In 3D media production, and really any line of work I think, there is a fickle spot between the high-road of perfectionism and the down and dirty path of “I really need to get this done now…” For me, it’s the spot I hate finding myself in. It also happens to be the spot I’m always in. No matter what, it never fails to force the question: “Should I take a shortcut?”

Now, I know the word shortcut usually has a tendency to leave a sour impression in peoples minds of the kind of work ethic the guy who dared mention probably has. And maybe that’s a good thing. For sure, for every honest company there are plenty of shady characters with equally shady business practices ready to take advantage of people’s trust. The unfortunate thing is that, a lot of times, the word “shortcut” headlines the category shady characters are put in. For most people, especially customers, “shortcut” is synonymous with “sketchy.” I say it’s unfortunate because it really doesn’t have to be that way, and sometimes isn’t.

For sure, in every project there are a massive number of shortcuts that should never be taken, mostly because they sacrifice so much quality for the sake of short-term gain. But the nature of any shortcut has something to do with sacrificing strength in one area of something to build up another, weaker area. And this, in itself, is not necessarily a bad thing. Some things can seem like shortcuts at first, but are anything but! There are always shortcuts that provide time-related benefits that far outweigh any cost in quality. For me, the real question always comes down to “How can I balance the quality of this production with the time it takes to produce it in order to maximize efficiency?” In short, balance is key.

In my most recent project, the estimated time to finish it was somewhat underrated, and therefore the cost of the production quickly outgrew the profit it was bringing it. From day 1, the first and last question in my mind was: how in the world do I size this thing down while maintaining the client’s expected level of quality? For me, the answer came in the form of a shortcut called a “Bilateral Blur Node Tree” setup. It did sacrifice some quality in the 3D renders I was creating. But it still maintained an acceptable level, while at the same time cutting the render time by 3 quarters. Which was great because it meant I would meet the production deadline (albeit just barely so). I was very excited about it… big nerd out moment for me…

In any case, this was one of many cases where a shortcut not only came in handy for me, but the client as well. It was great. Nothing beats all the wins for everyone.

By: John