Why was Monster Matchmoves Inc. established?
Matchmoving is a function that is often handled by inexperienced, in-house 3D generalists. As feature films, episodic television, and even commercials, become increasingly visual effects intensive, the demands placed on generalists who are tasked with complex matchmove duties will have a detrimental effect on the overall quality the studio is capable of achieving. Matchmoving is all we do. Our services are designed to provide the most accurate data possible, cost-effectively, with a fast turnaround.
Why is an accurate matchmove so important?
Poor quality matchmoves result in inaccurate placement of CG objects in the shot, and inconsistent movement in relation to other filmed objects when view in context. The CG objects will appear to slip, ruining the entire effect. Since problems which the matchmove can be very difficult to see and diagnose to the untrained eye, the inaccurate data can pass through the entire visual effects pipeline without being caught until the final shot is composited - jeopardizing the look, the project's delivery deadline, and the studio's credibility. Monster Matchmoves Inc. can eliminate this risk, and the associated pitfalls that occur as a result.
I have trackers in-house. Why should I use Monster Matchmoves Inc.?
In visual effects, matchmoving is the first step of a complicated creative process. The TD, animation, matte painting, and often roto and compositing teams, cannot start their work until a camera and scene setup have been established. As a result, small, in-house tracking teams can often delay the creative process, especially when working on a large number of shots. In addition, salaries, software licenses and shot turnaround times all have a serious impact on your studio's profitability. We take the burden of matchmoving away from your team, allowing you to concentrate on what you do best: delivering the most creative work possible.
Why do you offer on-set supervision?
In short, we need the data - we might as well make sure we get it. There is a massive amount of data available on-set that can assist with the accuracy and turnaround of a matchmove. Unfortunately much of the time, the data is not collected, or is inaccurate. Utilizing our services on-set puts the onus on Monster Matchmoves Inc. to ensure that the data collected is accurate and complete. This eliminates the addition of possible overages, and ensures the matchmove we provide is locked down - period.
Some of our on-set services include:
- Placement of tracking markers
- Scene surveys
- Set sketches and object measurements
- Measurement of focal distances
- Shooting of distortion grids
- Shooting of reference frames
- Recording of camera information
- Camera make/model
- Aperture
- Camera height/angle
- Film speed
- Lens make/model
- Focal length
- Shot type (crane, steadicam, sticks, handheld, etc.)
- Camera movement