Post-Production : Ask Me Anything (AMA) Wednesday 2/7 to Thursday 2/8- Working in VFX by Kenneth Lui

Hi, Kenneth Lui. Hope you’re doing great. Thanks for taking the time to have this AMA. Your Sci-Fi Buddy Comedy and Horror Sci-Fi sound exciting! How does someone become a VFX artist?

Hey Kenneth Lui - As a scifi (steampunk) and fantasy writer, I'm excited for this AMA. We really appreciate you taking the time. Question: Is there any advise you would give a screenwriter as to what to include or not to include in a script as it pertains to VFX? When reading, what would make your job easier that could be included in the script? Thanks in advance!

I have 3 questions. 1: When Writing, do you start with what makes an interesting visual scene or work primarily on your story first? 2. When directing, what do you tend to focus on first? Story emphasis or visual dynamics? And then 3. As someone who is multi-faceted, in your opinion, when does VFX take away from the story rather than enhance the story?

Oh, no dumb answers either! Thanks so much for your time and expertise, Kenneth!

LAWD, are you just in time! So... my team and I have just received seed funding for our drama/thriller feature and we've lined up meetings with investors, BUT before we talk with them, we're making strides to have Heads of Departments do assessments so we can build the budget from the ground up (as opposed to top-down budgeting which forces crews to "make due", which means they are not set up for success). We want to set up our team for success but also help sustain the creatives in the industry who make the work possible. With that in mind:

QUESTION 1: Is there a standard set up expected for a VFX team on a feature? Or do you prefer to assess the needs of the script speficically before you recommend a headcount / workflow / price?

QUESTION 2: When do you like to be brought in on that process? Is development too soon? Do you prefer pre-production?

QUESTION 3: What VFX team members are needed on set? *I imagine that is to be determined in pre-production, but could you answer it generally?

Finally - DUDE, I'd love to help on the Sci-Fi Buddy Comedy! Full disclosure - FIREFLY/SERENITY is the reason I went to film school LOL I'm not a fan of horror, but I've written a few, as well as thrillers, so happy to lend a hand there, especially if it helps round out a female protagonist! My superpower is development and story notes, but happy to discuss how I could help as a producer as well.

Hi Maurice Vaughan. How does someone become a VFX artist?

I would say, talent and luck. I know, not really a sexy answer but that's what I think. You need an artistic eye, and level of discipline to learn programs, demonstrate professionalism. That's the talent part. "Can you make it look cool and realistic on a deadline?". Once the vfx artist is "there". Then it's about getting your work out there. Creating a demo reel, working your contacts, and if you're lucky and your work is good, you are invited to be part of a team, and if you're really lucky, they ask you to be part of the team AGAIN.

Hey @Leonardo Ramirez. Is there any advise you would give a screenwriter as to what to include or not to include in a script as it pertains to VFX? When reading, what would make your job easier that could be included in the script?

Great question! I'm a writer as well so this is totally pertinent when I write my own scripts. My advice is WRITE AWAY! Make it cool! Make it as grand and as badass as you can. It's already hard enough to get anything going, so your only weapon in the fight is your "vision". You want people to be so turned on by what they're reading that they will want to do it for FREE! (they won't, but that's the vibe) But in the writing stage? Sheeeeeeeeit, go NUTS DAWG! Let me see the uncompromised vision of the writer! Take comfort in the fact that nowadays, in VFX, we can make ANYTHING happen, and it's getting cheaper to do it. You just have to have good talented artists, and a plan. You give an artist the tools, the direction, and enough time, they will make the impossible possible. The problem is they don't give us time or direction to make things look really bitchin. Dude, did you know the new Godzilla movie everyone is going crazy for cost 15 million??

Yeah, Kenneth Lui - that's what I'm talking about!!! I was worried there for a second that I put too much in "Haven of Dante" but brother, I'm not worried anymore! Yes, I just saw G-1. That was no movie. That was an event! #MakingItHappen Thanks man!!

Hello @R.C. Terrill.

1: When Writing, do you start with what makes an interesting visual scene or work primarily on your story first? 2. When directing, what do you tend to focus on first? Story emphasis or visual dynamics? And then 3. As someone who is multi-faceted, in your opinion, when does VFX take away from the story rather than enhance the story?

1. When I write I use anything I can get my hands on. I call it "low hanging fruit" because essentially, the script is a conversation with my subconscious, my desires, my view of the world. So when I start, the field is very wide, so my job is to wittle it down until I figure out what I was trying to create. So sometimes my entry IS a visual scene. (for example, in my film FALSEHOOD, one thing that really kept me turned on about writing it was just vision of the Big Bad Wolf on trial for his crimes against Red Riding Hood, sitting all contained in a pin stripe suit next to his defense attorney, Bo Peep all grown up) But sometimes IT IS a concept that makes me want to keep writing, which always starts something like "Dude, you know what I've always wanted to see?? A serial killer killing serial killers!" Something like that. (I know it's been done, it was just an example)

2. FIRST?? Hmm. I guess visual dynamics because the story shit has already been figured out. I'm not interested in doing any heavy story lifting by the time I'm on set, with camera and actors. I'm interested in seeing what the light brings, the composition of the shot in camera, and what the actors bring when they interpret the story. Plus if the story is already figured out it gives me and the actors room to play and lean into things, and discover things.

3. When it sucks. LOL When it's the ONLY thing interesting about what's happening. I always marvel at the fact that as an audience we're so savvy and can spot bad VFX, which always takes us out of the show, but no one says anything about how "fake" looking Grogu from Mandorian looks. It's because the storytelling is front and center, so you don't care. It's amazing how forgiving you can be if you're emotionally involved. It's like when a good story teller like a stand-up comedian makes you feel like you were there, but his voice impressions weren't perfect, but it doesn't matter, you were enjoying the story.

Hi @Karen "Kay" Ross.

QUESTION 1: Is there a standard set up expected for a VFX team on a feature? Or do you prefer to assess the needs of the script speficically before you recommend a headcount / workflow / price?

QUESTION 2: When do you like to be brought in on that process? Is development too soon? Do you prefer pre-production?

QUESTION 3: What VFX team members are needed on set? *I imagine that is to be determined in pre-production, but could you answer it generally?

1. The second. For sure. Someone needs to do a breakdown, look at the gags, take a guess at how many hours that's gonna take. Figure out with the director what will be needed: tracking? roto? 3D?Mo Cap? Painting? etc) OR nah, we'll do it with a puppet. And not everyone will do the breakdown the same because everyone's talent pool access is different.

2. I guess it's up to the VFX supe and how locked down the gags are. It depends. I think development is okay because if being in early means the gags are more locked down the better. The problem is when people ask for changes that weren't planned for which compromises the visual effects, which is how you get these gargantuan shows with shitty gags.

3. Depends on the gag. Do we need to recreate the environment? Is it just greenscreens that have to be lit properly? As long as the vfx supe is there to make sure that all the assets needed to pull everything off. Someone who can tell the director, ad, or dp, "Hey, we need a clean plate before moving on!" That kind of stuff. Someone who knows what is needed to be filmed and makes sure the assets are obtained. That could be 1 person. That could be a several. It just depends.

Hi! Kenneth Lui how long does it take to work n render something like terminator salvation… do the notes update because last thing I new from 3d animation was getting currup files from texture to geometry aka 2D to 3D n missed a deleted note from the site about skeleton rigging creating joints from selelected objects … so far I re orgornized the steps to a simpler way… like cheat codes…. I was really asking to see if you guys use ai to complete movies? seeing if I could connect team I’m finishing screen writing the final trailer 4 a vr movie about life n magic n tech n aliens coming from plants … wich in time cause military experiments wich lead to alien invasions raising heaven n hell with sky city tripods lazers causing 2012 with giant squid in sky saw coaster with the art of war n smoke being the center of the story with destruction reaching world records…. I think it’s like a sequel to terminator salvation… with buggy like tech n tree transformers n a lot of ideas I want to share…. you down to work?

Thanks for the answer and advice, Kenneth Lui. Vfx is different than practical effects, right?

Kenneth Lui Thanks for doing this AMA. I'm a longtime animation professional. With the latest report coming in about the impact AI will have on the animation industry within the next three years and its impact on jobs, I'm assuming that the VFX industry will be hit as hard. What advice do you give to those just entering the field or even those who are already cemented in it?

Kenneth Lui Hi Kenneth, thanks for doing this AMA. In lower budget productions what tends to get overlooked or underestimated by Producers or Directors in Post-Production, when it comes to VFX? What are the traps and the pitfalls to be overcome?

Thanks a ton for doing this AMA. I'm curious about your sci-fi buddy trucker film, is that a self-funded project or something like Gareth Edward's Monsters that he used to launch his directorial career? Also please squeeze an homage to Dark Star in there.

@Maurice Vaughan Yeah, nowadays they call it practical or special effects, it's kinda how people throw around CGI to mean VFX, it's basically puppet vs 3D animation.

Hi @Bob Harper, me and my buddies in VFX go back and forth about it. There's no way to predict the future. I'm a bit worried because I can see how AI is helping with clean up and roto, he's not worried AT ALL because in the end, an artist has to be at the helm and sites how whenever something new comes along historically, everyone freaks out but it's just another tool. Advice? Keep on trucking and add it to your tool box so you don't get left behind. (I guess???? lol)

Hi @Geoff HallIn lower budget productions what tends to get overlooked or underestimated by Producers or Directors in Post-Production, when it comes to VFX? What are the traps and the pitfalls to be overcome?

Great ass question For me. Plan plan plan. You know why visual effects from the earlier films aren't as good as some of the things we see now. The people at the top don't have a vision and keep changing their minds. So when you see something, you're seeing the 500th iteration of it. As opposed to having a vision and then using all those hours IMPROVING and polishing it. When they made the first Star Wars, and the gag was the Millenium Falcon docks into the Death Star: 1. profile wide 2. Close up frontal coming into the dock. Those compositions stayed put so the artists could polish and make them tighter, prettier etc. Which is also why a lot the best filmmakers have a set vision and pull the trigger on a composition that the artists can really get crazy on because artists have egos and love to make it as bitchin as possible, but that doesn't happen when shit keeps changing.

Hi @Stephen Van Vuuren

I'm curious about your sci-fi buddy trucker film, is that a self-funded project or something like Gareth Edward's Monsters that he used to launch his directorial career? Also please squeeze an homage to Dark Star in there.

HA! Right now I'm in re-writes and my plan is NOT for it to be self-funded if I can help it. BUT I can make it low-budget. As far as self-funded...eh, maybe I'll shoot a sequence and see how I feel. Homage to Dark Star??? Carpenter is a huge hero of mine so his DNA will be in there somewhere. ;p

"Basically puppet vs 3D animation." That's easy to remember. Thanks, Kenneth Lui.

Hi! Did u read my questions? I have a lot ish but mostly just 2. Question 1: How long would it take to work n render an alien invasion like terminator n tranformers 2 - with hundreds of ideas more of sky city’s n tripods with lazers causing 2012 with ground n trees n contraptions transforming into a theme park extravaganza amungst the art of war Question 2: How much more can AI do for movies?

Kenneth Lui You absolute BOSS! Thank you so much for your answers! SO helpful!

Okay, after reading your other answers, would you mind terribly answering a follow-up question?

Here goes: How does a director's pre-viz factor into what the VFX team has to do? Is storyboarding enough or is there another pre-viz technique that you prefer referencing? How closely do you work with (or prefer to work with) concept artists? I'm reminded of Taika Watiti's 8-bit gamified version of the THOR: Ragnarok chase that helped to show the path, timing, and sequence of events in a fun and inventive way.

Kenneth Lui thanks for that clarity, Kenneth. Plan. Plan. Plan, it is!

Karen "Kay" Ross How does a director's pre-viz factor into what the VFX team has to do? Is storyboarding enough or is there another pre-viz technique that you prefer referencing? How closely do you work with (or prefer to work with) concept artists? I'm reminded of Taika Watiti's 8-bit gamified version of the THOR: Ragnarok chase that helped to show the path, timing, and sequence of events in a fun and inventive way.

Everything. On lower budget projects, you could turn your storyboards into animatics for timing by taking them into a video edit. I work very CLOSELY with concept artists. Much of the time, I sketch my own ideas and the artists can really polish them. Whatever you can do to zero in on the final sequence.

Very good ideas with electricity causing game glitches + how many mind opening ideas do u guys have … low budget n doing a lot seems very smart

We should connect ideas n make best notes to vibe off.. I’m persistent n been planning since 2019 I’ll share more ideas soon … or now … I’m excited for what next 4 alien invasions

Thanks again for having this AMA, Kenneth Lui!

Maurice Vaughan YEAH! Thanks for having me. It was fun!

I second what Maurice Vaughan said, Kenneth Lui - this was awesome. Glad you had fun!

You're welcome, Kenneth Lui. Hope you have an incredible and incredibly successful year!

https://www.stage32.com/profile/1096554/about Can we expand ideas n collaborate here on stage 32? Because I’m down to share asap

Kenneth Lui break a leg on the new project, it sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks again for this AMA.

crazy ideas for an alien movie coming up.. race cars to theme park .. avenge .. n need must" another dino breaking recoRds of eating n mountains tasty psychedelic smoke water nature.. treensform bugs.. gen