VFX TRENDS
You might be able to do anything in CG, but in recent times there has been a major resurgence in the audience and filmmaker demand for physical effects. VFX Voice looks at the state of play in this field of filmmaking with a range of creature and makeup effects practitioners, special effects supervisors and model and miniature makers. THE STATE OF PLAY IN PRACTICAL EFFECTS
THE RESURGENCE AND REVITALIZATION OF PRACTICAL EFFECTS By IAN FAILES
TOP: Legacy Effects crafted a robotic arm for the character George Willard (Paul Schneider) in Tales from the Loop. (Photo by Jan Thijs, courtesy of Amazon Prime Video) BOTTOM: The Jakob robot was both a practical on-set puppet built by Legacy Effects and a digital creation made in VFX for Tales from the Loop. (Photo courtesy of Amazon Prime Video)
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The diverse range of work covered by practical effects – animatronics, prosthetics, puppetry, mechanical effects, pyrotechnics and more – means that artists need to rely on a varied range of approaches to achieve them. Several innovations have led the charge in the past few years. “3D printed clear materials are fantastic for visors and helmets, and sintered metals have now become cost-efficient,” identifies Legacy Effects Co-owner and Animatronics Effects Supervisor Alan Scott, whose recent experience includes overseeing robotic arms and robots for Tales from the Loop. “Also, new robotic servos have really transformed a lot of what we’re able to do with animatronics. We could have 12 of them working and moving for the robotic arm in Tales and it didn’t affect dialogue once.” Weta Workshop Co-founder and Creative Director Richard Taylor concurs, stating that “over 60% of all that we make today utilizes robotic manufacturing technology.” The studio has had a hand in several practical robot and costume builds in recent films such as Ghost in the Shell, I Am Mother and The Wandering Earth. Special Makeup Effects Artist and Supervisor Jason Hamer of Hamer FX, which delivered full-scale and miniature water creature builds for Wendy, also agrees. “I think the use of digital artwork and 3D printing has been the biggest game-changer. The level of detail and precision that can be achieved is astounding. Mechanical parts that used to take weeks to machine can be produced at a fraction of the time and labor cost.” Silicones, a makeup effects material used for some time, have come a long way as another go-to material, adds Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc. (ADI) Co-founder and Character Effects Artist Alec Gillis, who counts Bright and It as the studio’s latest highlights. “For a while, there weren’t really paints that would stick to silicone, but now the quality has just skyrocketed.” Gillis’ ADI partner, Tom Woodruff, Jr., offers up a slightly different change in the state of play in creature effects, where studios with extensive experience in the area have been called upon to tackle direct digital design work. “Director Michael Dougherty had us and other studios do just the designs for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which started as clay sculpts and ended in ZBrush.” What has changed, too, is the use of digital techniques to drive what gets built practically, as Creature and Special Makeup Effects Supervisor Neal Scanlan’s studio undertook for several recent Star Wars films. “I decided the thing to do was to flip it the other way around and to use digital technology as a huge assistance in the builds. It liberated us in a way that we could never have done during the ‘analog’ period.” At KNB EFX Group, partners and Special Makeup Effects
Artists Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger have been busy with large projects like The Orville, The Walking Dead and Space Jam: A New Legacy, while also approaching the management side of the business in new ways. “I wanted to diversify a little bit about nine years ago,” says Berger, “so I started department heading, where I run the whole makeup and effects department. It’s been a great and new experience.” A feature of the creature effects experience is being able to have
TOP: For Hitchcock, Howard Berger helped transform Sir Anthony Hopkins into the famous director. (Image courtesy of Howard Berger) BOTTOM: Lead Application Artist Christopher Nelson, left, actor Joel Edgerton and Makeup Effects Artist Joe Badiali work on Edgerton’s orc makeup for Bright. (Image courtesy of Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc.)
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