CONTENTS About the VES Mission Statement Foreword Chapter 1 Introduction Coming Soon. Introduction Chapter 2 Pre-Production/Preparation Overview Breaking Down a Script - Budgeting Ballpark Budget More Detailed Budgets Bidding Plate Photography Temp Screenings Reviewing Bids Contracts Rebidding during Shooting Rebidding in Post Monitoring the Budget and Schedule Keeping the Budget Down Working with the Director and Producer Demo Reel The Meeting Moving Forward Production Departments Production Design Camera Working with the Cinematographer Special Effects Stunts Wardrobe Makeup Production Visual Effects Editorial Locations Production Meeting Designing Visual Effects Shots Guidelines for Directors Storyboards Previs Objective of the Shot Concept Art Continuity Photorealism Original Concepts Budget Reality and Magic Camera Angles Framing Scale Detail Speed Scaled Images Depth of Field Sequence of Shots Camera Motion Less Is More Action Pacing CG Characters Creatures and Character Design Powers of 10 Shots Visual Effects Techniques Technique Considerations Additional Suggestions for Determining Techniques What is Previs and Other forms of Visualization What is Previs? Different Types of Visualization and When to Use Them Visualization: The New Essential Development of Previs Techniques History and Background The Applications of Previs: Who Benefits and How? The Benefits of Previs are Twofold: Projects Types Possible VR section Post Visualization What is Post Visualization? Why Use Postvis? Who does Postvis? Summation Cautions and Suggestions for Good Practice The Perils of Previs! Passing the Work On The Role of the VFX Supervisor in Previs Previs: Advanced Techniques Visualization Usefulness VR as a Tool Visualization in Engine Render in Engine Visualization in Realtime AR as a Tool Conclusion Camera Angle Projection Drawing What the Lens Sees Techvis What is Techvis? Who is Techvis for? Virtual Production What is Virtual Production? How is Virtual Production Used? Chapter 3 Acquisition/Shooting Working on Set Common Types of Special Effects What Are Special Effects? A Brief History of Special Effects The Special Effects Supervisor Working with the Visual Effects Visual Effects in Service to SFX Special Effects Design and Planning Storyboards and Previs The Elements: Rain, Wind, and Snow and Ice Smoke, Fire, and Pyrotechnics Mechanical Effects Flying Wire Rigs and Stunts Safety Greenscreen and Bluescreen Photography Best Practices and Otherwise Overview Function of the Backing Negative Scanning and Digital Conversion Backing Uniformity and Screen Correction The Alpha Channel The Processed Foreground The Composite Recommended Specifications and Practices How to Expose a Green Screen Shot, and Why Setting Screen Brightness Choosing the Backing Color Floor Shots, Virtual Sets Foreground Lighting Controlling Spill Light Lighting Virtual Sets Tracking Markers On-Set Preview Cameras for Bluescreen or Greenscreen Photography Underwater Photography Compositing Software On-Set Data Acquisition Camera Report Tracking Markers Props for the Actors Cyberscanning Digital Photos Lidar/Laser Scanning Lens Distortion Charts HDRI and Chrome Balls Lidar Scanning and Acquisition On-Set 3D Scanning Systems Types of Technology Lidar Photogrammetry Prop Scanners Vendor Questions Lighting Data Gathering Lighting Data Beware of False Savings! Using Conventional Still Cameras Reference Shooting Considerations Clean Plates Shooting the Clean Plate Locked-Off Camera Moving Camera Other Issues Post-Process Alternates without Clean Plates Other Uses for Clean Plates Monster Sticks On-Set Animation Capture: Witness Cam (IBMC) Wireless Non-Video Motion Capture Factors Affecting Witness Cameras Dealing with the Data in Post-Production Camera Tracking for Real Time Visualization Camera Tracking Pre-Production The Camera Department Prior to Shooting Current Tracking Systems in use: Triangulation as a Method of Recording Camera Data Camera/Subject Positional Information Basics: The Tool Kit Basics: Nodal Point Photographic Reference How to Proceed Shooting Video as a Reference Rules, Setup, and Testing Why Run Through Example or Test Shots? Digital Cinematography Digital Definitions High Dynamic Range (HDR) Lens Metadata Look Management The Recording System Lens Mapping for VFX VFX Photography The Camera Array Designing an Array Shot Technicians Shoot Day Special Techniques Post The Future Filming Live-Action Plates to be Used in VFX Camera Position (Station Point) Angle of View Lighting Considerations Camera Tilt Background Quality Moving Plates Scouting the Camera Positions A Case Study Camera Cars Camera Car Safety Issues Purpose-Built Crane Cars Vibration and Camera Stabilization Road Speed Precautions Panoramic Rigs On the Water Air to Air Cable Systems Shooting Elements for Compositing What Is an Element? Stock Footage Types of Elements Generic versus Shot-Specific Elements Determining Element Needs Cheating Backgrounds Black Backgrounds Line-Up Camera Format Considerations Assorted Methods for Shooting Elements High-Speed Photography and Filming Elements High-Speed Photography Cameras Technicians Director of Photography Lighting Application Locking Down the Camera Video Assist Post Supervising Motion Control What Is Motion Control? Performance Choreography Multiple-Pass Photography Scaling Import and Export of Camera Move Data The Data Types of Motion Control Systems Motion Control Software Camera Types Sync and Phase Dealing with Production Acquisition of Motion/Still Photographic Textures for Mapping onto CG Panoramic Backgrounds Tiled Stills Motion Tiling and Synchronous Plates Practical Considerations Stills for Textures and Lighting Stop-Motion Evolution of Stop-Motion Photography The Time Required to Shoot in Stop-Motion Preparation before Shooting Setting Up a Shooting Space for Stop-Motion Use of Motion Control in Stop-Motion Useful Caveats Evolution of a Shot Use of Stop-Motion in Visual Effects Chapter 4 Performance and Motion Capture What is Motion Capture? Is Motion-Capture Right for a Project? The Mocap Look Technical Specifications Entry Point Budget Which Technology is Right for a Project? Gauging a Project''s Needs and Constraints Passive Retroreflective Optical Active Optical Inertial Structured Light Dense Stereo Reconstruction Bend Sensors Preparing for Preparing for Motion Capture Actors Motion Capture Suits Marker Placement Body Marker Placement Face Rigging for Motion Capture Shot List Hardware The Strobe Markers Lenses Filter Image Sensor Onboard Processor Inputs/Outputs Setup Software Acquisition Calibration Post-Processing Reconstruction Labeling Gap Filling Cleaning Solving Motion Capture Facial Motion Capture Facial Actor Survey Actor Survey-Hardware Reference Data Statistical Data Facial Rigging Facial Acquisition Audio Facial Motion Capture Solving Real Time Motion Capture Real Time Uses Real Time Limitations Alternate Technologies Motion Capture Resources Virtual Production World Building Previsualization Onset Visualization Virtual Cinematography Chapter 5 Stereoscopic 3D How 3D Works Accommodation and Convergence Interaxial Separation Toe-in versus Horizontal Image Translation Parallax or Depth Budget Positive and Negative Parallax Floating Windows Fix It in Post Stereoscopic Design The Emerging Grammar of 3D Creative Use of Depth Previsualization Avoiding Painful 3D The Aesthetic of Scale Cutting for 3D Designing for Multiple Release Formats Immersion-Based versus Convergence-Based Stereo Native Stereo Pre-Production On-Set Stereography in the Visual Effects Proce.