Visual Effects Foundations

With more than 20 years of experience, Emmy nominated Visual Effects Supervisor Noel Hooper has composited visual effects for over 90 films and television productions, held posts at Canada’s top visual effects studios, and garnered two Gemini wins　and another nomination. In 2004 he co-founded his own visual effects studio where he works as a senior visual effects artist and supervisor. He also leads the Visual Effects program at Sheridan College in Toronto, Canada, where he teaches students the art and science of visual effects. Noel is a member of the Visual Effects Society, and his film and television credits as a visual effects supervisor and digital compositor include The Road, Boardwalk Empire, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, Dominion, and Combat Hospital.

Introduction

History of Visual Effects in Filmmaking

VFX / Film Production

Production ManagementRoles of Visual Effects and Film Production

Pipeline

Pre-Production

Concept Art

Storyboarding

Pre-Visualization

Breakdowns

Production

On-set

Data Collection

Tech Visualization

Post Production

Post Visualization

Editing

Visual Effects

Sound

Digital Intermediate

Distribution

Chapter 1 : The Digital Image

Image Data

Channels

Bit depth

Resolution

Aspect Ratios

Pre-multiplication

File Formats

Codecs

Frame Rate

Color Management

Color Space

Display Gamma

Linear Workflow

LUTs

Log/Lin

Color Pipeline

Color scopes

Color Manipulation

Gamma/Gain/Offset/Contrast/Saturation

White Point/Black Point

Color Curves

Chapter 2 : Light

(50 pages)

Lighting Concepts

Color Temperature

Intensity

Shadows

Direct Lighting

Light Placement

Indirect Lighting/Global Illumination

Light Types

Light Quality

Hi/Low Key

Lighting Techniques

3 Point Lighting

Lighting Greenscreens/Bluescreens

Lighting Workflows

IBL

HDRI lighting

HDRI acquisition/creation

Plate analysis

Chapter 3 : Cameras

(50 pages)

Camera Concepts

Camera Construction

Lens Construction

Exposure

Aperture

Sensor/Film Back

Frame Rate

F-Stop/T-Stop

Depth of field

ISO

Bokeh

Shutter

Prime/Zoom Lenses

Motion Blur

Lens Distortion

Nodal point

Chromatic Aberration

Camera Techniques

Photography

Framing/Staging

Composition

Continuity

Types of shots

Camera Motion

Stereography

Camera Workflows

Tracking markers

Camera Tracking

2D Tracking

Lens Distortion

Metadata

Data Storage/Transfer

Chapter 4 : Action

(50 pages)

Action Concepts

Scene scale

Camera Position

Lighting Position

Action Techniques

3D Animation

Production Plates

Miniatures

Stop Motion

Dynamics/Simulations

Special Effects

Stock Elements

Matte Painting

Action Workflows

Survey

Object Tracking

Motion/Performance Capture

Facial Capture

Lidar

Photogrammetry

Laser/Cyber Scanning
Texture Acquisition

Camera Projection

Scene Data Storage/Transfer

Clean Plates

Chapter 5 : Integration

Integration Concepts

Perspective/Horizon

Scale (Physical and Temporal)

Color/Atmosphere

Render Passes

Image Matrix

Compositing

Integration Techniques

Keying

Rotoscoping

Color matching

Grain

Operations

Relighting

Motion Blur

Noise/Grain

Image Distortion

Temporal Distortion

Image Processing/Filters

Integration Workflows

Node Based Compositing

2D/3D Compositing

Layer Based Compositing

Depth Based Compositing

Deep Based Compositing

Stereoscopic Compositing

Case Studies

1. Rig Removal

2. Greenscreen Window

3. Matte Painting / Set Extension

4. Camera tracking – integrating 2D/3D elements to plate with moving camera

5. Object Tracking – integrating 2D/3D elements to plate with a moving object