Kurgu sürecinde görsel efektlerle içeriğin dönüştürülmesi ve gerçeğin yeniden inşası
Changing of content by visual effects in film editing and the reconstruction of reality
Yazar: AYNUR ASLAN O'CALLAGHAN
Danışman: PROF. DR. MEHMET ZAMAN SAÇLIOĞLU ; PROF. DR. SELAHATTİN YILDIZ
İstanbul Gedik Üniversitesi / Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü / Görsel İletişim Tasarımı Sanat Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2021
Konu: Güzel Sanatlar = Fine Arts
Dizin: Benzetim = Simulation ; Görsel efekt = Visual effects ; Kurgu = Fiction ; Sinema = Cinema ; Özel efekt = Special effect

Özet:
Joseph Nicephore Niepce'in ilk fotoğrafı çekmesi, Louis Daguerre'nin Daguerreotype ile sabit görüntüyü kaydetmesi, J. Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau'nun görüntülerin retinadaki oluşumunu bularak ilk hareketli görüntünün elde edildiği Phenakistoscop'u icat etmesi, Lumiere kardeşlerin hareketli görüntüyü ekrana yansıtması, David Wark Griffith'in kurguyu keşfi, George Melies ve illüzyonist sinemacıların düşsel olanı sınır tanımaksızın gerçek kılarak beyazperdeye taşımasıyla süregelen teknolojik gelişmeler, günümüz sinemasında görsel efektlerle yeni bir dönüm noktasına gelmiştir. Bir dönem sihirbazların/illüzyonistlerin insanlar üzerinde bıraktığı büyüleyici etkinin de çok ötesine geçen görsel efektler, sinemada düşsel olanı gerçek kılmakta, gerçeği dönüştürmekte ve yeniden inşa etmektedir. Sinemada illüzyonla başlayıp özel efekt kullanımıyla devam eden gerçeğin yeniden üretimi süreci, teknolojik gelişmeler sonrasında  "görsel efekt" adını alarak yeni bir sektör haline gelmiştir. Görsel efekt, "dijital dünya sanatı" olarak adlandırılırken, görsel efekt tasarımcıları da "dijital illüzyonistler" olarak görülmektedir.
Sinemada gerçeğin yeniden kurgulanmasında/inşasında görsel efekt tekniklerinin nasıl kullanıldığını göstermeyi amaçlayan bu tezde, yönetmenliğini Alfanso Cuaron'un yaptığı "Gravity" ve John Favreau'un yönettiği "The Jungle Book" filmleri, blue/green screen, motion capture, tel kaldırma,  kalabalık kopyalama, atmosfer efekti, CGI, matte painting, minyatür efekt ve rotoskop teknikleri üzerinden incelenmiştir. Yanılsama ve gerçek arasındaki ayrımı gittikçe ortadan kaldıran görsel efektlerin öykünün anlamını nasıl dönüştürdüğü ve güçlendirdiği, efekt kullanılan sahnelerin, "öncesi" ve "sonrası" na ilişkin fotoğraflarla gösterilmiştir.
Çalışmaya konu olan filmlerde, yönetmenlerin, tamamı dış mekanda gerçekleşen olayları, stüdyo ortamında kayda almayı tercih ettikleri görülmektedir. Cuaron ve Favreau, nesnel gerçekliğin olmadığı ya da nesnel gerçekliğin klasik yöntemlerle kayda alınmasının mümkün olmadığı durumlarda bilgisayar tabanlı görselleştirmeler yaparak anlatının filme aktarılmasını sağlamıştır.
Çok yoğun dijital görsel efektlerin kullanıldığı Gravity'de, kamera ile çekilen tek gerçek görüntü, oyuncuların yüzleridir. "Live action" (canlı aksiyon) olarak bilinen animasyon türünün en başarılı örneklerinden biri olan "The Jungle Book"ta ise filmin kahramanı Mowgli dışındaki tüm karakterler ve mekanlar dijital ortamda bilgisayar üretimli imgeleme (CGI) olarak tasarlanmıştır. Başlangıçta fiziksel mekanda gerçekleştirilmesi mümkün olmayan, maliyetli ve riskli sahneler bilgisayar ortamında oluşturulurken, günümüzde filmin bütünü üzerinde hakimiyet kuran görsel efektlerle; mekanlar, objeler, giysiler ve hatta filmin karakterleri/kahramanları yaratılabilmektedir.
Teknik analizi yapılan her iki filmde de teknolojik gelişmeler sonucunda sürekli kendini yenileyerek gelişen görsel efektlerin, anlatıya sınırsız özgürlük ve kolaylıklar getirdiği; fiziksel mekanda çekilmiş gerçek görüntülerin kurgu sürecinde görsel efektlerle birleştirilerek gerçeği dönüştürdüğü görülmektedir

Abstract:
Joseph Nicephore Niepce taking the first photograph, Louis Daguerre's recording the still image with Daguerreotype, J Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau inventing the Phenakistoscop, where the first moving image was obtained by finding the formation of the images in the retina, the Lumiere brothers projecting the moving image on the screen, David Wark Griffith's discovery of fiction and the fact that George Melies and illusionist filmmakers bring the imaginary to the screen by making the imaginary real without borders and similar ongoing technological developments reached a new turning point with visual effects in today's cinema. Visual effects, extending beyond the fascinating effects of magicians/illusionists for a period make the imaginary real in cinema, transform or reconstruct the reality. The process of reproduction of reality, which started with illusion in cinema and continued with the use of special effects, became a new sector by assuming the name of "visual effect" after technological developments.  While visual effects are called "digital world art", visual effects designers are also viewed as "digital illusionists".
In this dissertation titled "Conversion of Content and Reconstruction of Reality by Visual Effects in the Editing Process", which aims to demonstrate how visual effects techniques are used in the reconstruction/construction of reality in cinema, the films "Gravity" directed by Alfonso Cuaron and "The Jungle Book" directed by John Favreau, were examined over the blue/green screen, motion capture, wire carrying, crowd duplication, atmosphere effect, CGI, matte painting, miniature effect, sound effect and rotoscope techniques. The dissertation, which is detailed with photographs of the "before" and "after" scenes in which effects are used, consists of four chapters on how visual effects transform and strengthen the meaning of the story.
The subject of the study, the purpose of the dissertation, the literature research and the used hypothesis methods and techniques are explained in the "Introduction" part of the dissertation.
The concept of fiction, recording of the moving image and fiction in the historical process, Soviet cinema and fiction, analog fiction, digital fiction and post-production, the theoretical view of fiction, the formalist tradition theory and the realistic film theory representatives have been scrutinized in the second chapter titled "Editing in Cinema".
Editing is one of the most aesthetic and magical touches of cinema. After David Wark Griffith, who is accepted as the father of fiction, discovered that images connected in different sequences make new meanings, fiction began to be used effectively technically. However, fiction was transformed from a mere technique into art by Soviet filmmakers/theorists. . The famous Soviet cinema theorist Eisenstein notes that fiction is an arrangement that transforms movies pieces into art. Editing as a narrative element is undoubtedly one of the most important means of creating new meanings and realities in cinema, as well as reconstructing reality. Finally, in this section, the historical development of fiction is tried to be explained through the cult films of the names accepted as the pioneers of fiction, while the transition from analog fiction to digital fiction, the convenience of new technologies, interdisciplinary interactivity and theoretical view of fiction are discussed.
In the third part of the dissertation titled "Effects and Simulation in Cinema", special effects, visual effects, special and visual effects types and simulation subjects in cinema are explained.
Special effect is a design technique that has a wide range of uses. Special effects, which are also called practical effects and make a great contribution to the reproduction process, are the effects used during shooting. However, with the use of computer-based programs in cinema, "visual effects", which were designed and applied digitally, have gradually developed.  Even in this process, some "special effects" types are started to be considered in the visual effects category because they are produced on the computer due to cost, convenience, time and limitless freedoms.
In cinema, it is possible for directors and producers to turn from films that reflect the real world to films with immortal heroes, non-existent creatures, extinct creatures, and fantastic worlds with visual effects techniques.  Visual effects applied only in certain scenes that required them in the beginning will make it possible to produce films that are almost exclusively built on a computer, by using different image production techniques introduced by 3D Studio Max, Cinema 4D, Maya and programs specially developed for the film, in many scenes.
Visual effects, as the magic behind the camera in the realization of a fictional narrative, continue to excite viewers since the early cinema period under different names. While costly and risky scenes, imaginary worlds and superheroes that could not be physically shot at the beginning were created in the computer environment, today, visual effects are used to dominate the whole film.
In this chapter, green screen (green/blue screen), motion capture motion capture warping morphing, bullet time shots (flow motion), crowd duplication, atmosphere effect, rotoscoping, wire removal are explained with examples about how the visual effects techniques collected under the titles transform the content of the film by creating its own simulation universe in both production and editing process.
In the chapter titled "Simulation in Cinema", the concepts of simulation, simulacre and simulating within the framework of Baudrillard's cinema theory are explained. Even though it is a visual art, it was emphasized that with the transformation of cinema, which produces for the market under the conditions of consumer society, into the entertainment industry, simulation has gained importance in cinema and the border between reality and fiction was eliminated in today's cinema through simulacres.
In the fourth chapter, the visual effects techniques used in the films "Gravity" directed by Alfanso Cuaron and "The Jungle Book" directed by John Favreau are analyzed and how reality is reconstructed in the scenes where visual effects are used in the films and the changes made by the techniques used in the content of the film and conversion is demonstrated.
Intense digital visual effects are used in Gravity. The only real images shot with the camera are the faces of the actors. In the second film, "The Jungle Book", one of the most successful examples of the animation genre known as "live action", all characters and places except Mowgli, the protagonist of the film, are designed as computer-generated imagery (CGI) in digital environment.  The directors in these analyzed films preferred to use different visual effects techniques due to technological developments, their own perspective and life experiences. The freedom that visual effects have offered to films has introduced all kinds of images that exist or do not exist in the real world to the big screen by making them real, transforming classical shooting techniques, thus changing the existing film language.
In both films, which were technically analyzed, the visual effects, which constantly renewed themselves as a result of technological developments, bring unlimited freedom and convenience to the narrative, and real images shot in physical space are combined with visual effects in the editing process to transform the reality.
Creation of many effects applied in the set environment in the past as practical effects in the digital environment introduced a new perspective to the production and recording process of the effects while providing a more realistic visuality to the audience. Practically built sets have been replaced by digital sets, costumes by digital costumes, and real actors/actresses with digital actors/actresses or VFXs. Today, film production processes that follow each other such as pre-production, production, post-production are intertwined and a more effective work flow is developed. At this point, it is observed that every new technology is transforming or completely eliminating the previous technologies. It is observed that this changes the job descriptions in cinema depending on the visual effects techniques used and the intended use of the effect. While the editor or video editor is now called with titles such as visual effects supervisor, colorist, VFX supervisor or animator, live lead actors leave their places to avatars created by humans. On the other hand, with the advancements in technology, classical shooting and editing techniques are transforming. It is observed that the set environments we know today will become a thing of the past with the programs specially developed for the film, virtual cameras, visual effects applications that make it possible to carry out all kinds of visualization in movies and even the use of digital game technologies in cinema.
As a result, the visual effects that emerged due to the development of digital technology triggered a cinematographic transformation. When we take a look at many films that broke the revenue records in recent years, it is observed that these are mostly science fiction, action, fantasy, live action films with extensive visual effect use. The visual effects, which dominate the whole film, replace the real actors and real spaces, thus pushing all objective boundaries, while in the cinema, reality is reconstructed in the digital environment or alternative realities are created.
In the future, both directors and visual effects artists will continue to harness the potential power of digital technologies. Digital visual effects developing based on technology will transform the way viewers think and reconstruct "perceptual reality in cinema". This will expose the audience to the meaning and realities produced by visual effects and simulacres that replace real images and will create changes and transformations on film content, in which reality is reconstructed, with the visual effects used.