Casting Visual Effects

How Universal Chooses FX Teams

Bruce Almighty (Photo: Ralph Nelson/Illusion Arts)

Successful directors like Robert Altman consider casting actors themost crucial decision in the filmmaking process. But what about thevisual effects that now play key roles in growing numbers of films?What's behind the “casting” of the artists who create thoseeffects?

At Universal Pictures, which kicked off summer 2003 with threehigh-profile effects films — Hulk, Bruce Almighty, and2 Fast 2 Furious — the man responsible for casting effectsis senior vice president of production technology John Swallow. Hestands out among studio executives because of his previous productionbackground — in traditional effects at Apogee and digital effectsat PDI. Before inaugurating his current position at Universal nineyears ago, he was the effects producer on the breakthrough CG characterfilm Dragonheart. Swallow even did a stint, prior to enteringthe film business, as a circus lion-tamer. Today, as he wrangles big“tent pole” effects films, that experience might come inhandy.

This season he's herding some big cats: Hulk required“almost 500 of the most complicated shots I've ever seen,”says Swallow. “There were 280 in Bruce Almighty and 508 in2 Fast 2 Furious, both 2D and 3D. Both of those movies had veryshort post schedules of 15 to 16 weeks, which is horrendous for doingthat much work.”

To meet these deadlines, Swallow enlisted a broad range of effectshouses. ILM wrestled Hulk, while Illusion Arts handled BruceAlmighty. Illusion Arts also contributed to 2 Fast 2Furious, as did Hammerhead, Pacific Title, CIS, Buf Compagnie, andPixel Liberation Front. While breaking up the effects assignment onthese kinds of movies is often necessary (or even desirable to takeadvantage of an individual studio's special expertise), Swallow says,“I try to have different people working on whole sequences, notjust producing elements for compositing.” This approach minimizesthe likelihood that there will be problems integrating disparateelements. “Because even if facilities are using off-the-shelftools, there's usually lots of proprietary code on top of theirsystems.”

Swallow's casting process actually begins early in pre-production,sometimes even before directors and producers have been attached toprojects. Because he reports directly to Universal's co-presidents ofproduction, Mary Parent and Scott Stuber, Swallow notes, “Theyhave the ability to pull me in early. It helps tremendously for thecreative executives to start thinking about effects early on. I see themajority of scripts that have effects. The first thing I consider iswhether a movie will have groundbreaking stuff like Hulk, or ifthe effects play more of a support role. I do have rose-colored glasseson a lot of times when I first read a script. I think, ‘This iscool. There's got to be a way to do this.’” Of course, whenSwallow starts calculating what some of these cool effects might cost,his assessments can cause the studio brass to gulp. “What's thatphrase?” he asks. “Shock and awe?”

2 Fast 2 Furious (Photo: Universal Studios)

“Universal isn't afraid to step up if something needs to bereally cool,” he adds, “So I get a lot of support. But ifall we're doing on a picture is cleaning things up or doing things likeset extensions, it's my job to figure out how to do that in acost-effective way.”

In addition to making budgetary calls, Swallow feels that a sizablepart of the casting process is pairing the right personalities.“As directors become attached to projects, we need to check outhow much their people know about effects, so we can shore things up tohelp them if necessary. If a director comes in with a favorite effectssupervisor already, I try not to interfere too much. But some directorscome in and say ‘I've never done this before. Who do Ineed?’ That was the case with Ang Lee directingHulk.”

Going into Hulk, Swallow had no doubt that only ILM couldpull off 500 shots with a computer-generated star. He also knew itwould be crucial to have a visual effects supervisor with theexperience to tackle an unprecedented CG actor. He wanted eight-timeOscar-winner Dennis Muren, who'd supervised CG in films likeTerminator 2, A.I., and Jurassic Park.

As ILM chief Jim Morris remarks, “John Swallow has a very hightaste level and he's able to see that in other people. I think he feltthat because Ang Lee is a director of high taste, he'd have to pair himwith a supervisor who can deliver that on the effects side. John didn'tpersonally know Dennis that well, but because he felt Dennis couldprovide the best chemistry and the best chance to do something special,John went to the mat for him right from the beginning. I think hisexpressing that level of confidence made it a no-brainer for thestudio. That really cemented this project into a shape and form. Italso ultimately led to [producer] Larry Franco bringing the post uphere and we got the opportunity — which is a bit unusual in theeffects business — of having the director available every day todirect every nuance of the character. That may be a new paradigm. Butif you've got a synthetic character in your film, how can your directornot direct it?” (For more on Ang Lee's experience directing a CGcharacter, see “The Hulk Indie Style,”Millimeter June 2003)

Hulk (Photo: ILM)

Facilitating the director's vision is a key concern of Swallow's,which is why he's advised Universal to outsource effects work on acase-by-case basis and not build an inhouse facility as other studioshave done. “Filmmakers need to have a certain amount of freedomwith this stuff. For example, when we started The Mummy, thefirst question [director] Steve Sommers asked me was if there wasfacility he would have to work with. I told him absolutely not —that we'd sift through the shots and figure out what the best facilitywould be. I think he was relieved.”

Like Hulk, The Mummy wound up going to ILM, and Swallowadmits that when it comes to creating complex CG characters, especiallyphoto-real ones, “There's a limited playing field. A long list ofgreat houses can do 2D stuff. There's a shorter list of people who cando hard-surface 3D models and a certain level of character work. Andfor organic 3D characters, it's a much shorter list. The problem we getinto creatively is that the integration of this material into livebackgrounds keeps upping the ante more and more. That's not only amongpeople working in the industry; audiences are also starting to expectit.”

The productive history that Swallow shares with ILM raises thequestion of whether he gets priority seating there. “I think thatrumor has been flying around for years,” he acknowledges.“I do have a great relationship there, but I think I have greatrelationships at most facilities because we do break a lot of workup.” From ILM's perspective, Jim Morris says, “We have tobe like Switzerland. It's first-come, first-served. Because when wetake on a show we have to make sure we have the right leadershipavailable to complete it. John doesn't get preferential treatment, butI know that he will personally come up here and rip my heart out withhis bare hands if he doesn't get what he needs.”

“Schedules are our biggest nemesis,” says Swallow.“Everybody has the best intentions, like wanting a movie done ina particular time slot because of actor availability.” WhenSwallow finds it difficult to get his first choice of a facility orartist, he admits, “I do throw tantrums. And sometimes Iwin.”

Bruce Almighty (Photo: Illusion Arts)

Most times he's engaged in a delicate balancing act, working with afilm's visual effects supervisor to divvy up the work sensibly. On thesleeper hit The Fast And The Furious, his choice of IllusionArts and Hammerhead yielded such ingenious effects that both houseswound up as semi-finalists for Oscars. For the much-anticipated sequel,there was a bigger budget but an extremely tight schedule, so Swallowand the film's visual effects supervisor, Mike Wassel, had to dispersethe work wider.

At Hammerhead, which handled 150 CG shots for 2 Fast 2Furious, supervisor Thad Beier notes that Swallow took an activerole in shrinking the approval process so they could meet the film'skiller deadlines. “John would even come to early Saturday morningscreenings with us.” While it's not unusual for studio executivesto voice opinions, Beier observes, “It's rarely done very well,because many of them don't understand the history of a shot or evenwhat they're seeing. Discussions with John are more technicallydetailed than they usually are with someone in his position. He's apretty intense presence. If I indicate that I'm at all unsure about howto accomplish something, he has this thing that he does where heprofesses to be scared. But I think he's just trying to get mygoat.”

He's right, of course. A recipient of a Technical Academy Award forhis software, Beier is one of a circle of experts that Swallowregularly consults to brainstorm ideas. In preparing to cast variouseffects films, Swallow says, “There are people at differentfacilities that I go to and kick around ideas.” In addition toBeier and his Hammerhead partners, that circle includes Lee Berger ofRhythm & Hues and Chris England at ILM. “Part of the castingprocess is talking through the tool sets you can use to accomplish whatyou want,” he explains. “If I come to a movie with apreconceived idea, I want to be talked out of it. My feeling is that ifsomeone has a better idea, please bring it to the table.”

Swallow had a chance to test that philosophy during the effectsproduction for the Jim Carrey vehicle Bruce Almighty. At theurging of Illusion Arts supervisor Bill Taylor, Swallow came to seethat a shot he'd assumed would require CG fluid dynamics could actuallybe filmed on stage. The shot showed Carrey's character using God-likepowers to part the “Red Sea” in a bowl of tomato soup.“Even though I'd first approached it as digital, Bill convincedme that doing it practically was the right way.” (See“Engineering a Miracle,” Millimeter May 2003.)

Taylor admits that Swallow's turnaround “was unusual in thatstudio executives usually don't care how you do a job as long asthey're convinced the results look good. It's very unusual for anexecutive to even think about how we do this. It's just not theirexpertise. But because John has been on both sides of the productiontable, he knows how to listen — especially when we tell him whensomething isn't possible. He's got a pretty infallible B.S.detector.”

Universal Pictures' senior vice president of production technologyJohn Swallow (right) with David S. Williams Jr.

One reason that Swallow is pleased to have achieved key shots inBruce Almighty with practical effects is that he likes to avoidwhat he calls “the digital freak show” whenever possible.“Everybody needs to be clear that there are still miniatures outthere. There are still ways to do things that aren't CG. Some thingsare easier to do in a computer, but others are much easier to shoot asa practical piece and then walk away. Of course, if you don't shootsomething properly, it will increase everything in post, so you've gotto think about those trade-offs. Because of the digital freak show thatwe're all into now, there are lots of supervisors who don't come with acamera background. Digital people need to understand photography to beable to talk to DPs and understand their problems.”

Once a visual effects supervisor has been assigned to a movie andthe effects vendors are chosen, Swallow prefers letting the supervisormake specific decisions about getting the shots. As ILM's Morris says,“John will give our supervisors flexibility in designing theirapproaches. Then he will hammer us on the price if he feels like we'redoing something unnecessary. He'll reel us back in a heartbeat if hefeels we're gilding the lily!”

Swallow relies heavily on a network of independent freelanceproducers, he explains, “that have good relationships withdirectors — so that they'll trust me to look in and see wherethey're going. They help me keep track during production. They'realways my first contacts.” On Hulk, Swallow had TomPeitzman; on Bruce Almighty it was Juliet Yager, while 2 Fast2 Furious had Crystal Dowd. Already working on upcoming films areKurt Williams on The Cat in the Hat, Jennifer Bell on VanHelsing, and Kim Nelson on Riddick, the Vin Diesel/JudiDench film that Swallow calls “a huge show.” Also loominglarge on Universal's upcoming effects film schedule is KingKong, to be shot in New Zealand by director Peter Jackson.“There's a long list of pictures that I need to get into on somelevel,” he says.

Illusion Arts' Bill Taylor convinced Universal Pictures to film theRed Sea scene in Bruce Almighty on stage. Photo: RalphNelson/Illusion Arts

The challenge of overseeing effects for a broad internationalportfolio of films has prompted Swallow to assign work to severalnon-U.S. vendors. Given the growing reliability of password-protectedwebsites where he can view work-in-progress, Swallow says, “Idon't mind working overseas. The technology is coming together so thatit's not a nightmare like it once was. I like working with CFC andDouble Negative in London, and Buf in Paris.” He notes, however,that with the closure of The Mill's Mill Film division in Britain, aswell as the stateside closure of Centropolis and Cinesite's U.S. visualeffects department, “The choices are shrinking to a certainextent.”

As Swallow considers adding new, perhaps smaller effects houses tohis casting call, he admits to being cautious. “I try and do itgradually and carefully. We do give new houses little bits and piecesat a time. My first instinct is to protect the studio and the film.There's too much at stake a lot of time — on schedules more thananything else. I'm probably overly cautious about that.”

Frequent collaborator Thad Beier of Hammerhead sees it differently.“John really goes out of his way to give chances to small shops,to see what they can do. I think he's trying hard to give himself moreoptions.” ILM's Jim Morris also believes, “John probablytakes more chances and offers more opportunities to new people than hethinks he does. But a studio like Universal, which puts out a lot oftent-pole-type pictures, has a huge portfolio to manage. It's notuncommon today for a tent-pole to be in the 150 million-dollar range,with a third of that budget going for effects.”

Morris sums up the pressure of Swallow's responsibilities by saying,“Casting the right supervisor, producer, animation director,effects company, or a combination thereof is enormously important tothe studio. There are serious financial implications. When you havethat much money at stake you have to be very thoughtful about who youcast.”