editing How to shoot for effects

C

CRAYONSEED

Hi All,

Been lurking here for over a year absorbing all the wisdom on these boards. Now I need some advice and can't think of anywhere better to turn. Here's my situation:

I've written and cast a short that requires a few effects shots. Some of the effects if need be I can handle myself (eye glow, gunfire), but there is one effect that will require an effects pro. The effect is a Hellboy style CGI tail. Now I've all but given up on trying to find someone local (NYC area) to agree to do the effects without pay upfront. What I need now more than anything is advice...

Well ok what I need now more than anything is $120 million to shoot a feature with, but what I need almost as much as that is advice.

My plan is to move ahead with shooting and have someone come in and add in the tail animation in post. The advice I need is on how to shoot in the best way for the effects artist. What information will I need to give them? Any info is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
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I think the biggest thing you are going to need when shooting this is grabbing points for when the artist wants to put the tail in, in post. I am not a special effects guy but I know some basics. If you want the tail added in post then it is going to have to be created there. That means they are going to have to attach it there as well. When they "attach" it they will need something to attach it to. You may have to not only put tracking points on the person you want it to be attached to but also to the environment as well. And I am pretty sure these tracking points can't leave frame either, so remember to take that into consideration. Also make sure the tracking points are very visible to the camera as well. Don't put a black mark on a black wall and expect that to track. As far as where to put the points and how many to put I am not sure. Probably four for the person on the tail and then 4 to 8 for the environment, but that is really just a guess. Does any of this help/make sense? Anyone else have any kind of thought?
 
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Avoid having the tail interacting with the environment as much as possible. Every time it flops and smacks someone, the CGI will be that much harder. If its just sorta flipping around, off the floor, it will be much simpler to create.

If there are shots where the tail has a LOT of action\ camera attention, then lock those shots down on a tripod. Having a steady NO MOVEMENT shot for an FX plate keeps things simple.

For shots that MUST move, keep some BRIGHT small STATIC point in the frame for the entire shot. This helps in motion tracking the camera.


If you can rig up a FAKE tail, that can be worn by the actor and moved around a bit, then you can put some tracking points on it, say ping pong balls cut in half and painted bright colors. This will help with motion capture (mocap)
 
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All that should technically be necessary would be, as Brooksy said, the attachment point.

Stick a ping pong ball on the base of the actors back, where the tail will be attached, this ought to be plenty easy to track.

Other things that will really help sell the shot(s) would be to get mirror and matte information for each location, with the lighting in place.. for that you'll need a large reflective silver globe, and a large 50% gray globe. take a high resolution still of these from the POV of the camera, and the images can then be used to mimic the lighting and shadow of the entire room, which means -- the tail will look like it belongs there. ;)

another option for tracking if you don't want to have to fudge it as much when the base of the tail where it would attach to the actors body isn't visible, would be to have the actor wear a belt that is alternating black & white, or black and a bright contrasting color.. this would wrap all the way around their body, so you could extrapolate from that precisely where on the cylindrical form of their body the tail would be attached at any point in time. if they're wearing darker colored pants, this tracking marker belt would then be pretty easy to paint out in post.

Your best bet though, whatever route you take, is to do a bunch of short tests first before you start your project.. that way you won't have to worry about wasting anyone elses time while you figure out how it's going to work best for you. :)
 
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Thanks Brooksy, Wheatgrinder and Will Vincent! With the info you've given me I feel like I can move forward with the project.

If anyone else has any more good advice and/or knows a good artist who wants to get involved feel free to respond. Thanks again!
 
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