Computer Graphics World

April 2009 40 n n n n Mixed Media "Our goal from the beginning was to create tools that would extend the ability of photographers to communicate the passion, vision, and emotional beauty of great auto- motive design," says omas Teger, Bunk- speed's director of marketing and strategic planning. "Having easy access to great ma- terials and lighting, and the ability to quickly see the results of your work, enables faster, more insightful decisions that aid creativity." Is the Time Right? After years of false starts and retrofitted so- lutions, is the time finally right for the mar- riage between photography and 3D com- puter graphics? Obviously Teger thinks so, but so do Burgess and Lee. Photographers see for the first time that there is little or no compromise associated with a plunge into CGI waters. e software mimics the way photographers work, allow- ing them to exercise and extend the signature styles they have developed over the years. "You can create pictures that you couldn't conceive of before," says Burgess. "You can put the car in any position in almost any type of environment and make it look real." On the practical side, Burgess is able to avoid some of the problems associated with retouching. "ere are [unsightly] floors on almost any shoot staged in a studio. When you retouch the floors, you bleed the liv- ing daylights out of reflection and shadow details. Now, there's much less retouching. e paint is proper, with the right metallic effects, and there is no compromise with shadows and lighting." For Lee, this takes away some of the pres- sure of having to capture everything during the photo session. "[I no longer have] to do everything behind the camera. Traditionally, you can only be creative when shooting. Af- ter that, you are limited by what you can do in [Adobe's] Photoshop," Lee says. "[Now I have] the freedom to try something differ- ent. If you have a good CAD model with a lot of detail, you're only limited by how creative you want to go." Obstacles As with any new form of technology, there are perceived and real obstacles to widespread adoption. "e photography business is shifting, and like any changing environment, people will have to adapt," Teger adds. "Traditionally, everything was outsourced from the manufacturer or the agency to different entities: the photogra- pher, the CG house, the retoucher. Now, the photographer can do everything: take the pictures on location, insert the virtual object into the scene, and fine-tune light- ing, colors, and materials. Rather than a step-by-step process with many players in a chain, it's one-stop shopping." Burgess and Lee see parallels between the current situation with CGI and the ob- stacles faced by digital photography just six or seven years ago. "Initially, clients freaked out," says Lee. "You just have to keep prov- ing that it is a better solution for the client." In addition, there is the bedrock issue of obtaining good CAD models. "Companies can take 3D CAD models that have been engineered for manufacturing and apply them to advertising, promotion, and PR," says Teger. "However, it takes communi- cation between technical and marketing people to make it happen." Burgess and Lee see two obstacles when it comes to obtaining quality CAD data: Auto manufacturers are often nervous about giving out proprietary design data, and the details required to generate a great image are sometimes not in the models supplied to photographers. ese aren't showstoppers, however, and should dissolve once there is a better understanding of the new process. Similar issues faced CAD itself in its early years, until auto manufacturers realized the time and cost savings of using a 3D model to drive the product development cycle. "If the tool can help photographers do considerably more in less time, it is worth it to them," believes Teger. A major consideration for Lee is that there is no need for proprietary hardware. "With some other systems, it's like buying a car that becomes dated once it leaves the lot," he says. "I don't want to have a big investment in hardware that I can only use occasionally for rendering." For photographers such as Burgess and Lee, the question is not when this marriage of photography and CGI will take place, but when everyone else will realize that it's already happened. If the likes of Burgess and Lee are correct, five years from now we'll look back and see photography mixed with CGI as natural and inevitable, similar to the way we see Google, the iPod, and the Prius today. n Bob Cramblitt writes about technology developments that fundamentally change the way we work and live. He can be reached at info@cramco.com. Burgess used CGI to insert this Maserati GT Lisbon into a photograph of a racetrack.

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