1) Sounds like fun.
2) It doesn't seem like you know anything about VFX (we can fix that).
QUESTIONS: Can you afford it? Can you shoot it? Are you ready? Are you in over your head? Should you walk away? Will it look bad? ... You know what, who cares! Don't let fear hold you back. I'm going to pretend that you have all that stuff figured out, and let's make a VFX shot!
VFX is both complex & simplistic. Complex, in that you need to be
very careful in designing, planning and shooting the plates. Simplistic, in that once you know where
never to cut corners (designing, planning & shooting!) the actual process of creating the elements and comps is fairly repetitive. With experience, and
rigorous adherence to the planning phase, this repetition becomes well-practiced and thus easier.
Shoot it wrong, and nobody will want to help pull your fat from the fire. An experienced VFX artist can smell a poorly planned sequence from a mile away and kindly decline (read: RUN) from a mess that's more trouble than it's worth. I'm assuming that you will be shooting the plates, but someone else will be doing the VFX, is this correct?
Here's the good news, I can help you with the designing & planning part. We'll go through it one step at a time.
It's unlikely you have the shop required to build a miniature, so let's stick to a digital approach. Those tools are much more common and there's a glut of artist out there who only know digital (sadly).
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YOUR NUKE SHOT
THE GIST: Shoot a photographic background plate, and add digital elements to it.
STEP ONE: The first thing you need to do is think through EXACTLY how you want the shots to look and then come up with some thumbnail sketches. Shoot from a location that you know you can get. It is VERY helpful to scout some shooting locations and snap some photos from the approximate location of the final plate. These will be helpful in drawing your thumbnails.
Email me your favorite photos & thumbnails. I'll study your ideas and make some suggestions.
Come on. Hurry up. We're already behind schedule.
NEXT: Storyboard & Previs.
- Thomas
beefcramp@gmail.com
