before striking it all but not during actual production. A few
people on site were fine but they couldn't have 200-500 cast,
crew & extras on or near set. It would mess up the scan.
What I was facing at the time was an 80-person unit shoot
which had grown to 270 crew plus extras, helicopter load in/
out for set dressing, multiple access road improvements and
constant maintenance using heavy machinery. I had to build
four access bridges (two permanent and two temporary),
circumvent seasonal tourism to ensure safety & privacy, and
protect fossil beds and rare slow-growing lichen, to mention a
few of the other unseen elements that were my department's
responsibility.
There was a point where I was the middleman for way too many
questions going back-and-forth between the art department,
VFX and the LiDAR crew that I had quote the job.
I was being asked for .KML files of the sites to be 3D scanned
before I knew exactly where we wanted to shoot what. The areas
I was asked to get quoted grew by 300 percent to 400 percent in
size, with my budget expanding proportionally.
Added to the mayhem because the scope of the shoot grew so
large so quickly, hotel rooms nearby were in short supply, which
added another layer of complexity to schedule the LiDAR scans
which the ADs also handed off to me.
*VFX Tech Terms
Mesh
In computer graphics, a polygon mesh is the collection
of vertices (the point where two lines meet to form an
angle), edges, and faces that defines the shape and
contour of every 3D character & object, whether it be
used for 3D-animated film, advertising, or video games.
.KML File (Keyhole Markup Language) is a
file format created for storing geographic data and
associated content with Google Earth.
DSLR Camera
A digital single-lens reflex camera is a digital camera that
combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens
reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor.
VR (Virtual Reality)
Computer-generated simulation in which a person
can interact within an artificial three-dimensional
environment using electronic devices, such as special
goggles with a screen or gloves fitted with sensors.
Reality Capture
Photogrammetry software which creates 3D models out
of unordered photographs or laser scans without seams.
The most common fields of its current use are full-body
scanning, gaming, surveying, mapping, visual effects and
virtual reality in general.
Area quoted (blue) vs. area to be scanned
