One – Create a digital ocean
ILM had already created CG oceans for A
Perfect Storm and Poseidon, but it set up the Battleship Water Department to
scale up a ‘fluid system’ based on Stanford’s PhysBAM physics simulator. Thanks
to a new multithreading processing model, simulations could be run on one
octo-core computer in a few hours, rather than the day it toll on Poseidon.
Create
a digital ocean
Two – Keep it real
One of director Pete Berg’s priorities when
making Battleship was adding a layer of realism to the FX work. “The typical response
to CG is that it’s too clean,” says Visual Effects Supervisor Grady Cofer. “In
reality, things weather with age. There are patinas and rust and oxidation, and
we wanted to represent all of those things but on the alien ships as well.”
Three – Add some heft
When creating outlandish imagery with CGI –
giant alien battleships, or example – it’s important to give your images a
sense of heft and weight, says Animation Supervisor Glen Mclntosh. “The key was
making sure that we gave the ship enough time to land, so you believe it’s
1000ft long. The only way to sell that scale is by letting things take their
time to move.”
Four – Garnish with iMoCap
Battleship’s aliens made use of the iMoCap
system pioneered on the third Pirates film. It allows CGI artists to work from
performances captured on location. “Working so closely with the stunt team and
choreographer, the animation crew and the motion capture we did down on the
stage… integrating all of that into the aliens was a big challenge,’ says
Mclntosh.
…and what next for SFX?
Augmented models
CGI is giving a new lease of life to old
tech. the FX in Moon were created on the cheap with miniatures but to keep them
from looking like ’70s Doctor Who props, CGI touches were used to sell the
effects. Lens flares and dirt were also added digitally.
Get the tech
Add explosions and effects to your iPhone
videos with Action Movie FX ($free). Sure, it’s not quite Spielberg but it’s a
start.
Action
Movie FX
Homebrew CGI
A new generation is creating blockbuster
CGI in their bedrooms. Take Gareth Edwards’ Monsters the director dug up a
shooting setup for under $16,235.9 and crafted all the effects himself with
software such as Adobe Production Premium ($2,915, adobe.com/uk). His robot
epic Forever is out in 2013.
Get the tech
Edwards gave life to his monsters with
Autodesk 3DS Max ($5,699, autodesk.co.uk), a 3D modeler with a handy creature
animations plugin.
48 frames per second
The Lord of the Rings prequel could change
the way we watch films. Peter Jackson is shooting the film at 48fps (as opposed
to the current 24fps standard), which he claims blends CG with real footage
more effectively. Detractors reckon the lack of motion blur makes the film look
like a made for telly movie.
Get the tech
Most cams will shoot 48fps; mo-cap your own
Gollum with iClone 5 and the Mocap Device plugin ($357, reallusion.com) and
Kinect for Windows.
CGI takes its time
Alfonse Cuaron’s upcoming sci-fi flick
Gravity is a CGI innovator. The entire film was pre-rendered, with Sandra
Bullock’s face shot separately and ‘backwards engineered’ into her spacesuit.
These days, CGI sequences are getting longer and longer although the 17 minute
opening shot is still pretty extreme.
Get the tech
Autodesk Smoke 2013 ($3,495, autodesk.com)
is a video and VFX package for Mac. Older versions cost $15,000 so this is a
bargain.
We all go 4K
Universal Pictures is revisiting its
classic films and giving them a spit and polish for its 100th
anniversary celebrations. Next up is Jurassic Park, ILM’s most iconic SFX showcase,
which will almost certainly be remastered in 4K resolution. Pun sharp, tri dimensional
velociraptors? That’s fine by us.
Get the tech
Shoot 4K with JVC’s new GY-HMQ10 ($7046.5,
jvc.co.uk), or go for broke (and a bank loan) with the Red Scarlet X (from $9,700,
red.com)
ILM on the future of SFX and Film
1. Virtual performances will become the norm
Pablo Helman, VFX Supervisor/ Second Unit
Director
“It’s really great to see a performer being
mirrored in a digital asset. This means that you can have a performer doing
some kind of acting, and then convert that into a creature that does exactly
the same and emotes it in some way.”
ILM
visual effects supervisor
2. CGI gets less perfect
Glen Mclntosh, Animation Supervisor
“For Battleship we looked at WWII documentary
footage. We noticed the cameraman wasn’t framing everything perfectly – he was
overshooting when a plane hit the water, and in explosions the camera shook.
Adding these flourishes helps to sell the reality of the film.”
3. Processing power changes movie physics
Grady Cofer, VFX Supervisor
“I’m excited about a lot of the advances in
simulation technologies such as PhysBAM. Not only did we apply a lot of those
innovations to our water tools, but also to CG pyrotechnics, which we’ve really
pushed in this movie.”
4. SFX becomes filmmaking
Willi Geiger, Digital Supervisor
“Our industry’s now reached a point of
maturity where we’re filmmakers, and we have to think like that – how can we
serve the director and get their vision out there? It’s not just about adding flashes
and bangs, it’s about creating visuals.”
