Great VFX: How You'll Never Notice It

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.

Roy Peker, an Israeli compositor working with Milk Studios in London, collaborated with other artists on an homage to VFX. His aim is to point out the kind of things we wouldn't notice, and I'll be damned if he doesn't make it interesting.

Can anybody spot what he might be up to in this video before it’s all explained? I figured something was happening, but certainly not to the extent of what was done. Above all, it’s a charming video, and I hope it inspires readers to look out for computer-generated effects or even to create some themselves. From experience, I’d confidently assume the majority of this could be recreated in Adobe’s After Effects. Even the 3D compositing of that robot can be matchmoved into a scene with Video Copilot’s Element 3D. It will also be interesting to see what happens with Adobe’s Project Felix, opening this kind of technology to garden-variety graphic artists.

How else can you become immersed in a story that’s fantastical and unrealistic? If the audience realizes what’s going on, then the spell is spoiled. Freddie Wong brilliantly described how subtle VFX is the real hero, when none of the artists get any thanks or praise because nobody noticed their work. They save the studios time and money while amplifying the story’s world, and videos like this really show off that kind of talent.

[Via No Film School]