Sylvain Taillon is a partner and executive producer at Toronto-based TOPIX.

So… Turns out your latest idea for your new automotive client involves transplanting the Arc de Triomphe right smack in the middle of University Avenue in Toronto, with the spot culminating in a swooping shot of their 2002-1/2 sports car driving through the main arch, over The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier towards Queen’s Park Circle.

No problem, you think, just another special effect.

And you’re right: there isn’t much one can come up with these days that an established vision, careful planning, a little bit of technical ingenuity and a few hours painstakingly spent piecing everything together cannot take care of.

One common problem is that, still today, creatives tend to self-censor when they are dreaming up their powerful imagery and honing their storytelling skills. Some great ideas immediately feel expensive and, while it is sometimes true that our visions might involve substantial resources, both human and technical, you’d be surprised to see how much can be done on a realistic budget.

The keys here are early investigation and careful planning. I’ve heard of many great ideas, which unfortunately never saw 900 frames of airtime because they were assumed to be practically impossible to produce. Inversely, I’ve seen spots revolving around seemingly inoffensive concepts that are getting greenlit before investigating their feasibility only to end up with little time and little money to achieve something that actually requires quite a bit of doing.

Each special effect problem, no, wait a minute, let’s call it ‘challenge,’ needs to be broken down based on an agreed-upon general vision. I think I can speak for my peers when I say that we, effects people, both on the digital and the practical sides of our discipline, welcome early brainstorming opportunities to break down the components that will ultimately make the shot.

First, let’s imagine the reality we’re setting out to create: we should always tackle the task of establishing a common vision first, and let that vision ultimately dictate the means.

Too often, I’ve seen people try very hard to make the challenge fit the solutions that they know, control or are familiar with. The challenge should always dictate the approach, and as a digital effects guy, I’ll never shy away from saying that digital technology might not be the way to get where we want to go, given the case. Perhaps it’s a practical solution. Perhaps (and, more often than not), it’s a combination of methods: from original material that needs shooting, to smaller elements gathered on video, to stills, to 3D models and animation, to digital matte painting, to custom software that can be written.

But one other big mistake that people who are not dealing with effects on a regular basis make is to think of special effects for, well, big special things only. I often hear about ideas that could use a little bit of help in order to keep the overall cost down.

Sometimes, all we’re after is one vista, one beautiful establishing shot that is just very costly because of the location or how impractical it might be to shoot there at a given time, etc. Why not paint it? Use live-action textures, multi-planes, elements or available footage of a scene and make it your own: add moving elements, a camera move, birds in the sky, and yes, that 2002-1/2 sports car, perhaps, and there you have it. Economical, flexible and powerful.

Similarly, I’ve been on enough sets to know that certain shots just aren’t practical to achieve. On paper, some juxtapositions and rack focus ideas work like magic, but throw in a healthy dose of reality and physics, and that simple, eloquent bit of filmmaking technique becomes a nightmare on Lakeshore Boulevard.

Depth-of-field problems, complex rigging, these types of hurdles which might require working on a shot for a whole day can be easily accomplished by blending a couple of plates, and voila! Special effects without the glory, simply because no one knows it’s there.

So, the long and the short of it is, special effects can create beautiful imagery and also save you time and money on your projects. The key to it all is awareness. Awareness of what can be done, of what to expect, of how it can save you time and money (or not), and ultimately, of what it’ll all look like when it comes together. And that awareness comes from asking, exploring, testing and discussing even before a single frame gets shot.

And most of all, have the vision, imagine wild things, think the impossible. We think we can make them all come true.

-www.topix.com