The methods used to create visual effects is forever changing as time goes on and many always seem to think that the latest technology in visual effects will make some roles obsolete in the industry. Whether it’s the introduction of new trends of capture and real-time filmmaking such as the new Unreal Engine 5 which expands upon the area of real-time filmmaking by utilising a new real-time rendering system called Lumen suggests that the industry is moving to a new era of trends that may make rendering now obsolete since there is now no need to wait for a scene to render as well as many other methods that include 3D modelling and animation. The question of this essay conjures up a similar topic that was said by Paul Delaroche in 1840, of whom said that upon seeing his first photograph that form that moment on painting as a medium was dead. And this did not turn out to be the case since paintings are still widely used today as mediums to create art. I will be discussing in this essay whether new trends in visual effects today will make traditional approaches to visual effects still needed whilst also taking about the new technology that has emerged in the past couple of years whilst also talking about where maybe the new trends fall short of the traditional approaches to areas such as 3D modelling, animation and rendering.

                Technology is always adapting with the times and there will always be new technology thus creating new trends. An example of such new technology would be the new Unreal Engine 5 which changes the way that 3D models, animation are made.  With the introduction of their new Lumen, which is a new real time global illumination and reflections system that allows the use of real time rendering making rendering times non-existent now. This new system suggest that we are moving to an era where traditional approaches such as the use of render farms may not be needed anymore and would allow the time that would be used in render farms to be used elsewhere on improving the shot that they might be working on. Other than relying on a real-time rendering, cloud-based services are now also on the horizon as more companies are using this method more and more since the use of the cloud will allow the use of real-time remote collaboration and will not strain the company’s storage devices since the cloud stores all of that online. Unreal Engine 5 also introduces the new MetaHuman creator of which it is a tool for creating photorealistic digital humans which are rigged and ready to animate. The MetaHuman creator may help support the argument that this eliminates the traditional approach of creating a 3D model which would be to make the character in something like ZBrush or Maya. However, by using the MetaHuman creator this may put the artist in a restriction of what they can make since it’s a tool with pre-sets that you can customize but whilst in something like ZBrush you are free to what ever you want to make. Software tools like MetaHuman seems to be following the trend of computer graphics becoming more photorealistic and this something that seems to be on the rise within visual effects as the normally photorealism is something that is mainly associated with photorealistic artists that use painting and photography as their medium. For this photorealistic software to work they would need “at all costs to avoid inconsistencies or breaks in the illusion” as said by J. David Bolter and Richard A. Grusin in Remediation: understanding new media. This new photorealistic technology also begins to bring in to question on the topic of Simulacra, Simulation and Hyperreality as described by the French sociologist Jean Baudrillard in his book Simulacra and Simulation in which he describes the Simulacra as “The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth—it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true” and “According to Jean Baudrillard, who believes that hyperreality goes further than confusing or blending the 'real' with the symbol which represents it, it involves creating a symbol or set of signifiers which represent something that does not actually exist.”. Jean also describes that we have now entered the fourth stage of the hyperreal as examples form contemporary everyday life include the creation and the remoulding of virtual selves that can be seen with all this new 3D modelling technology.

                Different 3D scanning techniques are now changing the way visual effects is now being made and being perceived at whether its depth-based scanning, Laser Scanning (LIDAR) or photogrammetry. All these mentioned reality capture techniques all work in different ways as LIDAR is done by using lasers to ping off objects around the camera and ping back the information on how far away that object is. Whilst photogrammetry is achieved by taking photographs of an object in different angles and then compiling all that data into one image or object. Many of these reality capture methods are now wildly being used within movies and TV shows such as Joker and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum in which LIDAR was used to capture 3D scans of film sets and locations. LIDAR was used in these instances as it much more feasible to capture the real-life location and use it when creating visual effects than to model film sets and locations separately.  3D scanning is also being used now outside of TV shows and movies with the example of the famous example of the reconstruction of Notre Dame in France which was severely damaged due to a fire, and this could not be done without the help of laser scanning (LIDAR) of Notre Dame due to its intricate details that a normal image or blueprints could not provide. The laser scan of Notre Dame was provided in 2015 by Vassar College professor, Andrew Tallon in which he measured the distance between every point the laser hit and the device itself. Without the use of a laser scanner for the restoration, normal blueprints of the cathedral or images would not suffice for the accuracy needed for its reconstruction as Notre Dame has been repeatedly modified over almost seven centuries, making the architectural history of the building difficult to follow.

                Many companies now, focus solely on 3D scanning technology now with one such as Lidar lounge which is a company that focuses just on 3D scanning. Companies like Lidar lounge are now becoming ever so more popular since the scanning is now becoming increasingly used within the visual effects industry and they even describe that “Lidar scanning has become an essential tool for visual effects and art departments by providing highly accurate data. This enables the design process to be developed quickly and with superior detail”. Lidar lounge provides their laser scanning technology and photogrammetry for film and tv, architecture and design, virtual reality, augmented reality, gaming, consumer products, forensics, and archaeology.

                However, whilst 3D scanning technology is on the rise this still doesn’t make the traditional approach like using 3D modelling software obsolete. Since 3D scanning does provide a high level of realism to its scans it sometimes cannot provide the high-level detail that is always needed for films, and this is where a 3D modeller would be able to go and alter the scan and even model the set from scratch. Scans also do not allow you to make many different fictional objects or scenes since scanning is mainly done by taking something from the real world and then putting it into a 3D form, whilst a 3D modeller would be able to create whatever he wanted to do with many different software like Maya and Blender. 3D scanning is also very costly to do now since mostly all the top-of-the-line 3D laser scanners can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 not to mention that these 3D scanners will need frequent checks or even repairs in case of them breaking down. whereas 3D modelling is much more cost effective than scanning. It also requires the scan to be completed in good conditions for example if the scanner was to scan an object outside there will be many different variables that could affect this scan such as the ambient light that is there as this will affect the scans accuracy. To fix these issues it is recommended to scan these parts under cover or in different rooms. As on the other hand 3D modelling does not require certain requirements such as the ambient lighting.

Whilst 3D scanning is becoming an ever-increasing trend, another trend that should not be overlooked upon is the rise of virtual filmmaking. This new approach of creating a film or TV show is most of the time done by using software like Unreal Engine as mentioned previously. Virtual filmmaking now allows the visual effects teams to work more closely with the director of the project since it will be filmed most of the time Infront of a blue screen or green screen like seen with the new series The Mandalorian where they have fully utilised virtual filmmaking within Unreal engine by also using LED screens for their traditional green screen. With virtual filmmaking, scenes can now easily change in real-time by for example just changing the background of the scene with some extra rocks and maybe the sky to a different time of day. Software like Unreal engine takes all the 3D environment that will change to the scene with attendant changes to perspective, lighting, distortion, depth of field etc, and will manage to change all this fast enough that those changes can be shown on the background instantly. This new trend now allows companies to save time and money and look just as good as how a traditional approach would be done, and this trend is not just staying within the film industry as its already moving over to TV commercials since many believe that in a few years from now it will be uncommon to find a production that doesn’t use virtual filmmaking with an LED wall since this is the new standard. Virtual filmmaking is also a huge help in most cases for the actors since LED screens can make it feel like they are filming on-location rather than pretending that they are in a location that will be composited in post-production. Reflections and lighting are now also a huge help for these productions as Sammy Lamouti whom worked on The Mandalorian describes it as “The Mandalorian, the lead character, wears a highly reflective armour. If they had used green screens, it would have resulted in green hues on his armour, and a lack of realistic reflection from surrounding scenery.” Visual effects supervisor Ben Grossmann also states that “This empowers the filmmakers to create shots based on what "feels” right, rather than looking at a computer and trying to guess where things should go when it’s not feeling right. And they can do it quickly without having to spend hours moving heavy equipment”.

Although there are many positives for virtual filmmaking there are still some drawbacks of following this new trend like the example that sometimes film sets are now just compiled to using LED screens for creating movies or TV shows. This can often make the actor feel like they are in a small room that limits their ability to act, however as previously mentioned in most cases this is not the case as it can make the actor feel as if there are on a fictional planet with the LED screens rather than pretending with a green screen. Another factor to keep in mind this can be very costly for small productions since a full set of LED walls can be very expensive compared to what a bigger production would be able to do. As in some cases for smaller productions it may be cheaper and more feasible to go and shoot at an actual location and then use postproduction to fill in the visual effects needed. Lighting also sometimes can affect the shot when using virtual production since you would still need to figure out how to seamlessly blend the studio floor with the screen. As Eben Bolter who is a cinematographer describes it as “If we go back to the desert analogy, in reality, we’d have figure out how to seamlessly blend the studio floor with the screen. This can be done, because in The Mandalorian, the join was protected by sand and rocks, but still, there were certain angles that couldn’t be achieved. Like looking up someone’s nose, for example, you’d see the seam between the wall and ceiling screen, because they’re not joined together. The ceiling screen is really just for lighting.”

                With all these new trends considered and with technology changing every day the question does “new Trends of Capture and Real-Time Filmmaking lead us to consider if the traditional approaches to 3D Modelling, Animation and Rendering are still be needed?” also comes up when discussing these topics as well as the famous French painter Paul Delaroche. Since Paul Delaroche said upon seeing his first photograph that from that moment on painting as a medium was dead. This could also be said now for the new trends such as 3D scanning and also virtual filmmaking as some could say that with the rise of 3D scanning it now makes 3D modelling not needed anymore since anyone could just take a 3D scanner and get the model from its surroundings and also with virtual filmmaking that some could say why bother a green screen and post production when you could just use an LED wall that could changed on demand by request of the director on set. However, with all of these trends considered I do believe that the new approaches to certain aspects like 3D modelling, animation and rendering do not make us think that the traditional approaches will be long gone in the future as whilst these new trends are making visual effects look better and easier to make it does not allow for sometimes the creative freedom that you might get by 3D modelling a character or rigging an animation. I also find it interesting to compare these new trends to the previously mentioned French sociologist Jean Baudrillard and how these new trends like 3D scanning and virtual filmmaking are increasingly making TV and movies more hyper realistic. I do believe though however, traditional rendering approaches will become something of the past since by having longer render times is only a negative when creating visual effects and with the rise of the new Unreal engine 5 that allows for real time rendering and further allows more time to be spent on perfecting the visual effects in a film or TV show.