Jarrod Davis: Art, Tech, Industry
How did you get into VFX? What was your first industry job?
My journey into visual effects started with my just playing around with LightWave 3D on my own at home. I would buy LightWave related magazines (yes, there were actual magazines for this stuff back then) and learn whatever I could.
I ended up getting a job at NewTek, who made the software, where my plan was to work even harder to learn there, get some insider knowledge, and start to form a network with pros who used the software. It was a good community with people sharing and lots of guys who knew each other. That ended up working perfectly, and I got my first job at the legendary Foundation Imaging in 1999.
Foundation had been known for its pioneering work on Babylon 5 and its continuing work on Star Trek: Voyager, but then had branched into an all-CG animated series called “Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles”, loosely based on the novel and the movie. I became a “technical director”, in charge of lighting, environment layout, particle effects and the other things that would surround the characters, most of which were done using Foundation’s own motion capture stage.
What challenges did you face on Luminous and how did you overcome them?
Well, for as short a film as it was, it was very ambitious, so there were a number of challenges!
I remember in pre-production, I had a big concern that the space for the “infinite hallway” was only about 38 feet in reality, but there was a plan to use mirrors to fake that. When that didn’t end up being feasible, the big challenge was that anything that included the hallway area was now a greenscreen shot that would have to be tracked and composited. That jumped the shot count up by a significant amount, but that’s pretty much par for the course. Funny enough, on the pilot of “Eureka”, we also had a short on-set hallway to turn into a long hallway and that show also more than tripled its shot count over the course of it.
Another challenge was that the walls and “ribs” in the infinite hallway were a smooth, low-contrast gray color, which makes it hard for tracking software to grab points. Luckily, I had just faced a similar situation on a feature film I’d completed and was able to use a high pass filter to extract the details I needed. Doing set extensions where you’re matching rendered geometry to real geometry is always a challenge, but I’m quite happy with how the infinite hallway came out in the end.
What should directors be aware of to make sure you do the best possible job for them?
I’ve personally always found the least enjoyable part of VFX, when I’m doing it all, is motion tracking the camera to film plate. It’s a job that has to be done and done perfectly before anything else can begin, and its one that directors usually have a lot of control over, though I’ve certainly been on multimillion dollar show where some things just don’t go right. Anything that can speed that process or eliminate tracking is gold to your VFX artist.
Locked off and smooth dolly or crane shots are a joy. Handhelds are the most painful. Handhelds in low and/or flickering light are the kind of shots that will drive a person to question their very existence; I speak from experience on this.
I mean, as a director you have to tell your story the best way possible, but always keep in the back of your mind what’s going to have to come next. If you can make small compromises that save in post, it’s almost always worth it. For instance, if you’re catching a bit of greenscreen in the corner that doesn’t add any value to the shot, maybe re-stage to eliminate it and save the VFX time.
Also helpful, is good records or metadata of filmback, lens, and any positional and rotational data you can capture for each shot. It helps guide calculations in tracking or at least gives a reality check.
What is inspiring you lately?
Tech wise, I’m amazed by the technology of “The Volume” – the real-time, on-set VFX solution being used on shows like The Mandalorian. I think that is going to change film and TV forever. Honestly, a film like Luminous will likely use a solution like The Volume in the near future as the tech evolves and the cost comes down.
In my personal work, I spend a lot of time in Unreal Engine 5 these days. I’ve done a couple of art challenges with them recently, and I think it’s the future of not just gaming but VFX. Unreal powers The Volume, and one of my old bosses at Zoic Studios just gave a talk at Unreal Fest about how they’re integrating it into their VFX pipelines.
I’m also really enjoying the latest versions of Blender. If you’re coming over from another package like LightWave or Max or Maya, it can take some getting used to, but its worth the effort. It’s really full-featured now, and the community support with plugins and tutorials is stellar.
Do you have any advice for aspiring VFX/technical artists?
It’s really good to educate yourself on every part of the VFX pipeline, from the film plates through to tracking, modeling, texturing, animating, lighting, rendering, VFX (particles and fluids) and compositing. However, you’ll never be great at all of those things, so figure out what one or two things you love doing out of all of those, and be the best at them.
Knowing all the other pieces will make it easier to communicate with other departments and maybe pinch-hit from time to time, but between the time I started in the early 2000s and now, VFX has become quite compartmentalized and siloed. Nobody outside an independent like myself is doing everything on a shot anymore. So ask yourself when you sit down in your spare time, what do you find yourself tinkering with?
Another piece of advice, if you are at all on the technical side of the spectrum; learn how to script the software you use. There are so many times that you’ll find some laborious and tedious thing you have to do repeatedly, and if you can spend a few hours or even a few days scripting a solution to automate that process, you can save your sanity and a ton of time. Scripting is also very valuable and marketable skill to put on a resume.
Finally, two things from the business side. First, learn to say no. I almost never want to say no to a job; it probably stems from some of the first advice I got was “Never say no to work unless you have too much”. But that sounds pretty toxic now, That might not be such bad advice in the first couple of years when you’re trying to establish yourself and build skills and a network, but it’s not sustainable over the long term, so don’t kill yourself over a job.
Second, remember that what you’re exchanging for money is not just your expertise but your time. Time is the finite resource you give up in return for currency. Don’t undervalue that. When production asks your for a few more shots or a few more tweaks without offering any money, ask yourself if they would do the same for you. Would the producer and director change things up and do new takes just for you? Likely not. Heck, once I asked for a window to be removed for a clean green screen shot. What did I get? A crewman with some Windex to clean it.
There’s a power imbalance inherent in this business, but you have more leverage than you think. Now, in order to establish a livable rate, you may have to risk walking away from some jobs. But if you’re good at what you do, people will be willing to pay for you, they’ll ask for you and tell their friends about you. Over time you’ll make out much better than if you just destroyed your life for every scrap of work you could get.