May 26, 1999 - Before filming Episode I: The Phantom Menace, a storyboard was created to illustrate story elements. Following that, crude representation shots brought in further elements. Computer graphic models were later added, and still later refined. The whole process is referred to as animatics.
In tonite's chat session at Talk City, pre-visualization/effects supervisor David Dozoretz (below right) and animatics artist Jeff Wozniak (below left) discussed the challenges and gave a bit of insight into the techniques. The session started at around 6:00 PST.
Some tidbits from the conversation...
Audience:
How have computers affected the role of artists in movies in the past
few years?
Wozniak: I would say they've changed things significantly. As recently as 1992, when I was having to declare a major in college, focusing on computers would lead you down a technical career path. But there wasn't a clear connection between computers and filmmaking. It's changed dramatically, and many who may not have pursued a career in the film industry have done so. One cringes thinking how effects show used to be done, and edited with film itself - its all different, to put it mildly.
Dozoretz: I would just add that at least on The Phantom Menace, the technology was part of getting George's vision. We are just at the tip of the iceberg right now, and the next five years are going to be terrific to watch. We won't judge films not by what IS digital, but what is NOT digital in a film. It's like how CD's replaced LP's. I think it will streamline the process of filmmaking, and realize the vision more clearly.
Wozniak: In this film, I think you can see it already. Only about 200 shots in this movie were NOT done digitally. It's just another tool, and the distinction between the two types of shots is rapidly becoming not relevant.
Dozoretz: Even the non-effect shots are digital.
Wozniak: Right. It's the first time a film has done live action digitially.
Audience: How does the special effects team add in the glow to the lightsabers?
Dozoretz: We used "The Force." *grin* Here's a general answer (so we don't give away the magic). We have an image of a lightsaber flickering. We have a compositing program to sandwich it over the stick the actor has on the set.
Audience: Do you consider yourselves primarily as artists, as computer people, a little of both, or what?
Dozoretz: The line is blurring. We are filmmakers. We use a computer instead of a camera.
Wozniak: I think that's a great answer. There is an equal balance between those two fields now. You have to understand both film, and the technical graphics.
Dozoretz: In the end, a computer is a fancy pencil - it's not a picture.
Wozniak: There's still a misconception that the computer is doing the work, but it's still the creative people behind it - computers don't do anything themselves.
Dozoretz:
Except crash. *grin*