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© 2005 Universal Studios, Land of the
Dead. All rights reserved. Images courtesy of SPIN. |
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© 2005 Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc.
“Bewitched” © 2005 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. |
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© 2005, Mandarin, Seven Swords. Image
courtesy of Digital Pictures Illoura. |
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© 2005, 20th Century Fox. Mr &
Mrs Smith. Images courtesy of Digital Dimension. |
Autodesk’s digital content creation solutions have been used by
digital artists to realize their ideas for eye-catching visual effects
in many of this summer’s upcoming and released blockbuster films:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Cinesite)
Bewitched (Sony Pictures Imageworks, Rhythm & Hues)
Fantastic Four (Meteor Studios, Pacific Title & Art Studio)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Digital Dimension)
Cinderella Man (Digital Domain)
Land of the Dead (Spin Productions)
Seven Swords (Digital Pictures Melbourne)
Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl (Hybride Technologies,
The Orphanage, R!OT)
Lords of Dogtown (Gray Matter FX)
Stealth (Digital Domain)
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (Cinesite)
The Amityville Horror (Asylum)
Dark Water (Digital Domain)
Land of the Dead
For Land of the Dead, Spin Productions used Autodesk’s solutions
to create the title sequence as well as 120 of its 300 visual effects
shots. “We used Autodesk’s Discreet Flame visual effects system
to composite the 115-second title sequence, which consisted of approximately
100 layers every two seconds,” explained Chad Malbon, visual effects
producer for the film. “It was only through the Flame system’s
impressive speed and power that we were able to achieve this incredible
amount of detail and layer depth,” he added. The film’s title
design was created in the Flame system at 12-bit 2K resolution to
provide the highest possible quality film print.
Jeff Campbell, visual effects supervisor and lead compositor for
Land of the Dead, gave credit to Autodesk Burn background
processing solution: “Burn allowed us non-stop productivity with
no rendering down time. By using Burn we doubled the amount of work
completed in a day, greatly improving our efficiency and leaving
more room for creativity.”
Initial rotoscoping, i.e. the manual frame-by-frame painting of
individual film scans, for 12 shots involving crowd replication
was accomplished with Autodesk Combustion desktop visual effects
software. The Flame system was used to complete approximately 40
matte paintings as well as compositing this sequence’s 145 layers,
which included zombies, water and smoke.
Bewitched
To give Bewitched a supernatural flare, Sony Pictures Imageworks
used Autodesk’s Discreet Flame system with Burn on approximately
75 of the 113 shots it completed for the film. This included creating
three of the film’s broom flight sequences, creating a night skyline
for Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell’s outdoor dinner date, and final
compositing on the three shots of Kidman and Ferrell’s blossoming
garden in the film's closing scene. The Flame system was also used
to: make Michael Caine appear from within a Roman colonnade, make
Elizabeth Montgomery’s photo give “witchy” looks, and rewind and
freeze time.
“A significant amount of green screen work and compositing were
required to create believable yet magical elements of the film,”
said Carey Villegas, the visual effects supervisor for Bewitched.
“The Flame system’s comprehensive toolset and sophisticated
3D compositing tools gave us great speed and flexibility in lending
a creative touch to a classic remake, in which the visual effects’
sole purpose was to enhance the story and characters - not overpower
them.”
Seven Swords
For the epic Chinese feature film Seven Swords, in which
warriors come together to protect a village from a ruthless military
official, Digital Pictures Iloura used Autodesk 3ds Max animation
software and sister company Digital Pictures Melbourne used Autodesk’s
Discreet Lustre digital color grading system. The Lustre system
enabled digital artists to maintain realism while creating specific
looks for the film. For example, the Martial Village location looks
peaceful and primitive and is contrasted with the coldness of the
Pearly Gate Outpost. 3ds Max software was used along with hand animation
to create the computer-generated spider weapon, which has several
chains spinning randomly from a central axis and many small blades
that are attached to the chains and react together.
Fantastic Four
Meteor Studios used Autodesk’s Discreet Flame and Discreet Inferno
visual effects systems and Autodesk Combustion visual effects software
to complete some of the 240 shots they produced for the science
fiction film Fantastic Four. These shots were part of the
action-packed Brooklyn Bridge sequence in which the Fantastic Four
team uses their superpowers to save the day. Meteor Studios artists
and technicians worked day and night to complete the shots on time,
with the help of Autodesk solutions for rapid compositing and finishing.
Pacific Title & Art Studio worked on approximately 200 shots
for Fantastic Four, using Discreet Inferno for one-fifth
of them. A key scene created with the Inferno system and its 2D
warper involved The Thing punching Mr. Fantastic in the stomach.
Since Mr. Fantastic is stretchy, the punch goes through his stomach
and hits the Human Torch, who is then thrust into a billboard.
Pacific Title Art & Studio also used the Inferno system on the
Fantastic Four trailer and color graded it with the Lustre
system.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Digital Dimension used Autodesk 3ds Max animation software extensively
on Mr. & Mrs. Smith. In one scene, Angelina Jolie is
cliff climbing with a friend. Jolie was filmed on a rock-climbing
wall with blue screen. Using 3ds Max software, Digital Dimension
then built a wire frame version of the cliff and expanded the scene
to include a canyon. Jason Crosby, computer graphics supervisor
at Digital Dimension, said, “Autodesk 3ds Max software proved to
be a great tool for cranking out everything we needed on Mr.
& Mrs. Smith.”
Lords of Dogtown
Gray Matter FX (GMFX) used Autodesk’s Discreet Inferno system on
several of the 50 shots it created for Lords of Dogtown,
a film about the birth of California skateboard culture in the 1970s.
The film’s stunt doubles included some of the original skateboarders,
known as the Z-boys, who were called upon to perform certain signature
moves. GMFX then used the Inferno system to track, warp and composite
the actors’ faces onto the stunt doubles’ bodies. They also
used the Inferno system for various shots throughout the film that
involved compositing and tracking.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Most of the digital visual effects in The Hitchhiker’s Guide
to the Galaxy were created by post-production house Cinesite
Europe, which has been involved with the film since 2003. Cinesite
used Autodesk’s Discreet Inferno visual effects system extensively
on the film. The Inferno work included a main sequence with bad
guy Humma Kavula - a character inhabiting a partially completed
human body. From the waist up Humma appears human, while below
the waist he has 20 flimsy legs that bend and drag as he walks.
“In the main sequence, Humma Kavula moves across a table. A lot
of complex digital cleanup work and intricately detailed interaction
using multiple motion control passes were required,” explained Adam
McInnes, visual effects supervisor for Cinesite Europe. “Given
its speed and sophistication, Inferno was definitely the best system
for the job.”
Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl
Autodesk’s Discreet Inferno, Flame and Flint visual effects systems,
Discreet Smoke editing system and Autodesk 3ds Max animation software
were used to shape Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl.
In this children’s film, director Robert Rodriguez employed the
same advanced 3D techniques as those used in Spy Kids. “3ds
Max software continues to be an integral tool in the creation of
visual effects here at The Orphanage,” explained visual effects
supervisor Ryan Tudhope. “On Robert Rodriguez's latest film,
The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3D, the 3ds
Max software’s extensive features and ease of use helped us complete
over 150 stereoscopic shots featuring complex digital environments,
dynamics and characters.”
Hybride Technologies also worked on a total of 150 shots for Adventures
of Shark Boy and Lava Girl — approximately 15 minutes
of the film over seven months — using Autodesk’s Discreet
Inferno, Flame, Flint and Smoke systems. Hybride used the Smoke
system for pre-production work and color matching of high-definition
shots.
Autodesk, Discreet, Burn, Combustion, Flame, Flint, Inferno, Lustre,
Smoke and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk,
Inc., in the USA and/or other countries.All other brand names, product
names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. © 2005 Autodesk,
Inc. All rights reserved.
