Jeffrey A. Okun, VES, is an award winning Visual Effects Supervisor, having worked on a large number of feature films, commercials and television shows. He started in the inudstry in 1976, and he is currently a member and Fellow of the VES and The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences as well as the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), the Television Academy and the Editors Guild. He was the chair of the VES for 9 years and 1st vice chair for 16 years, and chair of the L.A. Section for 2 years. He created the VES awards along with Tim McGovern and Kim Lavery, VES.

Okun created a visual effects tracking and bidding software in 1992 that is still in wide use within the industry today, as well as the revolutionary visual effects techniques dubbed the "PeriWinkle Effect" (an underwater blue screen technique) and the "Pencil Effect" (accurately predicts the final visual effects count and budget).

Susan Zwerman, VES has been a member of the VES since 1998. She is a highly respected Visual Effects Producer who has been producing visual effects for more than 25 years. Zwerman is also a well-known seminar leader and author. As Chair of the DGA's UPM/AD VFX Digital Technology Committee, Susan emphasizes the importance of the visual effects teams to DGA members at visual effects seminars organized under her guidance.

In 2013, Susan received the Frank Capra Achievement Award in recognition of career achievement and service to the industry and the Directors Guild of America. She is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Producers Guild of America and a Fellow of the VES.

Coming Soon ...

Chapter 1: Introduction

First, Some Ground Rules

Now, the Introduction

Why Use Visual Effects

Chapter 2: Pre-Production /Preparation

Overview

Breaking Down a Script - Budgeting

Ballpark Budget

More Detailed Budgets

Bidding

Plate Photography

Temp Screenings

Reviewing Bids

Contracts

Rebidding during Shooting

Rebidding in Post

Monitoring the Budget and Schedule

Keeping the Budget Down

Working with the Director and Producer

Demo Reel

The Meeting

Moving Forward

Production Departments

Production Design

Camera

Working with the Cinematographer

Special Effects

Stunts

Wardrobe

Makeup

Production

Visual Effects

Editorial

Locations

Production Meeting

Designing Visual Effects Shots

Guidelines for Directors

Storyboards

Previs

Objective of the Shot

Concept Art

Continuity

Photorealism

Original Concepts

Budget

Reality and Magic

Camera Angles

Framing

Scale

Detail

Speed

Scaled Images

Depth of Field

Sequence of Shots

Camera Motion

Less Is More

Action Pacing

CG Characters

Creatures and Character Design

Powers of 10 Shots

Visual Effects Techniques

Technique Considerations

Additional Suggestions for Determining Techniques

Development of Previs Techniques

History and Background

What is Previs and Other Forms of Visualization?

What is Previs?

Different Types of Visualization and When to Use Them

Visualization: The New Essential

The Application of Previs: Who Benefits and How?

The Benefits of Previs

Project Types

Post-Visualization

What is Post-Visualization?

Why Use Postvis?

Who Does Postvis?

Cautions and Suggestions for Good Practice

The Perils of Previs!

Passing the Work On

The Role of the VFX Supervisor in Previs

Previs: Advanced Techniques

Visualization Usefulness

VR as a Tool

Visualization in Engine

Render in Engine

Visualization in Real Time

AR as a Tool

Camera Angle Projection

Introduction

Drawing What the Lens Sees

Techvis

What Is Techvis?

Who is Techvis for?

Virtual Production

What is Virtual Production?

How is Virtual Production Used?

Chapter 3: Acquisition / Shooting

Working on Set

Common Types of Special Effects

What are Special Effects?

A Brief History of Special Effects

The Special Effects Coordinator

Working with the Visual Effects

Visual Effects in Service to SFX

Special Effects Design and Planning

Storyboards and Previs

The Elements: Rain, Wind, and Snow and Ice

Smoke, Fire, and Pyrotechnics

Mechanical Effects

Flying Wire Rigs and Stunts

Safety

Greenscreen and Bluescreen Photograph

Best Practices and Otherwise

Overview

Function of the Backing

Negative Scanning and Digital Conversion

Backing Uniformity and Screen Correction

The Alpha Channel

The Processed Foreground

The Composite

Recommended Specifications and Practices

How to Expose a Green Screen Shot, and Why

Setting Screen Brightness

Choosing the Backing Color

Floor Shots, Virtual Sets

Foreground Lighting

Controlling Spill Light

Lighting Virtual Sets

Tracking Markers

On-Set Preview

Cameras for Blue Screen or Green Screen Photography

Underwater Photography

On-Set Data Acquisition

Camera Report

Tracking Markers

Props for the Actors

Cyberscanning

Digital Photos

Lidar/Laser Scanning

Lens Distortion Charts

HDRI and Chrome Balls

Lidar Scanning and Acquisition

On-Set 3D Scanning Systems

Types of Technology

Lidar

Photogrammetry

Prop Scanners

Lighting Data

Gathering Lighting Data

Beware of False Savings!

Using Conventional Still Cameras

Reference Shooting Considerations

Clean Plates

Shooting the Clean Plate

Locked-Off Camera

Moving Camera

Other Issues

Post-Process

Alternates without Clean Plates

Other Uses for Clean Plates

Monster Sticks

On-Set Animation Capture: Witness Cam (IBMC)

Wireless Non-Video Motion Capture

Factors Affecting Witness Cameras

Dealing with the Data in Post-Production

Camera Tracking for Real-Time Visualization

Camera Tracking Pre-Production

The Camera Department

Prior to Shooting

Current Tracking Systems in Use

Triangulation As a Method of Recording Camera Data

Camera/Subject Positional Information

Basics: The Toolkit

Basics: Nodal Point

Photographic Reference

How to Proceed

Shooting Video as a Reference

Rules, Setup, and Testing

Do a Complete Test Shot!

Why Run Through Example or Test Shots?

Digital Cinematography

Digital Definitions

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

Lens Metadata

Look Management

The Recording System

Lens Mapping for VFX

VFX Photography

The Camera Array

Designing an Array Shot

Technicians

Shoot Day

Special Techniques

Post

The Future

Filming Live-Action Plates to be Used in VFX

Camera Position (Station Point)

Angle of View

Lighting Considerations

Camera Tilt

Background Quality

Moving Plates

Scouting the Camera Positions

A Case Study

Camera Cars

Camera Car Safety Issues

Purpose-Built Crane Cars

Vibration and Camera Stabilization

Road Speed

Precautions

Panoramic Rigs

On the Water

Air to Air

Cable Systems

Shooting Elements for Compositing

What Is an Element?

Stock Footage

Types of Elements

Generic versus Shot-Specific Elements

Determining Element Needs

Cheating

Backgrounds

Black Backgrounds

Line-Up

Camera Format Considerations

Assorted Methods for Shooting Elements

High-Speed Photography and Filming Elements

Cameras

Technicians

Director of Photography

Lighting

Application

Locking Down the Camera

Video Assist

Post

Supervising Motion Control

What is Motion Control?

Performance Choreography

Multiple-Pass Photography

Scaling

Import and Export of Camera Move Data

The Data

Types of Motion Control Systems

Motion Control Software

Camera Types

Sync and Phase

Dealing with Production

Acquisition of Motion / Still Photographic Textures for Mapping onto CG

Panoramic Backgrounds

Tiled Stills

Motion Tiling and Synchronous Plates

Practical Considerations

Stills for Textures and Lighting

Stop-Motion

Evolution of Stop-Motion Photography

The Time Required to Shoot in Stop-Motion

Preparation before Shooting

Setting up a Shooting Space for Stop-Motion

Use of Motion Control in Stop-Motion

Useful Caveats

Evolution of a Shot

Use of Stop-Motion in Visual Effects

Chapter 4: Performance and Motion Capture

What is Motion Capture?

Is Motion Capture Right for a Project?

The Mocap Look

Technical Specifications

Entry Point

Budget

Which Technology is Right for a Project?

Gauging a Project's Needs and Constraints

Passive Retroreflective Optical

Active Optical

Inertial

Structured Light

Dense Stereo Reconstruction

Bend Sensors

Preparing for Motion Capture

Actors

Motion Capture Suits

Marker Placement - Body

Marker Placement - Face

Rigging for Motion Capture

Shot List

Technology Considerations

Hardware

The Strobe

Markers

Lenses

Filter

Image Sensor

Onboard Processor

Inputs/Outputs

Setup

Software

Acquisition

Calibration

Post-Processing

Reconstruction

Labeling

Gap Filling

Cleaning

Solving Motion Capture

Facial Motion Capture

Facial Actor Survey

Actor Survey - Hardware

Reference Data

Statistical Data

Facial Rigging

Facial Acquisition

Audio

Facial Motion Capture Solving

Real-Time Motion Capture

Real-Time Uses

Real-Time Limitations

Alternate Technologies

Motion Capture Resources

Virtual Production

World Building

Previsualization

On-Set Visualization

Virtual Cinematography

Chapter 5: Stereoscopic 3D

How 3D Works

Accommodation and Convergence

Interaxial Separation

Toe-in Versus Horizontal Image Translation

Parallax or Depth Budget

Positive and Negative Parallax

Floating Windows

Fix It in Post

Stereoscopic Design

The Emerging Grammar of 3D

Creative Use of Depth

Previsualization

Avoiding Painful 3D

The Aesthetic of Scale

Cutting for 3D

Designing for Multiple Release Formats

Immersion-Based versus Convergence-Based Stereo

Native Stereo

Pre-Production

On-Set

Stereography in the Visual Effects Process

Stereography for Finishing

HFR as a Solution for Better 3D Movies

VFX Elements and Stereo

Introduction - How VFX Elements are Used

Native Stereo Content

Mono Capture - Packaged Script and Element Deliveries

Mono Capture - Hybrid Approach for Stereo Delivery

Mono Capture - Full CG Approach for Stereo...