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Category: Visual Effects

REALTIME Appointed Key VFX Vendor on Sky Original Drama

VFX Studio REALTIME has been appointed a key VFX vendor on the second season of Sky One drama ‘A Discovery of Witches’.

The second season of ‘A Discovery of Witches has been commissioned by Sky One and is being produced by British television production company Bad Wolf.

REALTIME has been briefed to create and design a variety of different magic techniques, using a mixture of FX and 2D techniques. They have also designed and animated a hero creature for the series.

The drama is a TV adaptation of the bestselling novel A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. It stars Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey) and Teresa Palmer (Hacksaw Ridge) and is shot in Wales and on location in Italy. 

Jonathan Rawlinson, executive producer at REALTIME, said: “We all watched and loved the first series of A Discovery of Witches. It’s great to be working with Bad Wolf on Season 2 of A Discovery of Witches. We’ve flexed our creature and FX designing skills to help design a truly unique character. Here’s hoping our skills stand us in good stead to help create another memorable digital on-screen experience for fans of the series.

“The project comes at an exciting time for REALTIME. We are developing a reputation for projects where creativity and literary excellence combine to make compelling TV series. And it’s always a thrill to work alongside partners who share our passion for screen dramas that live long in the memory.”

REALTIME is also currently working on The Watch for BBC America. The Watch is a fantasy police procedural series inspired by characters from Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. REALTIME is developing a number of creature and atmospheric assets for the show.

Last year, REALTIME worked on the BBC adaptation of the 2019 The War of the Worlds. REALTIME was a key VFX partner for the production, creating visual effects for the first-ever British television adaptation of H.G. Wells’ iconic novel. 

To meet demand, the VFX Studio launched a recruitment campaign which is ongoing. The campaign will see the studio become one of the largest in the North West UK region, employing a mix of up to 100 full-time staff and freelance digital artists by the end of 2021.

 

Notes for editors

  • More information about A Discovery of Witches Season 2. Season 2  opens with Matthew (Matthew Goode) and Diana (Teresa Palmer) on the streets of Elizabethan London, where they are hiding in time from the Congregation. Here in Elizabethan London they must find a powerful witch teacher to help Diana control her magic and search for the elusive Book of Life. Alongside the Elizabethan action, back in the present day, Diana’s beloved aunts, Sarah and Em, must take shelter with notorious witch hunter Ysabeau De Clermont at her ancestral home, Sept-Tours. Meanwhile, in Oxford, Marcus and Miriam take on Matthew’s mantle to protect daemons Nathaniel and Sophie, whose pregnancy is advancing. And Gerbert, Knox, Satu and Domenico are determined to hunt down every clue they can to Diana’s and Matthew’s disappearance, and the secrets their allies are keeping from them.

 

    • Executive Producers: Jane Tranter, Deborah Harkness, Lachlan MacKinnon, Susie Conklin, Pete McTighe
    • Directors: Farren Blackburn
    • Screenwriters: Sarah Dollard, Susie Conklin, Pete McTighe
    • Producer: Edoardo Ferretti
    • Production Designer: James North
    • VFX Supervisor: Steph Coren
    • VFX Producer: Antony Bluff

 

https://bad-wolf.com/productions/a-discovery-of-witches-season-2/ 

 

TV VFX for dummies – Budgeting for your VFX (part 1)

Welcome back to another part of our ‘TV VFX for dummies’ series, covering all of the aspects of the TV VFX outline, from the biggest ideas to the smallest details. Every part of the process is important, and each has its own quirks that might leave you wondering what to do.

That brings us to today’s topic: budgeting for your TV VFX. It’s a huge topic, so rather than covering everything in one massive article, we’re splitting it into two. Each one will be filled with thoughts and advice on the topic, so make sure to check back for part 2 soon. So let’s start by looking at how you can begin to work out rough figures for your VFX budgeting.

 

Initial ballparking at the script stage

Producers and production companies are often keen to get ‘ballpark’ bids from VFX vendors. This could be while a project is still being financed, or in the early stages of pre-production, when all the key departments are doing their budget estimates based on the latest script versions.

Creating a ballpark cost for a TV series at script stage can be a daunting and difficult task – particularly if the VFX vendor has yet to meet the producer, director, director of photography (DOP) and production designer to get a sense of the creative vision they all have for the series.

The production company or on-set VFX producer or supervisor asking for a ballpark cost often needs one quickly. The temptation for a VFX vendor is to turn around a cost based on average shot costs, rather than providing a cost that considers the relevant methodology and approach for each scene or sequence

Different companies and people bid in different ways. Some will err on the side of caution and allow for any eventuality, leading to a much higher bid. Others will go for the minimum cost for each different shot or sequence, assuming they will adjust the costs later in the process to meet the actual creative brief from the director, DOP and production designer.

The result can often be disappointing – both for the client and the VFX vendor. Clients might receive much bigger ballparks than they were expecting; or, conversely, appealing low bids. Later on, they may find those large ballparks reduce, as the vendor receives more information about the series. Similarly, very small bids can suddenly balloon when the full creative vision for the series is communicated to the VFX vendor.

 

Separating the asset costs

It’s common to separate asset costs in TV series that contain lots of 3D assets – whether it’s a creature or a spaceship.

It’s useful to do this so the production company knows how much it costs to create the asset in question. Conversely, if the 3D asset is included in the shot cost, the client won’t know how much that creature or asset costs to build.

Personally, I think it’s helpful for clients to know how much an asset costs to build. Often, it is less than they think and if the asset is an important character or creature, it is useful for the client to know then how much roughly it costs each time to ‘see’ that character in the series, but separately.

Once clients know how much an asset costs, it’s helpful for them to then think about using the asset as many times as they can afford. Creatures are relatively expensive to build, but once built, they aren’t that expensive to put into a shot. So if you are going to build an asset, then use it. Or rather, if you build an expensive asset, don’t just use it in one or two shots. 

The other side of that coin is if the asset only appears once in the series, do they really need it? Could they find other ways to use it? For example, if the asset is a digital matte painting, could it be re-used by changing the lighting or time of day?

 

Keep rebidding

For a production company or producer, the overall accuracy of a budget is extremely important.  The only way to keep on top of this is for the VFX vendor to keep rebidding the series. If a vendor boards a show that doesn’t have a VFX producer or supervisor on the team, they need to rebid the series following the tech recce and throughout the shoot as any key changes are made. 

If a VFX vendor provides a ballpark at script stage and doesn’t rebid the series until shots are turned over (and is not involved with tech recces and on set supervision), there will almost certainly be a dramatic rise in the VFX budget. The changes that happen throughout a shoot need to be communicated back to the vendor throughout and the budget adjusted accordingly.

 

Budget for clean-up costs

Last – but by no means least – in terms of cost comes clean up. ‘Fix it in post’ is one of the most overused phrases in the TV industry and is not something either producers or VFX vendors really want to hear. For producers, it means unwanted costs. For VFX vendors, it can mean budget for interesting creative shots being spent on clean-up that has no production value or impact.

While there is always a need to clean up unexpected or unwanted items from a shot, too often with a tight shooting schedule, clean-up work involves cleaning up crew members, crew vehicles, and equipment. These costs can be considerable, and they are almost always more than the client was expecting.

So my suggestion with clean up is that you should budget for it. Make an allowance per episode and stick to it. Otherwise, the costs can spiral; on many series, it can take up to 30% of the VFX budget or more.

You can clearly see just how deep the rabbit hole goes when it comes to budgeting. But there is still so much more to this dense topic. In part 2, we will look at what you can do to make the process easier and give VFX vendors a clearer picture of what to expect.

If you need a VFX vendor you can rely on to get the job done to budget and to a high quality, reach out to us here at REALTIME. To discuss further, you can contact me at [email protected].

 

A guide to crowd replication

The pandemic and its associated restrictions have left many industries with a quandary. How do we go about our business as usual when we’re far from ‘business as usual’? It’s something we’ve all had to adjust to and the TV industry is no different.

Many productions have kicked back into life, albeit with a new way of working. Filming a series or movie has become a puzzle as production teams find novel ways around the problem. Some are going as far as quarantining their entire cast and crew prior to filming, something that is sure to be expensive and outside many productions’ realm of possibility.

While you can figure out an on-set workaround for most issues, what can you do if you need an entire crowd? In our recent survey, we found crowd replication was a key concern for getting TV productions back up and running. With social distancing measures, having a live-action crowd isn’t safe or feasible, unless you want to spend a lot of money paying your extras to quarantine so they can be used to film in a ‘bubble’. Removing them altogether will make your show or film feel lifeless and empty. So what solutions are there?

 

Defining a crowd

Through a process called ‘crowd replication’, we can create lifelike crowds indistinguishable from the real thing. But what constitutes a crowd? Strictly speaking, the term only applies to groups of above 20 people. Think a platoon of soldiers, a raucous crowd at a football game, or a hoard of zombies. Below 20 people, you could still call it a crowd, but because of the smaller size, you would go about choosing a different workflow.

It’s also worth noting that there is a 2D way to do crowd replication and a 3D way. 2D crowd replication usually involves filming a cluster of people (5-20 at a time) at one spot, moving them, then filming again, on and on until you have filled your scene. That wouldn’t abide by social distancing rules, so isn’t an ideal solution. So we’ll be talking about 3D crowd replication solutions that we can reasonably do in these times.

 

How to make a crowd – below 20 people

There are several ways you can do this. The first is to film actors against a green screen, decked out in the right costume, and combine them into a group. You could film them together in socially distanced groups and replicate and fill in the gaps with individual people.

The second is to buy CGI models of the character asset you want. These could be individual people or groups. They would be dressed in whatever the model comes with. If you have a group where people don’t need to be unique individuals, such as in a crowd of soldiers, then it’s a good solution. 

But if you need them to be diverse in how they look and dress, it isn’t ideal because you will need to texture the models individually in different ways to make them look different in a crowd. You can always texture models with your own costume, using different software like Marvellous Designer, but this is time-consuming and expensive. However, if you are doing a period show or require specific costumes, then this is the best way.

The final method is to make bespoke character models and dress them with your chosen clothes/texture, which are ‘handmade’ digitally. You can do this through photogrammetry capture of actors in the clothes you want. You can also create ‘bespoke’ costume using Marvellous Designer, but you get a more realistic finish using photogrammetry.

 

A note about crowd sizes

Something else you need to consider is the size of the people in the crowd, as they appear on-screen. If they are bigger than an eighth of their real size, they aren’t really a crowd. If they’re anywhere between a quarter and half the size they should be, then they need to behave more realistically, otherwise, audiences will be able to spot that they aren’t real actors.

If you ever need to use a ‘featured’ character (as in a ‘main’ character), then this is even more crucial. You would need an incredibly accurate digital double of them. So whichever of the above it is, it will affect how they are made. As a rule of thumb, the closer the 3D character is to camera, the more expressive/ reactive they will need to be and the more realistic. This also affects the cost – so the closer to camera the 3D model is, the more it will cost.

If the character is going to be quarter- or half-size, then using photogrammetry is the usual way. You can also use motion capture of the actor. Another way of doing this would be to use volumetric capture of the actor to create a digital puppet of them. Disney used this method in 2019’s Aladdin for actor Will Smith in his role as the Genie. Weta Digital also has volumetric capture software to create digital double humans, though this is only viable for mega-budget studio movies at the moment.

 

How to make a crowd – over 20 people

Making bigger crowds is usually done with proprietary software that the big VFX houses have spent decades developing. One of the most well-known names in this category is Massive Software, crowd created using can be seen in the likes of Game of Thrones, I, Robot, and World War Z.

These days, you can also create large crowds with a software called Houdini. It’s an entire kit of essential VFX tools, one of which just happens to be crowd replication. It’s a relatively straightforward way to create simulations of entities that behave in the same way, such as zombies or skeletons.

Another route that is opening up is 4D capture. It’s currently being used by architects to populate CGI cityscapes with people but could easily be adapted to work for TV and film. As technology tends to do, I wouldn’t be surprised if this improves in the years to come and becomes a staple technique. Time will tell.

If there is one takeaway, it’s that crowd replication is possible even in these unprecedented times. If your script calls for a diverse crowd of individuals or an oncoming army of soldiers, it can still have that. There are plenty of digital solutions available that can create realistic crowds and who knows, it might just be your new favourite way to do it.

At REALTIME, our expertise in VFX covers crowd replication, amongst many other specialities. We work collaboratively with you to deliver the results you need. To find out more, reach out to me at [email protected].

TV production in a COVID-19 world

Some months after the UK lockdown began, businesses can finally reopen. But running a business can’t be done like it was before Covid 19. Every industry has had to adopt new ways of working in an effort to keep staff and customers safe. Strict cleaning regimes, two-metre distancing, perspex screens to separate people – every different safety angle has to be covered and adapted to each industries’ differing requirements.

Production has been on hold for every movie and TV show, and it’s only now that some are starting to get back up and running. Productions have been given guidance on the ‘how to work safely with Covid 19’ by the BFI and the BFC released a detailed document. The guidelines include advice on maintaining distance and how to navigate daily tasks such as hair and makeup.

 

Working under the Covid 19 – Survey Results 

These BFI and BFC guidelines are helpful, but in practice, productions will find it difficult to implement and adhere to many of the guidelines – indeed some shows will be unable to enter production again at all. 

Working within these guidelines will be difficult, particularly for those productions that are starting up again now. We conducted our own research survey into the topic and came to some very interesting conclusions, which we are sharing as promised.

 

The guidelines in practice

Put simply, over 80% of professionals in the industry expect that implementing these changes present some degree of difficulty. Over 77% of people said they had seen delays on their projects, with many expecting it to take 3 months, at the very least, to get back to normal production. In fact, a significant number are thinking more along the lines of 12-18 months.

Some shows have already picked up production again, but as predicted, it’s filled with new challenges. This particularly interesting Financial Times piece details some of the extreme ways some productions are working around restrictions. Over in Spain, casts carried out rehearsals wearing face shields and another show quarantined their cast with Netflix arranging for their food delivery.

But this is revealing another issue; not everyone has the financial backing of Netflix. These guidelines, whether productions choose to follow them or not, will increase costs and timeframes. One respondent in our survey predicts production could be up to 50% slower than it was before.

While Netflix shows can benefit from their significant resources, many productions are wondering how they will manage. It’s an industry that relies on freelancers too, people who won’t have been able to make use of any government furlough schemes. They will need the most help; our survey found almost 90% have seen a significant drop in new work. 

 

Insurance Issues

Another key finding from the survey was the issue of production insurance – or the lack thereof.

In our survey, every respondent said a government-backed production insurance scheme was essential to return to pre-COVID-19 levels of work, with over 77% labelling it as “extremely important”.

Insurers won’t cover the shutting down of a production if a crew or cast member is affected by the coronavirus. Some insurers may cover the costs of replacing key cast and crew who get infected by Covid 19 (though the rates are high). However they won’t cover any other related costs from the delay caused by having an outbreak on set or the wider impact of having a sick crew or cast member on the production.

These insurance costs are being covered by some of the larger studios, but it’s much harder if you’re an independent film or TV show that doesn’t have the backing of a studio that will underwrite your insurance.

As it is, there are too many variables to go back to how things were. As one of our respondents put it:

“Stunts need physicality, crowd scenes need people to be close together, crew and cast all need to be transported to and from home to set, foreign locations will need flights. Equipment will need deep cleaning every day. Shooting will slow down exponentially and budgets will rise.”

It’s also why one of the most important VFX additions is predicted to be crowd replication as it’s the simplest way to circumvent the issue and respect the guidelines. People are looking for any way to speed the process back up again without negatively affecting their shows too much. 

Some problems are out of our control, so it’s up to us to take control of the things we can. There are still things to be optimistic about, but exactly how the industry will change in the long-term remains to be seen. I think many production companies and producers will be looking to the first shows that start up again to see how they manage to adapt to producing under the Covid 19 industry guidelines

At a time like this, we need a strong support network. Now is the time to reach out to others and work together to deliver high-quality productions we can be proud of. If you have an upcoming project you need assistance with, get in touch at [email protected].

The detailed guide to previs

Every step in the TV production process plays its own important part in the creation of the final product. No matter the production, there is an intricate machine of moving parts going on behind the scenes that eventually coalesce to create something special.

Today, there is one area in particular we want to focus on. It is a really useful planning tool for any production that can never be underestimated. We’re talking about ‘previsualisation’ – previs for short.

 

Defining previs 

The Visual Effects Society (VES), the Art Director’s Guild (ADG), and the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) define previs as a ‘collaborative process that generates preliminary versions of shots or sequences, predominantly using 3D animation tools and virtual environment’. They also say ‘it enables filmmakers to visually explore creative ideas, plan technical solutions, and communicate a shared vision for efficient production’.

Previs is a valuable communication and collaboration tool for directors, writers, producers, VFX supervisors, directors of photography (DOPs), and production designers – plus many more involved in a production. Previs helps everyone visualise and plan for a shot, sequence, or even an entire production, as now happens with animated features and productions that use virtual production pipelines.

 


The different types of previs

Like many other areas of VFX, previs has grown to encompass an entire suite of terms. Along with typical previs as defined above, the VES, ADG, and ASC also recognise these sub-genres of previs:

  • Pitchvis – As the name implies, pitchvis will help visualise the potential for a project while it is still being financed. Sequences or environments for the project will be created to help secure finance or a green light.
  • Technical previs (techvis) – This version of previs incorporates actual camera, lighting, design, and set layout information to show how a shot can be realised using real-world measurements.
  • On-set previs – This creates real-time visualisations on set to help the director, VFX supervisor, and crew understand how and where any 2D or 3D VFX elements will appear in a shot by combining live-action footage with 2D or 3D elements to get immediate visual feedback.
  • Postvis – This happens in post-production once you have shot your master plates. There are more evolved 3D animation ‘blockouts’ of creatures or other 3D assets that need to be incorporated into a scene. Postvis can be helpful during post-production to enable VFX producers to get the ‘sign off’ from executives and to help with planning and budgeting for complex scenes.

 

Previs techniques

Before digital technology came to prominence in the film and TV industries, filmmakers used a wide variety of techniques for visualisation. One technique still in common use is to create storyboards. These are often also used to help create a visual idea for a CGI previs sequence.

Other techniques that are used include:

  • Animatics – An edited assembly of storyboards and other key frames from an animated film or sequence to give an idea of the pace and look of a film.
  • Riopmatics – An assembly of existing live-action footage, often used to help plan an action sequence. George Lucas famously created a ripomatic of WW2 plane ‘dog fights’ to help plan for the original 1977 Star Wars.
  • Slap comps/precomps – These are often created by VFX editors or the editorial team during post-production to help tell a complete rough visual story for a production. These are often 2D backgrounds or matte paintings for early assembly edits of a production.

 

Who uses previs?

Previs has traditionally been used as a planning tool. The VFX supervisor and producer will commission previs of complex scenes or shots, usually involving 3D animation or set builds, to help the director, DOP and other head of departments understand what the final shot or sequence might look like.

For example, you might have a flying creature, such as a dragon, which flies through a CGI cityscape while your live-action cast members look on. In order to understand how and where the dragon will fly and ‘behave’, previs can be a helpful tool for the team to understand how to frame shots, what camera lenses to choose, and where greenscreens might be needed to insert backgrounds later. Previs can be helpful for the whole team to understand the scale of a creature or cityscape in a shot. By planning ahead, you can ensure you shoot the right coverage and framing for your CGI creatures and sets.

For producers, previs is often a tool that helps control costs. CGI and animation are expensive, and by creating previs of a key scene, you can help control the shot count and the overall cost of any animation. Previs is also helpful to producers for both internal ‘selling’ of key sequences to financiers, but also for creative and budgetary sign-off during post-production. It’s far better to get ‘buy-in’ from your funders to the overall pace and look of an animation sequence before you start the expensive process of full animation.

For Directors, DOPs and production designers, previs is a creative and logistical planning tool. For this reason, it is also important that these departments are involved in the previs planning, to ensure they feel involved and can give their input on their respective areas.

 

What are the benefits?

Two key benefits of previs are the time and money it can save you. It’s no wonder it has been a reliable staple of the production process for so long. It is a great way to condense creative and logistical approach visually, which helps ensure the entire production team understands the overall vision for a sequence or shot. You can collect the scattered thoughts from you, your team, and your creative partners and bring them together to create a singular, coherent vision.

By saving yourself time, you are also saving yourself money. Your budget will constantly be under intense scrutiny, and to prevent it from spiralling out of control, you can plan your future decisions down to the finest detail.

And, at the end of the day, it helps you tell your story. Be it a historical fantasy series or a whimsical space adventure, previs allows you to communicate your story visually in the most effortless way possible. 

At REALTIME, we work on all types of previs. So whether you need some postvis, a ripomatic, or some storyboards to plan your project, our team of artists, creatives, and directors will guide your project through this step with their wide range of expertise. If you would like to discuss your upcoming project, feel free to get in touch with me at [email protected].