Levinson Thesis Proposal 2.0

I. TITLE: Brumby Monday: Photo-realism in Visual Effects

II. ABSTRACT: As moviegoing audiences become more sophisticated, and as technology has progressed, the nature of visual effects has changed dramatically. Things that were once considered "invisible" effects are now painfully obvious. However, though it can easily be said that the state of the art is changing, it is quite difficult for anyone in the industry to pin down where it is now. Obviously there are some effects which can pass by undetected by the viewer, but what they are, and under what circumstances they blend seamlessly with the narrative is a slippery thing to pin down. My aim is to create a detailed snapshot of the current state of the "invisible" visual effects world, and structure which can be used to obtain meaningful data about an audience's changing response to a medium.

III. DESCRIPTION:
1.Genre – Film & Television
Methodology (I) — I will be presenting a script for an original short film which contains visual effects arranged an a manner designed tease out the current understanding of "photorealism" in the film world.
Methodology (II) – I will be presenting an original short film (15-30min) eventually accompanied by an analysis of audience response to the effects categorized along four axes which I believe to be the determining factors.
Delivery Format – Either a high-definition DVD or tape, or (depending on budget), a film print.

2. Project Goals – This is inherently a multimedia project because the best possible way to gauge audience response to visual effects is to present a "test-pattern" so to speak in the medium, setting, and form in which they have become accustomed to seeing such effects. There are two guises in which this project will engage with viewers. The first invites viewers to think critically about their own subjective experience and about the state of the visual effects world. As such they become part of the test audience and contribute to the research which will ultimately be a part of the project. The second guise presents to informed viewers the research and analysis surrounding the film. These viewers will gain a deeper awareness of the positioning of this fine line of photo-realism in today's world.

Most test audiences will believe that they are simply watching a short film without any ulterior motive behind its creation, and will respond to the film in its entirety in the way that they usually would. Any interviews conducted with this group will mix questions about visual effects with innocuous questions about other aspects of the film. Other more targeted test audiences will be asked to think critically about visual effects before watching the film, and write responses specifically geared toward analysis. Viewers of the multimedia project, on the other hand, will read an analysis of the audience response along with the presentation of the film.

3. Project Significance – It is so rare that we get the opportunity to chronicle the general public's response to an art form changes as the medium itself evolves. Computer-generated visual effects provide a unique opportunity as they contribute to a 100-year-old art form because their presence is a relatively new phenomenon. Some viewers will hopefully use my research to similarly monitor the changing audience response to other art-forms as they mature. Video games may become an excellent topic for a similar kind of analysis in 3-10 years. Even further down the line, mobile media may develop their own unique characteristics apart from film, game and television— possibly interactive games based on the user's position in real space. Perhaps 15-30 years from now a similar analysis might be undertaken on a maturing mobile art form.

Hopefully my snapshot of the visual effects world will provide a useful reference in coming years to monitor how audience response changes with regard to the dimensions outlined.

IV. TIMELINE: A current prototype contains all of the visual effects elements necessary in a form of the "test pattern" described above. It is currently undergoing revisions on the film and story levels, in order to make the film more appealing to a mass audience. I intend to finish a second prototype with a much more narrowed-down version of the test pattern (focusing on the photoreal side of the spectrum). The prototypes will all be shorter films which try out various balances of the four dimensions which I believe affect the audience's analysis of "invisible" effects. Ideally I would like to finish the second prototype, see if I can modify the first to more closely match the changes in my goals, and create a third prototype with a different balance by the end of the semester. Senior year will be devoted to the creation of the finished film based on my experiments with the prototypes. This film will be finished and ready for display by the spring of 2009.


V. BUDGET: So far, I’ve spent roughly $800 on the first two prototypes combined. Finishing the second may require an additional $200. However, in order to get the quality of work necessary for the distribution which would be ideal for the film, the finished one will require a full short-film budget. There are films of this size which have been done successfully by undergraduates at USC, and I will investigate their successes and methodology in raising the necessary funds (between $65,000 and $130,000). I personally can only provide a small fraction of those funds and will rely on grants, etc. for the production.

VI. ADVISORS: Jim O'Keefe, Patricia Cardoso, Amanda Pope, Tom Anderson?

VII. PRESENTATION/DISTRIBUTION PLANS: The ideal audience is one which is prepared to think critically about what they are seeing, but expecting a professional caliber production. Film festivals at which I or a representative could be present to interview audience members are thus an ideal forum for the first stage of distribution. A general film-festival run would be useful to generate legitimate reviews, cost and logistics permitting. Ideally, a more general release on television (European television is more amenable to shorts) would provide a contrasting type of test audience. On the opposite end of the spectrum, small targeted test screenings where viewers are asked to write responses specifically about the visual effects will provide some insight into useful research methodology.

VIII. PRODUCTION RESOURCES: The first prototype was shot using a standard Panasonic MiniDV camera. The second prototype was recorded in high-definition with solid-state memory. The finished film will either be recorded on 35mm film or digital cinema (RED Cam?) or — if the budget is not sufficient — the same HD equipment as Prototype 2 with the addition of a 35mm adaptor and 35mm lenses for the "film look" but locked into HD distribution. Industry audio equipment (Nagra, etc) will be added, as well as the usual lights, grip equip, transportation, etc. All of this is rentable with sufficient funds. On the software side, it will be the industry standbys: Avid, After Effects, ProTools, Photoshop. Also possibly, Maya, Combustion, Final Cut, Premiere, Motion Tracking by Imagineer, or Poser depending on the nature of the final film.

IX. PRIOR RELATED WORK: I've made a number of short films before, but none with the volume or quality of effects necessary for this project. However, the prototypes thus far have demonstrated that it is indeed possible for a college undergraduate to create some professional-quality effects if the project is designed to play to the strengths of the available resources. I've studied photography and theater separately, and have participated in smaller film festivals and exhibitions of still photography and graphic design before.

X. RESEARCH BIBLIOGRAPHY:
I've accumulated a small library of books on effects, film, directing, acting, photography, and more. Some of the history of early CG, such as Terminator and others will certainly be included, as will a number of other books which generally contributed to the film.