ARTEM talk

Andy Symanowski gave a talk about Artem and all the work they conduct. these run from animations for adverts to special effects for film. Examples include special effects for Les Miserable, large festival statues and stop motion.

Symanowski split effects into two sections:

-Visual effects (digital)

-Special effects (physical)

Sometimes work is done on set such as creating fog/mist or creating atmosphere (Atmos in a scene). Snow is a very time consuming effect, laying it down realistically whilst allowing for movement. A lot of dressing is done on set eg. touch ups of make up/paint, blood, prob changes etc. Rain is also another difficulty as consistency in fall and direction needs to be met. Another thought to keep in mind is re-shoots, whether something can be done more than once, this includes explosions or destructive effects. These also have to be carefully controlled; for safety reasons as well as grounding effect in reality - not all things blow up in a large fire ball. Miniatures are uses for large scale explosions such as full buildings falling. Rigs are used to control direction of destruction. A good idea is to film a 'test' explosion in slow mo (1000 fps) to see how it is all working and how it affects the space around it. It is vital to think of debris that would come from any destructive effects, making sure they are light weight can help with cleaning and prevent any unwanted damage. Challenges often faces is camera and how easily the scene can be filmed. Take into consideration how easy your design is to move around in and if any rigs are needed to assist.

Listening to his presentation made me question how I would direct myself for the future. I loved his work on stop motion as that is my current admiration, however looking at the smaller things such as wave effects for Les Miserable, or stop motion figures for adverts.