I was asked to do an e-interview with eyeon software after I had posted that Canyon Dreams had been completed. This was part of the October 2010 newsletter from eyeon software, makers of the “Fusion” node based compositing application.
The link to the article on eyeon’s website is here:
http://eyeonline.com/Web/EyeonWeb/Community/interviews/int_jon_whisman/jon_whisman_Interview.aspx
Jon Whisman Creates Canyon of Dreams
Jon Whisman created a surrealistic public service announcement to promote reading. We spoke with Jon about how he became a Fusion artist, how he created this wondrous project, and where he is going from here.
Tell us a little about yourself?
I live and work in Portland, Oregon and have been doing freelance work under the guise Pixelgraft for about eight years. A large part of my work has been for local and national independent filmmakers and media developers. I also periodically moonlight at a local post house doing compositing, rotoscoping, and 3D matchmoving work on features and commercials.
Q: How long have you been working with Fusion as an artist? Where did you learn your compositing skills, and how did you first get started using Fusion?
I’ve been working with Fusion since DFX+. I was introduced to it via the DFX+ and Lightwave combo deal that was part of the Lightwave 6 upgrade several years ago.
Before that, I was primarily using After Effects but after making the mental shift to a node based workflow and seeing all that I could do with the Fusion toolset, I was hooked with the infinite complexity that became present from this new workflow and methodology.
I’d have to say that most of my compositing skills were learned while using the eyeon toolsets. They allowed me to think of new approaches to previous workflows done using layer based approaches, of which I had become a bit complacent.
Q: What was your role on the video? How many artists worked on the project?
Aside from shooting the footage of the talent and not acting in the piece, everything else you see is all my work. Including all 3D animation, rendering, and compositing in Fusion of course.
Q: Could you supply a bit of background on how and when Canyon Dreams was started?
The idea for the project was simply to shoot a piece that would enable me to explore the creative process and all the things needed to realize a virtual environment shot on green screen.
We shot the project in the spring of 2004, on a local high school stage with a large green screen purchased from e-bay. The stage shoot was completed on a Saturday and then, on that Sunday, we took the final shot in the Columbia River Gorge.
Why did you choose Fusion to accomplish the shots?
By the time I was ready to enter into the compositing stage of the project, I had made the transition to Fusion and was using it full time. I quickly found that the node based workflow made previously difficult tasks easier to achieve in less time.
As the years went by on the project, I kept up with Fusion upgrades and am now just using some of the 3D compositing features within Fusion 6 for other projects…more on that below.
Q: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced on this project? How did you overcome them and how did Fusion fit into the solution?
Overall, one of the main challenges for me at the outset was developing a compositing workflow and pipeline that best utilized all of the 3D passes that I had rendered from Lightwave. Fusion’s node based layout enabled me to quickly try various combinations of mixing passes to get the look and feel that I wanted. From there, I could save-out custom settings or make macros for certain pass setups, I was then able to quickly deploy and re-purpose them for others shots.
Q: What are some of your favorite tools in Fusion and how do they help in production?
As mentioned above, I have developed a lot of custom settings and macros. I feel that this is one of the areas in Fusion that helps a great deal in my workflow, for this and other projects.
As I discover a certain look or feel for a tool flow or shot, I can quickly save out those settings for use on other similar shots. I also made a few custom light wrap macros and other macros for another recent project.
I just love that Fusion allows me to make my own plugins right out of the box, other applications would require a 3rd party product to do the same. That said, having the freedom to explore the native Fusion toolset and the numerous ways that it can all be connected together frees the mind up to discover new workflows and more efficient ways to get the job done within Fusion.
Q: Did you make use of Fusion’s 3D environment and, if so, how?
I did use Fusion’s 3D environment for the last shot, and honestly, it was one of the most rewarding shots within Fusion of the entire piece. I say that because this was the first time I had used Fusion’s 3D environment tools and I was surprised at how easy it was to use and how fast it was to understand and setup.
The last shot was a practical element that we actually shot on a cliff in the Columbia River Gorge. Being that we shot the piece in standard definition, and I had converted the entire piece to high definition, I needed to replace the background. I initially attempted a full 3D environment within Lightwave. Then I thought that since I need to learn more about Fusion’s 3D capabilities, I should give it a try in Fusion.
After tracking the shot in Syntheyes, I exported it to Fusion 6 and setup the required layers very easily. I was very happy with the results and look forward to experimenting and learning more about the 3D capabilities offered by Fusion.
Q: How important is 3D compositing to how you work?
Well, now that I’ve had a taste of what I can use Fusion’s 3D toolset for, I’m certain that it will become even more important in my workflow. Especially since I am now thinking of other ideas that I could use it for to get shots for other projects turned around even quicker!
Q: What can we expect from you in the future?
I just finished up over 100 visual effects shots for an independent feature that will be making the festival rounds shortly. That project was also composited within Fusion with an intense multipass 3D floating point workflow. Fusion’s speed and ability for me to pull settings from one project into another for a consistent look and feel across all shots was critical for me.
Visit Jon’s website, Pixelgraft, here.
See the video here.
See the shot breakdown video here.
See the Greenscreen & Pre-viz comparison here.