Filming the Fantastic with Virtual Technology

Filmmaking on the Digital Backlot

Mark Sawicki, Juniko Moody

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781000762488
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

This book brings fantasy storytelling to a whole new level by providing an in-depth insight into the tools used for virtual reality, augmented reality, 360 cinema and motion capture in order to repurpose them to create a virtual studio for filmmaking. Gone are the long days and months of post before seeing your final product. Composites and CG characters can now be shot together as fast as a live-action show.

Using off-the-shelf software and tools, authors Mark Sawicki and Juniko Moody document the set-up and production pipelines of the modern virtual/mocap studio. They reveal the procedures and secrets for making movies in virtual sets. The high-end technology that enabled the creation of films such as The Lord of the Rings, Avatar and The Jungle Book is now accessible for smaller, independent production companies. Do you want your actors to perform inside of an Unreal® Game Engine set and interact with the environment? Do you want to be able to put your live-action camera on a jib or dolly and move effortlessly through both a live-action and virtual space together? Do you want live performers interacting with giants, elves and other creatures manipulated by motion capture in real time? This book discusses all of these scenarios and more, showing readers how to create high-quality virtual content using alternative, cost-effective technology.

Tutorials, case studies, and project breakdowns provide essential tips on how to avoid and overcome common pitfalls, making this book an indispensable guide for both beginners to create virtual backlot content and more advanced VFX users wanting to adopt best practices when planning and directing virtual productions with Reality™ software and performance capture equipment such as Qualysis.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 The first magicians
• Chapter 2 A brief history of computer graphics
• Chapter 3 Performance capture
• Chapter 4 Camera tracking
• Chapter 5 Under the hood of the Reality Engine™ compositing system
• Chapter 6 Making a storyboard with Unreal® Engine
• Chapter 7 Compositing fundamentals
• Chapter 8 Production considerations
• Chapter 9 Creating photo-real environments
• Chapter 10 So, you don’t have a million dollars
• Chapter 11 Production case studies
• Chapter 12 Virtual reality: indistinguishable from magic
• About the Authors
• Index