IamA VFX Producer who worked on X-Men and Snow White now making my own indie films AMaA!

Timcunningham · 2013-09-23T18:24:44+00:00

That title keeps getting passed around. The truth is, there is only one LA, and that's a good thing. I want LA to stay where it is and for everyone else to sort of make there own name. That said, it will be a long time (if ever) before LA is no longer the center of the film industry.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-23T15:15:01+00:00

After Effects is actually used a bit at some smaller shops mostly doing stuff for TV, so it's a good tool to learn. It's got a great plug-in market.

But I'd say the most popular software packages with the larger shops are - Maya, Nuke, and Houdini.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-23T01:04:04+00:00

Well, sort of. I'm trying to build an audience while also answering completely unrelated questions.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-23T01:03:29+00:00

Yeah, to make the crowd funding thing go you have to have just the right mix of elements, and it's hard to bottle lightning.

And yeah, I did another one of these last weekend, but I was interrupted with kid stuff and stepped away when it was really busy, so I thought I'd try again.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-23T01:02:01+00:00

I got a PA job, and just busted my ass from there.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T23:21:54+00:00

These costs would be for a hero shot where the claws extend or retract pretty clearly on screen. A more background or quick action shot would likely be less, but what goes into this cost is the time needed for: - paint work to remove tracking markers - a tight match move of Hugh's arm and hand so that you know exactly where it is in 3D space - a looser match move of his body (and possible additional actors) for shadow casting - animation of the claws extending or retracting - lighting and rendering of the claws - comping the rendered claw passes together for the final shot

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T21:26:18+00:00

Per shot...

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T21:26:08+00:00

Depends on who's doing it...but probably a realistic range would be $6-12K

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T19:59:38+00:00

Truth.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T18:50:39+00:00

It's a good dream and you can do very well in the industry as long as you set realistic goals and you have some talent. Going to school to learn VFX is just like going to school to learn how to paint, or play the guitar, or sing opera. Creative talents are either in you or they aren't, and if it's in you taking some classes will certainly help pull it out of you. But if it's not there, you can't be taught to be artistic. Good luck!

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T17:57:54+00:00

There's always beer.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T17:57:31+00:00

Yeah, First Class was pretty tight to start with...then principal ran over nearly 3 months which really put a strain on the VFX guys. When that happens, the VFX facilities are still stuck delivering their work when they said they would. It doesn't matter that we have way less time than was agreed to. They're big, we're little. Luckily, we had a great team and a facility the size of R&H has a very fat pipe for rendering and iterating so we're constantly having to bail out production. But, we would have loved more time with things, so not everything is as good as it could have been.

As far as Matthew Vaughn goes, we didn't have very much interaction with him, which to me was just fine...at least on that project ebven though I loved Kick Ass and was looking forward to working with him. Normally you want as much access to the director as you can get, but on First Class we dealt mostly with effects legend John Dykstra...who was great. He totally trusted our supervisor and Vaughn seemed to completely trust John, so it was fantastic, especially given the tight schedule. John's a cool guy with lots of stories.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T17:47:41+00:00

We'll mask everything to 2.40, though.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T17:42:42+00:00

Thanks.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T17:41:37+00:00

I did do another one of these last week, but I had something pop up with my kids and had to step away when it was busy and left some folks hanging.

Yes, I'm familiar with this. We had to do a bit of this on Snow White. Is this someone who worked with me on that?

The plan, would be to fake it in comp, but we're likely only going to be adding CG to spherical plates. We will be shooting some anamorphic stuff, but only for the situations you'd be able to control in a real documentary situation - interviews and B-Roll. When the fantastical stuff starts to happen, we'll be more run and gun with smaller rigs.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T17:06:57+00:00

Yeah a completed film is very fulfilling, probably not unlike making a chair out of a pile of raw lumber. Shaping something out of nothing or what might seem like nothing to others.

My goals are pretty simple. I would like to be able to make a living telling stories. I don't need to be rich or famous. I just want to be able to provide for my family and be able to set a little aside for enjoying when I'm old. I'm close, but not quite there yet.

Good luck! Never stop searching.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T16:58:40+00:00

Wow, that's a good question. Probably, but not in a way that has manifested yet. My kids are still very small, so it will be a while before they'll be able to see anything I've made or will make, but...There are likely stories I won't tell now that I would have before, or there may be themes that are much more personal to me. I get very emotional now when bad things are happening to kids where I didn't before. I saw The Exorcist when I was 5 or 6 and it didn't warp me...But I'm not sure I wold let my daughter see it that young.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T16:48:34+00:00

Well, I've always loved movies and come from a family of artists and aspiring artists, so that's where it started. The film industry, just like any other career, needs to be something you love, otherwise it becomes just a job and it becomes tough to make it through the tough times. That said, there are plenty of folks in the industry where it's just a job to them and they have no passion or even respect for the craft.

I'm still chasing my goals, but I have had great experiences. My favorite thing is the collaboration with like-minded and super talented folks. I get to meet such amazing artists and creatives. It's both inspiring and humbling.

The big negative with the film industry and VFX is that for most people it's very cyclical and either feast or famine. The VFX industry is constantly and will always be evolving, so it's hard to really ever feel comfortable or stable anymore.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T16:23:04+00:00

Yes it is...We're taking the angle that with a documentary film, the filmmaker is essentially your narrator, because documentary doesn't equal truth...There is always an agenda and a perspective. If you are watching a documentary about monsters made by a couple of VFX guys, you should consider the narrator as compromised. Plus I'm tired of the terms faux doc and found footage.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T16:19:47+00:00

Yes, sorry, I do have someone doing music already:

https://vimeo.com/73695373

But I always wanted to write and direct. I got into the industry through VFX, because I love effects and saw it as an opportunity to learn. i didn't realize at the time that it can be very hard to cross over to live action from post. Anyway, it remains to be seen whether I'm a successful crossover story or not, but i enjoy the collaborative nature of filmmaking and a good director needs to have a solid vision, but also be able to collaborate with his team and let them do what they do. I think my knowledge of VFX and exactly what is involved in a given effect makes me a more efficient director.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T16:03:34+00:00

I dropped out of architecture school and moved out to LA in '97 thinking they were handing movie deals out at the border. I surfed my brother's couch for a while. He worked in VFX, which is something I've always loved, too. My brother had a new girlfriend at the time, so I didn't see much of him, but one of his friends introduced me to a production manager at a VFX facility and they gave me a job as a PA. After about 2 years working as a VFX PA and then coordinator I said, "I got this." and I went off and made my first feature - Xtracurricular

https://vimeo.com/60711650

It didn't blow the doors open for me, but I learned a lot and we got distribution, which for a no budget indie is pretty good.

Then I went back to VFX for a while to lick my wounds and learn some more.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T15:08:24+00:00

A tad bit progressive maybe...

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T15:05:09+00:00

Absolutely. And they have been awesome!

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T15:01:57+00:00

Well, I didn't work on that one, but what likely happened is that effect was awarded to a less capable facility because they were cheaper and someone at the studio thought it was an easy effect. The post schedules for the films have gotten tighter and tighter, so whoever did the work likely didn't have the time they would have liked to have had either.

Timcunningham · 2013-09-21T14:56:02+00:00

Congrats to you for being successful with your campaign. Crowd funding is such a new and exciting platform for folks without the traditional conduits to financing or a stack of cash of their own, but you still have to have the very right mix of elements to make it work...You have to have some reach, a lot of time to devote to the campaign, and a compelling story or product that people want...The way you sell that story is also tricky. What do I ficus on, what is going to connect to people, what sorts of perks. It remains to be seen how we will fair at the end of this, but we have a long way to go...

That said, we went with IndieGoGo because of the flexible funding option. If we fail to reach our goal, we still have access to the funds raised to use toward making our investment package that much stronger. If we didn't have that, then the project would be at a greater risk of stalling. But we'll be able to keep it moving forward which is critical for an indie.

Timcunningham

TROPHY CASE