Bring the sex! Bring the Cheap Tricks! That's the real path of success.

After Effects CS5 - Visual Effects and Compositing.PDF
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Fully comprehend the importance of those words. Make it look good, not real.

I can tell you that it was only after this particlar matte painter made this conscious choice to focus on making things look GOOD, instead of simply real, that he skyrocketed from a new hire at ILM to one of their top talents. Personally, it's only after I learned to bring the sex that I graduated from visual effects supervising to become a professional director.

So who brings the sex? The answer is simple: The people who care about it. Those who understand the glorious unreality of film and their place in the process of creating it. Be the effects artist who breaks the mold and thinks about the story more than the bit depth. Help turn the tide of self-inflicted prejudice that keeps us relegated to creating boring reality instead of glorious cinema.

Secretly slip your client a cocktail of dirty tricks and fry it in more butter than they'd ever use at home.

Bring the sex.

Stu Maschwitz
San Francisco, October 2008


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Cheap Tricks

Color Correction is the Ultimate Cheap Trick, and the colorist is the Ultimate bringer of the sex.

Cinematographer, softly darken down the right half of the shot by a full stop, placing half the plate along with our CG element in a subtle shadow. Boom, the shot sang.


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Clients are like customers at a restaurant, and you are the chef. They probably want to think that "more oomf" translates into something really sophisticated.

Your client would never admit (or suggest on their own) that "oomf" is usually some combination of "cheap tricks" such as camera shake, a lens flare or two, and possibly some God rays -- just like the diner would rather not know that their request for "more flavor" will probably be addressed with butter, salt, and possibly MSG.

The MSG analogy is the best: Deep down, you want to go to a Chinese restaurant that uses a little MSG but doesn't admit it. You want the cheeap tricks because they work, but you'd rather not think about it. Your client wants you to use camera shake and lens flares, but WITHOUT TELLING THEM. They'd never admit that those cheap tricks "make" a shot, so let them off the hook and do those things without being asked. They'll silently thank you for it. Bringing the sex is all about cheap tricks.