George Lucas, one of the true pioneers of the digital filmmaking era, presciently named his visual effects company Industrial Light and Magic.\u00a0 Perhaps, in his visionary way, he foresaw a future in which the miraculous became mundane, when the work of effects had lost its magic and become just another job to be done.\u00a0 Because baby, we\u2019re there.<\/p>\n
Every summer seems to bring an ever-fatter harvest of effects-laden tentpoles, and this year is no exception.\u00a0 Shape-shifting robots, legions of superheroes, death-defying time-travellers, planet-conquering apes, galaxy-rocking interstellar battles, and on and on and on.\u00a0 Now, I don\u2019t go to see them all \u2026 if any.\u00a0 But in the interests of keeping a meta-eye on the industry, I watch trailers and read reviews.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve noticed something.<\/p>\n
No-one talks about the effects anymore. Despite an unprecedented number of big effects movies hitting the Cineplex, I cannot recall the last time I saw a review that commented on the effects work.\u00a0 Spectacular effects are now accepted and expected, too common to comment upon.\u00a0 Effects have become just another below the line item along with the grips, gaffers and catering.\u00a0 A commodity.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a long long way from the business I knew, only a couple of decades ago.<\/p>\n
I kind of stumbled into the industry in the early 90s. I was working with a progressive little post production company in Vancouver which specialized in effects for tv spots.\u00a0 We partnered up with a former employee to build a digital visual effects facility \u2013 Canada\u2019s first.\u00a0 We had financing, we had work, we had talent and we had tech \u2013 by God, did we have tech: Canada\u2019s first and only seats of Kodak\u2019s game-changing Cinesite platform.\u00a0 Anyone remember Kodak?<\/p>\n
They were thrilling times.\u00a0 The capabilities of digital image manipulation seemed to grow and mutate almost by the minute, and the promise to the film community was an alluring one: anything you can imagine, we can create. Anything<\/em>. Visual effects artists were hailed as the new heroes of Hollywood.\u00a0 Meanwhile, every production, design, animation and effects company on the continent was busily adding \u2018digital\u2019 to their business card in an effort to show that they knew and spoke this strange new language.<\/p>\n But even as this new wave took hold, a counter-revolution was underway.\u00a0 The miraculous digital tools became cheaper and cheaper, dramatically lowering barriers to entry.\u00a0 Shops that had invested millions in \u2018ware were bidding against upstarts who paid a fraction for newer gear that could do the same job.\u00a0 Demand rose, supply rose faster, costs fell, competition increased, and a race to the bottom ensued.<\/p>\n The industry hit a nadir of sorts a couple of years ago, when Ang Lee accepted the Best Director Oscar for Life of Pi, a film that, without visual effects, would have been two hours of a boy in a boat (not to say that such a premise could not make a compelling film, but you know what I mean).\u00a0 In his acceptance speech, Mr Lee took time to thank his crew, his actors, his agent, his set builders, even his lawyer \u2026 but not one word for the army of artists who created the extraordinary effects that were the meat of the movie.<\/p>\n Perhaps the director, who reportedly felt that the effects cost too much, thought he had rewarded the effects team sufficiently without needing to thank them from the podium as well.\u00a0 Or perhaps it was a case in which the filmmakers just don\u2019t get how much blood, sweat and tears goes into creating these miraculous visions.\u00a0 You tap a couple of keys, and then the computer does all the work\u2026 so what\u2019s the big deal? The sad post script to the affair was that even as Mr Lee was failing to acknowledge the contribution of the vfx team to his film, the primary effects vendor, Rhythm & Hues, was filing for bankruptcy.<\/p>\n Not to say the industry is in trouble.\u00a0 VFX is big business in Vancouver these days, thanks to tax credits, a fertile film industry and oodles of available talent.\u00a0 Sony Imageworks is moving its HQ there, joining several other global effects houses that already have operations in the city. In warehouses and lofts and studios all over the city, thousands of artists toil in obscurity, making magic in the dark, crafting miracles for your amusement.<\/p>\n Big business, indeed.<\/p>\n Post script: there is still magic to be found in filmmaking, sometimes in unlikely places.\u00a0 Take this latest video from OK Go.<\/p>\n