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Hi, I'm Keith with StudioBinder.
And today we're going to be talking about shooting a VFX scene.
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More specifically, we're going to try to recreate the bistro scene
from Christopher Nolan's "Inception."
"- We're dreaming?"
Seriously, that's scene.
Here's the catch.
My production budget is only 350 dollars.
I think I could pull it off.
You'll have to see for yourself.
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Listen, we all know filmmaking can be really expensive
and that can put limitations
on what and how much you can show in your movie.
Well to work around this many films use visual effects
to augment existing footage
and push the limits of what's visually possible.
The bistro scene from "Inception" is no exception to this
as they used visual effects
to augment existing debris flying around.
To recreate the scene,
we're going to break down the process into three key phases.
Planning.
Shooting.
And post-production
To help us put together our game plan,
we'll be using StudioBinder's production software.
But before we jump into the world of dream manipulation,
be sure to subscribe below
and click the bell icon to stay in the loop.
Let's jump in.
Let's go through our script and tag the obvious items that we need.
Let's take a look at the actual movie scene
because there might be items in the video
that don't appear in the script.
"- So, how did we end up here?
- Well, we just came from the, uh...
- Think about it, Ariadne. How did you get here?
- We're dreaming?"
So we're going to go over here and add things
that aren't called out in this group
but were in the video.
Now some of those items are going to be tricky
like the car and the motorbike for instance.
Since we're shooting in our courtyard,
we're not going to have the capability to bring a car or motorbike in there.
So we're going to solve this using 3D models.
Now a lot of people get scared
when they hear the word 3D
because they think it's complicated or expensive
but that doesn't need to be the case.
If you look online,
there's a lot of affordable options for pre-built 3D models.
I'll show you how to use them in a bit.
But for now, let's go ahead and add those things under visual effects.
Since we're not working with a multimillion-dollar Hollywood budget,
we're going to have to do our best to dress this courtyard
with more modest solutions
that we can find online.
Over here, we'll have our table set up, the chalkboard.
And over here, maybe we'll have our car or motorbike.
And behind that, a fruit stands, some paper, and boxes.
Now on Christopher Nolan's actual "Inception" set,
he was able to blow things up to really create that projectile effect.
And he later augmented this with additional 3D debris.
We're going to use the exact same approach.
But since we don't have explosives,
we're going to be using a leaf blower and paper.
All right. Let's see how much all of the items I needed to buy cost.
A lot of the 3D models were free
and the camera gear is all rented.
Okay, guys, I got my script breakdown.
And I also have my shot list.
It looks like I have about three different types of setups.
The game plan is pretty clear.
I think we're ready to shoot.
Hey guys, so it looks like we're all ready to shoot.
We have actors Jeff and Nora here.
We found them on "Breakdown Express."
And I got my shot list so I know exactly what I need to get.
Let's get started.
- The timing, everything was okay. - Yeah.
Okay guys, so our shot list is telling us
that our next shot of Nora
is actually an effect shot.
And for that, we're going to use the green screen.
We're going to try something a little bit different.
We're going to be blowing paper with a leaf blower.
I have no idea if this is going to work,
but here goes nothing.
Okay, guys, everything seemed to go very well
and that's because we were very methodical in our approach.
Let's take a look at our footage and bring it into the edit.
Every part of filmmaking has its own hurdles.
But if you are very organized in pre-production and production,
it will definitely show
when you begin post-production.
For our VFX shots, we'll be using the "Element 3D" plugin for After Effects
to drop in our 3D models.
For those who are new to 3D animation,
"Element 3D" is a great plugin that's easy to learn
and makes adding 3D models to your footage a breeze in After Effects
and there's a lot of free tutorials online that you can check out.
Element 3D accepts obj and Cinema 4D 3D file types.
You import them in
and you can texture them using your own textures
or element 3D textures.
The great thing about using element 3D
is that it renders in real-time over your footage in After Effects.
You can move it around, you can make changes,
you instantly see the results.
Like I mentioned during our shoot
these 3D objects like the car or the motorbike
are going to be added to our live-action footage.
Also to augment our particles in the air,
we're going to add additional 3D elements to really sell the effect.
And finally, for our last shot,
we're going to remove the green screen
and place that over our plate shot.
And now we can move 3D particles behind
and in front of her using "Element 3D."
Okay, guys, I think we're pretty happy with the result.
Let's take a look.
"- Let me ask you a question.
Never really remember the beginning of the dream, do you?
You always wind up in the middle of what's happening.
- I guess, yeah.
- So how did we end up here?
- Well, we came from, uhh...
- Think about it, Ariadne.
How did you get here?
Where are you right now?
- We're dreaming?
- You're actually in the middle of the workshop right now sleeping.
This is your first lesson in shared dreaming.
Stay calm.
I hope you liked our "Inception" scene recreation.
By having your shot list and your script breakdown prepared in advanced,
you'll also be able to tackle the trickiest shoots.
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