The present invention relates to an improved system and method for the compositing of visual effects (VFX) for movies, television, games and the like.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art which may be related to various aspects of the present invention which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Visual effects (VFX) compositing is the process of creating a final composite image from two or more input image sources such as a computer generated image or a live on-set image capture, among others. The term “compositing” comes from the act of composing images from various sources to form a “composite” image. Currently, VFX compositing is an isolated stage in the sequential creation workflow of movies, television programs, video games and the like. Known methods of VFX compositing are unable to take advantage of prior workflow steps such as pre-visualization (pre-viz or simply visualization), capture and review of dailies. Pre-visualization is the process where scenes in a film are rendered beyond the simple descriptions on a script or storyboards. visualization, or pre-vis, spans a very large range, from simply filming of the film's storyboards set, to an oral reading of the script, to fully rendered 3-dimensional imagery that leaves little to the imagination. The process provides a test-bed for working out ideas in a “low-cost” environment. It can also be used as a way to express those ideas less ambiguously to others. Previsualization performs the same role in pre-production that nonlinear offline editing plays in post-production: It's a time to be able to make creative decisions about the show quickly and easily, without a large penalty to pay for changing your mind. It allows the filmmaker to experiment with a number of different options, and see how those changes will affect future scenes, offering a more fluid sense of the whole show to be felt. It can save substantial amounts of time and money during production by eliminating shots that don't work early on in the process, when the least amount of energy has been expended on them. Unfortunately, relevant information from these processes is not collected in a systematic and reusable way to facilitate effective VFX compositing. Moreover, known VFX compositors are forced to work with whatever and however images or data to be composited were recorded at capture without the possibility of providing feedback regarding set conditions and the like. A system and method that is able to improve the VFX compositing process is desirable.
Certain aspects commensurate in scope with the disclosed embodiments are set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of certain forms the invention might take and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the invention may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below.
There is provided a system that is useful in compositing images. The system comprises a pre-visualization application that is adapted to produce an initial graphics output. The system further comprises a visual effects (VFX) compositor that is adapted to receive the initial graphics output, input data and a captured image and to produce a composite image based on the initial graphics output, the input data and the captured image.
Also provided is a method of compositing an image. An exemplary method comprises employing a pre-visualization application to produce an initial graphics output and employing a visual effects (VFX) compositor to composite the initial graphics output and a captured image into a composite image using the input data.
In addition, another method is provided. The method comprises performing a pre-visualization process to create an initial graphics output. The method further comprises capturing an image to produce a captured image and compositing the initial graphics output and the captured image to produce a composite image using the input data.
In the drawings:
One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
The initial graphics output 104 may comprise a graphic storyboard, an animated storyboard or the like and may show characters, actions, looks for each scene, among other information. The initial graphics output 104 may be in the form of a printed output, a computer file or the like. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the initial graphics output 104 comprises initial VFX three-dimensional (3D) elements that may be used to create on-set rough composites as set forth below.
The system shown in
Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that an exemplary embodiment of the invention is not only useful for capturing a single image, but also may be used to capture a sequence of still images or moving images. An artist may capture a shot on set and composite one or more fixed or moving VFX elements into all the pictures of the shot.
The next process in the method shown in
After the capture process 204, the resulting image(s) may be reviewed in an on-set dailies process 206, prior to processing in a VFX editing process by the VFX editor 104 (
The rough composite image 112 may be evaluated in a dailies review process 214. The dailies review process 214 may be useful in providing early color correction. After the dailies review process 214, a final composite image process 216 results in a finished VFX image.
The use of the various data inputs 218 by the pre-visualization application 102 and the VFX compositor 106, as well as the iterative nature of the method shown in
While the invention may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/US2006/047952 | 12/15/2006 | WO | 00 | 6/3/2009 |