SRI MANAKULA VINAYAGAR ENGINEERING COLLEGE

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Subject: Subject code:

Prepared By :
Dr.M.Ganesan, Associate Professor / CSE
Dr.N.Moganarangan, Associate Professor / CSE
Mrs.C.Kalpana, Assistant Professor/ CSE

Verified by : Approved by :

UNIT I - VFX & ANIMATION

VFX - Understanding VFX - Brief History of VFX - Need for Visual Effects - Future of Visual Effects -
Pros & Cons of Visual Effects - Applications of VFX - Comparison between VFX and Animation. Animation
- History of Animation - Applications of Animation - Career in Animation - Pros & Cons of Animation

Part A (2 Marks)
1. List out the pros and cons of animation. (Aug 2021)
Advantages

● Personal Expression. One of the biggest benefits of being an animator is the chance for personal expression
through your work. ...
● Business Relationships. ...
● Flexible Hours. ...
● Creative Expansion.
Disadvantages
● Animation requires a lot of effort and time to create. It works well from a technical perspective. ...
● It cannot judge the level of every student in a class. ...
● The animation technology is created to interact with the students. ...
● Animation technology uses more storage and memory space.
2. List out the application of Animation. (Aug 2021)

● Entertainment Industry.

● Advertisement Industry.

● Marketing.

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● Scientific Visualization.

3. What is Visual Effects?

• 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.
• Visual effects (VFX) is a term used to describe imagery created, manipulated, or enhanced for any
film, or other moving media that doesn't take place during live-action shooting.
• VFX often involves the integration between actual footage and this manipulated imagery to create
realistic looking environments for the context.
• They use computer-generated imagery (CGI), and particular VFX software to make it happen.
VFX involves the integration of live-action footage (which may include in-camera 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 are not just limited to big block buster films, they are commonly seen in television
commercials, broadcast series, architecture, advertising and more.

4. What are the Common VFX Softwares?

 Blender.
 Mari.
 Autodesk Maya.
 Adobe After effects.
 Nuke.
 ZBrush.

5. What is the Difference between VFX and SFX?

The term “visual effects” is not interchangeable with the term “special effects” (SFX). Unlike VFX,
SFX are achieved in real-time during filming; examples include pyrotechnics, fake rain,
animatronics, and prosthetic makeup. All VFX are added after shooting in post-production.

6. When to use SFX?

Special effects hark back to a simpler time in film and TV production. SFX are used to enhance a
scene or set piece. An explosion or a fire, a rainy moment in a love story; things that might happen
spontaneously in life but require actual planning on set. Common examples of on-set SFX might be
snowmaking, rainmaking, or the adding of smoke to create atmosphere. Other parts of the SFX skill
set include adding fire – either to dress into sets or to be used as part of a stunt with people.

7. When to use VFX?

One situation might be if you have a bigger canvas to cover and more shots to capture. If you want to
create a snowy landscape with wide shots, it will be easier and cheaper to do this using VFX. The
same applies to rain. That also might link to health and safety considerations. If you are adding fire or
explosions that involve using actors or stunt people, it may be possible to create more ‘dangerous’
types of explosion or even set people alight with VFX fire. Another issue is actors sometimes don’t
react well to the smell or texture of on-set smoke and artificial snow. Not to mention the fact snow
machines can also be quite noisy, so they are not always appropriate for every scene.

8. What is CGI?

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CGI stands for Computer Generated Imagery. But in professional VFX discourse CGI (often just CG)
has a much more specific meaning. It is used to make a clear distinction between VFX elements that
were created “artificially” in the computer and real-world elements that were shot with a camera. For
example, “a CG ship” refers to a virtual ship that was built, lit, and rendered using computer software,
and then composited into the footage digitally. On the other hand, a ship (real or miniature) that was
shot with a camera as an element for visual effects is not CG. Despite the popular use of the term, not
all visual effects are CGI.

9. What are the types of Visual Effects

 CGI: Computer-generated imagery
 Compositing
 Motion capture
 Matte painting
 Animation:
 3D modeling
 Rigging
 Rotoscoping
 Match Moving

10. Define CGI.

CGI: Computer-generated imagery is the blanket term used to describe digitally-created VFX in film
and television. These computer graphics can be 2D or 3D, but CGI is generally referenced when
talking about 3D VFX. The most talked-about process in CGI is 3D modeling—the creation of a 3D
representation of any object, surface, or living creature. CGI VFX are most apparent when artists use
them to create something that doesn't exist, like a dragon or monster. But visual effects can also be
more subtle; VFX artists can use VFX to fill a baseball stadium with a crowd of cheering fans or de-
age an actor to make them appear younger, like Robert De Niro in The Irishman directed by Martin
Scorsese

11. Define Compositing.

Compositing also called “chroma keying,” compositing is when VFX artists combine visual elements
from separate origins to make it appear as though they are in the same place. This visual effect
technique requires filming with a green screen or blue screen that compositors later replace with
another element using compositing software in post-production. An early form of compositing
achieved this effect with matte paintings—illustrations of landscapes or sets that were composited
with live-action footage. One of the famous examples of a matte painting used as an optical composite
is the Emerald City landscape in The Wizard of Oz

12. What is Motion Capture?

Motion capture often shorthanded as "mocap," motion capture is the process of digitally recording an
actor's movements, then transferring those movements to a computer-generated 3D model. When this
process includes recording an actor's facial expressions, it's often referred to specifically as
“performance capture.” One common motion capture method involves placing an actor in a motion-
capture suit covered in special markers that a camera can track (or in the case of performance capture,

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dots painted on the actor's face). The data captured by the cameras is then mapped onto a 3D skeleton
model using motion capture software.

13. What is Rotoscoping?

Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animator uses to trace over motion picture footage, frame
by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, animators projected photographed live-action movie
images onto a glass panel and traced over the image. This projection equipment is referred to as a
rotoscope, developed by Polish-American animator Max Fleischer. This device was eventually
replaced by computers, but the process is still called rotoscoping. In the visual effects industry,
rotoscoping is the technique of manually creating a matte for an element on a live-action plate so it
may be composited over another.

14. List out the applications of VFX.

 Film Industry
 Gaming Companies
 Photography Studios
 TV Channels
 Production Houses
 News and Media
 Advertising Industry

15. What are the Career opportunities in VFX?

 Graphic Designer
 Lecturer
 Multimedia Programmer
 Web Designer
 3D Modeler
 Video Editor
 2D/3D Animator

16. What is Animation?

Animation is a method in which figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional
animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed
and exhibited on film. Today, most animations are made with computer-generated imagery (CGI).
Computer animation can be very detailed 3D animation, while 2D computer animation can be used
for stylistic reasons, low bandwidth, or faster real-time renderings. Other common animation methods
apply a stop motion technique to two- and three-dimensional objects like paper cutouts, puppets, or
clay figures.

17. What are the pros and cons of the animation career?
PROS
 There is good scope in India as well as in abroad.
 The global animation industry is a huge
 It gives you freedom of personal expression by adding your own touch in your work.
 This profession is quite lucrative.
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 It gives you creative freedom if you are creating your own cartoons ® Its
uniquely challenging job and push you to be more and more creative.
 You are paid express your creative ideas.
 Engages you in active learning, cooperative learning and uses a range of multiple
intelligences. ® Brainstorming by visualizing the content.
 You can go at your own pace and not really requires keeping up with everyone.

CONS
 It is time consuming since it includes drawing individual frame for each scene.
 The repetition of work can become tiresome at times
 Working for long hours may create a stressful situation for an animator.

18. List out the Career opportunities in animation

 Lighting technician
 3D modeller
 3D creative designer
 3D artist
 Graphic artist
 Animator
 Artist
 3D animator
 Video game designer
 Compositing supervisor
 Art director
 Technical director

19. What are the differences between VFX and animation?

 The animation is motion graphics and utilized the movement of pictures and graphics. Visual
effects or VFX on the other hand is artificial imagery. It creates false images and scenes on the
screen, which cannot be shot with a raw camera lens.
 The software technique used by VFX artists is called chroma keying. On the other hand,
animators have to use equipment and computer software together to create their animated
creations.
 2D and 3D animators do not have to learn VFX and vice versa. These are separate skills and
you can find separate courses for both of them.

20. Which Software used by Animators and VFX Artists?

One of the most popular animation software has to be Autodesk Maya. Designed mainly for
animation and VFX needs, it processes 3D graphics. Also, 3ds Max is a, “one of a kind” software that
can use. Both specialize in 3D graphics, create modern-day animation and visual effects.
For VFX needs, Adobe After Effects is a necessity. The digital visual application can create
the most complex graphics. It is used by major productions and is a must-have tool for VFX artists.
Adobe Photoshop is an industry standard and should be used by every VFX artist as well. It includes
all the necessary features; creating realistic-looking places, basically.

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Part B and C (5 Marks and 10 Marks)

1. Explain CGI with Example.
CGI stands for Computer Generated Imagery. But in professional VFX discourse CGI (often just CG)
has a much more specific meaning. It is used to make a clear distinction between VFX elements that
were created “artificially” in the computer and real-world elements that were shot with a camera. For
example, “a CG ship” refers to a virtual ship that was built, lit, and rendered using computer software,
and then composited into the footage digitally. On the other hand, a ship (real or miniature) that was
shot with a camera as an element for visual effects is not CG. Despite the popular use of the term, not
all visual effects are CGI. In fact, many types of VFX shots do not need any CG at all, and are done
solely by manipulating the footage or combining it with additional footage or still photos. The
distinction is therefore important because CG indicates a different (usually more complex and
expensive) process than working with photographed elements.
An example for a mixed use of photographic and CG elements in one shot. First an element of a rowboat
with soldiers is shot in a lake. This is of course real footage

Ocean and sky plates(real footage) are used to extend the lake, and different takes of the same rowboat
are added to create multiple instances.

Now the large warships are added. These are CG models—built and textured from scratch.

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The final shot, with additional practical, non-CG elements like the soldiers on the ships (shot on green screen)
and the seagulls.

2. Explain briefly about the History of VFX.

History of VFX
In 1857, Oscar Rejlander created the world's first "special effects" image by combining different sections
of 32 negatives into a single image, making a montaged combination print.

In 1895, Alfred Clark created what is commonly accepted as the first-ever motion picture special effect.
While filming a reenactment of the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots, Clark instructed an actor to step
up to the block in Mary's costume.

As the executioner brought the axe above his head, Clark stopped the camera, had all the actors freeze,
and had the person playing Mary step off the set.
He placed a Mary dummy in the actor's place, restarted filming, and allowed the executioner to bring the
axe down, severing the dummy's head. Techniques like these would dominate the production of special
effects for a century.

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Georges Méliès, an early motion picture pioneer, accidentally discovered the same "stop trick."
According to Méliès, his camera jammed while filming a street scene in Paris. When he screened the
film, he found that the "stop trick" had caused a truck to turn into a hearse, pedestrians to change direction,
and men to turn into women. Méliès, the director of the Théâtre Robert-Houdin, was inspired to develop
a series of more than 500 short films, between 1896 and 1913, in the process developing or inventing
such techniques as multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves, and hand painted color.

Because of his ability to seemingly manipulate and transform reality with the cinematograph, the prolific
Méliès is sometimes referred to as the "Cinemagician." His most famous film, Le Voyage dans la lune
(1902), a whimsical parody of Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon, featured a combination of live
action and animation, and also incorporated extensive miniature and matte painting work.

3. Explain briefly about the types of Visual effects

Types of Visual Effects

CGI: Computer-generated imagery
Compositing
Motion capture
Matte painting
Animation:
3D modeling
Rigging
Rotoscoping
Match Moving
CGI: Computer-generated imagery is the blanket term used to describe digitally-created VFX in film and
television. These computer graphics can be 2D or 3D, but CGI is generally referenced when talking about 3D
VFX. The most talked-about process in CGI is 3D modeling—the creation of a 3D representation of any
object, surface, or living creature. CGI VFX are most apparent when artists use them to create something that
doesn't exist, like a dragon or monster. But visual effects can also be more subtle; VFX artists can use VFX
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to fill a baseball stadium with a crowd of cheering fans or de-age an actor to make them appear younger, like
Robert De Niro in The Irishman directed by Martin Scorsese.
Compositing: Also called “chroma keying,” compositing is when VFX artists combine visual elements from
separate origins to make it appear as though they are in the same place. This visual effect technique requires
filming with a green screen or blue screen that compositors later replace with another element using
compositing software in post-production. An early form of compositing achieved this effect with matte
paintings—illustrations of landscapes or sets that were composited with live-action footage. One of the
famous examples of a matte painting used as an optical composite is the Emerald City landscape in The
Wizard of Oz.
Motion capture: Often shorthanded as "mocap," motion capture is the process of digitally recording an actor's
movements, then transferring those movements to a computer-generated 3D model. When this process
includes recording an actor's facial expressions, it's often referred to specifically as “performance capture.”
One common motion capture method involves placing an actor in a motion-capture suit covered in special
markers that a camera can track (or in the case of performance capture, dots painted on the actor's face). The
data captured by the cameras is then mapped onto a 3D skeleton model using motion capture software.
Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, SPFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the
theatre, film, television, video game and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or
virtual world. Special effects are traditionally divided into the categories of mechanical effects and optical
effects. With the emergence of digital film-making a distinction between special effects and visual effects has
grown, with the latter referring to digital post-production while "special effects" referring to mechanical and
optical effects.
Mechanical effects (also called practical or physical effects) are usually accomplished during the liveaction
shooting. This includes the use of mechanized props, scenery, scale models, animatronics, pyrotechnics and
atmospheric effects: creating physical wind, rain, fog, snow, clouds, making a car appear to drive by itself
and blowing up a building, etc. Mechanical effects are also often incorporated into set design and makeup.
For example, prosthetic makeup can be used to make an actor look like a non-human creature.
Optical-effects (also called photographic-effects) are techniques in which images or film frames are created
photographically, either "in-camera" using multiple exposure, mattes or the Schüfftan process or in post-
production using an optical printer. An optical effect might be used to place actors or sets against a different
background.
Motion-capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement
of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of
computer vision and robotics. In filmmaking and video game development, it refers to recording actions of
human actors, and using that information to animate digital character models in 2-D or 3- D computer
animation. When it includes face and fingers or captures subtle expressions, it is often referred to as
performance capture. In many fields, motion capture is sometimes called motion tracking, but in filmmaking
and games, motion tracking usually refers more to match moving.
A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to
create the illusion of an environment that is not present at the filming location. Historically, matte painters
and film technicians have used various techniques to combine a matte-painted image with live-action footage.
At its best, depending on the skill levels of the artists and technicians, the effect is "seamless" and creates
environments that would otherwise be impossible or expensive to film. In the scenes the painting part is static
and movements are integrated on it.
Animation is a method in which figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation,
images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film.
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Today, most animations are made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Computer animation can be very
detailed 3D animation, while 2D computer animation can be used for stylistic reasons, low bandwidth or faster
real-time renderings. Other common animation methods apply a stop motion technique to two and three-
dimensional objects like paper cutouts, puppets or clay figures. Commonly the effect of animation is achieved
by a rapid succession of sequential images that minimally differ from each other. The illusion—as in motion
pictures in general—is thought to rely on the phi phenomenon and beta movement, but the exact causes are
still uncertain. Analog mechanical animation media that rely on the rapid display of sequential images include
the phénakisticope, zoetrope, flip book, praxinoscope and film. Television and video are popular electronic
animation media that originally were analog and now operate digitally. For display on the computer,
techniques like animated GIF and Flash animation were developed. In 3D computer graphics, 3-D modeling
is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any surface of an object (either inanimate or
living) in three dimensions via specialized software. The product is called a 3-D model. Someone who works
with 3-D models may be referred to as a 3-D artist. It can be displayed as a two-dimensional image through a
process called 3D rendering or used in a computer simulation of physical phenomena. The model can also be
physically created using 3D printing devices.
Skeletal animation or rigging is a technique in computer animation in which a character (or other articulated
object) is represented in two parts: a surface representation used to draw the character (called the mesh or
skin) and a hierarchical set of interconnected parts (called bones, and collectively forming the skeleton or rig),
a virtual armature used to animate (pose and key-frame) the mesh.While this technique is often used to animate
humans and other organic figures, it only serves to make the animation process more intuitive, and the same
technique can be used to control the deformation of any object—such as a door, a spoon, a building, or a
galaxy. When the animated object is more general than, for example, a humanoid character, the set of "bones"
may not be hierarchical or interconnected, but simply represent a higher-level description of the motion of the
part of mesh it is influencing.
Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animator uses to trace over motion picture footage, frame by
frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, animators projected photographed live-action movie images
onto a glass panel and traced over the image. This projection equipment is referred to as a rotoscope,
developed by Polish-American animator Max Fleischer. This device was eventually replaced by computers,
but the process is still called rotoscoping. In the visual effects industry, rotoscoping is the technique of
manually creating a matte for an element on a live-action plate so it may be composited over another
background.Chroma key is more often used for this, as it is faster and requires less work, however rotoscopy
is still used on subjects that aren't in front of a green (or blue) screen, due to practical or economic reasons.
In visual effects, match-moving is a technique that allows the insertion of computer graphics into liveaction
footage with correct position, scale, orientation, and motion-relative to the photographed objects in the shot.
The term is used loosely to describe several different methods of extracting camera motion information from
a motion picture. Sometimes referred to as motion-tracking or camera-solving, match moving is related to
rotoscoping and photogrammetry. Match moving is sometimes confused with motion capture, which records
the motion of objects, often human actors, rather than the camera. Typically, motion capture requires special
cameras and sensors and a controlled environment (although recent developments such as the Kinect camera
and Apple's Face ID have begun to change this). Match moving is also distinct from motion control
photography, which uses mechanical hardware to execute multiple identical camera moves. Match moving,
by contrast, is typically a software-based technology, applied after the fact to normal footage recorded in
uncontrolled environments with an ordinary camera. Match moving is primarily used to track the movement
of a camera through a shot so that an identical virtual-camera move can be reproduced in a 3D animation
program.
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4. Elaborate real time application on VFX (Aug 2021)

“Real-time” requirement of the description simply means that the full, final image seen by the viewer, from
simulation to integration, to render, has to happen in less than 1/60th of a second (if you want 60 fps).

Real time application on VFX

 Import from any recording device

 Import from social media

 Trim, crop & rotate videos

 Add music

 Edit audio

 Add text & titles

 Add motion graphics

 Apply filters & overlays

 Add transitions

 Export & share to a huge selection of formats and social media sites.
5. Discuss the needs of visual effects and compare the pros and cons of visual effects (Aug 2021)

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 other
live-action footage or CGI elements to create realistic imagery is called VFX.

In filmmaking, visual effects (VFX) is the creation or manipulation of any on-screen imagery that does not physically
exist in real life. VFX allows filmmakers to create environments, objects, creatures, and even people that would
otherwise be impractical or impossible to film in the context of a live-action shot.

Advantages of Visual effects

● Visual effects ation helps in re-upholding oral correspondence. Basically, it upholds oral
correspondence. Since not exclusively does the beneficiary hear, yet the beneficiary likewise sees what
is being said with their eyes.

● It can likewise re-uphold composed correspondence. For instance, assuming you are finding out about
something and visual guides like diagrams, outlines, and graphs are added to the substance that you are
perusing, it upgrades how you might interpret what you are perusing.

● Pictures and delineations have more grounded sway than words. Pictures can be utilized to let things
know that words don’t have the solidarity to tell.

● Visual interchanges can be perceived by both proficient and uneducated individuals. Each of the
necessities to comprehend Visual communication is the capacity to have the option to see things with

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the eyes dissimilar to the composed correspondence which necessitates that one is instructed and ready
to peruse and compose before one can get it.

● Visual effects gets around the obstacle of language contrasts. With Visual communication, it doesn’t
make any difference whether or not you can communicate in a specific language. For instance,
assuming that you wind up in China, you don’t have to comprehend an expression of Chinese prior to
understanding the message in an image in China or somebody’s irate stance or motion.

● At the point when somebody is passing on data through a long discourse, individuals might get
exhausted in the way and quit focusing on the thing that is being said. At the point when Visual
communication is utilized, there will be less tuning in and a greater amount of noticing consequently
the data doesn’t become exhausting.

● Visual c effects is really great for individuals who don’t have any idea how to peruse and compose.
This is upgraded through the recipient just checking out the photos and will actually want to decipher
the message in their own specific manner.

Disadvantages of Visual Effects

● Visual effects can be over the top expensive. Dissimilar to other channels of correspondence like oral
correspondence, Visual effects can be extravagant to create. The expense associated with delivering it
is perhaps its greatest detriment.

● Putting away it can likewise be over the top expensive. Not exclusively is creating a visual type of
correspondence costly, yet in addition with regards to putting away it, it can cost a considerable
amount. Take an enormous announcement for instance.

● It requires some investment and works to create it. Simply envision how much time and exertion goes
into the making of visual guides, for example, charts, maps, graphs and so forth

● One more impediment with the visual type of correspondence is the way that one can undoubtedly
misjudge or misconstrue the focal significance of the message being conveyed.

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