Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/477283
www.postmagazine.com 26 POST MARCH 2015 That kind of speed and efficiency means the process is "more about shot creation and less about shot enhance- ment," says Floch. The division has already integrated into its pipeline some proprietary tools from MPC VFX for crowds, destruction and other techniques. "We can take advantage of what exists in MPC's vast trove of assets," says Levi. "We can tap that library to pull not just characters but animation cycles and plates." MPC Film Previs worked on Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the reboot of the franchise, and returned for the sequel. At the height of previs, it had upwards of 16 artists working in Santa Monica and 18 in New Orleans, where the film was shot. Artists were armed with Maya, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects for compositing and enhancing shots, and custom rigging tools to help the animators. "For the first film, the studio had an edict that every shot with an ape had to be previs," says Floch. "The second time around, everyone knew what the characters would look like, so they were more selective about previs. We focused on key shots, including the colony attack — some 500 marauding apes and human characters — where it was important to manage the sheer number of characters and be efficient with the storytelling." Previs was done with three levels of detail, he explains. "Close-up storytelling with the main characters, and midground and background hordes. We did run- and-shoot cycles for the deep back- ground and midground — the characters weren't on rigs — to simplify things and make them manageable." The close-up storytelling was told from three perspec- tives: Dreyfus on the human side; Koba, the leader of the marauding apes; and Caesar's son Blue Eyes. While Weta built VFX shots in New Zealand, MPC Film Previs was creating postvis sequences as needed. "Typically postvis happens at a very fast pace in the cutting room when they need to turn previs into postvis with the foot- age they've shot," says Levi. "It happens months before the final assets for VFX are complete. Our postvis was embed- ded with the editorial at Fox Studios; we were moving at speed to keep up with the pace of the edit." Floch notes, "more and more directors are coming around to how to use previs. The number of first-time users is going down. It's becoming a more familiar and trusted tool." ALAN BELL As the editor of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 and Mockingjay — Part 2, Alan Edward Bell, ACE, has seen his share of previs and postvis. "Previs is a huge part of any large action or VFX movie to show what's going to happen before you shoot to the executives, the director, 2nd unit, even the editor — I'm often cutting before they shoot any frames," Bell explains. Later, postvis informs the cut and becomes "a step towards the final shot" when he's editing the live-action footage. While he hasn't seen any postvis shots turn into finals on The Hunger Games films, Bell concedes that "the technology has become more and more advanced, and it's conceivable that it could happen." The new trend for Bell is his ability to take some of this process into his own hands. Using Blackmagic Design's Fusion compositing software, he can create postvis composites that "integrate well with Avid and animation done in [Maxon] Cinema 4D," he says. "The scene where they fly to rescue Peeta from the capital in Mockingjay — Part 1 was all shot blue- screen, and there wasn't a lot of time to get the previs company involved," Bell recalls. "So I comp'ed together various elements using Fusion, which informed the sound crew, the studio and the direc- tor until they got the final shots from the VFX vendors. My postvis remained in the cut for quite a long time — even through all the friends and family screenings." More often, Bell uses Fusion to create a new shot. "I'll composite performanc- es — a moment from Take 1, another from Take 2, and I've got a new take that doesn't really exist," he explains. "I can jump cut or morph in Avid, or retime the performance. I can capture a reaction be- fore I cut away. I've essentially created a VFX shot because of the enhancements, but it's all done inside the cut and plays quickly and naturally. It's all seamless due to Fusion — an amazing tool to have as an editor. I used it extensively on Mock- ingjay — Part One and it's now a perma- nent part of my toolbox." THE THIRD FLOOR Albert Cheng, previs and postvis super- visor at The Third Floor London (www. thethirdfloorinc.com), finds that more and more commercials are taking advan- tage of the processes, especially when turnaround time is short — as it often is. Cheng led previs artists in London — the company also has a full studio in LA — in PREVIS BELL CHENG The Third Floor's Albert Cheng says he's seeing more commercials taking advantage of the previs and postvis processes, like this TV spot for Mercedes-Benz, Fable, that ran during Super Bowl.