Cyborn is a film producer and 3D animation and motion capture studio based in Antwerp, Belgium. We had the chance to catch up with project manager Ken Vandecappelle and associate producer Iris Delafortry about how they use ShotGrid.
This is Cyborn's first year using ShotGrid, and the team is using it to work on a 3D animated feature film called, Ploey, You Never Fly Alone, which they are co-producing with GunHil, a studio based in Iceland. About 30 people at Cyborn are now using ShotGrid, as well as eight people at GunHil.
Ploey is about a plover, a type of small bird common in Iceland. “It’s a family film with beautiful animals and lots of action,” Iris said. “It’s about the fascinating adventure of a young plover, who needs to survive the strong arctic winter and his natural enemies.”
“The beautiful environments and designs were inspired by the fascinating landscapes of Iceland,” Ken said.
“We should have the film in theaters by Christmas next year, so by 2017,” Iris said. “There's already a teaser online which gives you an idea of the story.”
Why ShotGrid?
“We decided it would be beneficial for both parties to have some sort of system to share information,” Ken said. “And it didn't take us long to realize that ShotGrid was something that was widely used in the entertainment business.”
One of the biggest reasons to use ShotGrid was because of the amount of collaboration required for an animated movie project. “We needed something that was easy and flexible enough so we could communicate with the other parties,” he explained.
Another big reason was because ShotGrid is part of Autodesk. “Because we use Autodesk tools, it was a logical step for us,” Ken said. “We knew that if ShotGrid was part of Autodesk, it would not disappear in a year. It was really important for us to know that ShotGrid was going to be around when we finish Ploey, so we can use it for other projects in the future.”
Learning ShotGrid
It took a couple months for Ken to understand how ShotGrid works, by watching tutorials and contacting the Street team. After Ken became more familiar with ShotGrid, everything felt like second nature, and he is now ready to implement more features.
“I'm pretty sure we can do a lot more in the next few years, because our knowledge will only expand in that regard,” he said. “Our experience will probably change again in a couple months, because by then we will have added so much more new data and we will have evaluated so much more new stuff. For that, as far as I am concerned, we’re going in the right direction.”
The next phase will be to teach everyone else at Cyborn how to use ShotGrid. “It’s one thing to know everything yourself; it's a whole different matter to explain it to somebody else,” he said. “We still have a long way to go because not everybody is at the point where I'm satisfied with their knowledge about ShotGrid, but that's okay. We're working at it one day at a time.”
Cyborn's workflow
Because Cyborn is working with GunHil, Cyborn’s workflow starts with the work they get from GunHil. This includes concept and layout.
“During our “weeklies” we go over the layout and all parties come together to decide what is good and what needs to be changed,” Ken said. “That includes animation, so the supervisors are also present.”
The next stage involves the environment pipeline steps, as well as working on hair and fur. After that is lighting, and compositing and special effects, and then the work is sent to GunHil for final compositing and sound.
To review work with GunHil, Cyborn uses Screening Room. However, the team uses RV internally. “RV has more functionalities,” Ken said. “It’s faster because you don't have to access the internet to play your files, and it still collects data from ShotGrid Studio. But you have more functionalities; you can put movies on top of each other to actually see what’s different. You can place them all next to each other and get a better overview. So the supervisors and the artists can choose which version they think is best.”
Cyborn is also using Toolkit, although they are still working on its customization so that everyone in the studio can use it. “We use Toolkit mainly for publishing, but we’re still scripting on that,” he said. “Not everybody is using it right now but we have implemented it.”
Favorite ShotGrid Features
“I think the feature that I’ve used most until now is the RV player to get all the shots together,” Ken said. “I really like the history filter; it enables you to compare different versions, which makes it easier to review the data."
"The filtering system is also something I love. It's very complex and robust and you can look everything up. Once you get to know it, it's really nice, because you can customize the system by saving your personal filters and your own pages.”
Next Steps in ShotGrid
“I think if we were to have a new production the same size, starting right now, then we would use ShotGrid for it as well,” Iris said.
“We just scratched the surface,” Ken said. “I think the next step is to get everybody on the same level as me, so everybody knows how to use all the apps and features. That will probably be one of my major challenges. And I do not even know everything, so we still have a long way to go. Like I said, we have a good support team [ShotGrid Street team] that we can depend on.”
