VFX Voice - Fall 2017

expensive IT equipment, to a more flexible and scalable OPEX
[operational expenditure] center, where storage service openings
increase and decrease dynamically, depending on how you use it.”
Fangou adds, “There are also big opportunities around [artificial
intelligence] technology. I expect the visual effects industry will
be seeing some big changes with the automation and machine
intelligence that AI is bringing.” Catmull agrees. In particular, he
says the Pixar, Disney Animation and ILM research units are all
investigating deep-learning computer algorithms and the wider
AI paradigm to see how systems might be able to make certain
visual effects processes more efficient. The problem, he suggests, is
that while he is optimistic “deep learning is likely going to have an
impact on our industry,” it still remains “such a broad concept, so
it is not crystal clear what that impact is going to be yet, beyond the
fact that the rate of growth and use of these chips puts us in a place
to apply them in some unforeseen ways.”
Most industry representatives say, at the end of the day, most
of these issues are about how the visual effects industry does
things, and what tools and workflows it employs to do them. Tim
Sarnoff suggests the verdict regarding these advancements, as
always, will be rendered by the public.“The experience and the
storytelling is what matters most when evaluating success in the
creative technology arena, not the technical innovation itself,”
Sarnoff emphasizes. “This has been the pattern in entertainment
and communication throughout the ages, and I see no reason to
suspect this pattern will not repeat itself again.”
TOP: Foundry’s Cara VR is an
advanced toolkit that streamlines
the process of VR content creation
by dramatically speeding up the
challenging, often tedious process
of stitching and compositing 360°
video footage. It also makes it easy
for artists to use Nuke’s full suite of
compositing tools on 360° footage.
(Photo courtesy of Foundry)
LEFT: Alex Mahon (Photo credit:
Martin Beddall/Foundry)
RIGHT: Ron Frankel
BOTTOM: Previs by Proof Inc. for
Wonder Woman. (Image copyright ©
2015 Warner Bros. Entertainment
and courtesy of Proof Inc.)
LEFT: Jim Morris, VES (Photo
credit: Deborah Coleman/Pixar)
BOTTOM: Cars 3 (Photo copyright
© 2016 Disney/Pixar Animation
Studio. All Rights Reserved.)
FALL 2017 VFXVOICE.COM • 87