Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live action footage and CG elements to create realistic imagery is called VFX. VFX involves the integration of live action footage (special effects) and generated imagery (digital or optics, animals or creatures) which look realistic, but would be dangerous, expensive, impractical, time-consuming or impossible to capture on film. Visual effects using computer-generated imagery (CGI) have more recently become accessible to the independent filmmaker with the introduction of affordable and relatively easy-to-use animation and compositing software.（from Wikipedia）
Putting aside theoretical stuff, I have seen an interview with a special effects engineer who has been engaged in VFX for three years, and I will summarize and share it with you here. The job of a special effects artist, in layman’s terms, is to add some elements to the lens. About daily work is to add some basic elements (such as fire, water, smoke, etc.) to the lens after getting the lens. After completing the simulation, send it to the downstream department. The upstream part of Vfx is basically layout or animation, and the downstream part is lighting, and occasionally it is directly synthesized.
The difference between Vfx and compositing: There are more footages for compositing (except Weta Studio), and VFX basically needs to be calculated by software.
Skills required for Vfx: software Houdini (main industry); mathematics (linear algebra); Python or C.
Working overtime in VFX (in China) is very serious, job turnover is very high, and job-hopping is also serious. Basically, it follows the project. After one project is over, you need to consider the next one. The VFX industry basically does not allow special effects artists to add their own personalized expression, because time is tight and tasks are heavy. It basically depends on customer needs.
There are four main differences between film animation and game animation: interactivity, loop action, lens and perspective, and frame rate. This is also the characteristic of game animation.
- Interactivity: The game emphasizes the interaction between itself and the user. The feeling of control when you control the movement of the character, the sense of blow and the force feedback when you control the character’s fight, and the force feedback, and the wrong operation Negative state and so on. In addition, you can also perceive these states through visual, auditory, text, animation, language, handles, etc., and experience the content you control, and you can participate in this experience and play your role. All kinds of abilities, mobilize their various actions, to experience and immerse into the game world. This is not the case with film and television animation. Film and television only need to use pictures and sounds to drive your emotions, which purely test the animation ability of the animator.
- Loop action： The controllable actions in the game are all loop actions. Walking loops, running loops, after walking and running, you have to link up with other loop actions, and there are corresponding loop linking actions between each loop action. A character’s punch attack has gone through stand-by, preparation, punching, and returning to the place to stand by. This set of actions is a cycle. Therefore, the game is basically a cycle of investigation, which requires high accuracy and cohesion.
- Lens and perspective：There is no fixed lens created in the game. Players can adjust the viewing angle as they like. With the change of viewing angle, the player can see the posture and action effects of various parts of the game character. Therefore, when making each pose, game animators have to adjust the perspective of 360 degrees to see if the pose is not perfect. The rationality and correctness of the game action is more important than the beauty. This is the difference between game animation and film animation on the lens. The cutscenes CG in the game has a lens, but the game itself has no lens. Movie animation is different, the lens is fixed and accompanied by the movement of the camera.
- Frame rate：Another big difference between games and movies is the frame rate. Everyone in film and television is familiar with 24 frames per second, while game animation is 30 frames per second. Film and television animations are produced at 24 frames per second, that is, 24 consecutive poses are made per second, plus the dynamic blur between poses, you will feel very smooth when watching an animation work. Caton. But every frame in the game is rendered separately, there is no dynamic blur, if the frame rate is lower than 30, you will feel stuck.