Category: VFX Supervision

Poor Man’s QTake

On my current show, I needed to have access to the video feed from the DIT cart, but resources were limited and we sadly did not have a video assist/playback person to help. On large budget projects you would typically install the QTake app on your iPad so you didn’t have to stand in the often crowded space next to the monitor, but what to do on this one?

I came up with a solution. Sound was kind enough to let me attach a BNC cable to their video out port on their cart, and from there, I needed a few more pieces of tech. These were:

  1. A BlackMagic Design Web Presenter HD – $515 new at BHPhotoVideo.com; likely cheaper used on eBay
  2. A Raspberry Pi – I had a RPi 3 Model B Plus hanging around, which works just fine. You can pick a new RPi 5 up from adafruit.com for $80 and a case for $15.95.
  3. An Ethernet Cable
  4. A reasonably modern iPad with the VLC app

First, you need to provision the RPi. I used their handy Raspberry Pi Imager to install. The link is a macOS download; just search the internet for Raspberry Pi Imager for other operating systems. Be sure to set up your new RPi to connect to the same WiFi that your iPad will eventually connect to, and turn SSH on.

When the device is powered up, SSH into it, connect an Ethernet cable between the Web Presenter and your RPi, and assign a static IP address to the wired Ethernet port:

sudo nmcli c edit "Wired connection 1"set ipv4.method manualset ipv4.address 172.16.0.2/29save persistentactivatequit

Next, you’ll need to set up a RTMP server on your RPi. I asked ChatGPT for help on this – I’ve edited the instructions somewhat after I tested them to make sure that they work.

Setting up a RTMP Server on a RPi

Now, time to configure the Web Presenter. BlackMagic’s Web Presenter Setup utility is super easy to use. The download link is once again for macOS. I set it up as follows:

I chose “POORQTAKE” as a key for my live stream, and clicked the “On Air” Button on the front of the unit.

Last, on the iPad, I launch VLC, click the “Open Network Stream” button, and use the URL rtmp://YOUR.RPI.WIFI.IP/live/POORQTAKE, and click “Open Network Stream”, and there you have it!

VFX Supervision on “Breathe”

VFX work on Thunder Road’s “Breathe” by Brainstorm Digital

In March of 2023, I met with Thunder Road, and during the initial meeting, they asked if I might be interested in taking over VFX Supervision duties on a film they had recently completed principal photography on – “Breathe“, directed by Stefon Bristol, and starring Jennifer Hudson, Milla Jovovich, Quvenzhané Wallis, and Sam Worthington.

This movie is set in Brooklyn, New York in the year 2039. In this world, due to the ravages of man-made climate change, the oxygen has vanished from Earth’s atmosphere, and the oceans have evaporated. All that remains is a desert wasteland, devoid of life, where all oxygen-dependent life forms have gone extinct. All, except for a very clever family, who have figured out a way to produce oxygen, grow food, and survive inside a heavily-fortified former nursery in Bushwick.

The movie was entirely shot in Pennsylvania. Exteriors were filmed in a neighborhood in Chester, PA; interiors on a sound stage, and a few additional exteriors were shot in downtown Philadelphia.

The VFX challenge here was to take the exterior photography and realistically set it in a post-apocalyptic, desiccated New York. Special care had to be taken to ensure that no green plant life was visible anywhere. In addition, we had to fully consider how the built environment would react to an atmosphere devoid of oxygen and moisture. Metal would not rust, and concrete would rapidly lose its structural integrity, as two examples.

In order to bring our director’s vision to life, I turned to the following creative partners:

We were able to complete a total of 394 visual effects shots in a period of 10 weeks. These included construction of 7 distinct all-CG environments; 6 NYC environments were done by Brainstorm, and the Philadelphia exteriors were done by Nexodus.

I couldn’t be more proud of the work that we were able to pull off on this project. The environments that we built really contributed to the sense of isolation and dread that the heroes in our story felt. Principal photography did not take place in many exterior locations, and the VFX in this film really fleshed out the world that Stefon Bristol was trying to build.

As a parting gift, Mr. Bristol was kind enough to reward me with a main-on-end credit on his film – my very first! It looks good here coming from the Avid, but it looked even better seeing it on the big screen in April of this year!