Post-Production

It is a but confusing and you make a really good point, Daniel Husbands.. Perhaps "limited CGI" is more appropriate but on some level it's like sweetening sound - these shots and stunts are amazing and once I'm in the theater I usually find myself lost in the action and OK with how they market this aspect.

Excellent share, Daniel Husbands! I think this is my first time hearing about invisible CGI. I thought some of the shots in the "Fast" movies were practical. If a movie has invisible CGI, I think it should be labeled as that. Not "No CGI." That confuses people, and it could backfire on studios and companies (audiences might feel misled). I think studios and company could benefit from adding "Invisible CGI" in their movie campaigns. I think that'd impress audiences without them feeling misled.

It is confusing as there are a many in-camera visual effects and optical effects that are not CGI that this muddled. Invisible CGI is the goal of all CGI but often falls short.

I'm with you, Sokolow, definitely need some clarity - and these artists work so hard and create incredible things. We gotta give credit where credit is due!

It's crazy to me that so much CGI was used, entire scenes are CGI, I tip my hat to the vfx department, however all of the "NO CGI" rhetoric must have been annoying. At least they got an Oscar nomination for 2400 visual effect shots.

Great share, Ashley Renee Smith! Two big things I took from the video: 1) the importance of collaboration between a director and editor and 2) the importance of giving an editor room to work.

I really like the idea of being the first audience, letting the footage impact you without any outside explanation. Thanks Ashley Renee Smith

Awesome share, Ashley Renee Smith. Love how he discusses the preparation, craft and artistry of doing these critical first steps in the edit.

I completely agree, Daniel Husbands! I've always known that a film is made three times- when it's written, when it's filmed, and when it's edited. But I never considered the impact that seeing the completed film before anyone else has on the process. What a special and unique experience.

This is great!

Thanks for sharing, Amanda Toney! I might end up making sizzle reels for my scripts and who knows? Maybe one of these programs will help.

I like there assessment of the different tools, it's great that there are so many free tools to get into. Great article Amanda Toney

Although I'm a 25 year AE user that would like to migrate fully to Fusion, I've used several of these. The one I would caution is Apple Motion. Very limited feature set, often buggy, poor camera tracking, very weak plug-in support. It's a motion-graphics tool, VFX is an afterthought.

I’m bookmarking this. This is an awesome share.

I've wondered for a while why post-production takes so long sometimes, Daniel Husbands. That video breaks it down. Thanks for sharing!

This is so comprehensive! Thank you for sharing, Daniel Husbands! Is there a part of the process that you enjoy the most?

That's a tough one, I like so much of it. I suppose getting picture lock is such a rewarding feeling, but there is nothing quite like showing someone a VFX shot and they ask "What did you do?" There's something about invisible CG that is so appealing to me. It's a small trophy of achieving photorealism on a level that fools the eyes.

I'm always amazed by seamless VFX. That's why I love watching Corridor Digital's VFX React videos. It's fascinating to get insights on the process, but sometimes they point out certain VFX shots that I didn't even know were VFX!

Incredible share, Dustin Richardson! EPIC stunt! I like that they focused on practice and safety so much. There are times when movies need to have CGI instead of live-action stunts, but I like the look of stunts more. I also like a mix of stunts and CGI.

That video was absolutely bonkers! Thank you for sharing. I think the sooner post production teams can get involved with filming it makes the post process much easier. That way everyone is working together collaboratively. Tom Cruise is insane with his stunts. I wonder how much it costs production insurance to insure him.

I also really enjoy the MI series and have found that the blend of practical and CGI is a fantastic balance to achieve the most convincing vision. However, I also have watched films and thought "Thats too crazy to be real" . It's amazing that we're at a place we're we can't tell the difference.

This sounds like an incredible deal, Amanda Toney! I'm happy for the post-production coordinators, their families, and future coordinators and their families!

That's a big win for them, and can only serve to benefit the productions they work on, being happy with their work situation.

Sam Sokolow as a kid I went to many Saturday Matinee programmes, with my sister. We saw things like Rocket Man and your typical B Movies. This was the early 60s. And then when I came across 70mm (cinemascope?) films like Lawrence of Arabia and 2001: A Space Odyssey, with my Dad in the late 60s, I was blown away by the grandeur of the image. It was a totally transformative experience on my young imagination.

I recall other first-time experiences, like riding on a train for the first time at over 100 mph. It was a very strange feeling, like I was floating along the track. (But then, we become acclimatised and that effect on us doesn’t linger with us).

Maybe cinema is like that and we have to keep reinventing the technologies that give us that ‘first-time’ experience? I wish I had been able to go to the Sphere in Las Vegas to see U2 play, because the images that accompanied the music were breathtaking. I wonder if that’s to be the future of cinema, making it a totally immersive space?

Great article, it's always interesting to look back and see how things have progressed in the past.

Daniel Husbands yeah, Daniel. When I was a kid I assumed that this must be something new in cinema, but didn't know it went back to the 1890s.

I just watched my blu-ray of the L'Inhumaine for the first time a couple of weeks ago and found the use of color extremely effective. It's a compelling film. I've owned for some time Trip to the Moon with the hand colored film, also looks remarkable.

Stephen V. Stone Hi Stephen, it’s a great film and like Caligari the blanket colourisation works really well. I’ve only seen clips of Trip to the Moon, but was excited to see the hand-colouring of frames. I suppose that’s a harder way of creating a colour film than adding certain chemicals to the film processing.

Yeah, same here, Maurice Vaughan! Especially because of how many scenes in the movie rely on the visual effects. It had so much going on!

You're right, Dustin Richardson. I don't plan on doing any visual effects work, but I might learn Blender so I can make sizzle reels.

It's amazing what can be done these days with a personal computer and the right tools. The bar to entry for effects like this is very low and the talent out there is getting better and better with each advancement in software. Great share Dustin Richardson

It really is, Daniel Husbands. Glad you liked the video. It's pretty neat stuff.

Truly amazing. What a gift to independent filmmakers. Can't wait to see more stories created independently with tools like this.

Geoff Hall - it is no doubt something to work hard to avoid and can be a budget buster - on something like Shazam they have the resources to make fixes like this and I thought how they did was cool - but on indie projects its an absolute last resort and all effort should be made to avoid the scenario. And sometimes, like Mike says, you just let'em go... after 40+ years someone just pointed out to me last week that Han Solo is not wearing a vest in the wide shots of Empire Strikes Back before he is frozen in carbonite but he is in the closeups when having that memorable "I love you"... "I know"... moment with Leah. Never noticed and it's one of my favorites.

In an evolving industry, it is great seeing these postings and discussions at such a professional and international level. So important! Thanks, Dustin Richardson!

This reminds me that even at this level sometimes things go wrong, so don't be too hard on yourself and use it as a learning moment.

Daniel Husbands you are a wise man, Daniel. Well said!

This is an excellent clip about what you actually do when having to "Fix it in post".

Tatiana rocks. Such meaningful information for filmmakers here. Thanks for the share, Ashley Renee Smith!

This is my first time hearing about sand screens, Daniel Husbands. And a sand screen can be used as a blue screen too. It's a great tool for production and post-production!

Incredible! Thank you for sharing, Daniel Husbands!

It will be interesting to see how other studios approach films in desert locations going forward.

That's pretty cool, Daniel Husbands!

Daniel Husbands a great share, Daniel. Thank you.

I just took Capcut for a test drive and it's a great tool for what it does, Davinci however is a whole other animal.

Oh yeah, Daniel Husbands!! They're on two completely different extremes. Capcut is a great little bundle of tools to throw together a quick and easy edit for social media content that doesn't require much more than cutting, adding music, and placing captions. It's especially nice for editing something on your phone. Davinci is next level!

Another great free program thats less complicated than davinci but still very powerful is Hitfilm, I used that for a a short while as well.

I've never heard of Hitfilm, Daniel Husbands. Thanks for putting that one on my radar also!

Your welcome, it's got a free and paid version so its a great place to start if you want to get into more serious editing without going full deep end.