visualization
Visualization is similar to storyboarding, except that instead of 2D images, we create simplified 3d animation to "blueprint" out the effects, characters, and creatures, so that an edit can be easily created, as well as giving the studios performing final vfx have a solid foundation to work from. Visualization comes in two forms, Previsualization, and Postvisualization.
Wicked Postvisualization
I worked on Wicked as a freelancer with OPSIS. It was really great to work on a bigger production, and I am happy that it has released to such fanfare. We worked on several different sections of the movie, but most of our focus was near the climax where Elphaba and Glinda visit the Emerald City. In particular, we did many of the shots involving the monkey guards, who are transformed into the flying monkeys as a result of Elphaba's magic.
I was tasked with several shots where the monkeys are chasing the main pair through the palace.
When I watched the movie, I noticed that the chase sequence had removed many of the scenes I had worked on. I was not actually too upset about this, as I felt after watching the movie that some of the sequences were unnecessary, and wouldn't have added much to the sequence beyond making it needlessly long. Part of purpose of visualization is to make it easier for the editor and director to quickly see what a "completed" shot would look like, and cut shots that aren't needed before more time and money is spent on them.
With that said, I am glad that some of my shots made it into the final cut, and you can see a few of the shots that I worked on above. I performed animation for the monkeys and some of the compositing for each of these shots.
Our work also involved shots from part 2 of the story, so I am excited to see which of my shots made the cut when that releases.
Stranger THings Postvisualization
For Stranger Things Season 4, I worked with OPSIS on the montage at the end of the Episode 9, The Piggyback. This was one of the first scenes I got to work on as a visualization artist, and it was exciting to be trusted with such a cool scene so early in my career. We performed postvisualization for this scene, meaning that we were adding the CGI creatures and visual effects on top of the the live-action plates.
Most of my focus was on Hopper's fight with the demogorgon, and I worked on nearly a dozen shots related to that scene. Using the demogorgon rig, I animated the creature to match Hopper's actions, to make a scene that felt believable from the actor's cues. After animating and doing a basic render, I also composited the Demogorgon into the scene, using standard masking techniques and some lighting and shadow tricks to bring it up to a decent quality within the timeframe available.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile Postvisualization
One other standout movie I worked on was Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. While we did postvisualization on many different scenes in the show, this was one of my favorites. After being chased through an alleyway by a cat, a panicked Lyle gets caught on a laundry line, falling into a pile of garbage before escaping with a pair of underpants on his head.
It was a very fun scene to animate, and an interesting conundrum. Lyle is clearly a CGI character, and one that is fairly silly, but had to fit into the live-action scenes. We iterated on this scene many times to try and find the right amount of goofy to hit that balance.
Lyle Lyle Crocodile received nominations for the Movieguide Awards and the Golden Trailer Awards, and I'm glad I was able to be a part of the team that helped bring it to life.
