Chapter 2 Inventions and Origins 79at ILM in 1992, they had just completed Hook and Death
Becomes Her. Both fi lms effects used some digital compositing,
but were mostly created with traditional techniques such as hand
inked rotoscoping and optical printing. At the same time, the
small computer graphics department was doing tests of digital
dinosaurs for Jurassic Park. When I returned a year later to start
my fi rst job, the company had almost completed its transition.
The optical printers were being dismantled and a number of
departments had disappeared or been computerized (fx camera,
rotoscoping, opticals). Computer graphics in visual effects had
graduated from one-off “gimmicks” like the water creature in The
Abyss to become an integral part of the fi lmmaking process.(^) In 1996, I worked at Tippett Studio on Starship Troopers. Phil
Tippett and many of my colleagues at the studio had worked
in stop motion animation for years and were fi nding innovative
ways of incorporating digital tools into their process. It’s
where I really learned about visual effects and animation. I was
constantly surrounded by reminders that computer graphics are
just a new way of working in a much older craft. The same rules
still apply.
Q
How does your role in the visual eff ects department fi t into the entire
process of fi lm production?A
(^) These days, very few fi lms don’t include some level of visual
effects. Sometimes, it’s simply to save money on locations or
big sets, to increase the safety of actors or stunt people, or just
to save time during the shoot. And of course, there’s still a lot
of demand for us to create what doesn’t exist, like dinosaurs
or space battles. The visual effects department is now part of
the process from the very beginning; creating a budget, then
planning the shoot, and fi nally working on all the vfx shots in
post-production.
Filmmaking has always been an expensive and time consuming
“group project.” Visual effects and computer graphics have only
increased the time and amount of people needed to make a
fi lm. With more people involved, there are many more decisions
needed, both creative and technical. My collaborations are mainly
with the fi lm’s overall vfx supervisor and the senior artists on my
vfx team, such as an Animation Director or CG Supervisor. The
fi lm’s director is always involved of course, in setting the overall
goals, in terms of the story, style and the look of the fi lm.
Visit the textbook website to read the entire interview with
Greg Butler.
Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).