Independent VFX artist, Jason Knight, has a number of Hollywood credits on his distinguished resume. But what that really means is, he’s seen it all. Over the years, Knight has expanded his VFX tool kit and is proficient with the multitude of apps on the market; as a compositor, Shake has become a tool he relies on most for much of his work. But it wasn’t until a couple of years ago, when he was hired on to do the effects for the Wayans Brothers movie, “Little Man,” did he start to see the limitations in his current workflow.
“For the entirety of this film, I was faced with removing the entire head of one actor, and replacing it with Marlan Wayans’ head,” added Knight. “I quickly learned the limitations of Shake’s tracking capabilities. Tracking a human head, in action - talking, laughing, yelling, twisting all while moving in and out of the shot -- is one of the more difficult and tedious tracking jobs you could imagine. That’s when I discovered Imagineer System’s mocha and their planar tracking technology.”
That was three years ago, and since that project, mocha has become a staple in Knight’s workflow.
Knight continued, “I’ve worked with many tracking tools over the years, but as the shots get more and more sophisticated and tricky, point trackers get shaky. There’s nothing I can’t track with mocha.”
Today, Knight is embroiled in a star-studded Hollywood Blockbuster - an A-list action film (which we can’t tell you about yet, but to say it’s set for release later this year). But Knight was able to talk about his current workflow:
“There is a significant amount of tracking required in my latest project - from the more simple things like replacing and tracking images to more complex high action shots. mocha is so accurate and fast, I’m saving so much time that would otherwise be spent on tedium. I’ve worked with many tracking tools over the years, but as the shots get more and more sophisticated and tricky, point trackers get shaky.”
Integration into the larger workflow is also key for Knight. Because Shake is such an important compositing tool for Knight, a seamless workflow is critical.
“mocha’s ability to integrate with my workflow may seem like a subtle detail, but it’s actually quite important to me. As fast as mocha’s planar tracking is, it’s ability to export to Shake speeds up my workflow even more; and when you’re facing the kind of deadlines I’m under, that’s a big bonus!”
Jason Knight is an independent VFX artist with more than 7 years in the industry. He is currently working with Sandbox FX in Massachusetts, but his work on major motion pictures, to television commercial production, takes him all over the world. For more information on Jason’s work, please visit jasonknightvfx.com.
