Week – 1
1. Understanding Trends
- What is a “trend” in VFX?
- How can we tell when a trend is emerging?
- Do trends appear suddenly, or do they evolve from earlier technologies, techniques, styles, or workflows?
Trend can be “Evolving Quality”
2. Identifying Current Trends
- What are some of the latest VFX trends? Consider films, TV shows, video games, or other media.
- How do we know when a technique or style is becoming a trend? Is it popularity, innovation, audience response, or something else?
- Comparing current trends with past developments can show how ideas evolve.
3. Sharing Examples
- Share specific examples of current VFX trends on your digital sketchbook.
- Look for instances where cutting-edge techniques are used.
Four visual pairings and writing a brief reflection: Edgerton Iconic Images
1. Glass Break
It’s a scene from ‘Justice League’ (2021).
2. Observation
It’s a coin juggling scene from an anime ‘ Hunter X Hunter’.
3. Creatures
Lion Fight Scene from ‘The lion king’.
4. Bomb
Blast scene from ‘Hunter X Hunter’.
Homework:
What does Dr James Fox mean by “The Age of the Image”?
Dr. James states Revolution in visual culture has turned our people to addicts of images, we take more photos now compared to the entire 19 century. This was digital age as now we can’t only take picture we can manipulate them. He asked series of questions why do images gives pleasure? How do they get power from and can we trust them. An artist name Cezanne painted an image of floor tilts up an angle, apple size of bowling ball and more. He believes either Cezanne was a bad painter or he was trying show fourth dimension. Later a motorised camera was built by Edison and William Dickson to capture motion and time. This give birth to cinema. Modern era made it possible for all to capture themselves and the others in photos even videos. He Talked about Lartigue’s photos and believes photographs have weight, smell, emotions. In 1895, Wilhelm Conard Roentgen, a German physicist Create first X-ray of her wife’s hand, First time people look inside there body. It proved human eyes aren’t meant to see the reality. The Age of the Image in modern era is more to change the perception of reality, the truth which can be changed using softwares rather than having physical experience but still they carry emotions and have weight in it like Lartigue’s self portrait of siting in bath.
Reference :
Fox, J. (2020) ‘Age of Illusion’, The Age of the Image, Ep 1. Directed by J. Fox. BBC, 23 March. Available at~: Box of Broadcasts (accessed: 1 October 2026). View Record: Age of the Image · BoB
Week 2
The Photographic Truth-Claim
Plato’s cave
Dr. James Begin his Documentry with an experiment where a group of people locked up in cave and force to see a blank wall for there entire life. The only thing they saw is the shadow of other folks on the wall believing it is reality. But one momentous day they break the chain and look behind to realise what they thought was real was just an image. He says we all live in the same world as the prisoners as we are surrounded by screens and illusions. He believes as we moving forward images are changing into reality whereas reality is nothing but a mere image then ever. There was an artist name Zeuxis who painted a bunch of grapes so real that bird came to peck on them. Later in second half of century some artists made a group to achieve The master of illusions of the past. An Italian painter Luciano Ventrone was one them who has present new bunch of grapes which is challenging to accept its a painting with texture linen canvas. In 1960, American painters started using photographs resulting in losing boundaries between real and photographic. Furthermore, as time passes an Australian Born Ron Mueck produced sculpted figures. Later birth of Visual Manipulation happens. John Knoll with his brother create photoshop and use a picture to manipulate known as Jennifer in paradise. Later it has become tool to present heavily manipulated image that looks real. In mid 1970, George Lucas was working on a project called Star Wars. Later Matte Painting was introduced, artists paints glass to create a background to combine with live action. Later in 1993 Jurassic park came where CGI dinosaurs were in the live action. Visual effects became more realistic with time passes and we got many great movies.
Reference : Fox, J. (2020) ‘Age of Illusion’, The Age of the Image, Ep 4. Directed by J. Fox. BBC, 23 March. Available at~: Box of Broadcasts (accessed: 1 October 2026). View Record: Age of the Image · BoB
Homework:
What you think is meant by the theory: The Photographic Truth-Claim?
Tom Gunning is a film scholar, his photographic truth claim refer to use photography as most reliable methods for visuals. He Believes photos are used to capture physical reality but they can be be easily staged by editing. Therefore, truth of photograph will depend on context and trust from audience, technology is just a medium to create it. The photos we capture actually depicts the truths as it shows emotions and reality in it. Unlike movies which has a lot of VFX in it which manipulates images and videos for entertainment of people and lead them off the reality. Gunning aims to examine the core which leads him to Charles Sanders Peirce’s concept of indexicality. It means a physical mark caused by something is still there, thermometer turning heat into number. By this he shows staging, cropping or retouching image has always been a half of photography. Using Visual effects, CGI, Special Effects can change the perspective of watcher and can change how a photographer capture a photo but it does not effect the physical traces of reality. Truth is we take photos of our own, family, friends and change its lighting, colors, and more that does not meant our trust breaks. This is something we all agree to trust to.
Reference:
Grokipedia (n.d.) Truth claim photography. Available at: https://grokipedia.com/page/truth_claim_photography (Accessed: 19 October 2026).
Week 3
Faking Photographs: Image manipulation and computer collage
Task 1 – Faked Analogue Photographs
Petra Hendrickson, same guy posing and clicking picture.
Daydream (c 1870–1890), anonymous
The girl with tools imagined her future: her daydream of becoming a mother.
Man startled by his own reflection (c 1870–1880), Leonard de Koningh
Decapitation (c 1880–1900), FM Hotchkiss
Task 2 – find examples of Fake Digital Photographs.
3 Headed Shark Attack
The Meg
Task 3 – Faked Visual Effects as “Documentary” Footage.
Games of Thrones
Avatar
The Avengers
Homework – Write a definition of VFX compositing. What is it and how does it work?
VFX Compositing is process where we connect Live action footage, CGI, Background, other effects created separately and then combine a final shot. This technique let us to create or do the stuff which will cost too much or is not practically possible to achieve. It takes a lot time and patience to create a perfect VFX shot. We have to manage lighting, colors, texture, Shadows, motion blur and more to make it look real. Maya, Houdini, Zbrush, is used in creating models, uv mapping, sculpting, animation and more. We use After effects and nuke to work with color correction, layers, masking and more. It ask for a artistic perception to handle it. Compositing can Level up a whole animation by blur, Depth of field, Particles effects and with Stop-motion and claymation an animation can be much smoother to watch. Vfx artist use different techniques when it comes to compositing and video or animation, it all depends on what that video is demanding, what’s its complexity. Green screen compositing, Rotoscoping, Matte painting, Layer blending, color matching and motion blur are techniques a composite artist know. Green screen Compositing use to remove background from scene and to add digital environment depending on the need. Chroma key is to select color and remove from it. Rotoscoping is too time consuming but essential to learn. It use to select subject frame by frame so artist could manipulate with the scene. Motion tracking as it name its use to track movement or data position of subject in video So CGI element could move along. Compositing is vital part of modern flimmaking as no one want to see dull, colorless videos.
Reference:
Week 4
Version one – completely constructed using CGI
The Jungle Book (2016)
Avatar: The Way of Water(2022)
The Robots(2005)
The Avengers
Version Two – The Composite
The Avengers
Jurassic World
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Life of Pie
Homework: Digital Photorealism
New media a critical introduction talks about how photorealism is connect with digital cinema when it come to use morphing effects in Terminator 2 or the Matrix. Bolter and Grusin’s state ‘Remediation’ which means it visual copy of cinematography & photography. Which result into blurring the line of photorealism that mimics existing media than physical reality. There are a lot of scenes that can’t be perform cause of prices, risk involves digital effects come in work, photography here functions not as
some kind of mechanically neutral verisimilitude but as a mode of representation that creates a ‘reality effect’(2009, p.137).
Reference:
Lister, M., Dovey, 2009. New Media: A Critical Introduction. 2nd ed. London: Routledge
Week 5
Types of captures:
Motion capture is used to capture movement of object, and to add in softwares to use in animation and more. A camera and a body suit with motion detectors is used.
3d Scanning is used to create 3d model of objects, environment buildings and even human faces by copying data of there shape and appearance.
Task: Comparing the movement and animation
The Jungle Book (1967) and The Jungle Book (2016)
In animation baloo walk on two feet whereas in live-action baloo never, as bear can’t walk on two feet for longer distance.
In animation the face of snake is happy and suppressing his intent to kill but in live-action its scary with no deception.
In animation the elephants are dancing but in live-action they are just walking normal.
In my opinion both have there own version of expressing but Live-action look more real to me as for the movement, emotions, facial expression.
Homework:
Motion Capture vs Key Frame Animation
Motion Capture and key frame is vital technique in animation industry. Keyframe animation is time consuming compared to motion capture as in keyframe animation we change the movement of object each frame each body part whereas in motion capture a model wear a motion capturing suit and start performing actions needed. Animation comes in early 1900’s with hand drawn animation with studio like Disney. Furthermore as time passed animation industry develop and give masterpieces like Toy story, snow white and more. Keyframe is an anchor point that shows when an animation starts or ends in a transition. Animators has to work with motion, expression, timing for a perfect animation. Motion capture also called mocap, this technique use cameras and sensors to record movements and expressions in real world and then send them into digital world. Mocap saves so much time compared to keyframe animation.
Keyframe animation has great advantage when it comes on complex movement covered with camera like dynamic shots. Animators have flexibility to play with timing and spacing of movements. Moreover Hyper-realistic movements and capturing natural expression makes every flimmaker use it. Newcomers can sure work with keyframe animation but mocap need technical knowledge and experts to use. Which make it expensive for low budget films. One more con of mocap is there are highly sensitive one wrong action by actor can make Inaccuracies of marker, which lead to wrong animation.
Keyframe animation and Motion capture both has flaws and pros. They both unique strength to offer as one has realism expression and one has flexibility. We can use these both depends on budget and requirement of project.
Reference:
Ayoola, Clintin. (2023) Keyframe Animation vs. Motion Capture: Choosing the Right Technique. Keyframe Animation vs. Motion Capture: Choosing the Right Technique – Vagon (Accessed: 26 october 2026).
Week 6
Reality Capture (LIDAR) and VFX
Task 1: Explore three significant types of 3D scanning used in VFX and document one real-world project example for each.
Depth-based scanning – is a projected or laser-based structured patterns of light are used to assess the shape of objects, the patterns are recorded with cameras and processed in software creating facsimile 3D geometry.
Laser scanning (LIDAR) – light detection and ranging, abbreviated to LIDAR, is the use of multiple laser measurements taken of an environment from 360-degree viewpoint, a 3D point data cloud is built from the measurements collected.
Photogrammetry – process by which 3D models are built from photographs. where subject photographed many times from multiple angles, after which the photos are then processed by software which calculates the positions of the cameras in space in relation to points on the object. These points are formed into a set of X,Y,Z coordinates as a point cloud, from which 3D geometry may ultimately be generated.
Homework – Reality Capture
Reality capture is a part of photogrammetry and Lidar. It is used make 3d model of buildings and environment. It calculate millions of data points to give accurate models, which that is used across in movies and architecture. ScanLab Projects is a famous company based in London, founded in 2010 by Matt Shaw and William, They use reality capture tech to make exact 3d model as in real world. They have done many great projects, ‘FRAMERATE: Pulse of the Earth’s, Replica | Real | Replica, NOISE: Error in the Void, A museum made digital’ are some of there projects. A museum made digital is a 3d digital model of Sir john Soane’s house. ScanLab partnered with Sir John Soane’s Museum where they scan its interiors, sculptures, drawings and made a 3d model. There other project is ‘FRAMERATE: Pulse of the Earth’ in here they show destruction, growth, and erosion caused by human and nature. It was created by thousands of daily 3d time lapse scan of British Landscapes. Furthermore to get perfect 3d model High Density laser will required so it can get perfect textures. Low density laser will miss subtle details and textures which might change the whole meaning. ScanLab use lidar to represent art and old architecture but it can used in movies too. Moreover we can use it to scan human face, body part, animals, auto mobile and more.
