I’ve been following the gang at Corridor Crew for years. These guys aren’t just a bunch of critics who sit on a comfy couch pointing out the best and worst in VFX. They’re the real deal, solving actual production-centered issues that have plagued VFX artists for decades. They’re always deep in the trenches with the rest of us chasing the holy grail in the next most well-crafted shot to hit the screen. They’ve been making movies in their backyards since they were teenagers. Sound familiar?
When I was twelve, my friend Jason introduced me to in-camera tricks like snapping his fingers and disappearing. His Dad was a basketball coach so Jason had access to the team’s video camera. He was a huge James Bond fan while I was the alt-007 fan following Indy on his latest globetrotting adventure chasing artifacts that “belong in a museum,” usually captured from the clutches of evil Nazi villains. When Dad gifted me the Raiders Illustrated Screenplay in 1981, it opened my eyes to ILM’s secret sauce.
Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark introduced me to my passion for storytelling and VFX. Mom said I nudged her every few minutes when we saw Star Wars telling her that “mommy, that was wrong.” Even when I was just six years old I noticed inconsistencies in lighting, perspective, and transparency. Graphic design combined my passions for solving puzzles, chasing riddles, and writing stories of my own. Little did I know that my first post-college job was painting pixels at a broadcast network.
I’ve been a primarily self-taught artist and writer for most of my life with guidance from my parents, close friends, and English and art teachers. When I was eleven, I wanted a Commodore 64, mainly for the graphics that were far superior to all the others. My parents saw the importance of building a foundation of knowledge first before I’d receive my new toy. Dad signed me up for a computer course on PBS to learn the ins and outs of bits and bytes, ROM and RAM, and the basics of Basic.
Back to my career in broadcast design where I learned the same software running Irix on SGI hardware as seen in Jurassic Park. I still remember the first shot I ever rotoscoped. It wasn’t a blue or green screen shot, either. I roto’ed every frame from scratch. Motion blur was always very tricky. Once we started shooting elements and talent over green screen, we thought things would get better, but we always had major cleanup, and every shot featured multiple keys depending on the transparency details.
Reflections in transparent objects was a real pita, always requiring dozens of garbage mattes to clean things up. In some cases I painted hairs into the alpha matte that the key didn’t provide. One trick I learned from my friend Matt was to use the green channel since it had the least amount of noise to pull additional mattes. Color spill in glass and elements like rain and fire were always an issue, especially in the days of SD television. Once 4K and higher formats came along, things got even better. Higher detail equates to better results, but larger frames take longer to render.
Corridor Key 2.0 is a master class in innovation. This is the first usage of AI that I fully endorse. The best things about these guys is they always ask the question: “how can we make things better for not only ourselves, but the entire community.” Automating tasks like these mean better final shots in less time. That gives exponentially more time to work on the art of storytelling. It also gives artists like us our life back. It directly equates to less late nights, overnights, weekend paint work, etc. More time to focus on living life and spending time with those we love.
No matter how well-planned a shoot goes, there are always issues that require hours, even days and weeks of cleanup. As of now with Corridor Key, those days are just a faded memory in the rearview mirror on a deserted highway at night...They'll “be back,” for sure, making it even better. Bravo folks! Can’t wait to see what you tackle next!
“Glass, fine hair, and elements like rain and fire were always an issue, especially in the pre-HD days of SD television. Once 4K and higher formats came along things got even better. Higher detail equates to better results, but larger frames take longer to render.
No matter how well-planned a shoot goes, there are always issues that require hours, even days and weeks of cleanup. As of now with Corridor Key, those days are just a faded memory in the rearview mirror on a deserted highway at night...
They’ll ‘be back,’ for sure, making it even better. Bravo folks!”
