The VFXHacktionary - Visual Effects Jargon To Live By
Every studio that I’ve worked at over the years has had their own way of describing the little things in Visual Effects that have no known equivalent in the english language. A few of these catchy un-words and tricky turns of a phrase make it into the overall VFX lexicon. Things us pixel jockeys and set rats use on a semi-regular basis so that no one can understand a word we are saying. Presenting the first five of a soon to be long list of useful slang for VFX.
B.G.S (or BGS Technology) - Blur it, Glow it, Ship it. A technique used to mask inferior elements in a shot by bluring and glowing beyond recognition.
Example:
Artist - “I don’t know, this shot really isn’t coming together. What should I do?” Supe - “This shot is due in the morning! Let’s just BGS this beast.”
Pixel F**cker - A client or supervisor who picks out overly minute details in a VFX shot, usually resulting in blown deadlines and major frustration.
Example:
Artist 1 - “Man, you’ve been on that job forever, what’s going on?” Artist 2 - “The Art Director is a real Pixel F**cker. He made me change the font size seven times.”
Nerny (or Nernage) - Small non-descript (N.D.) details placed on a 3D model to add complexity and sense of scale.
Example:
Supe - “I think the deck of the battleship looks a bit bare” Artist - “No problem I’ll just add a few boxes and some other nernies.”
C.B.B. - Could Be Better. A VFX shot that is for all intents and purposes final but something you might want to come back to if you have the time.
Example:
Producer - “I know you have a couple of small changes on that shot but we’re running out of time.” Supe - “O.K. Just CBB that one and we’ll move on.”
Wonky - That certain “clunk” in a VFX shot that makes it look fake. Often used when it is not exactly clear what precisely wrong with a shot.
Example:
Supe - “There’s something wonky with this shot.” Artist - “What is it?” Supe - “I don’t know, maybe the tracking is off or something.”
That’s it for now. Please feel free to add your own gems in form of comments.
August 25th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
CBA- Could Be Anything . Refers to unknown object in frame usually things such as C stands, Lit up Barndoors, or errant crew members.
Example:
Supe. “Whats that flashing in the right corner of frame.
Artiste- CBA
Supe- “It looks like Melvin!”
Artiste- “CBA , Yeah it’s Melvin”
YSNP- Yeah Sure No Problem. NFWOE - No F**king Way on Earth. Both of the above are universal answers to any VFX change request question and are usually completely interchangeable.
Example:
Client- “I want it to go the same speed and travel the same distance but in half the time.
Supe- “YSNP”
Example 2:
Client- “I want it to go the same speed and travel the same distance but in half the time.
Supe- NFWOE. That is physically impossible.
Client- “But Why?”
Rasterbation- Any CG activity that is impractical or of no value. Sometimes relating to work done in CG that must translate to the Real world where Real World Physics and actual Physically Limitations of the equipment and environment have not been taken into account. Includes things such as adding non-existent axis to moves to avoid gimbal lock or providing data for lenses that the end-user does not have. or improper Rotational Axes nesting orders.
Example:
Pre-vis Artist: ” Oh, there’s a floor on the stage? My move starts 10 feet below the Car.
Supe- Dude you’ve been Rasterbating. Now we’re screwed.”
and there are plenty more
August 28th, 2007 at 12:47 am
[...] vfxhack.com The real VFX deal « The VFXHacktionary - Visual Effects Jargon To Live By [...]
March 8th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
well i finally figured out the “i want it to go from there to there over the same frame range but could you make it faster?”
they mean make it accelerate/decelerate!
easy!
now for that superstring theory….