Mark Sawicki entered the visual effects field as an effects cameraman, animator, and compositor in the late 70s. As a co-supervisor for Area 51 on Tom Hanks' special "From the Earth to the Moon", Sawicki was part of the combined use of models, motion control, and CGI as a pivotal transition point between the traditional and digital eras. He won an Emmy Certificate for his contribution to the television series Star Trek while working as a cameraman for Illusion Arts. He then went on to become visual effects supervisor and lead cameraman for Custom Film effects working on such films as Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. At the start of the 21st century, Mark took a hiatus from production to write books, create video programs for the Stan Winston School of Character Arts, and teach at a variety of film schools. He has now re-entered the field as a virtual production artist and corporate trainer.
Juniko Moody graduated from USC Cinema and entered the industry as a motion control and compositing technician working for New World Studios, Ultimatte Corporation, and ILM. She entered the digital field working for Eastman Kodak's Cineon project digitally restoring the Disney classic Snow White and went on to work for Warner Digital and Sony Imageworks as a digital artist. She was hired by Walt Disney Feature Animation to provide CGI lighting and digital compositing for the film Dinosaur. She also provided corporate training at Disney and Dreamworks animation. She received a doctorate from USC Rossier School of Education and continues to write and research.

Dedication

Preface - Bill Taylor

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1 The First Magicians

Chapter 2 A Brief History of Computer Graphics

Chapter 3 Performance Capture

Chapter 4 Camera Tracking

Chapter 5 Under the Hood of the Reality EngineTM Compositing System

Chapter 6 Making a Storyboard with Unreal ® Engine

Chapter 7 Compositing Fundamentals

Chapter 8 Production Considerations.

Chapter 9 Creating Photo Real Environments

Chapter 10 So You Don't Have a Million Dollars

Chapter 11 Production Case Study

Chapter 12 Virtual Reality: Indistinguishable from Magic.

About the Authors

Index