VFX for Photographers

Computer-generated imagery in movies is a common thing when it comes to blowing up stuff in space and showing giant robots fighting in downtown Los Angeles. But here are some examples where you may have never thought computer graphics were used.

Two years ago I featured a macro videographer who was creating incredible visuals using chemicals and substances. Roman De Giuli has done it again, this time for the Winter Olympics.

If you've seen "I, Tonya," you may have noticed the film isn't just great for its incredible acting, script, and fresh approach to an old story. What really pulls you in are the long takes of Margot Robbie actually skating like her character, Tonya Harding, as though she herself was a true Olympian.

Writer and director Ryan Connolly, over at Film Riot, wanted to challenge himself to see if he and his crew could turn out a realistic, action-packed, science fiction short film with no script, three hundred dollars, and a whole lot of help from his friends.

If you're into travel photography and video you've heard of Sam Kolder. You can find tutorial videos about how to get his transitions and how to shoot to make your videos flow like his does. This video breaks it all down and gives an overview of what gear he uses and how he shoots in a certain way to be sure to get the transition from one shot to the next down so he can edit it in the style he's known for. 

We’ve noticed the trend. Video is becoming the way most people communicate online these days. How can you as photographer use video as a tool to influence the personal brand you are constantly building, and how can you expand your product offering to clients? There are various types of videos you can focus on to produce, and the aim should be to make videos that you would like to make for a client. Therefore, it needs to be professional, and something clients might actually use as their marketing and advertising materials. 

Adobe has called the new additional Effects menu category "Immersive Video." They've made it easier to apply transitions and to add text or logos that look natural to the viewer. I'm a regular screen viewing type of person, and I can't imagine buying some head gear so I can walk around in a virtual space, but in an industry that moves as fast as the video and photography industry, I think we should know what the latest developments are and how the software we use enable us to edit great videos. Clients are going to start asking for 360-degree videos, and you will either be able to do it or not. This video shows what you'll be able to do in Premiere Pro when editing "Immersive Videos."

It’s been said that when directing any project, 90 percent of your time will be dedicated to communicating with personnel. This means that directing, while it’s often branded as a personal, individual process, is inextricably tied to the quality of the relationships you hold with the creatives on your team.

Casey Neistat's latest vlog is a review of the Rylo 360-degree camera. What makes this different than the 360-degree cameras currently on the market is that it comes with software that makes it easy to pick your shot (in other words, the frame that'll fit your 16:9 or 4:3 frame) and compose your video like that. Rylo is a start up, and although Neistat can distinguish which market it is for, I think it definitely can become something many videographers, especially YouTubers, and travel shooters will use.

Eric Flores Garnelo has made a short film using mainly cinemagraphs to create the scenes. The audio is well produced, and the production of the scenes are done with craftsmanship. Watching each of these shots with only one item moving opens up the capacity to contemplate. Being a photographer, the first phase was to think how he did it and what it must have taken to actually get the shot. Secondly, it takes you deeper, into the human condition and the small moments during the day that can seem insignificant, but holds so much beauty if we just opened our eyes.

"Mindhunter" is one of the recent Netflix releases that has me hooked. It has psychology, mystery, analysis, and how the FBI and police went about training for the serial killers who didn't have a motive. It's based on true events, and because the series is set in in 1977, which has different cars and fewer people and buildings than we have now. In this video, you'll be able to see how these shots were altered in postproduction to give the story the 1977 setting. Buildings and trees are added, marks on roads replaced and colors changed to give the series its moody, raw film look.

Photo editing, retouching, and removing something from the shot isn't easy to do especially if it's a complex part of the hair, but it's common practice for a professional photographer to be able to do it if the shot and client requires it. It involves masking the new hair refining tool brush over and selecting the best feathering to make this selection as true as possible. Have you ever thought about removing something from a video? This is what Adobe is working on and this video shows a sneak peek of what Cloak will be able to do. 

You want Hollywood-grade shots but you don't have the money? The bad news is most of the time you can't do anything about this. The good news is there are cases when with the help of some VFX you can go a long way, as in this case. This video will help you recreate that orange desert look from "Blade Runner 2049."

Always looking to try something different with his aerial videos, Vietnam-based Filmmaker Rufus Blackwell recently shared with me his latest project. His techniques combine motion control through planned waypoint missions, and then manipulating the footage in a visual effects software to mirror the ground in an almost "Inception"-like effect.

Instead of fearing the future where AI takes over and leaves us with nothing else to do other than oiling their machines, Nigel Standford made a music video and used this "man against machine" concept. It's a DJ, who also plays guitar. The machines take over. Who's making the music? If I had to take it one step further, was the camera filming on an electronic camera rig or was it held and controlled by a DOP?

Adobe is updating its video applications and adding new features across the board. Many of these features include improvements for editing virtual reality content, smarter automated tasks, and some other features modeled after Final Cut 7, which Apple announced will not be supported in its upcoming MacOS High Sierra update.

London-based Director Oscar Hudson recently released a mind-boggling music video for Bonobo’s “No Reason,” and it's incredible. The music video, which is an homage to Hikikomori, a growing problem in Japan of adolescents and adults who withdraw from society and become increasingly isolated, was filmed using one continuous shot and only in-camera effects and no CGI.

I'll start with a rather obvious warning: this video and article may contain spoilers for anything that happens up to and including episode 2 of season 7 of "Game of Thrones." With that out of the way, we can look at how the incredible fight scene of that second episode was created.

J-Cuts can be described as having the sound enter the scene before the scene appears visually, or it can be used to play out a scene where the audio is used after the shot has ended. They're used in TV and movies, and they're a professional element that sets you and your style apart from those who just cut scenes together. This enables you to get a nice flow in your video, and it all blends and layers to make it more interesting and give your work more power. 

So many photographers have recently been dipping their toes in the world of video. You can edit photos like a pro, but maybe you just can't seem to figure out video editing; it's very complex – like an onion, so many layers – and now you have to deal with sound design! If you've used presets for your photo editing, then you should definitely consider plugins for your video editing. Red Giant sent us a copy of their recently updated Universe 2.1. Jump on in and see what it's all about. 

Neill Blomkamp directed "District 9" and "Chappie" and now he's released a short film of a dystopian future where aliens have taken over earth and the humans have to fight with whatever they can to survive and before it's too late. It's done in the style you kan expect from Blomkamp, in a way I believe only he can do, and it's got all the action, suspense, and gross details of brain implantation and alien creatures that he's become known for. 

Whether you are a photographer or a videographer, special effects are one way to separate your work from the crowd. Not everyone is willing to put in the time or effort, and many don’t know how to get it done. If you are amongst the ones missing the knowledge, don’t worry, Film Riot has got you covered with a new tutorial on how to create a fake bullet with Play-Doh, a bit of post-processing, and a few makeup products.

Captain Disillusion is back again, and this time he's uncovering the various techniques used to create the famous “Tape Measure Tricks” video. How much of it is visual effects?

Some of my favorite video editing tricks and tools are quick and subtle edits that have a lot of impact on the final piece. This tutorial from videographer Casey McPerry is definitely one of those tools that I will be adding to my bag.

There are many times in the automotive industry that when you're asked to shoot a car, you frequently cannot move the car either from where it is or far from where it's being stored due to its rarity, sometimes condition, and sometimes even questionable street-legality. This can definitely cause some problems when it comes to producing high-end images of the cars for a client. If they want only detail shots then you're good as you won't need to show much of the background to accomplish their goals. However, if they've got high hopes and want the car to be pictured anywhere except where it actually is you have to be a bit creative.

When getting into video, filming may not be the biggest issue. Post-production plays a significant role and can be quite overwhelming. There is tons of software out there, and it’s difficult to know which is best for what. Learning how to use these programs is even worse when you are a photographer. The interface looks totally different than what we are used to with Photoshop, Lightroom, or even Capture One. So it’s always nice there are people such as Casey Faris producing comprehensive videos to help us out in getting started. If, like me, you can’t seem to get a perfect grading with Premiere or Final Cut Pro, this crash course on DaVinci Resolve is exactly what you need!

If you're into video editing you are probably interested in visual effects to some extent. Even if you aren't, bookmark the current article as you will eventually be. Visual effects is not some software magic that works with any footage. With video you have lots of still images per second and the process of making a composite needs to be automated as much as possible. Working on a frame by frame basis is avoided as much as possible. In this video you will find 10 quick tips on the importance of having appropriate video content in order to help easily create more realistic visual effects.

How far had computer graphics come in the early eighties? "Tomorrow's World," an old show on BBC, shows us just how far the tech had come – and how far it was going to go.

Last week I shared a video that used a couple of alternative techniques for aerial video, and coincidentally I was contacted shortly after to check out another video that had some unique drone video shots. In this kite surfing video, you'll see some interesting macro-style clips, speed ramps, zooms, and more. The fact is, all of this was done in post.

On Sunday night, "The Jungle Book" took home the Oscar for best visual effects. It shines a spotlight on how a story can rely so heavily on VFX, but how the industry continues to sideline the people behind it. A newly released short documentary is showing us just how digital art is a race to the bottom.

BBC Click shared a video that gives an in-depth look at the tools used by director Gareth Edwards at ILM London to better show computer graphics supervisor Steve Ellis his desired camera angles and movements throughout "Rogue One." Using just an iPad and an HTC Vive controller, Edwards was able to explore the virtual, computer-generated world to find the best shots, which were then communicated to the VFX team so they new exactly how to guide the virtual camera movements throughout the film.

We all know that visual effects have come a long way in recent years, but it’s always worth remembering that the best of the lot are the kind you don’t notice. This video – a wonderful tribute to VFX – is a smart way of showing off exactly what can be done.

Visual and special effects have a long history; they've been around since the dawn of filmmaking. Here are some great examples from silent films where the techniques used behind the scenes are still relevant today.

"Rogue One" is the latest addition to the epic space battle in the "Star Wars" universe, and damn, did it impress. From all angles, the film looked to hit on all the cues that made the original 70s and 80s films incredible, yet still filled it with plenty of new and relevant stories to bring it to life in 2016. Capping off a wild year of many celebrity deaths, it brings an interesting question: should we bring back deceased actors to fill a role?

Some Dads bring their kids to the playground, some even play the same sport. Action Movie Dad sends his son to other worlds with his VFX know how and childlike imagination. This time around, he's showing us exactly how it's done.

Nice lighting and a controlled experiment can yield some pretty cool results, and luckily there are folks like the ones behind the brand Beauty of Science who just released a video showing exactly that. Simply put, they dissolved some M&M candy in a dish of water. And it looks amazing.

Filmmaker Stephen Vitale and Writer Eric Carrasco​ created a truly epic Star Wars fan fiction. When I came across this short, I found myself wishing they made a behind-the-scenes video so I could post them both for you all to enjoy. Turns out they did. So I did. And you will.

Audi took advantage of Monday night's presidential debates with its "Duel" ad spot. Nearly the entire clip plays in reverse, allowing the chronology of the true story and how the action unfolded to the point at which you began to unravel itself in an action-packed scene. The rewound clip -- fit for a 007 film -- features quite the production, complete with excellent, blockbuster-born sound effects to sell every punch and shattering glass shard. But it doesn't take much studying to see this was hardly as easy as rewinding an otherwise-normal action sequence: it took great audio to create this spectacle.

Lately, I've found myself watching lots of stop motion films. It's something I've always wanted to try (I've tried very simple things thanks to Vine), but never really dove into. Now, after watching "Infinitude," my head is spinning at the possibilities of what you can create with stop motion. 

The recent remake of Mad Max: Fury Road has to be one of my favorite examples of both CGI and practical effects in modern day movie making working perfectly together. The way they created this world for which these characters live astounds me every time I see the film and truly set itself apart from other movies. Thanks to behind the scenes access and places like Gizmodo for the latest BTS footage. 

Stop motion animation is by far one of the most forgotten mediums for filmmaking, yet it holds high respect for what it is and how it's done in large motion pictures today. Those pushing the envelope in 2016 are the geniuses behind Laika Studios where they blended hand crafted puppets, CGI, and 3D printing to build a world filled with imagination and story. 

Science meets art once again. Abe Davis, a computer science PhD student at MIT, recently published a research about interaction with the objects in videos, by measuring and mapping the vibrations of their movements. His project, which he developed with Justin Chen and Fredo Durand, and patented by MIT, aims to be used both in engineering and videography.

Drive Like Maria just released a music video for their song "Deep Blue." What makes this unique is that every frame has been rendered with the "Dreams" effect using the Prisma App. This app uses AI to create effects that make your images look like paintings of famous artists. It has many effect options, and it really looks as though a lot of time, knowledge, and effort has been put together to create it. It looks like Waking Life, but instead of drawing each frame by hand, Drive Like Maria has taken every frame of their music video and run it through the app.

This Cinemagraph time-lapse was made using only 12 JPEG images. The software allows photographers to create motion within a static photograph. You need to upload each image to the website, and then you design the movement within each image. Once you get a moving image "flowing" you can render it out and import it into Adobe Premiere Pro to create the final time-lapse.

As you probably know, much of the epic imagery in "Game of Thrones" is computer-generated. It's a monumental task, and this video from Rising Sun Pictures, the visual effects company responsible for that amazing imagery, really puts into perspective the amount of work and imagination required to pull off such a feat.

Beyond any doubt, the effects and compositing techniques used in the first three films of Star Wars trilogy were the game changer in VFX world. Although there has been a rapid improvement in the VFX technology for the last 40 years, we can say that Star Wars was one of the pioneers. So, how was that possible to achieve realistic results in a movie produced in 1980? Mark Vargo explains the mathematics, optics, engineering, and software behind the blue screen photography and compositing in detail.

[UPDATE] The winners have been announced! Check out the winners page to see some incredible video editing.

Filmsupply and Musicbed have partnered up to bring you a film competition that could change your life. Without having to shoot one frame of footage, you could win up to $100,000 in cash, prizes, and incredible experiences. Although you're not restricted to only using their content, this competition allows you to tap into the huge libraries of both Musicbed and Filmsupply to create and submit your 60-second film. Check out the submission guidelines below.

Adobe has released Premiere Pro CC 2015.3. The new welcomed features are something I haven’t yet seen implemented in any other NLE. If you use Premiere, here is a look at what’s new, and if you’re not a subscriber, this might make you consider switching.

In their latest video, Film Riot's Frontman/Director Ryan Connolly comes to my backyard (Vancouver, BC) to film a truly epic bar brawl short. This entire series of videos is extremely useful when it comes to learning what it takes to film a quality short. The "Uncut Behind the Scenes" video is seriously my favorite of the bunch as you get a very candid look at every little detail and consideration the cast and crew had to make.

From the company that pioneered the use of virtual car reskinning for video use, comes the newest innovation of film technology. The Mill, in partnership with JemFX, Performance Filmworks, and Keslow Camera, launched their new product onto the scene, dubbed "Blackbird." Resembling a mix of a Caterham 7, a dune buggy, and maybe some sort of Batman-esque type vehicle, the Blackbird is a small electric car that has pre-mapped tracking points on it to allow for easy replacement in post.