By Robert Goldrich

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. --

While multi-layered visual effects are an acknowledged work of artistry, the layers that often exist between filmmakers and the VFX team are what in some cases prevent or minimize proper, deserved industry respect and acknowledgment for the effects artists themselves. That was one of the observations shared by producer/writer/director Dean Devlin, founder and president of Electric Entertainment, during his keynote session–moderated by Jevon Phillips of the Los Angeles Times–at the 2015 Visual Effects Society (VES) Production Summit this past Saturday (10/17) at the W Hollywood.

Those layers, said Devlin, involve “so many levels” of people covering their backsides, suggesting revisions and the like which can muddy the process and contribute to longer hours. “The more individual artists can interact with the director, the editor, the director of photography, the better the experience [for everybody],” said Devlin. Springing forth from more direct interaction–and fewer intermediaries–will be “more respect” for what visual effects artists and their contributions. Devlin noted, for example, that he’s routinely seen “compositors blow their [directors’] minds” when they get the chance to work directly with filmmakers.

The VFX industry, continued Devlin, deserves enormous respect, particularly given the fact that effects artistry is the prime dynamic drawing audiences to movie theaters. Visual effects and other worlds are still best experienced by viewers on the big theater screen. Even the most sophisticated home entertainment TV systems cannot rival the cinema theater experience when it comes to visual effects. Devlin contended that the effects community is “propping up” the entire theatrical feature business.

Devlin has served as writer, producer and director for the TV shows Leverage and The Librarians. He is director/writer/producer of the upcoming sci-fi film Geostorm starring Gerard Butler and is in development with long-time collaborator Roland Emmerich on the sequel to Independence Day titled Independence Day: Resurgence.

Video Games, Virtual Reality
While filmmakers can create and have helped develop video games based on their movies, Devlin said, the two creative disciplines shouldn’t be forced together. “I think movies are awesome. I think video games are awesome. I don’t think they’re related…I don’t see them married to each other.”

Pairing the two, he opined, is often no more than “a novelty.”

However, Devlin does see virtual reality as becoming increasingly relevant, though it will take some time for it to make an impact on the feature film industry. The initial use will see studios and producers delving into VR with projects geared toward film promotion, primarily for major effects-driven movies.

There are not yet enough people with VR headsets, continued Devlin, to make deeper VR involvement financially viable. He conjectured that likely by 2017 this will change and VR–for “world and universe building in a new way–should start to gain in prominence for the VFX and movie-making industries.

Much further along, obviously, is 3D, but the “language of 3D” still needs to be further developed, said Devlin. Still, 3D is a major storytelling tool. Devlin recalled seeing Avatar in 3D, citing a scene with soldiers walking through a tunnel. “You feel like you’re part of this group. I bonded with them,” recalled Devlin who later saw the same scene in 2D and didn’t have that same feeling at all. 3D, he affirmed, is a tool that can create “an emotional connection.”

Independence Day sequel
Devlin wasn’t at liberty to discuss details of the much anticipated Independence Day sequel–only noting that he and Emmerich resisted doing one until they came up with an approach and premise that genuinely warranted a sequel.

The original Independence Day, shared Devlin, wasn’t modeled after space alien movies but rather after disaster movies, particularly producer Irwin Allen’s slate of such films, including The Towering Inferno. The aliens in Independence Day, said Devlin, were “a force of nature” akin to the disasters depicted in Allen’s films. However, observed Devlin, disaster movie sequels don’t generally work. So he and Emmerich had to re-think how to best create and justify an Independence Day sequel.

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