(northbaybusinessjournal.com)
LARKSPUR — Digital Domain Productions, Inc., a digital effects and computer animation company led by former Industrial Light & Magic top executives, by the end of this year plans to open a Larkspur Landing office that could accommodate 47 employees.
Venice, Calif.-based Digital Domain, behind the effects of dozens of major movies since its 1993 founding, including the Transformers series, signed a three-year lease at the beginning of this month for 14,200 square feet on the second and third floors at Larkspur Landing Office Park, according to an Aug. 12 amended initial public stock offering prospectus filed by the parent company.
Digital Domain Productions is scheduled to move into 9,600 square feet on the second floor of Building 1100 in the high-profile office complex in November, according to the lease document attached to the filing. That space is allotted 31 parking spaces.
The following month, the company will occupy another 4,700 square feet on the third floor and has been allocated another 16 spaces.
Property manager Equity Office has obtained permits to add a number of electrical outlets on the second floor and enhance the power system for the building, according to city records.
Digital Domain officials declined to comment on the lease because the parent company, Port St. Lucie, Fla.-based parent company Digital Domain Media Group Inc., is in a regulatory quiet period pending the stock offering. It filed to go public in May and wants to raise $115 million to pay down debt.
Digital Domain Productions creates computer graphic effects and animation for movies and commercials from two large Southern California facilities as well as smaller studios in Florida, British Columbia and San Francisco. The company employed 23 in San Francisco and 890 companywide at the end of March, according to the securities filing.
Digital Domain Media Group has a new Florida studio planned. Last month, the company announced an agreement with India-based effects company Reliance MediaWorks for 650 employees in an office on the subcontinent and one in London.
Digital Domain Productions had a presence in San Rafael up to a couple of years ago, according to city business license records. The company relocated to The Presidio in the city, where substantial George Lucas company operations moved from Marin in 2006. Digital Domain Productions Chief Executive Officer Cliff Plumer, chief technology officer of ILM until joining Digital Domain in 2006, oversaw the Lucas’ Letterman Digital Arts Center project in The Presidio and that move.
Digital Domain’s Presidio sublease for 10,000 square feet is set to expire at the end of this month, according to the amended prospectus.
The digital media industry is one of the seven new areas of business development focus for the 2-year-old Marin Economic Forum, according to its new board president, Mike Kadel of Bank of Marin.
“MEF is involved in recruiting companies like Digital Domain,” he said.
The forum uses the information industry definition for these types of companies, which include motion-picture production via computer software, Internet content creation and digital cable TV broadcasting.
That industry peaked in Marin between 1998 and 2000 at 2 percent of all businesses and 4 percent of all jobs in 1998, according to Robert Eyler, a Sonoma State University economist analyzing the county’s activity for the forum. But the sector started falling after the Lucas companies relocated in 2006. Last year, information companies accounted for 1.1 percent of Marin businesses and 1.2 percent of jobs.
“The operations are being attracted to Marin because Marin has a nucleus of startup activities, driven mainly by Silicon Valley ex-pats who remain entrepreneurial in this space,” he said. “That is having a cluster effect and drawing some firms northward from the Bay Area ….”
Local business leaders have told Dr. Eyler that what keeps them in Marin is their home and close enough proximity to San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
“The challenge will be keeping the growing firms in Marin as they expand due to the lure of the aforementioned places in terms of financial and human capital to supply new tech firms,” he said.
Two other major challenges Dr. Eyler has heard about are the ability to attract young talent interested in the attractions of a big city and being close to angel and venture capital sources.
“Marin Economic Forum is attempting to build a network for entrepreneurs in Marin County to make those connections here more explicit, as VC and angel communities live in Marin also, and to drive more businesses to stay in Marin rather than migrate,” he said.
Whitney Strotz of Cassidy Turley BT Commercial represented Equity Office in the Larkspur lease. Aaron Wangenheim of Base Partners represented Digital Domain in the recent deal and the sublease in San Francisco.
The starting monthly base rent per square foot for Digital Domain’s Larkspur space is $2.75, increasing to $2.92 by the third year.
California’s Film Tax Credit Measure Scaled Back On Way To Senate
(ezstars.com) The battle over tax breaks for film and TV production intensified today as pared-down legislation moved to the state Senate for final consideration. An extension of California’s film and TV production incentive program (Assembly Bill 1069) was cut back from five years to a single year by the Senate Appropriations committee. The Assembly in May passed a version that would have extended the $100M per-year credit program through 2014. The extension could still be adjusted in the Senate, but the cutback is indicative of the scrutiny expenditures of any sort are receiving as the Legislature struggles with the state’s $9B budget shortfall.
California has far more crucial spending priorities than handouts to a wealthy industry at taxpayer expense, critics say, and some advocate eliminating the tax breaks altogether. Industry advocates say the state needs the incentives to compete with other states offering similar or greater tax breaks. They point to a study released in June by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp, which said the program has brought $3.8B in economic output and supported 20,040 jobs since its inception in 2009. Meanwhile, figures released today by FilmLA show that feature film production is the engine driving production gains in on-location shoots in L.A. County.
The overall number of production days spent on movies last week was up 66% over the same period a year ago, while TV production was off 11% and commercials shoots rose 4%. Overall production is up 6% from the same period a year ago, according to the permit agency.
“Auction Hunters” Visits Lucasfilm Archives this Weekend
(PRNewswire) This Labor Day weekend, Allen Haff and Ton Jones, the charismatic stars of Spike TV’s hit series “Auction Hunters,” will take their peerless acumen in the world of antiques, collectibles and rare valuables to the Skywalker Ranch in California’s Bay Area as they go deep inside the Lucasfilm Archives during the Star Wars Labor Day Marathon.
For the first time, Spike gets access to the Lucasfilm Archives, one of the most historic collections of cinematic relics on the planet. Throughout the weekend, Ton and Allen go hands on with original props, costumes, models and artifacts from the Star Wars Saga, including an original R2-D2, Princess Leia’s famous gold bikini from Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, Darth Maul’s original costume worn in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, an AT-AT model from Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and many more.
Additionally, the two will provide viewers an exclusive look at some of the bonus content that will be featured on the forthcoming Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray which will be available in stores and from online retailers on September 16.
Viewers can log on to spike.com to enter the Star Wars Labor Day Sweepstakes for a chance to win Star Wars prize packs featuring the Blu-ray set and Hasbro Lightsabers via the Stars Wars Labor Day Sweepstakes at spike.com.
Full Article: http://www.moviepropcollectors.com/ magazine/2011/08/30/spike-tvs- auction-hunters-visits-the- lucasfilm-archives-this- weekend/
VFX Legend John Dykstra On ‘X-Men: First Class’, ‘Spider-Man’ & ‘Caddyshack’ Gophers
(screenrant.com)John Dykstra has been around for a while. His first big break was in 1977 when he worked as the Special Photographic Effects Supervisor on Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Since then he has been a part of almost two dozen films, including Caddyshack, Spider-Man 1 & 2, Hancock, Inglourious Basterds and most recently, X-Men: First Class.
The visual effects master took some time to help promote the upcoming DVD and Blu-ray release of X-Men: First Class by sharing some his secrets and stories. It’s a fascinating interview if you have any interest in the evolution of visual effects from entirely practical to mostly digital.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to get into Dykstra’s work on Star Wars: Episode IV, but you can also look out for that title on Blu-ray September 16th, 2011. Our short conversation with the legendary visual effects guru still explores some fascinating thoughts on Hollywood that continue to evolve.
Screen Rant: How and why did you get involved in visual effects?
John Dykstra: Wow. That’s a long time ago. I was in school as an industrial designer. My dad was an engineer and I had a thing for art. That’s a good combination. I really enjoyed photography. I was in photography and I went to work for Doug Trumbull (2001: A Space Odyssey) just a few years after 2001 was released. That’s how I got into the industry. I started out as a designer and ended up doing photography for him and he basically taught me all the stuff that I know about visual effects in that era. Then with the advent of digital imaging I made the transition from trying to figure out how to do things to creating objects, characters and the whole cloth. It kind of freed up the analytical part of my brain and I had the opportunity to use more of the creative side of my brain for how things interact with light and integrate into stories.
John Dykstra on Star Wars set
SR: Trumbull has a great history of working with practical objects to create his effects. How has a background in that helped you evolve with visual effects?
JD: It’s an interesting thing. I think of Douglas as a true artist. Have you seen The Tree of Life? [Trumbull was an effects supervisor on the film.] You see his stuff has an organic quality to it and there’s something about fine art where the artist’s emotional content – or at least a philosophical point of view – shows up in their work. To me, that was one of the important parts of visual effects back when we did it with subjects in cameras. There was a process by which you have to bring together the emotional content and the physical practicality of creating that content. It’s like a translation – turning sanskrit into an English format is one thing, but capturing the essence of what the sanksrit had to say in an emotional context is a completely different thing. I think that era of mechanically figuring out of how to bring a particular evocative image to the screen was a really important part of my education, and something Doug captures and exemplifies is the ability to interpret mechanical things into something that has emotional content.
SR: Working on a film like X-Men: First Class that is built in a world not necessarily real, what do you do to bring a sort of reality to the supernatural effects?
JD: People often ask me, “What do I do to become a visual effects supervisor?” My response is to get out more. One of the problems is that I come from an era when we had to figure out how to bolt a camera to a motorcycle or an airplane or dig a hole and find a canyon deep enough to repel into it so that we can capture images that were real. Human beings are really attuned to their senses. When you work in film, you are working with the visual and audio senses. An understanding of tactile and other components that go into the creation of those objects are important to making them look real on screen, like a plasma of energy. For instance, in X-Men: First Class when Havok sprays his energy beams it wasn’t just about making a bright light that went from point A to point B. It was having that light in itself have a sort of body and complexity that defines the energy that he was projecting. Ultimately, what it comes down to is if you understand how the real world feels and looks and sounds it is much easier to create a virtual version of the real world.
X-Men First Class Havok Energy Blast
SR: Did you even bother looking at the comics or were you basically working with the director on a vision of how it would be executed?
JD: We were more biased towards the director’s point of view, but we certainly referenced scrap from all the comic books. I have to admit I wasn’t an avid comic book reader, but between Matthew Vaughn and all of the people who worked with us, they all brought to the table images and ideas and story components that were part of the original X-Men comic books. I know Matthew was trying to be very true to the comic books. It was the same thing with Sam Raimi on the Spider-Man movies. He would constantly ask, “Is this going to work for the kids who read the comic books?” That’s critical with the source material. Bringing that to the big screen at least requires that you keep a component of that chord or you lose what the comic was about.
SR: Taking a step back, how were you involved in Caddyshack?
JD: We had a visual effects company and one thing we did was puppets. When we were brought in, they had a movie that didn’t have anything but a sock puppet for a gopher in it. And we decided that characters needed a little more room to move. Bill Ramis worked with us and a few other people came up with the idea for a mechanical gopher. We worked with some engineers and puppeteers they figured out how to make him have a personality.
SR: That shows how far visual effects have come in the past few decades. Now you’d probably see a CGI gopher, right?
JD: You know, I think you probably would see a CGI gopher. There seems to be a certain resurgence of vintage effects. Like classic cars, there is a certain thing to be said about vintage visual effects. Again, The Tree of Life is a great example of doing more with practical effects and less with computer generated imagery. But I don’t think it’s so much about the medium, but rather the attitude about the images that you are creating. And that’s what bothers me about computer generated imagery – it’s easy to create something that has a lot of luster, but it’s very hard to make something that has a lot of depth.
SR: Do you have any projects coming up?
JD: I am working on a project called The Seventh Son, which is the working title, with Legendary Pictures. I am also attached to potentially direct something called Tales From The Farm about a boy and his coming of age.. in Canada.
VFX Wages Discussion
(effectscorner.blogspot.com)This post is in response to a comment on a previous post. See this post and follow the comments there for the full original comment. (Toward the end from Anonymous) Unfortunately once I wrote this response it was bigger than a comment could be so I've done it as a post.
Here's part of that comment (focused for this post) but request you read it all to see it in context:
"Here is my thought on this: We got greedy.
During boom times artist rates went up and up. I now make more money than most doctors. I know plenty of others who do just as well. We are the most expensive part of production on most films. While single individuals may get larger paychecks- the director, producer, lead actor, a massive amount of money goes to VFX.
We are too expensive. I make, on average, 5 to 10 times more than other Americans. Why?! It just happened that way over time, I didn't ever expect to be doing this well as an employee of another company. I am well beyond my own expectations."
We got greedy? I don't recall a mass rally outside vfx company offices calling for huge pay increases. I don't recall any company just deciding one day they will pay more simply because vfx workers would like more.
I'm still not clear why people are apologetic for being paid above a national average as if it were a sin. Especially if you're actually a skilled and knowledgable worker creating something or performing a real service that will ultimately be very profitable. According to some of these people we're all so well paid none of us should get health care or any other benefits.
I'd like to think that decades of experience in a very difficult creative and technical industry would amount to something. That the time and effort put into keeping up with quickly changing software, images and techniques would be of some value. I'd like to be paid more than I was 20+ years ago. Some movies makes hundred of millions of dollars (and some even more than a billion dollars). Movies that we helped create. I'd like to think that those of us who do this are paid enough money to have a reasonable home in the cities we work in, that we can afford to raise children, that we don't have to worry about health care bills, that we don't have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to try to retire one day, and that we we're paid enough so we don't have to worry if we don't get a call for a project next week. Is that being greedy? I don't think so.
There will always be people who make more than you and people who make less than you. Bill Gates isn't always the top of the list. You may not have made any money last year but there's likely someone who hasn't made money for the last 2+ years.
The average US CEO of a public company makes over $10 million a year. [To put that in perspective many CEOs earn as much in 1 day as a typical US worker does in an entire year. 1 Day] Are they that much smarter? Harder working? Working longer hours? From my experience you could actually replace most CEO's with a rock and it wouldn't make a bit of difference to the bottom line since it tends to be the workers and managers that handle the actual running and in many cases the non-CEOs are the ones that are forward thinking. (Steve Jobs is a rare exception) I suspect many of these CEO's have assistants that probably make more than a CG supervisor. At the other end of the spectrum are people working multiple jobs cleaning toilets and digging ditches just to try to make a living for themselves and their family. There are some teachers and regional pilots that make less than the poverty level of income. Is any of that fair? No, but all we have at most is a tiny bit of control of our own wages.
I know someone who works in non-vfx that probably puts in half the hours I do and is paid 2-4 times what I make. I know a non-vfx software engineer who was very well paid at a permanent position. More than you are. He received a $300,000 bonus when they shipped on time. When was the last time you got paid a bonus? Any type of bonus? [Supreme Court Clerks now receive over $280,000 signing bonus when they go to work at a law firm.] Most of the time people put in an incredible number of hours at the end of a project and may not even receive a thank you from the company. If the company is really feeling up to it they might have a wrap party as a thank you.
Drive around Los Angeles and look at the pricing of homes in areas you wouldn't mind living in. Base price of a reasonable house (small 2 bedroom) in LA is over $800,000. Many start at $2 million and go up. There are a lot of people in LA making a lot of money and they're not vfx people. Do you think all of these people are going without health care and pensions? Do they all feel guilty?
“We are the most expensive part of production on most films.”
Well we’re a large expense IF the show is a VFX show. I’d hardly call vfx the most expensive part of most films. Most films don't have extensive vfx. Most films burn through $100,000-$300,000 per day while shooting. Most films spend tens of millions of dollars on advertising and promotion. Most films employee at least some actors making $2 million to $20 million. On most of the vfx projects I’ve worked on, vfx typically use less than ½ the budget, in many cases 1/3 to ¼. Published movie budgets are seldom accurate.
“While single individuals may get larger paychecks- the director, producer, lead actor, a massive amount of money goes to VFX.”
I cover a few other people below. You act as if it’s our fault and something we should be ashamed of. A studio chooses which projects they feel will make money in the box office. Most of the top 20 moneymaking movies have made extensive use of vfx. It wasn’t the only reason for their financial success but vfx is part of the reason and with some films, it’s very high on the reasons. The studio chooses to make a vfx film. It’s not something we’re pushing on them. A studio makes tradeoffs and may choose to spend more on vfx than on A actors on some projects and just the opposite on other projects. And the thing about vfx is it’s not just one person. You’ve lumped in all the vfx people costs (which can be hundreds of people) against individuals. When you compare the costs of a full shooting crew on a large vfx movie (including 2nd unit and all the support teams) shooting for 6 months then it’s a much different balance between the ‘expensive vfx crew’ and the shooting crew. The live action crew can be just as expensive, if not more expensive.
Film business: In addition there are quite a few others in the film business making above the national average by week/day/hour. Studio executive, jr executives, editors, DPs, production designers, stunt supervisor, special effects supervisors, sound mixers, DI colorists, etc.
I haven't checked salaries lately but suspect most of the crew make above the national average as well. And why do people make good money in Hollywood? Because they're working on large projects with very good profits if done well. A VFX heavy film will likely make hundreds of millions in profit if done correctly. These people have developed skills and experience that can't be simple bought or learned in a course. They go from project to project so they're not permanently employed. They freelance. They have to be paid more simply to average out and be able to afford the same thing that someone is permanently employed can afford. They put in long hours. Shooting days are 12hr days. Shooting weeks can be 5-7 days. They live in LA and similar areas where the cost of living and housing is above the national average.
Realize the national averages really haven't gone up much in the last 20-30 years. Most pay has been relatively stagnant with 2% increases a year, if that. Even while many companies have become much more profitable. So where does the extra money go to? The CEO, upper management and shareholders. CEO's 30 years ago made approx 30x their average employee. It's now over 300x. GE made record profits last year. Paid no taxes. What do they want to do? Cut wages and benefits of their workers.
Why were Verizon workers on strike? Verizon is making very good profits, paying their upper management very, very well and not paying taxes. And yet they're still asking their workers to reduce there benefits. "That loss of health benefits and other givebacks in the proposed contract would net Verizon annually about $1 billion, or $20,000 per worker, according to the unions." ref And these are benefits that had already been agreed to by both sides and awarded. Now the company wants to reduce them.
From the sounds of it you're in a very sweet spot. You seem to be permanently employed, paid a very high salary and get paid overtime. "I now make more money than most doctors." Really? You make more than most doctors? What you’re describing is not the average or typical for the majority of vfx workers.
If we're going to even try to compare any of this to the national average there are a few things to do. So let's take a look at what an average vfx worker deals with. First calculate rates 1 1/2x for over 8 hrs and 2x for over 12 hrs to work out an average 40hr week. Most of us work 50 hrs to 90 hr weeks but for comparison we have to put it relative to a 40hr workweek. Don't forget those who work a flat rate (no overtime pay). Use the same formula and see how that works out, especially once you hit 90hrs+ a week. VFX workers who do work a lot of overtime end up sacrificing time with their families and their health in the long run that many other jobs do not.
"So many of my friends are unemployed right now."
Even at ILM it was common for people to be laid off for 3-6 months during the 'slow' periods and now we're seeing people go for even longer stretches. So cut the cut the pay period from 12 months to 6-9 months. Now calculate a yearly average or 5-year average.
Oddly when you take that high salary and try to stretch it from 6 months to cover a year, it doesn't look nearly as large. And in the case of most vfx workers there's no guarantee when they will be re-hired. It may seem like the perfect time to take an extended vacation but if you don't know whether you're working again in a few weeks or a year from now it's hard to plan.
Now not everyone in vfx is covered for health care or pension. Even if they were covered if they're off for an extended time or have to switch companies they have to start over. So calculate in the cost of Cobra insurance or self-insurance. Also calculate a pension fund. Not cheap. And we're adding this because most full time jobs include these as part of their compensation.
If a vfx worker has to work outside of town for a given period and has to cover related expenses (travel, boarding, phone calls, etc) then deduct those as well from the vfx wages. A percentage of non-vfx workers work for companies that offer other benefits. (Discounts on products, discounts on services, profit sharing plans, stock options, bonuses, etc) So now compare the full compensation package of the national average with the average vfx worker and what it costs to create that same level of benefits. That average vfx salary that may have looked huge on the surface is likely to be much closer to the national average than it first appeared.
Are there 1000's of people who could do what you do? Can they step into the job you're currently at and do just as well? Do you have years of experience, expertise and skills that means you're much more likely to do something much faster and to avoid the pitfalls? Do you have to take responsibility for the project or a team of people? Do you have to manage people? Do you save money for the company even with your salary? When I work I don't feel bad about being paid well because not only do I accomplish what needs to be done I usually end up saving the vfx company or studio a few times my salary just on avoided expenses. (Avoiding or minimizing costly sets, having the option not to travel the entire cast and crew halfway around the world, improving the pipeline, minimizing the amount of overtime that I can, doing multiple tasks, doing my own mockups, etc)
Companies can and do at times hire poor employees/managers that not only don't accomplish what they need to but that cause losses by making bad decisions. In the end the roto and paint team may have to solve problems because of mistakes made early in the process.
So how does this all work in today’s vfx world? Yes, workers in China and India are paid less but they typically have a lower cost of living. And even in these places as the workers get more skills and experience their wages are going up.
Why don’t all vfx workers in California cut their wages in half? Certainly that would have an impact and counter the imbalanced tax incentives? Yes, but probably not in the way most people might expect. First, many vfx companies would be unlikely to pass all of that savings on to the studios. They would want to keep some to increase their profits and increase salaries of their management. Second, the studios would ask the vfx companies for even lower bids, because after all, the workers cost less. Those places in other countries and areas would be forced to follow suit because the companies that employee them and the studios would point out those in LA don’t make as much. End result could simply be evenly lower bids with the tax incentives still in place and the work still going else where. And now everyone is paid less. Doesn't seem to be much of an advantage.
Why did we end up with the salaries in vfx that we do?
" It just happened that way over time.." Nope.
First off there is no standard. People tend to assume there is because some of the bigger companies have somewhat similar rates. But without a union there’s really no standard rates and people doing the same job at different companies (or even within the same company) could be paid drastically different rates. (and of course different locations and countries differ as well).
Companies don’t just randomly choose to pay a higher rate for workers. Nor do they tend to volunteer to pay increases and other job incentives.
One of the reasons why people are paid the amount they are because when digital vfx started it was made up mainly of union people. ILM was all union when I went to work there. Say what you will about the unions but the fact is in many industries you’re paid a reasonable rate because a group of people organized and asked for given rates. There was a shift to digital as time progressed but many of the people shifted to similar jobs in the digital world if they could. That also meant that 2D animators (with skills and existing experience) tended to move into 3D. Once again people who were already up to speed and able to accomplish the work are worth far more than a number of less expensive people with no experience and that would require training and hand holding.
Those working in VFX are also paid what they are because similar jobs in other industries might pay well. Digital vfx were ramping up as Silicon Valley was at full speed. Whether it’s in graphic arts, software development or other areas, if companies wish to either hire someone from that other industry or want to retain people from going to another industry, then they have to pay a competitive rate. Do you think everyone at Apple, Google, Microsoft and Adobe are being paid minimum wage or even the national average?
And the other reason for the pay to be the way it is because there was a lack of skilled, experienced talent at the beginning and some companies would essentially compete to get key people. The result is there was a spike at one point but much of that has already been scaled back. Will there be more scaling back in the future? Possibly.
But don’t forget the US Justice Dept found that there was collusion between ILM and Pixar regarding non-competing for animators. So that created artificially lower rates for animators and prevented some opportunities for them.
As stated the reason why the rates are where they are elsewhere is due to the rates that have been paid to key vfx people in California. We’re now seeing a flood of vfx students trying to be employed. Many of these people are willing to work for anything, including free and minimum wage. Some would be happy to pay the first year if necessary. What they don’t understand is by working free or cheap they can end up pushing all wages down, including their future earnings. They may find next year, once they’ve gained more experience, they aren’t given a raise simply because this years batch of students are willing to work for even less. And some producers prey on these types of people and employ essentially students to do their work for free or cheap.
The point here is that we should be looking for solutions to the problems of the vfx industry. Outsourcing and tax incentives are some of the problems. Overtime and overtime pay is another issue. Being forced to be an independent contractor is another problem. I'm sure we could list many more but I'm hoping we focus discussions on potential solutions; throwing out and discussing possible ideas. Simply shrugging our shoulders and saying "woe is me" is not a solution.
It's not easy. This is a global problem but hopefully we'll be able to come up with some ideas to balance this out.
Introducing the 100Mb High-Speed Pipeline
(btlnews.com)Electric Picture Solutions and Global Entertainment Partners (EPS/GEP) announced that they now offer a 100Mb high-speed portal for their Studio City campus. Now, clients can move media or dailies from any location, whether just down the street or across the world, quickly and efficiently to Los Angeles for editorial or processing.
On-set digital dailies are becoming status quo for the production community, creating a need for high-speed networking to post. For example, the feature film Freaky Deaky, is shooting in Atlanta with dailies being processed on set, while the editorial team is set up at the EPS/GEP headquarters in Studio City. The dailies are transmitted from Atlanta to Studio City using a dedicated portion of the EPS/GEP pipeline and DNA SYNC, enabling the editor to immediately begin cutting.
Native camera files, which EPS/GEP can now send or receive, are decidedly important for content producers to move from a shoot, to processing, to editorial. “Raw files are the foundation of a digital workflow,” explained David Pincus, EPS CEO and founder, “therefore, delivering them in minutes or hours, rather than days, opens up a whole new level of service to our clients.”
The EPS/GEP pipeline is also a depository for dailies, raw or color corrected, that need to be transferred from a location shoot to editorial back in Los Angeles, even if the feature is not being cut at the EPS/GEP campus. EPS downloads the dailies and delivers them to their final destination.
EPS/GEP allocates portions of the 100Mb connection depending on the client’s particular bandwidth needs. The IT manager simply directs the amount of bandwidth the client requires to a particular system or systems. The client can upload and/or download files using their dedicated bandwidth, ensuring that their transfer will not be affected by the other clients on the network. “We can dedicate single or multiple ports to an individual, or groups of editors working simultaneously in any increment based on the client’s needs,” explained managing general partner, David Goodman.
The 100Mb pipeline is also perfect for a production that requires an entire feature film be sent directly to editorial, or for the movement of visual effects between the editing bay and the VFX facility, which can only be transmitted using high bandwidth.
“It also enables streaming of editorial playback,” said Goodman. As an example, he cites director Simon West. “West is currently in Bulgaria scouting locations for Expendables 2. We are streaming video of his recent project, Medallion to him by virtue of our 100Mb pipeline”
Ghost-ly Motion Capture at Disney’s Haunted Mansion
(yourhighwayinthesky.com)When Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion welcomed a new set of “livelier” hitchhiking ghosts in April of 2011, guests were blown away by the technology behind the new happy haunts. New digital technology allowed the ghosts to do far more than ride along with guests. Instead, the new ghostly trio could interact with their doombuggy-traveling guests.
For those experiencing the new effect, the difference between old ghosts and new was breathtaking. With typical attention to detail, Imagineers and animators had created characters that moved in a dynamic, believable way that encouraged guests to forget that they were effects. Even though the mischievous spirits are only visible for a few moments, their vibrant actions easily made guests view them as “characters.”
Beyond the digital animation, however, lay a spectacular use of technology to personalize riders’ experiences and engage them in the attraction – a new motion capture technology. That new technology opened a rich variety of options for personalizing rides and upgrading or “plussing” attractions.
HMansion 199x300 Ghost ly motion capture at Disneys Haunted MansionThe idea of using technology to make a ride more dynamic and easily upgraded is already a part of the Disney arsenal. Toy Story Mania at Disney Hollywood Studios, an interactive attraction relying on computer programming and animation, was able to switch out its “games” overnight or add holiday inspired elements. That kind of technological flexibility helps to keep rides interesting for repeat riders, and allows imagineers to easily improve or vary guest experience.
But the potential at the Haunted Mansion is even greater.
Behind the new Hitchhiking Ghosts lies a spectacular form of motion tracking that allows a computer to identify and track elements of a guest – like their eyes, height, mouth, or hand. In the past, such technology, frequently used for the creation of special effects, required elaborate scans and careful marking of the points to be tracked on a subject’s face. The motion sensors behind the ghosts are perhaps less precise than what would be required for a cinematic motion capture, but they provide breathtaking potential.
Right now, the spectral trio can detect the number of guests in a car, varying the animation based on the number of occupants. Ghostly gags also rely on guests’ height and location in the car, targeting their heads for a variety of effects. Guests are delighted, usually agreeing that the mirrors at the end of the ride go by far too quickly to fully enjoy the effects.
HMghost1 150x150 Ghost ly motion capture at Disneys Haunted MansionAccording to imagineers, however, the technology is capable of even more. Tests have demonstrated that the motion capture can detect shapes and details well enough to even allow interaction between animated characters and guests in a reflective surface. For example, one reported test allowed an animated Tinkerbell to visually place Mickey ears on a guest’s head…or remove them.
With that kind of technology, only time will tell what new tricks the Hitchhiking ghosts may have hiding in the ectoplasm. Imagineers could add even more effects to the final sequence of the attraction, perhaps targeting the children in the car for special fun, or even picking out guests with certain characteristics.
Furthermore, the success of the new ghosts may open the doors for the use of technology in other attractions. With the proven success of interaction between a live guest reflection and an animated character, a whole new world of personalized experiences formerly only possible in film and fantasy have opened up. Keep your eye out as Disney expands on Fantasyland and Fantasy Faire – who knows what we’ll see!
Lucasfilm Christmas Cards, 1977-2010
Take a look: http://www.howtobearetronaut.com/2011/08/lucasfilm- christmas-cards-1977-2010/
