Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Computer Tracking System Revolutionizes Green Screens
io9: "One of the most challenging aspects of filmmaking is matching shots against green-screens, with backgrounds added in post-production. Now, Roomba co-creator Eliot Mack has devised a way to integrate the virtual backdrops seamlessly with scenes as they are shot."
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8 comments:
Just having seen Avatar, this really seems like a great advancement in technology, considering that movies like Avatar have been pushed back in their release date due to the fact that the post-production time was underestimated. The fact that you can play the live composite in real time could benefit so many films to come although it seems that many have doubts to whether or not this advancement can help that much in production because it isn't accurate enough to be applicable to most production needs. And it seems to be questionable if this new technology is really worth is, as he says it enables people to do projects that would otherwise be impossible to finance and enable artistic freedom when the actual process seems to be very inaccessible and expensive.
This sounds like an incredibly helpful tool. This will help directors see if they actually like or dislike a shot during the shooting, rather than having to round up actors and resources for a second or third time after adding in the effects/locations/etc. I'm not sure if that's done, but this could definitely help cut down some of the production and filming time for a movie, because the director can see what he's getting in the moment, rather than a week or so later.
This program is a great step for film making. It effects many people in the production, as said in the above comments. However, what interests me about this article is just to realize how much technology even drama needs. To see that even a film requires incredible work from not only artists but also computer scientists is fascinating. One of the reasons that theater and film is so important to our society is because it IS the "ultimate" art form, gathering together actors, designers, visual artists, and now people who have nothing to do with the actual discipline of art.
I was watching a snippet recently about James Cameron and the making of AVATAR. I don't know the details, but there was a small section that showed Cameron walking around a green screen set with what looked like a flat screen monitor in his hand that was showing him the action going on in front of him with the background built into the image in real time. He was able to walk around the set pointing this flat screen in front of him and looking at how shots would turn out. I'm pretty sure it's either the same thing as this or very similar and just amazing to think about in terms of where technology is taking us.
Unlike a lot of the revolutionary advances you hear about that turn out to be less than revolutionary, this one has the potential to really be something new. If they've really managed to solve the problem of digital composition on the fly then it can go well beyond what has been done in the past with the huge post-production staffs and replace it with what the directors have wanted all along - the ability to see the finished product (or close to it) as it's being filmed, immediately or close to it.
Such a powerful tool in the hands of filmmakers will open up a whole new world of creativeness. The system described reverses much of the green screen process, and will save directors a significant amount of time, and likely let actors "feel" the world they are acting in better than if it was just a green screen that they had to completely imagine. My understanding is that Avatar was done with similar, but more powerful technology that allowed the director to move the camera through the world. However his was in 3-D. As this technology hits consumers (hopefully) it can revolutionize how we all think about amateur film making. If everyone has the opportunity to create a virtual world, then put their film in it, the creative spectrum greatly opens up.
This is an extremely cool technology and I think it is very innovative. I would like to see this in person and see how it actually works. It is great that the director can see what the shoot will look like after they edit it. They can see if they like the shoot and if they don't like it they can re-shoot it. This allows them to finalize things at shooting rather than call back the actors to re-shoot after they edit. It is quit costly to recreate after production has finalized. Adding the background with the actors rather than the green screen, at filming, allows this. This process gives them more of a final product after filming instead of after editing. I hope that the film industry takes this, uses it and it can get utilized throughout the industry.
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