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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Good book on shooting miniatures for SFX???

Jason Beckwith

Jason Beckwith

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Greetings all,
I have two narrative shoots coming up that I'd like to shoot miniatures for. I might augment the miniature plates with photogrammetry or camera mapping, though. While I tried to shoot some miniatures for Project Arbiter, I think only one shot made the final cut. Yes, the models were very detailed and I used the algorithm to determine the over-crank rate. I think the scale was a little small, and am trying to source some bigger models in 1/10 and 1/6 scale for the future projects.

I've got a pretty extensive library of cinematography, lighting and FX books, including the 2 ILM books and about 80% of the Cinefex magazines.

So the question is, what book(s) can you recommend to me for tips, tricks, etc. that will help make my next round of miniature photography successful? Is there a miniature "bible" that I somehow haven't stumbled across in all these years?

Here's a link to my latest vfx shot, but it's entirely CG:
http://vimeo.com/25922578

(I know that body #2 slips a bit, but I did this shot quickly, as an unpaid favor for a friend's senior thesis project.)

I also did the airplane leaving the hanger in the first Arbiter Teaser trailer.

I'd just like to get the most photo real look that I can. I believe that that starts with something shot, if possible.

Ok... It's late, and I'm starting to ramble a little. So yeah, I humbly ask you guys that know more than me to help me out, and ask that you please share your knowledge or point me in the right direction to better my skills.

Thank you in advance.
 
You're doing very well, here, Jason. An old book in my library I still refer to if you don't have it is Special Effects, Wire, Tape and Rubber Band Style. It has some great stuff in it including the Shuftan Process. Also comb back through those Cinefex, especially Harryhausen for scale stuff. Their articles are excellent and quite detailed. Hope this helps. Keep it up. You're doing fine. And remember, your best tool is your own eye.
 
Nice work ! and a good visual explanation of how the use of vfx can help tell a story for newbies to film making.
A book I would recommend is 'Special effects the history and technique' by Richard Rickitt IBSN 1-85227-800-5
on Virgin Books
I dont think the book leaves much out there's even several films and shots I've worked on! :smile5:
Good luck with your career

Peter Versey
UK Cameraman
 
Richard,
That you very much for the kind words, and recommendation. I found it used on Amazon, and ordered a copy. I think it was you that had a huge stack of old American Cinematographers for sale a while back that I was eying.

The problem with hanging miniatures, traditional glass matte paintings and the shufftan process is the inability to move the camera and create parallax to really sell the shot. Camera mapping gets around that and allows for a limited virtual camera move to really make it believable. I've got a good process for that now, with the tools I have. I will definitely be using that for a couple of set extensions and establishing shots.

For the two films I'm going to be working on, vehicles are going to be the issue for me. I think it's much harder to get them to look real. A lot of the books that cover miniature work spend far too much time talking about how to build the models, rather than how to film them. I love the queen fight in the end of Aliens, and I'd love to get that level of realism out of model work. I'll be mixing live action with the miniatures as much as possible to mix it up, and notrepeat the same trick in two consecutive shots.

I'd love to be able to use motion control for repeated passes, but I don't have access to that kind of system.

So, that's one book recommended... Anyone else have any others?

Thanks!
 
Amazing work!

Which software do you use for your VFX-work. Nuke? Maya?

Norbert
 
The Science and Art of Digital Compositing.
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Digital-Compositing-Second/dp/0123706386

Once you start thinking like a compositor you'll know all of the miniature passes you want. Start from the user and work backwards. The compositor is who will ultimately be using the footage. So they know best what they do and do not need to put it all together.
 
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