VFX technique digitally altering an actor's appearance to look younger.
Technical Details
For de-aging shots, I generally use 50mm lenses or longer, as wide-angle lenses distort facial geometry and make tracking more difficult. I also position three witness cameras at 45-degree angles for clean references and avoid harsh side lighting that creates extreme shadows, which are difficult to correct digitally later.
Practical Application
De-aging allows me to jump through time without changing the cast, but I have to consider the actor's body language – a 70-year-old moves differently than their 30-year-old digital face suggests. I plan such sequences early in the editing process, as subsequent editing changes for de-aging shots become extremely costly. De-aging consumes 15-25% of the VFX budget and extends post-production by 8-12 weeks. I generally calculate a 20% buffer for re-renders and engage the VFX company during the prep phase to define camera setups and lighting specifications – subsequent corrections cost triple.