Week_2 assignment:
Read suggested material：
According to The VES handbook of visual effects: Industry-standard VFX practices and procedures, I understand the professional definition of Visual effects and special effects. Furthermore, The book also analyzes the reason and what time should we use the visual effects.
Research the different job roles in the VFX industry:
Runner: It’s a friendly position for a beginner in the VFX industry. The position is not necessary to handle advanced skills and don’t need any experience. Their responsibility is to serve the professional staff and make the environment well. They need to clean the room, prepare tea or cafe, transfer messages between different departments and so on. During this time, the runner also can know more information about the industry and build their knowledge.
prep artist: It’s a foundation job for fixing the footage and preparing all work for advanced visual effects. In my opinion, the mechanized tedious work will cost the compositor’s time, so allowing the newcomer to pre-post the simple problem in the footage is a good way to save the project’s budget.
Roto artist: the position is a little more complex than the prep artist. Roto artists are required to have a higher level of skills to handle some specific issues such as removing certain objects in parts of images. it is different with prep artist who is removing the boom microphones or electric pylons. the Roto artist needs a higher level of artistic sophistication.
Week_3 assignment:
Modelling Artist: The main responsibility of the position is to create digital 3d resources. Advanced modelling artists need to have rich life experience and broad biology knowledge. Such as the characters modelling, the artist needs to know the structure of humans. Even they have some concept references, they also need to decide how to build the detail which is important for the integral image.
Animator: On top of the modelling, the animation requires more skills. The animator needs to learn the principle of animation and make a correspondent rig for models. Furthermore, they also need to make a dozen controllers to achieve a specific action.
Texture artist: The position needs more skill in painting and hand arts. They need to know the principle of physical light and how the light work in a certain render. Besides, they also need to grab the points of different surface types, such as the car paint, metal, skin and so on.
Weekl_4 assignments:
Layout artist: The Layout artist need to determines the position of the virtual camera and they need to know how to set a shot, camera angle or camera path and so on. In 3D animation, they need to make a decision about lens, camera angles and camera movement otherwise, they also need to be directed by the director and learn the desired style of visual photography for the animation. A example of the layout artist is Marta Jimenez https://www.brownbagfilms.com/labs/entry/meet-layout-artist-marta-jimenez-interview, in her interview, she describe what she did for the job of layout artist.
Matchmove artist: The staff’s main responsible is matching computer-generated scenes with shot made by real camera. A good match move artist need to finish a convincingly combined with correct position and angle match, correct shadow and light, even include lens distortion. Such as the video The match move artist need match visual object to the real scene.
Lighting artist: The lighting artist will create a environment in 3D virtual scenes to make them look like real when the virtual match to the camera shoots. They need to change the light colour or place some lights to create a similar atmosphere. As the video shown, the function of lighting artist not only make the object look real but also express characters’ emotion by colour temperature.
CG Supervisor: They need to create a plan in advanced for the VFX work, such as the VFX area in different shot and how to create them. Then, they need make the VFX pipeline to make sure all the CG imagery will be created well. The video, describe what make a good CG Supervisor well.
Look development artist: The staff to make sure the Material look well in other different conditions. A certain surface designed by the concept arts still show different reflect in different environment. The Look development artist have to make sure the surface look good even in raining day or some specific lighting areas. Such as the demo, The Look development artist have to make sure the surface performance well in dark or underwater.
Week_5 assignments:
VFX supervisor: The VFX Supervisor will manage the whole VFX pipeline and they have ultimate responsibility for all the VFX elements. Besides, They also need to help for the relationship between a VFX studio and the director or producer of the film.
Data capture technician: They take photographs of the set and the way the cameras are positioned. They “capture data” about the type of lens type being used, its focal length, filters, focus and colour temperature. They also record the camera height, camera mount and distance between the camera and actor, and other details. And they take photos of surfaces, so that the textures can be recreated digitally later on.
Compositor: They use all the different digital materials, such as computer-generated images, live action footage and matte paintings, and combine them into one cohesive image and shot. Composers consider the visual aspects of a scene. Realistic lighting is one of the keys to this. Anything caused by light hitting the camera is the composer’s responsibility. They relight to improve the look of the image.
Compositing supervisor: The compositing supervisor is responsible for the department that puts together all the different elements of the visual effects shots. They manage the compositors that do this work and check their quality. Composition supervisors are experienced in composing. They organize teams of composers to meet deadlines so that the film or TV production company gets the VFX work on time. They can also composite their own footage if needed.
Week6 assignment:
FX TD: The Effects technical director need create effect temple or tools such as explosions, billowing or smoke and water. Then the arts can directly use these tools to create convincingly scene. The position will fix the technology problems in pipeline.
TD (Assistant technical director): The Assistant technical director need to connect different departments and ask them the question in producing. The occupation like a node to transfer information between different departments and make sure they know each others’ job and problems.
Software developer: The Software developers create systems that the technical director can use and modify to suit to the specific needs of their VFX artists. They also design new digital tools and ensure they fit into existing software systems. This allows assets to be efficiently passed from one VFX process to the next.
https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/visual-effects-vfx/technical/software-developer/
Pipeline TD：The Pipeline TD ensures smooth operation of VFX projects by identifying and fixing problems. They communicate with the entire team of VFX artists to understand their needs. They then put things in place to ensure the project runs smoothly and meets the needs of the artists. If the project is not running smoothly, they determine which tool needs to be developed to solve the problem. Problems that arise may be technical issues related to 3D art or productivity issues. Their work includes writing or modifying code to fix the problem.
Week_7 Assignments
i.Rigging TD (rigging technical director) : A Rigging TD is responsible for creating digital skeletons for 3D computer-generated models. They work to program these digital skeletons so that they move in a realistic way, and this is then used by Animators as a basis for their character’s movements.
ii.Creature TD (creature technical director) : the Creature TD work under the direction of the Rigging and Creature CG Supervisors, are responsible for setting up skin, muscle, cloth and hair on our hero-creatures. Tasked primarily to develop and design the tools and setups to tackle the challenges associated with a variety of Creature complex deformations. Our Creature TDs are a balance of technical and creative who are capable of scripting pipeline tools to streamline our shot-making processes.
iii.VFX Producer: The role of a VFX producer in the post-production process is to guide this work through the studio pipeline. The position is varied and involves many aspects. Key characteristics of a successful VFX producer include a business-savvy mindset, strong leadership skills, the ability to multitask, and creative insight. Additionally, a solid foundation in technical knowledge can help a VFX producer play an influential role with key stakeholders throughout a project.
iv.Production Manager: As the VFX Production Manager, they will be responsible for managing artists, schedules, and daily tasks. They will work in conjunction with VFX Producers and VFX Supervisors and They are also important in communicating with the producer of company shooting the live-action footage and producing the film or TV programme.
Week8-10 Assignment
ii.VFX editor: VFX editors work as the link between the film or TV production team, which shoots the live-action footage, and the VFX studio that does the visual effects. They are the person who is overseeing, and responsible for all the visual effects in a production and they must have excellent communication skills, as the job requires the VFX editor to communicate effectively between VFX staff and the editors.
iii.Data input/output (I/O) technician: Data capture technical directors (TDs) go onto the film or TV set to collect the information about the live-action footage that the teams in the VFX studio need to add the visual effects.
iv.Concept artist: Concept art is the first and very critical step in the visual effects pipeline. Creating compelling design not just for creatures and characters but also for environments can mean the difference between a truly great film and a forgettable dud. They draw the characters or creatures and environments as well as vehicles, props and buildings. They begin with a brief, which might be a script, or the original concept of a film as told by its filmmaker.
v.Previs Artist (Previsualisation artist): Previs is a technical service typically done in 3D that allows a production team to realistically lay out or visualise the scenes in a way that technically makes sense. They generally takes the form of a 3D animatics, namely a rough version of a scene or scenes.
Week11 Assignment：
which job role or roles interest me the most and why?
As I said in the first week, The job of Effects technical director(FX TD) was impressive because being an advanced FX TD is my dream for my personal career and this is also the reason why I chose to study computer technology for my bachelor. According to the presentation of Mr Dom Maidlow, the FX TD role need to involve a mix of art and technological competencies.Furthermore, both technical skills and an appreciation for existing animation and effects need to be developed. I understand that FX TD requires a deep technical background, and I’m working hard to build up my knowledge and skills now. Because of my long exposure to a wide variety of the visual effects, I am good at dividing FX shots and mastering the rhythm of production. Another essential factor is the knowledge of scripting languages such as Python and C++ and programming skills dictate that I can be more flexible in creating tools to help with effects work.