How to Give Notes to Your VFX Team

In this VFX for Indies short, Paul DeNigris, CEO of Foxtrot X-Ray and host of the VFX for Indies podcast, breaks down how to effectively communicate notes to your VFX team. From providing specific, detailed feedback to using visual references, structured notes, and centralized communication platforms, Paul shares valuable tips to streamline your workflow and improve the quality of your visual effects.

Learn how to avoid common pitfalls like incremental notes, foster collaboration, and give timely feedback that keeps your project on track. Plus, discover the importance of maintaining a positive relationship with your VFX artists for the best results. If you're looking to take your feedback game to the next level, this video is for you!

Transcript

Hi, I'm Paul DeNigris, CEO and founder of VFX shop Foxtrot X-Ray, and the host of the VFX for Indies podcast. On this VFX for Indies short, we're talking about how to communicate notes to VFX teams. Let's start with the first rule of giving feedback. Be specific and detailed. Vague feedback like: "make it better" or "add more effects" might sound straightforward, but it often leads to confusion and misinterpretation.

Instead, aim for precision. For example, rather than saying "this explosion needs to be bigger," you might say, "increase the brightness of the explosion by 20 percent and add more debris in the foreground." This level of detail gives your VFX team clear direction, minimizing guesswork and ensuring that the final product aligns with your expectations.

Specificity in your notes not only improves the quality of the work, but also streamlines the entire process, saving time and resources.

Another powerful tool in your feedback arsenal is using visual references. If you have a clear vision in your mind, convey it with images, concept art, storyboards, or examples from other films.

Visual references provide a concrete example of what you're aiming for. Reducing ambiguity. For instance, if you want a scene to have a specific color palette or lighting style, provide a reference image from another film, and it can instantly communicate your vision to the VFX team. This shared visual language helps ensure everyone's on the same page.

Leading to a much more cohesive final product.

Now let's talk about organizing your feedback. Clear, logical, and structured notes make it easier for your VFX team to understand and prioritize the changes. Group similar notes together and prioritize them based on importance. For example, If there are multiple changes needed in one scene, list them in order of priority.

This helps the team address the most critical issues first and ensures that nothing gets overlooked. Structured feedback is especially important on large projects with many moving parts. It keeps everyone focused and on track. Which is crucial for meeting deadlines and maintaining the quality of the work.

My next tip, avoid incremental notes. One of the most common mistakes in the feedback process is providing incremental notes. That is, drip feeding feedback in small batches over time. While it might seem like a good idea to address issues as you notice them, this approach can actually be detrimental to the overall schedule.

Incremental notes can disrupt the workflow, causing the team to revisit the same shot multiple times, which increases the time and effort required to complete the work. Each time a shot is revised, it needs to go through the rendering process again, which can lead to delays and even missed deadlines.

Additionally, incremental notes often lead to a disjointed final product as the constant changes can make it difficult to maintain consistency across the project. To avoid these pitfalls, aim to provide all your notes on a given shot at one time. This allows the team to address everything in one go, ensuring a more efficient workflow and a more cohesive final result.

To manage all this feedback, consider using centralized communication platforms. These tools help keep everything organized and accessible to the entire team. Platforms like Frame IO or Flow Production Tracking, which was previously known as Shotgun and then Shotgrid, or sometimes even collaborative tools like Google docs, allow you to track notes and revisions in one place.

This not only streamlines the communication process, but also ensures that everyone has access to the latest information, reducing the risk of errors and miscommunication.

Next up is the use of annotation tools. Platforms like FrameIO and Flow Production Tracking include tools that allow you to mark up frames and provide visual notes directly on the footage, which can significantly enhance clarity and precision.

With annotation tools, you can highlight specific areas that need changes. Add comments to explain your adjustments and even draw over the footage to show exactly what you mean. This visual approach to feedback minimizes misunderstandings and ensures that your notes are implemented accurately. Using these tools can transform a vague suggestion into a clear, actionable task, making the entire process more efficient.

Next, maintain a collaborative tone. While it's important to be clear and precise, the tone of your feedback also matters. Maintaining a collaborative tone is key to fostering a positive working relationship with your VFX team. Instead of dictating changes, frame your feedback as suggestions and invite the team to discuss potential solutions.

For example, instead of saying "this needs to be fixed," try "what do you think about adjusting the lighting here?" This approach encourages open dialogue and can lead to creative solutions that enhance the final product. A collaborative tone not only boosts morale, but also ensures that everyone feels valued and motivated to contribute their best work.

Another essential aspect of effective communication is to provide context. When you give feedback, explain why certain changes are necessary and how they contribute to the overall storytelling. The VFX team doesn't have the same broad view of the project that you do. The VFX supervisor may understand the overall sequence and its place in the story, but the artists actually doing the work are often hyper focused on their individual shots.

Providing context connects the dots between individual tasks and the larger narrative, ensuring that all elements work together harmoniously.

The next tip is be timely. Time is of the essence in any film production and timely feedback is crucial for keeping the project on schedule. Delaying your notes can create bottlenecks and slow down the workflow, which can be costly in both time and resources.

To avoid this, set regular review sessions and make it a priority to provide feedback promptly. This helps keep the project moving forward and ensures the deadlines are met without compromising quality.

Last, but certainly not least: don't forget to appreciate the VFX team's efforts. Your team's working long hours and pushing themselves to give your project the best VFX possible.

Positive reinforcement goes a long way in boosting morale and encouraging the team to deliver their best work.Remember that there are artists on the other side of those pixels and artists who feel appreciated will give you their best all the way through the process. And that's our guide to giving feedback to your VFX team. If you found this video helpful, be sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel for more insights into the world of visual effects. And if you have any questions or topics you'd love for us to cover in future videos, please leave a comment below, we always want to hear from you. Until next time, keep creating and we'll see you in the next video. For Foxtrot X-Ray and VFX for Indies. I'm Paul DeNigris. Thanks for watching.