I’ve created this guide from the perspective of an Animation Supervisor to help teams deliver the highest-quality final product while keeping costs reasonable. Over the past 26 years, I’ve consistently worked on productions where decisions made by producers, directors, DPs, and on-set VFX supervisors have led to unnecessary expenses once shooting has wrapped.
Often, this comes down to a lack of understanding of what’s critical on the motion side—or the assumption that skipping certain steps will save money, when in reality those choices end up increasing costs significantly in post-production.
Having spent a great deal of time on set, I understand how hectic and high-pressure these environments can be. However, if the goal is to bypass potentially millions of dollars in avoidable costs, this guide is designed to help inform better decision-making. It provides clear reasoning so that, on the day, the team not only knows what they’re doing, but also understands why those choices matter.
There is still a noticeable disconnect around key technical requirements—such as the importance of a reference camera, or why more than one or two cameras are often needed for accurate matchmoving.
Many on-set teams don’t fully grasp how critical these elements are to successfully executing high-end VFX and CG shots. As a result, problems are often introduced during production that could have been avoided with better planning and understanding from the outset.
A downloadable PDF is available on the website for offline use.
The goal is simple: reduce pain, reduce cost, and help deliver high-quality performances on screen.