D apps that had players built into them, but their feature sets were seriously lacking.

That year Mike Massee, one of my buddies, emailed me saying “Hey man, check this out! This program can play back images from disk as fast as the disk allows.” That was great news. But the app was actually something that programmer Lin Kayser wrote just for presentations. It was nowhere near the realm of visual effects.

However, Mike and I liked Lin's approach, so we took a chance and drafted a long email to him about what would be nice to have in a flipbook app. We got zero response for a month. Then, out of the ether, came an executable with a note from him, “Here you go, guys, let me know what you think.” That was Feb. 2, 2001, the date Iridas FrameCycler was born. In May of that year, it went on sale to the general public for the whopping price of $79. What a bargain!

Here's how FrameCycler helps us do what we do.

Visual effects creation involves a never-ending cycle of work and review — of every element of every shot. Catching problems before they are submitted for review saves time and greatly improves the efficiency at any stage in the visual effects pipeline. Using FrameCycler, I can take pre-emptive measures to ensure that the quality is what it should be before the supervisor sees the shot.

Our pipeline is complex, and at every point along the way it's important to check our work. For productions like Stealth, one of our current in-house projects, the review process begins with previz. Then, once the actual sequences have been shot, we scan and dustbust the film. From there it goes to Tracking and Integration for lens and camera tracking. Next, it's off to Animation. That's where camera moves and characters, planes, cars, and any other elements are further refined. After this, it's time for a trip to Color and Lighting. These folks create all the various lighting passes and components needed to push a shot into compositing land. That's where our department comes in.

Because of the cyclical nature of compositing, it's pretty crucial that compositors check their work. Something that's not 100 percent right at the beginning of the chain has a pretty nasty effect when it hits the end of the chain.

Giving you the ability to constantly check your work is the entire point of FrameCycler. The program allows me to go over every naughty little pixel of data in excruciating detail. That's critical because it helps me spot potential problems while allowing me to prep the shot for film. With FrameCycler's ability to gamma, gain, or offset the image data, I can quickly check my grain, black, and white levels to spot potential inconsistencies.

Using the A/B channels gives me the opportunity to check what has happened from version 65 to version 66. I can even change the gamma, gain, or offset per channel. Very nice. Now, since I am never really satisfied (I am quite fussy in fact), there is also a killer zoom window feature that gets me right in the thick of things.

In the compositors' tool shed, a reliable review tool is essential because this is the part of the pipeline that never lies. This is where we find out whether a shot will work, whether the composite needs refinement, or whether we have to go back down the line to redo a lighting or animation element.

That's why an app like FrameCycler is so important. For my work I need precise playback controls and all the analysis tools. I shouldn't have to guess.

To successfully complete a visual effects shot, the result must completely blend into the existing landscape of the film. The shot must not pull you out of the narrative for any reason. Again, you can't pull that off without constantly checking your results along the way.

My favorite shot (and probably most successful) was on a complicated composite for We Were Soldiers. The entire shot consisted of foreground plate, matte paintings, multiple passes of extras in front of a bluescreen, and various CG elements. During a review session, a colleague who had not been involved asked, “What did you do on the shot?” When you hear that, you know you've hit the nail right on the head.

In 2003, Digital Domain decided to partner with Iridas. We bundled FrameCycler Professional with Nuke, a version of our in-house compositing application that's for commercial sale. Since FrameCycler uses an open architecture, it was easy to launch FrameCycler from within Nuke. Similar scripts have been written for other apps, including Maya and Shake. Since FrameCycler plays back an app's frames in their native format, it is not difficult to integrate with other programs.

In addition to playing back sequences in virtually any format, FrameCycler also writes out sequences into other file formats. For example, I find that rendering out into QuickTime is very helpful. We always use FrameCycler for that because it's so straightforward to use. QT allows us to send smaller files over the Internet for review at another location, as well as easily share files with our Avid systems. In the future, I expect that remote collaboration and distribution will be even more widely used. I think FrameCycler can play a significant role as this develops.

Currently, FrameCycler supports GPU-based Look-up Tables (LUTs) for calibrated and/or color-corrected playback. I would like to see Iridas include CPU-based support for that function also. There are many machines out there that still do not have the latest graphics cards with their pixel shader technology.

Accurate color representation is critical for the compositor's work. Since I think this will extend into integration with new color correction technologies (like Iridas SpeedGrade, for example), a two-track CPU/GPU approach to calibration would be a great addition to FrameCycler's impressive capabilities.

There will always be a need for desktop playback and review. Iridas FrameCycler is the best solution for this essential production process.

Rob Nederhorst is a senior member of the compositing staff at Digital Domain. His credit list includes work on The Day After Tomorrow, The Grinch, X-Men, and various commercial projects. Currently, Rob is leading a team of artists working on this summer's Stealth.

Digital Domain is a world-class facility involved in pioneering work in VFX, from True Lies and Titanic to The Day After Tomorrow and I, Robot. Current projects include Stealth and Aeon Flux. Rob's reel can be found at www.throb.net. For more information, visit www.digitaldomain.com.

FCP HD: Desktop Color Correction for Digital Cinema
By Michael Cioni, PlasterCITY Digital Post

With personal computer-based technology now avail-able to any professional, there's an evolutionary step coming in postproduction. At PlasterCITY, we call it “the new breed of post,” where facilities are now able to perform high-definition post using nontraditional means.

At PlasterCITY, we're restructuring post workflows using significantly cheaper and more versatile desktop nonlinear tools. One of these, Apple's Final Cut Pro has made momentous progress in the last 18 months. Not only is the software more professional, but there's now industrial-strength Mac G5 hardware behind it.

Clients like it too because it makes the overhead cost of performing vital HD services such as uncompressed onlining, color correction, graphics, and effects more affordable and much more comprehensive.

We began using FCP as an uncompressed HD online tool for D-Cinema in 2002. Even then, the savings in time, money, and effort to offline and online on a single G4 machine were astonishing. Plus, gaining the inherent advantages of random-access media at online resolutions gave directors and editors freedom they'd never had before, at nearly any point in the post process.

Such flexibility seemed to make the less-than-ideal performance worth it. Even so, each year the hardware and software tools improved. By 2004, the program's performance for HD offlining and onlining finally seemed to meet all the quality and speed demands of our clients.

We found that FCP was slowly gaining professional trust and that it was replacing more traditional ways of posting movies. PlasterCITY grew with FCP software and hardware by integrating each of its growing options.

There have been several advances in the program, all in less than three years. Offlining at 24 frames finally became easy and stable, making slow and costly conversions unnecessary. Also, 720p offline became easier, eliminating our use of low-resolution SD NTSC offline. HD text options and Photoshop interfacing replaced Chyron tape-to-tape sessions. Stable HD uncompressed online assembly and online editing eliminated the need for expensive multi-machine linear edit sessions. Finally, simplified capture and layback of multiple audio channels replaced the need for multi-machine laybacks.

These advances radically lowered overhead costs, sped up the editorial process, and allowed clients to receive all their service needs in a single edit bay with one exception: color correction.

When it comes to nonlinear service provisions, the ultimate look and texture of any feature film are as delicate as it gets. Because we always aim to provide our clients with the best service, we typically used to recommend final color correction be done on a higher-end color correction system. FCP just wasn't “pro” enough for the toughest color grading jobs.

But in 2003, Final Cut Pro 3 introduced a three-way color correction tool. We began using the program conservatively as a broadcast solution, but still referred feature film color correction work to more appropriate “higher-end” tools. As time went on and the software improved yet again, we started to color correct features using FCP.

After careful testing of the program, we began to get projects that fit the profile of our digital cinema color correction endeavor. So, in late 2004, we began to put Final Cut Pro HD to the test. Choker, a sci-fi thriller, was the first HD feature to go under the knife. Colorist Ian Vertovec worked closely with director Nick Vallelonga to give Choker the dark, highly stylized look it needed.

Shot on Panasonic's Varicam, Choker was initially too saturated and crisp to fit the gritty profile Vallelonga wanted. To solve this, Vertovec used alpha mattes, gradients, artificial grain generators, and garbage mattes as “power windows” to paint the ominous, dark undertones Choker needed to be creepy. By the time production was finished, FCP HD had proven itself as a very cost-effective color correction tool, without limiting the artistry of the director in any way.

In January, The Great New Wonderful, a comedy-drama starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Edie Falco, was PlasterCITY's most recent candidate for FCP HD color correction. This film pushed FCP HD to the limits, with different looks created for each of the film's five separate stories. Vertovec sculpted each of the looks and created work easily comparable to that of any Da Vinci or Lustre creation.

Unfortunately, FCP still has a long way to go.

Although the Mac processors (dual 1.25Ghz G5), high SCSI drive speeds, and uncompressed BlackMagic YUV codec are powerful, FCP HD is poorly structured for the most delicate color correction. The main deficiency is that the three-way color correction tool is structured as a filter. It doesn't have its own tab tool like the scopes or audio tool.

The main sell in realtime color correction is just that — it is realtime. Although the three-way color correction filter is realtime by itself, it needs to be rendered if any other effect is added. That became a problem as Vertovec decided to combine several filters to achieve the looks the director wanted. Achieving the proper effects required rendering on many clips, slowing down the grading process significantly.

At PlasterCITY, our use of FCP HD as a comprehensive tool, one that encompasses the entire post process, makes for a cheaper overall service package. When the tools are used to their maximum potential, the results can be just what clients want.

If you are used to the process of color correction through typical tape-to-tape hardware techniques, Final Cut Pro is a whole other animal. But if you want maximum flexibility and control over nonlinear color correction, FCP is only a year or two away from becoming an industry standard.

Although the current Final Cut Pro HD solution may often be slow, you will not have to settle for less spectacular imagery when using it for color correction. As Choker director Danny Leiner said, “You just have to be a bit more patient, but you will eventually get there.”

Michael Cioni is postproduction supervisor for PlasterCITY Digital Post in Hollywood. Cioni has won four regional Emmys, and in 2002, he became the youngest recipient of the Best Informational Program Emmy.

Since its formation in 1995, PlasterCITY Productions has specialized in independent feature productions and television projects. Its company officers have functioned as directors, writers, and producers on a variety of projects, guiding them from preproduction through delivery. For more information, visit www.plastercity.com.

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