Can We Still Trust Our Eyes With Today’s Visual Effects? No…
In Photos It’s Easy… But What About Video?
When it comes to photography, most people have already accepted that anything can be faked. Everyone’s at least heard of Photoshop, and when faced with a surreal-looking image, they can confidently say: “It’s fake!”
That’s the case with the excellent photo manipulations by Christophe Huet (image above) or the Brazilian studio Platinum (image below):
But when it comes to video, the eye has a harder time accepting that something isn’t real. And yet…
With today’s tools and technology, anything a creative mind can imagine can be achieved in video. Absolutely anything.
By combining live-action footage, 3D (CGI elements), and compositing, a skilled studio can bring any wild idea to life. Of course, the bigger the concept, the higher the budget and the greater the technical and human resources required. Remember, just for the Sky rebrand, over 30 people were involved. Imagine what that means for a feature film ;)
Let’s take a look at a few videos that remind us that in video too, we can create effects that make you go “Waaaooouuu!”
The Humans of Digital Domain
One of the trickiest things to recreate digitally in visual effects remains human beings. And in this field, Digital Domain truly excels! Below you’ll find their showreel dedicated to 3D human simulation, followed by a making-of from Pirates of the Caribbean:
Some moments are mind-blowing, even unsettling, when you realize that the skin, the face — they don’t actually exist. The wood explosion simulation on the ship in Pirates of the Caribbean is also worth a look ;)
3D Compositing of Paris in Nuke
It’s not just big American studios delivering beautiful effects — the French can do it too!
Here’s an example from Julien Dias, a professional digital compositor working with Nuke, Toxic, and Fusion.
If you’ve ever wondered what these kinds of programs can do compared to After Effects for compositing, the following videos will give you the answer:
Nuke, the software used here, can import and handle 3D objects. You can place them in a 3D environment, add a camera, and move through the scene — to put it simply ;) It’s hard to believe that the aerial tracking shot over the rooftops in Faubourg 36 is fake — the realism is incredible. In the second video, where a subway station is recreated, you can imagine the hours of work invested for just a few seconds of screen time… These videos show one of the many facets of a compositor’s work on a feature film.
With our .vpe vanishing points and pseudo-3D layers in After Effects, we suddenly feel quite small in comparison ^^
The VFX You Don’t Even Notice
To wrap up, here are two product spots recently made by Motion Theory, both centered around sports:
Even if the first one makes you hesitate at first, don’t try it at home — these videos are faked ;) The post-production work here is so well integrated that the effects are invisible. Everything is seamless. I wish I could find a making-of, because I’m still curious about how they pulled it off :) I can only tell you that a lot of people worked on it!
In the second spot, the 3D elements like the yellow pants are incredibly well done, and the transitions between the two states are smooth. Excellent work that leaves you dreaming…
You’ll never watch a movie the same way again after seeing all this!
About the author
I am the Founder of Mattrunks.
I work as Creative Director and Motion Designer in my studio. I also create video tutorials to share my passion of motion.