INDUSTRY. VFX ROUND TABLE
and objects. Video game developers and personnel are important in order to build the tools we need for the VFX film industry. Though I believe the human and artistic flow is going the other way around, as video game tools are being used more in the film industry, it is film people and artists who are bringing a new vibe into the video game industry. RENE AMADOR: Yes, the real-time graphics engines and all the creative workflows that go into making the sets and characters for games are also applicable to virtual production, which is the segment of the film effects industry that uses real-time tools. In addition, beyond visual effects that are performed in post, there are now live on-set methods of virtual production that involve live green screen composites, AR elements or LED XR backdrops for in-camera effects. Technically, these on-set methods don’t qualify as visual effects, since they can be realised on-set, so they’re a new hybrid of traditional special effects and computer graphics.
Could gaming tools and personnel be utilised more to help VFX evolve in the film industry? QUENTIN JORQUERA: Gaming tools are already at the core of the revolution which has been taking place in the VFX world for the last five years or so. Game engines such as Unreal Engine and Unity are widely used now in the film industry, and hardware like VR headsets and gamepads are being used both during prep and on-set now. Virtual production is all about fluidity of communication between storytellers and the machines, the core identity of the gaming hardware is to constantly find better ways to communicate with the machine. And it’s not just about the hardware, creating animated rigs to control your computer- generated character or vehicle using a gamepad, just like a video game, allows for superfast animating in previs. VR gaming has pushed the industry forward to create better, smarter and cheaper body-tracking systems which are now used on sets to track cameras and bodies, display virtual characters
QUENTIN JORQUERA Director of photography and virtual production supervisor Dark Matters
RENE AMADOR CEO and co-founder ARwall
HE SUN VFX and real-time technology supervisor Milk VFX
LALA GAVGAVIAN Global president of visual effects studios Digital Domain
PHILIPP WOLF Executive-in-charge, corporate strategy DNEG
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