In the Shadows

From the silent era to today’s blockbuster special effects, technological advances have been transforming the film industry since its beginnings. In fact, a lot of what we see today on the big screen is more like a magician’s illusion than a traditional film set. Today’s magic makers are usually sitting behind a computer screen building virtual realities. Computer Graphics artist and modern-day magician, Fabien Yorgandjian gives Yerevan magazine an insight into this rapidly changing world.

The old adage “what you see is what you get” has never really been applicable to the film industry. Movie-making has always been about creating an illusion – a parallel reality where audiences can be carried away to distant lands, experience outrageously wild new worlds or escape into the details of a great story. Technological advances in the industry are moving so fast, it has become difficult to understand how the illusion is built today. It used to be that sets were built, miniatures models were used, make-up was employed to create monsters and filming on location in distant lands was common practice. Today’s cutting-edge technology is transforming the industry into one that is moving away from building replica sets, filming on location or creating unearthly creatures using prosthetics. Sets are now being built digitally, locations are superimposed on blue screens and make-up effects are replaced by digital model making. The world of computer graphics (CG) and visual effects technology (VFX) has taken over and there is no going back. Visual effects artist Fabien Yorgandjian has spent the last 10 years as a digital sculptor and CG artist working in the VFX industry. With a portfolio that includes such films as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part one and part two), Despicable Me, Clash of the Titans, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and the latest installment of the popular franchise, The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Yordandjian has found a way to merge his artistic and technological skills in a continually evolving field. “My job is a perfect blend between technical and artistic skills. Technically you have to always learn new tools and follow the evolution of the industry, and artistically sculpting is a complex art that can probably take a lifetime to master,” says Yorgandjian. Born in the suburbs of Paris to an Armenian father and French mother, Yorgandjian spent years studying art and developing his technical skills before he began working in Luxembourg, London and now Paris. As a visual effects artist in the entertainment industry, Yorgandjian digitally sculpts scenes, characters and vehicles. He is one of the many individuals who are usually in the shadows of the entertainment industry, whose names we may see flash by quickly during the credits. But it is increasingly evident that the talent behind the scenes, especially those involved with CG/VFX technology, is pushing the industry into a new era of uncharted territories with each new film trying harder to outdo the last. As a visual effects artist, he has two stages in his work. First, he either develops the concept and gets it cleared or is given a rough image of the concept by the director. Then, he must clean and perfect the image for film. “Sculpting a part for an average character or creature can take 15 days. But sometimes for a big studio you can work three months on a creature depending on the level of detail needed,” says Yorgandjian.
Filmmakers are turning more and more to visual effects artists to create digital environments and digital doubles for actors. The technology is complex and requires talent that can easily merge technical and artistic skills to realize the director’s vision on screen. For instance, visual effects artists need an immense amount of information on each actor’s face to a get as realistic a rendition as possible. Various technologies are used. Harry Potter animators used a system called Mova Contour Reality Capture to make a digital double of Daniel Radcliffe’s (Harry Potter) face. They first had to apply an invisible UV paint to the actor’s face. The paint is picked up by a system of numerous cameras that capture up to 50,000 points of information including muscle, vein and skin movement. Using this technology, animators capture a 3D mesh cloud image of the actor’s face as a base for the character. Afterward, the VFX artists reshape the image to perfection and hand it over to the CG artist who then uses computer graphics to merge the data with the real actor’s image. The manipulation of the images is stitched together so seamlessly that audiences don’t even notice. Technical advances have revolutionized the film industry and continue to infuse it with unimaginable speed. “You have to stay aware of the new tools and keep learning all the time to stay competitive in this industry. Working on Harry Potter was great because it was like a dream come true to work on this kind of big project and I loved the books,” says Yorgandjian.

Read the full version in PDF format