Selling the shot

..or how the devil is in the (comp) details

You have probably heard a friend complaining that “they just don’t buy it” when a visual effects shot comes up.

Lots of different issues could lead to this. If you have read our past posts you probably know a few.
Today we will focus on the not-too-obvious parts, smaller details, or the final brushstrokes.

As a final frontier before the visual effects are released, the compositing artist can add those to “sell” their shot for the audience to “buy”.

Here is John Wick firing up his gun. Can you think which important element is missing?

The hot, bright muzzle flash doesn’t shed any light around it.
In the comp world, we call this interactive light.

And here is the shot as it is in the film

Let’s play a game now. Can you spot the difference between the next two images?

Let us help. The shadow underneath the CG building and the “interactive light” on the ground. Without those, the building looks like it’s floating.

And now something a bit more complex and interesting.

Notice the jet engine of this flying car. Looks good enough. Let’s see how we can make it better.

We can break the monochromatic neon blue by giving a bit of a texture. Now we have some contrast with darker and brighter areas. On top of this, we can create some heat distortion.
Embellishing the shot so that the viewer “feels” it’s more realistic.