A VFX pipeline serves as a systematic framework that divides the various stages of a workflow into organized and efficient tasks. In extensive production pipelines, numerous individuals collaborate as a cohesive team. Effectively managing a large-scale film production necessitates the breakdown of workflows into manageable tasks, ensuring timely completion within budget constraints.

Pre-Production

Initiating every film project involves comprehensive research. During this phase, the team determines their technical approach, including software preferences, and engages in discussions about the diverse techniques to be employed in the film. This is the juncture where initial concepts and ideas are presented and discussed.

Given the time-intensive nature of CGI, the VFX team comes into play immediately after the production team storyboards their project. Their involvement commences with meticulous planning and preparation for different scenes, focusing on the development of concept art. This strategic approach provides a clear roadmap for executing the necessary steps to bring each scene to fruition.

Pre-Visualization

The pre-visualization phase kicks off by laying out the scene in both digital and physical sets. Following this, the VFX artist proceeds to create various models and effects essential for the film. Despite its apparent simplicity, a single scene may entail intricate tasks such as modeling, texturing, weight-painting, rigging, animation, and other specialized effects that demand unique skills. Depending on the film’s scale, these skills may require an entirely separate team. For instance, the recent season of The Rings of Power engaged over 1,500 VFX artists from 20 different VFX studios.

Production

The production phase involves the actual filming of the movie, with VFX artists collaborating closely with the production crew to deliver valuable content on set. Reference pictures are meticulously captured for props, environments, backgrounds, actors, and more. These images serve as the foundation for later 3D models, contributing to the scene’s enhanced realism.

Among the various tasks during this phase, 3D modeling stands out as one of the most labor-intensive aspects of CG effects. This process transforms concept art into digital entities, encompassing model props, environments, buildings, vehicles, and other objects. Motion capture is a prime example, where 3D modelers create characters based on actor performances using VFX software like Autodesk Maya and Pixologic Z-Brush. The meticulous process involves utilizing hundreds of reference photos and 3D scans with motion capture suits. Additionally, matte painting, an early VFX technique, is employed to craft diverse backgrounds, from magical forests to castles and expansive 3D landscapes.

Post-Production

Post-production serves as the convergence point for all film elements, including video footage, special effects, CGI, music, and sound. This phase stands out as the most labor-intensive in the VFX pipeline. Rigging teams, for animation purposes, construct a digital skeleton or control system for movie characters, leveraging motion capture cameras and data collected during the actual production.

The FX team takes charge of injecting dynamic elements into the film, such as explosions, fire, smoke, or other forms of destruction for realistic outcomes. Polishing efforts are applied to existing scenes to enhance visual appeal, while texturing provides the finishing touch by adding surface color and textures to 3D models, achieving a lifelike appearance. Human characters, for example, are meticulously detailed, ensuring realistic skin characteristics and textures for the ultimate cinematic result.

In the realm of visual storytelling, the significance of lighting cannot be overstated. After the completion of objects and characters, the meticulous addition of appropriate lighting becomes paramount to infuse a computer-generated scene with realism. This intricate process extends across the entire 3D scene, enhancing the light, color, and intensity of the original shot while ensuring precise shadow placement. Once the sequence of frames is rendered, they are entrusted to the compositor, who orchestrates the seamless integration of all VFX elements.

The final chapter in the post-production saga unfolds with compositing, a meticulous process that involves layering all film elements atop one another. Tasks such as color correction, masking, and other nuanced adjustments are diligently applied to achieve the definitive results. The compositor’s role is pivotal in ensuring that real-life objects and characters seamlessly interact with computer-generated effects, thus bestowing a sense of seamlessness and realism to the entire composition. It’s aptly likened to “stitching” since it intricately weaves together all the elements, creating a cohesive and convincing visual narrative.