Contents Zoom In Zoom Out For navigation instructions please click here Search Issue Next Page ComputerINNOVATIONS IN VISUAL COMPUTING FOR THE GLOBAL DCC COMMUNITY October 2006 www.cgw.com WORLD Rat’s Nest DreamWorks uses digital clay to sculpt the diverse worlds in Flushed Away Past Tense CG helps bring ancient history to life Playing in the Big Leagues An indie CG filmmaker hits a home run Shadow Play Artists shine light on Hollywood’s dark side
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Karen Moltenbrey Chief Editor
KAREN MOLTENBREY: Chief Editor [email protected]______36 East Nashua Road A Taste of Independence Windham, NH 03087 (603) 432-7568
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: It’s been just over a decade now since Pixar introduced us to the colorful world Courtney Howard, Jenny Donelan, of CG features, giving us Toy Story, and with it, a taste for the visually compel- Audrey Doyle, Evan Marc Hirsch, George Maestri, Martin McEachern, ling medium of CGI. Before we could ooh and ah over the technological leaps Stephen Porter, Barbara Robertson
note editor’s that refi ned the look of the lovable toys in Toy Story 2, we welcomed invasions of KATH CUNNINGHAM: Production Director digital insects in Disney/Pixar’s A Bug’s Life and PDI/DreamWorks’ Antz. [email protected]______(818) 291-1113 In 2001, these animation/technology powerhouses continued to hone their craft in Monsters, Inc., and Shrek. That same year, two newcomers to the fi eld of CG animated fea- CHRIS SALCIDO: Account Representative [email protected]______tures left their mark, as well: Square Pictures, with Final Fantasy, and DNA Productions, (818) 291-1144 with Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. Considered independent studios, both were backed by a COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD big name: Square, with its hugely popular computer game group, and DNA, with produc- Editorial Offi ce: 620 West Elk Avenue er Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies. Still, these two fi lms showed there was Glendale, CA 91204 room for smaller teams to play alongside the “big hitters.” In March 2002, Blue Sky Studios (800) 280-6446, x1105 (subsequently bought by 20th Century Fox) entered the fray with Ice Age. And last year, SALES Vanguard Animations released Valiant, though the movie failed to take off in the US—a TIM MATTESON: Publisher/West Coast Sales rare occurrence for a 3D animated feature—despite its Disney distribution connection. [email protected]______Until this year, semi-independent studios making their mark in the CG animated feature (310) 836-4064 realm were the exception, not the rule. But in 2006, a revolution of sorts occurred. Indeed, JEFF VICTOR: Midwest/East Coast Sales [email protected] audiences were entertained by the woodland creatures in PDI/DreamWorks’ Over the Hedge, (847) 367-4073 the vehicles with character in Disney/Pixar’s Cars, the unwel- LA Sales Offi ce: Can an independent coming home in Sony Pictures Imageworks’ Monster House, 620 West Elk Avenue the animal “hunters” in Imageworks’ Open Season, and the Glendale, CA 91204 CG animated feature (800) 280-6446 elaborate underground world of Aardman/DreamWorks’ compete for a slice of Flushed Away. Yet, the year began with an independent spirit, the box-offi ce pie? starting with the fractured fairy tale Hoodwinked from The And will the slice Weinstein Company, and will end similarly, with the enter- taining penguins of Happy Feet, from Warner Bros., Village be as good as those Roadshow Pictures, and Animal Logic. Between those two
from the leaders? titles were other independent releases—some more indepen- WILLIAM R. RITTWAGE dent than others—including Ice Age 2 (Fox/Blue Sky), The President and Chief Executive Offi cer Wild (Disney and CORE), The Magic Roundabout (The Weinstein Company), Barnyard Computer Graphics World Magazine is published by Computer Graphics World, a (Nickelodeon and Paramount), The Ant Bully (DNA Productions, Legendary Pictures, and COP Communications company. Playtone), and Everyone’s Hero (IDT Entertainment, now part of Starz). Computer Graphics World does not verify any claims or other information appearing in any of the advertisements This poses the following question: Can a so-called independent CG animated fea- contained in the publication, and cannot take any responsibility for any losses or other damages incurred ture compete for a slice of the box-offi ce pie? And, does that pie taste just as good, or, in by readers in reliance on such content.
some instances, better, than what is offered by the animation studio giants? I believe Computer Graphics World cannot be held responsible for the safekeeping or return of unsolicited articles, the answer is yes—if the fi lms are done well. Although Everyone’s Hero (see “Painting a manuscripts, photographs, illustrations or other materials. Address all subscription correspondence to: Computer Picture,” pg. 34) did not require a complex technical achievement on par with the simu- Graphics World, P.O., Box 3296 Northbrook, IL 60065-3296. Subscriptions are available free to qualifi ed individuals lated water interactions in Aardman/DreamWorks’ Flushed Away (see “Flushed with within the United States. Non-qualifi ed subscription rates: USA—$55 for 1 year, $90 for 2 years; Canadian Success,” pg. 22), the fi lm makes up for that in its heartwarming story and unique nos- subscriptions —$75 for 1 year and $104 for 2 years; all other countries—$115 for 1 year and $160 for 2 years. talgic look. But, is that enough to fi ll theater seats? After all, Flushed Away also gets style Digital subscriptions are available for $27 per year. All Airmail Delivery is available for an additional $75 points for maintaining the charming Aardman claymation look within CG. Eventually, annually. Subscribers can also contact customer service by we’ll know how profi table each was in their endeavor. I, for one, am hoping that these calling 847-559-7310 or sending an email to cgw@omeda._____ com.__ Change of address can be made online at http://www. independents will continue creating CG animated fi lms, and that others follow in their omeda.com/cgw/ click on customer service assistance. footsteps. And in between those efforts, we can still be entertained by the animation Postmaster: Send Address Changes to Computer Graphics World, P.O. Box 3296, giants who continue to innovate. Northbrook, IL 60065-3296
www.cgw.com______OCTOBER 2006 Computer Graphics World | 1
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Mail to [email protected] for any further request. October 2006 • Volume 29 • Number 10 INNOVATIONS IN VISUAL COMPUTING FOR THE GLOBAL DCC COMMUNITY
Also see www.cgw.com for computer graphics news, Computer special surveys and reports, and the online gallery. WORLD
Features Departments
Cover story Editor’s Note 1 Flushed with Success 22 A Taste of Independence MODELING/ANIMATION | DreamWorks A number of independent CG feature 22 helps Aardman bring its stop-frame fi lms are trying to make their mark in world into CG in the 3D watery theaters. Can they compete as industry adventure Flushed Away. veterans also step up production?
By Barbara Robertson Spotlight 4
Products Digi-Documentary 28 RealViz’s Movimento VIRTUAL SET | A fi lmmaker uses state-of-the-art computer graphics to Craft Animation’s motion plug-ins bring the ancient past into the present Darwin Dimension’s Evolver family for a television documentary. NaturalMotion’s Morpheme 28 NewTek’s LightWave 9 By Karen Moltenbrey Autodesk’s Maya 8 and 3ds Max 9 Painting a Picture 34 User Focus INDIE FILM | An independent studio Artists create and animate digital uses commercial software to craft an white pencil lines in live-action scenes for a TV commercial. endearing nostalgic look for the feature Everyone’s Hero. Viewpoint: Effects 16 By Jenny Donelan Character Splash System DreamWorks develops a system for Hollywood’s Dark Side 38 automating the process of generating POSTPRODUCTION | DI gives the splashes resulting from a character’s 34 period fi lm The Black Dahlia a interaction with a water surface. consistent fi lm-noir style and allows Portfolio 46 the fi lmmaker to achieve his SIGGRAPH Jury Art original vision.
By Karen Moltenbrey Products 48 A look at product offerings from IBC, Sensual CG 44 as well as non-IBC rollouts. MODELING/ANIMATION | Fluid motion Backdrop 52 and detailed modeling transform Compositing 101 digital models. An industry veteran offers a glimpse at By Karen Moltenbrey this sometimes complicated process. 38
On the cover: Pampered uptown rat Roddy fi nds that life is not so cushy in the seedy under- ground sewers featured in the uniquely styled CG fi lm Flushed Away. Pg. 22.
2 | Computer Graphics World OCTOBER 2006 www.cgw.com______44
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Mail to [email protected] for any further request. spotlight Your resource for products, user applications, news, and market research
MOTION CAPTURE RealViz Makes a Move with Movimento
Image-processing developer RealViz out the need for a mocap studio, the cameras, and reconstruct 3D meshes rolled out its latest software product, software offers a complete and fl ex- automatically from the tracked data. PRODUCTS Movimento, a video-based motion-cap- ible solution for facial, hand, arm, Capture is non-intrusive, and can be ture solution powered by SMART, the and full-body motion capture across realized in natural or ambient lighting, company’s automatic 3D tracking engine. a range of applications, from special and requires no specifi c hardware. An affordable, accurate, and fl ex- effects to sports science to behav- Any frame rate or resolution can ible motion-capture solution with- ior analysis. The offering draws on be used, and the mocap data can be RealViz’s longstanding expertise in imported into most major 3D model- 2D and 3D motion tracking, particu- ing and animation packages for fur- larly MatchMover Pro, by capturing ther manipulation. the motion of any non-rigid object Movimento, which runs on Win- from multiple image sequences. dows, Mac OS X, and Linux, is avail- The software requires a minimum able now. A software-only version of two cameras, which can be fi xed or costs $19,000, while pricing for the moving. Users can combine 3D camera Total Solution, including Movimento tracking and motion-capture process- software and a four-camera capture es for applications requiring non-static system, starts at $45,000.
PLUG-INS 3D Animation is a Craft
Craft Animations, which offers vari- company’s Hyper Physics Engine and ous plug-ins for Autodesk’s 3ds Max Razorback MoCap system, which enable PRODUCTS and Viz for fast, realistic 3D anima- real-time-based control and view-port tions in real time, recently announced motion capture of the models. versions of these Craft Director Tools The plug-ins then apply realistic for use with Maya. movements along the selected anima- With the plug-ins, users can create tion path. These Craft Director Tools motions related to specifi c objects; for are based on technology created fol- example, Craft Airplane, priced at $496, lowing several years of research into lets modelers control and then record advanced neural networking, artifi cial movements of a plane model. Similar intelligence, and autonomous control realistic movements to airplanes, heli- software is available to control various techniques. copters, motorcycles, and more—within types of camera motion. To select the Craft Adaptors is the fi rst level of the modeling package. animation path, users actively control a cooperation between Craft Director The list of available tools for spe- keyboard, joystick, 3D mouse (beta), or Tools and the DCC application being cifi c object models, along with pricing, DirectX game controller. The motions used. They enable the use of any Craft are available on the company’s Web are controlled and recorded with the Director Tool—including those that give site (www.craftanimations.com).
4 | Computer Graphics World OCTOBER 2006 ______www.cgw.com
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where companies dream in hypercolor.
Business is busting at the seams for Orlando’s digital media sector. Home to top-notch studios like Electronic Arts, specialized higher-ed training programs, and the world’s largest concentration of simulation developers, it’s no wonder companies around here are so animated.
CALL 888.TOP.CITY OR VISIT ORLANDOEDC.COM______
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MODELING Darwin Evolves 3D Characters
Darwin Dimensions rolled out its time it would take to generate the mod- kinetically accurate. The Evolver models Evolver family of software products that els from scratch. come unclothed and hairless, ready for PRODUCTS enable users to quickly and automati- Within minutes, users can create an customization by a 3D artist. cally create unique 3D character models assortment of characters by combining The Evolver software consists of and mixing physical attri- Evolver Basic, which includes Evolver butes derived from a so- Character Builder, a stand-alone tool called virtual gene pool of that lets users create proxy models on pre-built characters from the their PCs; Evolver Pro, which includes software’s ancestor library. the Character Builder Output Generator The modeler can then tweak, for creating proxy characters and gener- morph, and customize facial ating humanoid models rigged for ani- features and body types mation with blendshapes, expressions, from an intuitive desktop and textures; and Evolver Complete, interface. Resulting models which enables users to integrate propri- can be made in multiple res- etary, Maya-built character models into olutions, are rigged for ani- the Character Builder ancestor library. mation, and are ready for A free downloadable trial version for use in games, fi lm, television, mul- pipeline integration into Autodesk FBX- of Evolver Basic is available through
timedia, education, manufacturing, and compatible 3D animation workfl ows. Darwin’s Web site (www.darwindimen-______
corporate markets. With Evolver, artists The models ship with 66 facial expres- sions.com),______while the full Basic version of every level can create a wide variety sions, including 12 phonemes, as well as costs $39, with fi nal models available of realistic, production-ready humanoid color bump and specular map textures for purchase separately. Pricing for the characters complete with textures, skel- with a UV unfold, and balanced geome- extensive Evolver Pro begins at $4995. etons, and skinning in a fraction of the try for movement that is anatomically and Evolver Complete is not yet available.
ANIMATION ENGINE NaturalMotion Gives the Industry a Shot PRODUCTS of Morpheme NaturalMotion, developers of the Euphoria and Endorphin Dynamic Motion Synthesis (DMS) technologies, rolled out Morpheme, a new animation engine for next-generation game development. Featuring a fl exible and unique 3D authoring tool chain, Morpheme is designed to give animators unprecedented cre- ative control over the look of their fi nal in-game animation by allowing them to author and preview blends, transitions, ters through sliders, and view the results in real time. and logic in real time. Morpheme is a fl exible and open system and does not Morpheme comprises two components. Morpheme:Runtime require the licensing of any other product. It also seamless- is a lightweight run-time engine optimized for the PlayStation 3, ly integrates with other leading 3D animation software and Xbox 360, and PC that ships with full source code. Morpheme: middleware technologies, such as physics engines. Connect is a 3D authoring application that allows animators to Morpheme is available this month for the PS3, Xbox 360, graphically author blend trees and transition logic (based on and PC. Due to the customizable nature of Morpheme, pricing Hierarchical Finite State Machines), modify and edit parame- is dependent on the project and unique needs of the developer.
6 | Computer Graphics World OCTOBER 2006 ______www.cgw.com
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MODELING-ANIMATION NewTek Shines with LightWave 9
NewTek recently announced the LightWave 9 also contains opti- availability of LightWave 3D Version cally corrected cameras for matching PRODUCTS 9, with improved core strengths in its real camera lenses, which will greatly overall power and speed. enhance the ability of visual effects art- The release represents the fi rst in ists to match 3D elements to live footage. a series of major rewrites and restruc- Among the changes that con- turing of LightWave 3D’s core with the tribute to the enhanced workfl ow addition of many new features, such in Layout are faster OpenGL perfor- as a node-based materials editor that mance and additional OpenGL hard- adds new shading models. Its adaptive ware shader support, resulting in an pixel subdivision support offers fi lm- accurate preview of the fi nal image quality displacement mapping, normal increased render speeds due to the imple- or animation in real time, without mapping (including Zbrush support), and mentation of BSP/KD Tree Algorithm and the need to create test renders. LOD control at render time. Version 9 also a complete replacement of the original LightWave 9 is available now for sports Catmull-Clark subdivision surfac- raytracing core for 2.5X speed improve- $795, or $395 for upgrades from previ- es and sub-surface scattering, as well as ments over Version 8.5. ous software versions.
MODELING-ANIMATION Autodesk Hits a Double with New Versions of Maya, Max
PRODUCTS Autodesk has unveiled new versions of its modeling, animation, and rendering software—Maya 8 and 3ds Max 9—both designed to help digital content creators in the games, fi lm and television, and design visualization industries achieve their creative goals. The releases offer big improvements in core performance, MotionBuilder FBX plug-in for tighter integration between Maya productivity, and pipeline effi ciency. Moreover, the upgrades and other applications such as 3ds Max and MotionBuilder, an mark the fi rst major releases of the products since Autodesk’s interchangeable geometry cache between Max and Maya for the acquisition of Alias early this year, and represent the fi rst steps in exchange of complex data, and the ability to export render layers the company’s three-year roadmap to more tightly integrate the to Autodesk Toxik’s database. applications while maintaining the separate product lines. Maya is available now in Complete and Unlimited versions Autodesk’s Maya 8 for the Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux for $1999 and $6999, respectively; upgrades start at $899. platforms features improvements that enable the software to Meanwhile, Autodesk’s 3ds Max 9 supports 64-bit technolo- handle larger datasets, in addition to myriad performance and gies for next-gen games, design visualizations, and fi lm and TV productivity enhancements. The product offers a combination visual effects production. Like Maya 8, Max 9 features improve- of 64-bit support and multi-threading and algorithmic optimi- ments in core performance and productivity, enabling artists to zations to let artists load massive datasets and interact with manage complex 3D datasets. The release also sports improved them more effi ciently. Key areas of the software, including rendering with the Mental Ray 3.5 core. skinning, draw tessellation, and subdivided polygon proxy Key features include a layered blending system that can be meshes, have been multi-threaded to scale with the number added to custom rigs and controllers, optimizations in wire- of processors or cores available, thereby accelerating formerly frame and edge display for faster feedback within the viewport, time-consuming tasks on today’s workstations. enhanced hair and cloth tools, improved fi le referencing and Other key features include: the ability to override viewports tracking capability of work-in-progress assets, the ability to bake with a user-defi ned renderer, an optimized Mental Ray 3.5 core, mesh deformations into a fi le for faster rendering, and improved support for HDR and fl oating-point images, support for interactive compatibility with Maya via the FBX fi le format. 3ds Max 9 is viewing of native and custom Mental Ray shaders, an improved available this month for $3495, or $795 for an upgrade.
8 | Computer Graphics World OCTOBER 2006 www.cgw.com______
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LightWave® v9 Reborn. Incredible Power Amazing Speed Outstanding Value
“All the advancements and changes in LightWave® 9 make it the best version of the software we’ve seen in 10 years. We built this company on LightWave so we expect a lot, but LightWave 9 blew away all our expectations. With the support of new multicore and 64-bit technologies and the efficiency in the new code, the produc- tivity of our facility has skyrocketed.”
Chris Zapara, VFX Supervisor, Zoic Studios, Award-winning vfx producers for Battlestar Galactica, Serenity and CSI
To learn more, visit: www.lightwave3d.com______
*Your mileage may vary. Copyright 2006. LightWave and LightWave 3D are registered trademarks of NewTek, Inc.
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2D ANIMATION Lines of Communication
The look of the Microsoft “Realizing Potential” commercial In particular, the agency was looking for more-sophis- campaign may be simplistic—bold white-line animated draw- ticated animations. “They wanted it to look as if we found
USER FOCUS ings augmenting a live-action scene. But, the execution of the a piece of DP Andrew Douglas’s fi lm and drew our anima- most recent series was rather complex, requiring a collabora- tion on it. They didn’t want Douglas to shoot the live action tive effort among fi ve companies: Z Animation (animation pro- with an obvious space left for the animation,” explains Z duction), Anonymous Content (live action), A52 (fi nal com- Animation’s executive producer Peter Barg. positing), Mad River Post (editing), and Elias Arts (music). Indeed, Z Animation stepped outside the hand-drawn The global TV, print, and Internet campaign, fi rst intro- realm and created the white-line “pencil” effect using Bauhaus duced by McCann-Erickson/San Francisco in 2002, high- Software’s Mirage 2D animation program. “We went with lights the software giant’s education and economic develop- Mirage because it could give us the soft-pencil hand-drawn look ment projects in 32 countries throughout Europe, Asia, and that agency wanted, and it could also handle the huge anima- America. Recently, a new set of six commercials—“Ripple,” tion fi les required for HD,” says Z Animation’s Joel Parod, who “Security,” “Startup,” “Imagine Cup,” “Parents,” and “Mr. co-directed the spots with Claire Armstrong-Parod. “We could Kato”—were crafted with the familiar animated white lines directly import the live-action footage and animate directly on used as transitional devices, metaphorically turning dreams top, and see it played back instantly. Many of our animators into reality. This time, however, the commercials were done actually preferred Mirage over traditional animation because it allowed us to import the live-action footage and draw the white line right over the screen, while also creating mattes and composites.” Computer animation was a key factor in awarding the project to Z Animation, notes Winks, because the client wanted to produce more spots than before and at a faster pace—something traditional animation could not handle. Previously, the commercials had been animated using traditional methods, and then digitally scanned into the computer, where composit- ing was done. Working directly in the computer was faster and more effi cient, says Parod, and provided the artists with more control over the imagery.
Microsoft resurrected a previous campaign that uses soft-pencil white-line “Some of our animators had very little computer drawings to metaphorically turn dreams into reality. experience, but after a few weeks of training, they took to it very well,” says Barg. “In fact, many of our anima- entirely in high defi nition, and they are the fi rst to use 2D tors said they didn’t want to animate on paper ever again.” computer animation instead of hand drawings. Most of the spots, says Armstrong-Parod, contain more “In early versions of the campaign, we were speaking animation than the earlier ones. “Startup,” for example, more broadly about how Microsoft software helped people began with nearly an empty warehouse as the backdrop. realize their potential,” explains Matthew Winks, executive “We used the white-line animation to illustrate a small start- producer at McCann-Erickson. “This time, we were even up company growing throughout the commercial,” she says. more specifi c about the initiatives and the efforts Microsoft “Here, the white lines actually tell the story. The message is is taking in countries around the globe and the local impact clear and has a fun ending.” the company is having on areas such as economic develop- Despite the use of Mirage, the artists still had to hand-draw ment in various countries through computers in classrooms the animation on top of the imported live-action footage using and small business initiatives. Production-wise, we were Wacom Tablet PCs. But, Mirage eliminated a number of steps, looking for an animation studio that would take the cam- resulting in tremendous timesavings. “With the traditional paign into the CG world but still maintain the hand-drawn paper method, we would have to print out each frame of the live animation look of past campaigns.” continued on page 12
10 | Computer Graphics World OCTOBER 2006 www.cgw.com______
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Idea: Assemble the ultimate team to create a John Woo sequel that you can play.
Realized: The line between video game and fi lm is officially blurred. When faced with the challenge of creating a video game sequel worthy of John Woo’s movie “Hard Boiled,” the team at Midway chose to use Autodesk® 3ds Max®, Autodesk Maya® and Autodesk MotionBuilder™. Using this 3D arsenal, artists are able to create graphically stunning characters, backgrounds and animations with amazing production efficiency. Get the full story on this next-generation masterpiece at autodesk.com/stranglehold______
Stranglehold © 2006 Midway Amusement Games, LLC. All rights reserved. Stranglehold, MIDWAY, and the Midway logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. Autodesk, 3ds Max, Maya and MotionBuilder 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. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2006 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
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continued from page 10 action and draw over it on a sep- arate piece of paper,” explains Barg. “If we wanted to see how our animation was working, we would have to scan it into the computer as a pencil test. With Mirage, we could instantly play back our animation—an instant pencil test—and quickly make changes, as well.”
International Appeal The campaign’s live action was directed by Andrew Douglas of The new commercials were done entirely in high defi nition, and they use 2D computer animation Anonymous Content on loca- for the white lines, instead of hand drawings, like the previous spots did. tion during a two-month period in Tokyo, with a Japanese cast. Because the series would the career of a doctor instead, thus requiring two animated be shown internationally, he then changed location and versions of the same scene. shot a Korean and Chinese version, as well. The group like- While the live shoot was in production, Barg and his team wise used the same concept for the European audiences, in set up a complete “animation studio in a box” at a Los Angeles French, German, and English, thereby satisfying all the dif- location that was central to all the companies involved. ferent markets with the same singular concept. “This was an exceptionally complex project,” Barg points Accompanying the production to Europe was Armstrong- out. “Success was entirely contingent on everyone working Parod, who worked closely with Douglas and the agency together, and [a central locale] was the best way to accommo- team so that it was easier to match footage later on during date the almost daily, sometimes 24/7, back-and-forth work- post. “They were able to grab stills right off the video tap fl ow among Z Animation, Mad River Post, and A52.” and do rough sketches for us while we were shooting, which Although most of the spots contained live action and 2D was extremely helpful,” says Winks. animation, one, titled “Ripple,” has a 3D effect, created in In some instances, the international audience required a Autodesk’s Maya, which fl ows throughout the commercial. global approach to the animation. In “Parents,” for example, For the most part, though, the group used Mirage as its main the fi rst couple of scenes feature a white-line animated grad- animation tool, along with Adobe’s Photoshop and After uate engineer, but for the French version, the agency chose Effects, and Cambridge Animation Systems’ Animo, all run- ning on high-end Dell workstations. To accommodate the needs of inter- national distribution, the groups decided that from start to fi nish, the campaign would be done entirely in HD, and North American NTSC versions were letter- boxed to resemble HD’s 16:9 aspect ratio. “Not fi nishing it in HD would have made it expensive to go back and refi nish it in HD later on,” adds Winks. “HD is more expensive and slightly more time- consuming, but we felt we’d see sav- ______ings in the months to come as requests Using Bauhaus’s Mirage, artists were able to animate directly atop the live action and for foreign cinema versions came in.” review the results immediately, allowing them to work quickly and effi ciently. —Karen Moltenbrey
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Being first doesn’t count if you’re wrong, and being right doesn’t matter if you’re late. Isilon’s award-winning clustered storage products speed access to your data, while dramatically reducing the cost and complexity of storing it. Now you have the power to convert your data
™ into information—and your information into breakthroughs. www.isilon.com/almost______How breakthroughs begin.
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By Scott Cegielski point Character Splash System
Effects involving water are generally regarded as some of the most diffi cult to achieve. The DreamWorks/Aardman animated feature fi lm Flushed Away (see “Flushed with view Success,” pg. 22) contains a wide vari- ety of water effects, each of which posed specifi c challenges. Waterfalls, boat wakes, giant waves, water slides, and splashing are just some examples of water-based effects featured in the fi lm. Some of the most common effects in many of the movie’s sequences are the Due to the large number of shots that required splashes resulting from a character’s inter- splashes that result from a character’s action with water, Cegielski’s team developed a system to handle all the related scenarios. interaction with a body of water. This dynamics simulator, but instead uses a previously developed in-house simulation tool. posed a specifi c challenge because of the In order for an animator to implement this effect effi ciently, splashes from a char- number of shots and the variety of char- acter’s water interaction were generated semi-automatically. This was done in several acters that were creating stages. First, the character’s surfaces were converted with an evenly spaced distribu- the splashes. tion of particles using a proprietary tool. The spacing of the particles could be con- The quantity of shots trolled based on how much detail was required from the character’s motion. And, each that required this effect particle contained a local velocity vector of the character’s motion at that position. warranted the devel- Next, a closest point calculation was performed between each particle and the opment of a character water surface with which the character was interacting. Using each particle’s closest Scott Cegielski splash system that could point distance, velocity, and user-controlled parameters, further calculations were is an effects lead accommodate all the sce- performed. The user-controlled parameters could be animated over time and could at DreamWorks narios quickly and effi - also vary over the surface of the character using painted texture maps. The particles Animation. ciently. The system had were fi rst culled based on user-defi ned criteria such as a maximum distance from the to automate the process water surface and a minimum velocity threshold. The positions and velocities of the of generating splashes remaining particles were then modifi ed based on several computed vectors that gave The number from a character’s inter- the user a high degree of control over the resulting splash direction and amplitude. action with a water sur- The resulting particles were then input into the fl uid-simulation program. of shots with face while still providing a large degree of control Local Fluid Simulation for the artists. In some shots, the character was moving at a high rate of speed due to the cur- water interac- Completed, the system rent in the water. This meant that over the course of a shot, the character might contains various tools for be required to travel quite a long distance. Moreover, the fl uid dynamics simulator tion required generating splash emis- required a grid covering the area of desired simulation, and these shots would have sions, localizing a fl uid required a very large box to cover the character’s range of motion. Since detail was a special simulation, and gener- necessary in the simulation, the grid also would have had to be subdivided into ating a surface from the many cells. These two factors could have resulted in very long simulation times. splash system. resulting particles. It Therefore, an alternative method was implemented to localize the simulation does not include a fl uid continued on page 21
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POWER ARE YOU HUNGRY? For real power users whose future relies on advanced applications, data sets, and models that require complex calculations, is there such a thing as enough processing power?
Who are today’s power users? From an engineer Processing is pervasive designing a next-generation airplane to a Professionals working in architectural design geoscientist performing an oil reservoir and engineering, mechanical computer-aided simulation or a game designer animating the design and engineering (MCAD/MCAE), oil and latest video game characters, power users are gas exploration, and digital content creation performing vastly different functions with (animation, video editing, professional audio, today’s workstation technologies. What they game development, and more) work with large have in common is an insatiable demand for data sets that continue to grow in size and increased processing and graphics capabilities complexity and require significant computing to accommodate the complex needs of their power to process. application workflows. It seems obvious that an increase in processing speed, delivered by a faster workstation computer processing unit (CPU) can boost the speed at which a software program can run, but in addition to making your demanding software applications respond faster, a state- of-the-art multi-core CPU can also change your entire workflow. Today’s multi-core processors, such as those built on the new Intel A SUPPLEMENT TO COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD COMPUTER A SUPPLEMENT TO Core™ microarchitecture, enable you to multitask by simultaneously running multiple
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complex software applications and functions at is particularly beneficial to users who work with high speeds on desktop and mobile workstations. large, complex files and require high levels of This enhanced multitasking capability can greatly performance and accuracy. 64-bit technology impact an individual’s or firm’s workflow. An answers the need for larger addressable physical engineer at an aerospace design firm equipped and virtual memory, scalability, and faster with a powerful workstation running Intel® Dual- processing and response times. Core Xeon® processors, for instance, is able to work on a design task in one application while Workstation class vs. desktop class another application can use different processing Your workstation is an integral part of your job, cores to run a structural simulation that he will and your success. You cannot compromise, and need to look at next. you won’t risk the name and career you’ve built on a general-purpose machine. If you’ve ever The world over, projects are becoming worked with an unresponsive computer system— increasingly complex, especially in fast-paced one that takes considerable time to complete a industries that demand high-quality results such task or respond to a command, one that crashes as digital content creation, manufacturing, and periodically and without warning, or one that oil and gas exploration. And this trend shows refuses to multitask and runs only one application no signs of slowing. You need high-performance at a time—you have a keen appreciation for a tools to serve you now, and in the years ahead. stable, reliable computer system. And answering the call for more robust tools, leading hardware vendors, like Dell, are refining You may be tempted to try and save money on workstation systems and components to put your initial hardware and choose a traditional more powerful, high-performance solutions in desktop PC or white box, yet the hardware and
the hands of professionals in today’s most software tools you select are clearly an investment demanding markets. in your career, and future. You want a system whose components are designed designed and Technology to the rescue tested to work together—specifically to support Technology companies throughout the workstation your unique and demanding needs. Given the industry are working together closely to better weight of this decision, it is increasingly important understand and benefit these important fields to understand the latest hardware technology and with workstation solutions specifically optimized select the optimal workstation to meet your for power users. exacting needs. Workstation technologies may seem complex, but the selection process is easier The workstation industry has responded to the if you’re informed. increased need for processing power, delivering leading technologies like multi-core and 64-bit Computer considerations architectures. Multi-core technology, such as that With an increasing number of options on the market of Intel’s new Core™ microarchitecture, involves today, it is important to understand the difference adding cores to a processor that enable additional between a workstation and a desktop solution. application threads to run in parallel through a True workstations and desktop systems differ, single processor. This technology helps increase especially with regard to three core elements that system performance, enabling workstation users need to be taken into consideration. Of significant to complete projects faster in several ways, importance to your work are a workstation’s including running multiple applications faster memory capacity, graphics card, and computer (multitasking), and through multi-threaded processing power—all of which combine to deliver applications, meaning complex software programs high speed, performance, and reliability. capable of running on more than one processor simultaneously. And workflow benefits should As the complexity of projects increases, so do the become more and more prevalent in compute- corresponding data sets and file sizes. In general, and data-intensive industries as leading the larger the project, the more memory and independent software vendors tune their processing power required. Workstation-class applications to take advantage of multiple systems may provide a greater amount of main processing cores. system memory, often at faster speeds, compared to common desktop PCs. With the advent of more Another technology trend driving greater complex, feature-rich 64-bit applications and performance is 64-bit computing. 64-bit computing graphics-oriented, interactive operating systems,
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such as Microsoft’s much-anticipated Windows generation Intel processors. For additional Vista™ OS, the demand for greater memory information see: ______http://www.intel.com/ availability is much more prevalent. ______technology/architecture/coremicro/
When working with applications that have high- Another important facet of the Intel® Core™ end 3D or OpenGL® requirements and require microarchitecture, Advanced Digital Media Boost, polygon calculation to display complex visual helps improve performance through the information or graphics, professionals should optimization of streaming instruction sets, consider the type of graphics card they employ. A enabling applications to run more efficiently. workstation tailored to meet the needs of users in Video and photo processing, encryption, demanding vertical markets requires a graphics engineering, and scientific applications can take card that is not only high end, but also features particular advantage of this feature, which enables technologies of specific benefit to those users— most 128-bit instructions to be completely including sufficient graphics memory, a powerful executed at a throughput rate of one per clock graphics processing unit (GPU), and dedicated cycle—a much faster rate than previous application drivers. Desktop or gaming graphics generations. To read a white paper with additional cards are not specifically designed for those information visit ______http://download. applications and, may fall short of adequately ______intel.com/technology/ architecture/ new_ supporting these graphically intense applications. architecture_06.pdf.______From a processing perspective, workstation-class systems usually employ the latest CPUs from A workstation with a high-end processor and leading vendors, such as Intel. Dell’s Precision™ graphics card can be a boon to your productivity, workstations, for example, take advantage of Intel’s and your career. As with any workflow, it is
Today’s multi-core processors, such as those built on the new Intel Core™ microarchitecture, enable you to multitask by simultaneously running multiple complex software applications and functions at higher speeds on desktop and mobile workstations.
latest Xeon® processors, based on the new Intel® important to ensure that all the components are Core™ microarchitecture. connected, cooperating, and well integrated. Intel, understanding the need for a balanced platform Not just any CPU will do that unifies all the key workstation elements, Advanced processing technology lies at the heart unveiled Smart Memory Access and Advanced of what you do in your profession, whether you Smart Cache in its new Core microarchitecture. count polygons, crunch numbers, fuse complex Together, these ingredients optimize the use of data from various sources, translate code into an memory bandwidth, between the CPU and the understandable and workable visual form, or workstation’s memory subsystem and graphics perform a combination of these tasks. With that card. They also hide the latency of memory in mind, you need to be cognizant of the type of accesses, in order to ensure that data can be used processing available to you in your workstation. as quickly as possible. More information about Intel Smart Memory Access can be found at Reliability and scalability are significant ______http://download.intel.com/technology/architect considerations when it comes to a workstation ure/sma.pdf.______and its CPU. Said another way, processing power should be readily available for on-demand use Collaboration is key and rise to meet the challenges you send its way. The ideal systems for compute-intensive It is not unlike the expectations an IT specialist applications, such as rendering or video editing imposes on enterprise class servers—knowing in DCC and structural and fluid dynamics that the application workload will follow the simulations in manufacturing, require each company’s growth. technology ingredient to work together to create a whole. It is no longer only about having the Workstations like the Dell Precision™ 490 and fastest processor or highest-end graphics card; 690, for example, are based on Intel’s Dual-Core rather, professionals require a balanced platform Xeon® processors, which are designed to meet with components that are optimized to work the horsepower, reliability, stability, and scalability together seamlessly. requirements for both workstation and server environments. And because the design of the When investing in a workstation, look for new microarchitecture is derived from Intel’s manufacturers that partner with other industry mobile architecture, these processors offer all vendors to ensure that all the high-powered the power a workstation user needs with far lower technologies inside the system match, balance, power consumption requirements than previous- and work together to create a single, cohesive
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environment. The last thing you need is an they are dealing with a functional configuration unreliable or unresponsive computer system on a certified workstation, workstation-specific undoing all your hard work, and contributing to tech support personnel can typically troubleshoot lost time, money, and clientele. Forced downtime rapidly or may automatically recognize the can be both infuriating and costly. situation at hand. The same may be said for your software support services. It is critical to your workflow, reputation, and peace of mind that system components are certified to The cost of owning a computer may actually be work in tandem—and not only internally, but with greater after the initial purchase, extending over third-party software programs and peripherals as its lifetime and affected by components, well. Intel engineers work directly with Dell, maintenance, downtime, troubleshooting, and more. graphics manufacturers ATI and NVIDIA, and For this reason, it is increasingly important to factor leading software developers, for example, to a system’s certifications and support into the accomplish just that. selection process.
Dell engineers take it a step further and subject Future functionality the entire workstation, including the CPUs, to a Major industries are always innovating, just as you series of tests to help ensure high performance are proactively perfecting your craft and expanding and functionality. As a result, Dell tests not only your capabilities. You need a system that will serve the processing platform, but how it interacts with you well into the future, as your work increases in the workstation’s graphics card, system bus, BIOS, quality, complexity, and quantity. memory, hard drive, and more. For power users performing time and quality critical From a software perspective, Dell Precision work for industries such workstations undergo an ISV certification process. as DCC,
From a software perspective, Dell Precision workstations undergo an ISV certification process
The term “certified” is granted by workstation manufacturing, and software companies only to hardware partners oil and gas exploration, it is meeting their specific standards. Application advisable to invest in workstations with vendors run tests to help ensure the hardware a scalable architecture that can support different platform and its individual components work users in the organization now, and grow with them without error. By eliminating the issue of in the future. Selecting the optimal workstation for incompatibility, both software and hardware your career is an important decision. Consider a vendors help reduce troubleshooting and system’s memory capacity, graphics card, and resolution time and can get their customers back computer processing power before committing to to business quickly. a purchase, and ensure that the manufacturers stand behind their products, offering the appropriate In the end, users can have confidence that the certifications, assurances, and support. For more configuration will work in their environment information about the Dell Precision workstation because the product has been thoroughly tested line or Intel’s latest CPUs, visit and optimized to run, effectively and without issue. www.dell.com/workstations______and www.intel.com.______
Aside from the obvious, software certification Be sure the technology you use supports the offers additional benefits. Should a need for career you choose. What will you do with all this technical support arise, a path of escalation exists processing power and workstation technology at internally to help resolve issues quickly. By knowing your fingertips? The future is truly in your hands.
For more information visit For more information visit www.dell.com/workstations______www.intel.com______or contact your Dell sales person or contact your Intel sales person
Dell cannot be responsible for errors in typography or photography. Dell, the Dell logo, and Dell Precision are trademarks of Dell Inc. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. © 2006 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell is strictly forbidden. Thank you for the images in this insertion which were provided courtesy of leading software vendors NewTek, Schlumberger, Softimage and SolidWorks®. Dell cannot be responsible for errors in typography or photography. Dell, the Dell logo, and Dell Precision are trademarks of Dell Inc. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. © 2006 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell is strictly forbidden.
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continued from page 16 splashes at its intersection with the water. around the character. This entailed stabilizing the character, a process that involved Some of the other initial parameters tracking the center of its bounding box at every frame, and then inverting the tracked included the number of particles to gen- data. It resulted in the removal of the large-scale motion of the character but the reten- erate from a splash, the amplitude of the tion of the local motion, such as limb movement. The character’s general position splash, and a few controls for the direc- ended up at the origin, where a much smaller fl uid grid was placed for the simulation. tion of the splash. Later, controls were In order to retain the sense of the large-scale motion in the fl uid simulation, a vector added to enhance the shape of the splash. force was included in the simulation. The direction of this force was derived from the This included a noise multiplier for the frame-to-frame motion of the character and was recorded during the tracking phase. splash amplitude and the ability to modu- Therefore, if the large-scale motion was along the positive Z axis, then the vector force late some of the parameters using texture applied to the simulation was in the opposite direction, along the negative Z axis. maps that the user would paint on the After the simulation, the particles were then transformed so that on each frame character using a 3D paint program. For they track with the character’s pre-stabilized motion. instance, if more splashing was needed on a character’s hands, maps could be Surface Generation and Integration painted in which the hands had a higher Due to the miniature scale in this fi lm, it was decided that the character splashes luminance then the rest of the body. should be rendered as surfaces rather than as particles. To create the surfaces, the Moreover, it was important to the particles from the fl uid simulation were fi rst converted to a density grid with an directors of the fi lm that the look of the octree structure, using a previously developed tool. For the conversion from the den- effects corresponded to the style of the sity grid into a polygon fi le, a program using the marching cubes algorithm was used. fi lm as closely as possible. Since the char- Marching cubes takes a density grid and generates a confi guration of polygons for acters are refl ective of the style used in each grid cell based on its density in relation to the density of neighboring cells. The the previous Aardman fi lms (claymation), user provides a density threshold value, which helps determine where the surface we tried to match that look for the effects. should be generated in the density grid. This was especially important in the char- The surface was then smoothed using a surface-relaxing program. Since the topology acter splash system since these splashes of the mesh changed each frame, special handling was required to get accurate-looking were being rendered around the charac- motion blur. For each frame’s polygon fi le, a second fi le was generated in which the verti- ters. One of the key decisions in achieving ces were deformed. The direction and amount of deformation on the vertices were deter- that look was to use a metaball technique mined by fi nding and using the velocity of the closest particle to the vertex from the sim- for the surface generation. This closely ulated particle set. This second fi le was then used at each frame as the previous frame’s mimicked the claymation process of using position for the vertices, and, thus, correct motion blur was achieved. plasticine for such splashing effects. Another requirement was that the splash surface blend into the water surface. At the conclusion of the production, This was done by iterating over the vertices in the splash’s polygon fi le. For each ver- the splash system had been refi ned to a tex, a closest point calculation was performed high degree. It has gone through revi- to the water’s surface. As the vertices approach sions as needed in the many shots for the water’s surface, they were deformed along a which it was used in the fi lm. It will, vector that was both tangential to the water sur- most likely, continue to be used in future face and in the direction of the splash surface’s productions at DreamWorks where normal. This created what appeared to be a splashing effects are required. meniscus between the two surfaces, and when rendered, the splash surface and the water sur- Scott Cegielski, effects lead at DreamWorks face appeared continuous. Animation, recently completed work on the DreamWorks Animation/Aardman co-pro- Conclusion duction Flushed Away. For this fi lm, he wrote The system started with a relatively small set many of the tools used for the fi lm’s effects, of user-controlled parameters, which grew as including the system for computing splashes needed throughout the production. One of the for characters interacting in CG water. In 2001, The fi rst image above shows the initial parameters was a threshold value that he worked on the animated feature fi lm meniscus used to blend the splashes into the main water controlled how fast a character had to be mov- Shark Tale at DreamWorks Animation, devel- surface. The second image above ing when intersecting the water in order for a oping a system for growing the numerous is that of a splash polygon used splash to be generated. This prevented a char- underwater plant life, and was nominated for to smooth the water surface. acter that was idle in the water from generating an Annie Award for his accomplishments.
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Mail to [email protected] for any further request. . . . . Modeling / Animation
By Barbara Robertson
DreamWorks and Aardman create Flushed plasticine puppets in CG and turn them with Successloose in a wild and watery digital world © 2006 DreamWorks Animation LLC and Aardman Animations, Ltd. Animations, Aardman and LLC Animation DreamWorks © 2006
From left to right: To create a freezing wave of water, DreamWorks effects lead Scott Cegielski simulated UVs with particles (1) and rendered the UV particles as a texture map (2). When the foam traveling down the wave of water hit the ice, a wipe with 3D textures, it froze (3, 4). An expression in Maya grew icicles (3, 5).
22 | Computer Graphics World OCTOBER 2006 www.cgw.com______
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Mail to [email protected] for any further request. Modeling / Animation. . . .
Sometimes the simplest things are the pletely CG feature. Sam Fell, Aardman’s eyebrows] the likes of which we’ve never most diffi cult. Take, for example, Roddy, director of commercials, and David rigged before,” says Wendy Rogers, visual Rita, Toad, and Le Frog, the stars of Bowers, a story artist on Shark Tale and effects supervisor for Flushed Away. “The Flushed Away, the latest feature fi lm from senior storyboard artist on Wallace & directors wanted to be able to press down Aardman Animation and DreamWorks Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, co- and leave an indentation in the eye socket. Animation. These characters might look directed Flushed Away. It was quite noodly.” as if modelers created them from plas- “We were going to do this fi lm in stop To rig the Flushed Away characters’ ticine in the same workshops where frame,” says Fell. “In the end, there was eyebrows in Autodesk’s Maya so that Wallace and Gromit took shape, but they so much water in the fi lm that we would the DreamWorks animators could rep- are every bit as computer-generated as have had hundreds of effects shots. It licate what Aardman animators do in Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey. would have killed us to do that in stop plasticine, Costello’s team took a lay- Flushed Away follows Roddy (Hugh Jack- frame, whereas in the computer, it’s ered approach. Animators could pull the man), a sophisticated, pampered mouse straightforward. But, it was so bizarre: eyebrows into a rough silhouette using living in an upper-class Kensington fl at While we could have a thousand rats three sets of joints—left, right, and mid- until he’s fl ushed down a toilet. He lands and a boat chase in the water, the diffi - dle. Then, with additional controllers, in Ratropolis, a version of London, built culty was in getting the [characters’] lit- they could fl atten the front of a brow or in the underground sewers from rub- tle brows to move right.” plump it up to make it fatter. bish. It’s as quirky and detailed an envi- And eyebrows, as any Aardman fan “They essentially sculpted the [digital] ronment as Aardman fans have come to knows, are very important. “When you clay,” says Costello. “We also had a plug- expect, but bigger, fi lled with water, and watch Aardman fi lms, it looks simple, but in that allowed them to do deformations populated with thousands of characters— what they do is horribly subtle,” explains on a low-resolution surface that we’d bind mostly rats, snails, toads, frogs, and bugs. Martin Costello, the character TD super- onto the fi nal geometry.” Thus, anima- Roddy, of course, wants to go home. He visor who worked on rigging the Flushed tors could work more quickly by weight- tries to persuade Rita (Kate Winslet), a Away characters. ing a few points on lightweight models savvy rat with a boat, to take him back and then transferring the performance to to his home, but he’s thwarted by the vil- Simple, But Not Easy the higher resolution geometry. lainous Toad (Ian McKellen) and Toad’s Gromit provides the best example—he Creating the characters’ mouths was cousin, Le Frog (Jean Reno). doesn’t have a mouth; the animators equally challenging. For their stop-frame The fi lm represents the third collab- convey his facial expressions by moving animations, Aardman modelers typi- oration between Aardman and Dream- his eyebrows. “In A Close Shave, Gromit cally create a set of approximately 16 Works, which began with Chicken Run. spends 30 seconds just acting with his plasticine mouth shapes for each charac- Produced by Aardman’s Peter Lord and eyebrows,” Costello says. “They’re push- ter. And then, once the animators apply David Sproxton, and DreamWorks’ Cecil ing and pulling and making dents above the shapes to the models, they can push Kramer, Flushed Away blends Aardman’s his eyeballs, moving ever so slightly the “clay” around. “The plasticine is infi - stop-motion style and DreamWorks CG between the keyframes, and it’s magic. nitely malleable,” says Fell. “But in CG, techniques; it’s Aardman’s fi rst com- “We have characters with [Gromit-like the mathematical lattice keeps breaking
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Shown at left is Roddy’s skeleton with mouth and hand controls. At if you push in too many directions all at once.” center is the simplifi ed model that animators used. A shaper caused Supervising animator Jason Spencer-Galsworthy, who was the low-resolution subskin, which was attached to the skeleton, to a model maker at Aardman for Wallace & Gromit in A Close move the high-resolution geometry. At right is the fi nal render. Shave and a key animator for Chicken Run before joining PDI/ DreamWorks to work on Shrek and Madagascar, helped develop ribbon around the lips and a thick ribbon that goes around the the mouth system for the Flushed Away characters. “We used cheek to give it a plasticine look,” says Costello. “Animators could Toad because he had to roll his lips all around his head and he push the CVs on the ribbon.” speaks asymmetrically,” Spencer-Galsworthy says. “He’s very expressive and has a massive amount of surface. We knew if we Fast Rigs could get Toad to work, we could get any character to work.” There are eight main characters in Flushed Away, 10 secondary Rather than building a facial system based on muscles, the characters with major roles, and a host of background and crowd team decided to emulate Aardman’s method: They built replace- characters, some of which speak a few lines. Because the mod- ment mouth shapes. “We spent six months working with the elers and riggers created the characters in sections, and because Aardman animators, trying out different approaches,” says all the characters used the same rig, a custom Maya plug-in glued Costello. “Normally when we do a rig, it uses a muscle-based together different components to quickly rig new characters. system based in reality. But the plasticine puppets don’t have “The posh way of putting it is that we have an inheritance-based muscles.” Thus, each Flushed Away character had a set of 10 or mix-and-match system,” says Costello. “We rig separate compo- more replacement mouths created by the modeling department; nents and use those to rig new ones. By the end, we could do a Toad had between 25 and 30. “It seemed like the only way to background character in less than half an hour.” go, really,” says Spencer-Galsworthy. “The mouths needed to be To build a character, the riggers started with pre-made compo- sculpted accurately by model makers.” nents. “We’d click a button, and all these joints would pop up that The animators could mix percentages of the resulting sculpted we could pull around the screen to position,” explains Costello. blendshapes in Maya. But they did so judiciously. “Even though They added behaviors to the joints that would, for example, allow you could dial-in degrees, you wanted to hit the pure shape as an elbow to swell a bit. Next, they added the subskin, a cylin- closely as possible,” says Spencer-Galsworthy. “In keeping with der made of rings that the riggers shaped and scaled to create the plasticine techniques, when you replace the mouth, it’s an bulges. And then they painted the binding. “You can pull the extreme change, and then you soften the movement off.” points around and then save out all the CVs of the skin position,” To soften the movement, the animators used controllers Costello adds. “The binding determines how the subskin drives around the mouth to change the shapes. “Basically, there’s a little the high-resolution geometry.” For the characters’ bodies, the riggers again matched the simplicity of the Aardman characters, but not rigidly. “At fi rst we over-engineered the spine and had to back off, but we put a little stretch on the arms and legs,” says Costello. “You don’t notice it a lot, but without it, we got popping. And Rita can tilt her hips, which makes her a bit more feminine.” That helped give these characters a different performance than that of the plasticine puppets. “We pushed the style,” says Spencer-Galsworthy. “We wanted to capture the essence of Aardman animation and then be true to where it’s going to go in CG.” Using special rigs, the CG animators could mimic the way in which stop-frame animators performed the eyebrows and mouths of plasticine characters. Here, Flushed Away’s Whitey holds Roddy and Rita, as Spike shows his anger.
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For example: There’s a 30-second shot of Toad talking to a tadpole. The animators created it early in the process using what Spencer-Galsworthy calls “hard poses.” “It came back because of voice- track changes after the style had developed,” he says. “So we pushed the animation into the new style. We still had defi nite poses, but we added a bit more fl uidity on the way.”
In the Bubble Fell made sure that the style varied from char- acter to character, though, by giving the ani- mators guides for each of the main characters that Because the rats would have built their city out of trash, DreamWorks fashioned its teeming underground duplicate of London using 3000 3D models. illustrated frequency and range of movement. He literally drew a bubble around a character that showed how far that If the directors had used stop frame rather than CG, they would character could stretch its arms. have relied on matte paintings or made the sets smaller. “Some fi lms have a style that applies to all the characters,” Fell As a test, DreamWorks duplicated in CG a set that Aardman had says. “We looked at Madagascar, which has a snappy, cartoony, built. “Ratropolis is built out of rubbish, so we built a section of American style of animation, and all the characters move accord- street and a row of shops from old furniture, broken cocktail sticks, ing to those rules. But the Aardman style is more that each charac- buttons, and other junk,” says Fell. The city that DreamWorks built ter has its own particular way of moving that’s related to its charac- also used rubbish, but CG rubbish, of course—forks, chains, bot- teristics.” Thus, Fell created a spectrum of movements and defi ned tle tops, and ultimately thousands of other 3D models. Although each character’s range within it: how broadly they moved, how far most feature animations at DreamWorks have around 1500 to 1700 they could move, and how busy and quick they were. unique models, according to modeling supervisor Matt Paulson, Toad, for example, who Fell describes as fl amboyant, aristocratic, and operatic, had a wide bubble to show his larger- than-life movement. On the other hand, Whitey (Bill Nighy), Toad’s toady, who is a slow-thinking character, moved within a smaller bubble. “He’s like an armoire on legs,” Fell says. “He lum- bers along like Preston in Close Shave. But then I wanted Spike, Andy Serkis, to move quickly all the time and have a little twitch. He was at number 10 on the frequency range, and Whitey was at the other end.” Similarly, the characters’ appearances mimicked the Aardman puppets but didn’t replicate them exactly. “It was an evolution, not slavish duplication,” says Rogers. “They wear foam clothes and look like plasticine, but we didn’t add thumbprints. That seemed a conceit.” ______
Ratropolis and the Mob The crew wasn’t at all modest about build- ing the character’s environment, how- ever. “Our main set is 72 feet in diame- ter in physical rat space,” says Rogers. “It was great to give the directors that scope.”
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Flushed Away had over 3000—from the sophisticated buildings with various cameras. It was like having a group of extras milling aboveground to an underground duplicate made of trash. Set dress- around that you’d shoot from different angles.” ers drew from libraries to populate the middle grounds and back- grounds with pre-built models. Fluid Mechanics “The thing that makes me laugh is that our set cost us our The biggest challenge for the effects team, however, was the time, but the materials were almost free,” says Fell. “We used water, and one of the biggest challenges in creating the water an old sardine tin for one of our cars. But at this fabulous, won- was the scale. “Roddy is 10 inches tall, so when we created derful, completely CGI studio, it cost thousands of dollars.” water and splashes, we had to keep it in scale with the char- On the other hand, stop-frame animators couldn’t have pop- acter,” explains Lindquist. “Sometimes we’d push the scale to ulated the hand-built set with thousands of cosmopolitan rats. make a wave or a boat feel as big as possible, though.” “We had every shape, size, and color of rat walking about living For fl uid simulations, the crew used the studio’s award-win- their daily lives,” Fell says. “We couldn’t do that in stop anima- ning proprietary software and developed special tools, particularly tion.” Nor could they have animated a boat chase that splashes to animate splashes created by characters (see “Character Splash through Chinatown and other Ratropolis locations. “We would System,” pg. 16). “The effects are the bad guy on the screen,” says have had to change the story completely,” says Fell. Rogers. “We had to make the water more graphic than real, but it Head of effects Yancy Lindquist led teams of TDs and effects had to be real enough to be a threat.” For rendering, the crew used leads who created the cast of extras, Rita’s boat, the Jammy-Dodger, PDI/DreamWorks’ proprietary rendering software. the water, and other effects. For crowd simulation, DreamWorks “We basically used two techniques for the water,” Lindquist runs a proprietary rule-based system, dubbed MOB, which they says. “For droplets that fell off characters, when Wendy [Rogers] modifi ed to use Maya as the front end. “That was the best choice to and the directors wanted an iconic shape, we’d model those get the characters up and running quickly,” says Lindquist. “We’d shapes. Otherwise we worked with the fl uid simulator to mold start with one character, animate a cycle, and then copy the cycle the water into what we needed.” By adjusting the number of par- to another character and tweak it. The rigging was set up so that ticles and how high they’d leap up from the water, for example, the cycles could be copied easily from one to another.” A mix-and- the effects team could create specifi c spiky-looking splashes. match system for paraphernalia helped add variety. At fi ve minutes and 123 shots, one of the longest water-effects Once the TDs had fi tted the characters with paraphernalia sequences in the fi lm, and the wildest, was a boat chase. Roddy and motion cycles, they positioned them in a scene and drew and Rita are on the Jammy-Dodger, a cross between a tugboat curves to indicate paths for the characters to move on. In one shot, and a James Bond speed racer that is made from parts of old cas- rats might be milling around in an amusement park and climbing sette tapes, a trumpet, tennis balls, goggles, a small window fan, and other bits and bobs. “It’s driven by expressions in Maya,” notes Lindquist. “We set up defaults that made the whole boat shake, but we also turned up the engine and controlled various parts.” Each boat in the high-speed chase created a dif- ferent type of splash that moved with the boats as they tore through the sewers. “We had eggbeaters making splashes, and boats causing rooster tails in the water,” says Alex Ongaro, effects lead. “The sequence took three people six months of develop- ment time and then eight months of production.” The diffi culty was making the splashes and the water look connected. The team created the splashes using Maya particles for the base simulation. Then, they exported the simulation to the studio’s proprie- Because modelers created each tiny piece in Rita’s boat, the Jammy-Dodger, tary software. “With our software we could get fast renders lighters could rely less on textures to show details. with 10 times the particles, with more density,” says Ongaro. onto rides made of teacups, and in another, waiting in line for a “We could light them with real lights.” The water was created with red, double-decker boat or wandering in and out of shops. “We’d geometry and displacement. try to set up all our curves and avoidance rules for a single mas- “The problem was that we had to start on the effects before the ter shot—one scene, all the characters,” says Lindquist. “We’d water was lit,” explains Ongaro. “We had to create the splashes populate the walkways and waterways, and run the sim through before the geometry was delivered to rendering, yet do a refl ec- all the shots, and make sure it was working. Then we’d shoot it tion of the splash into the water and use the color from the water
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particles, I could use the UVs to control the texture map, apply it to the surface, and it would travel down the surface to a frozen state,” he explains. “Then I’d render those UV particles as a texture map, and use that to tell the renderer how to apply the foam texture.” In other words, the foam traveled down the wave and, when it hit ice, it froze. “The ice is strictly a roto,” Cegielski says. “It’s a As with Aardman’s plasticine characters, the Flushed Away directors wipe with 3D textures, with a particle effect on the leading edge.” wanted each CG character to have its own performance style. To create icicles, he used an expression in Maya that started grow- on the particles to connect the two and make them match.” ing icicles when the texture map hit the crest of the wave. Thus, the splash makers found a way to duplicate the color of The DreamWorks riggers, effects artists, and animators learned water onto the particles. To fake refl ections, they mirrored the parti- new tricks to create a CG evolution of stop-frame animation, while cles on the Y axis and used distortion compositing in DreamWorks Spencer-Galsworthy picked up some tricks from the CG side. proprietary node-based compositing software to put the refl ection “That’s why I came over,” he says, “to improve my animation, and in the water. “Most of the time the effects team took care of com- I defi nitely did. You can push your animation and revisit it. The positing,” says Ongaro. “The effects, color correction, and blur fi nesse is amazing. And, working with different styles and dif- were done by effects animators.” ferent animators increases your breadth of knowledge. I’ve really Effects lead Fernando Benitez had a different kind of water prob- learned a lot from the animators at DreamWorks.” lem. In a dramatic sequence, Rita, Roddy, and the Jammy-Dodger The admiration is mutual. “It was great working with are heading for what Benitez calls “the perfect storm.” “They’re Aardman,” says Costello. “They really know how to animate. heading for a waterfall, and there is turbulent water with threaten- They’re mad as hatters.” ing waves,” he says. To create the water, Benitez started with a surface from the Barbara Robertson is an award-winning writer and a contribut- layout department that described the water level. “We used dis- ing editor for Computer Graphics World. She can be reached at
placement maps on the surface to create the waves, with fractal [email protected].______noise to get foam on top of the water,” he describes. “Inside the lighting package, the displacement maps gave the lighters the motion surface descriptions of foam and water.” Because the displacement happened inside the lighting package, to give animators an approximation they could use to make sure a boat contacted the water surface, the TDs applied the same maps to the geometry. For the waterfalls, the effects team layered three categories of splashes— spherical splashes, crescent shapes, and mist, all created with particles.
Ice Ending Toad dispenses with the population of Ratropolis by spraying the characters with liquid nitrogen, which turns them into rat-cicles. Roddy and Rita turn this to their advantage: In a climactic moment during the fi lm, they spray liquid nitro- gen on a giant wave of water about to engulf a crowd of rats, and it freezes. “I didn’t want just a simple wipe,” says ______effects lead Scott Cegielski. Instead, he used the foam texture around the wave surface. “By simulating the UVs with
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By Karen Moltenbrey Digi -Documentary CG provides a novel setting
and an important storytelling
device for an historical
investigation
FOR CENTURIES, THE TOPIC OF RELIGION VERSUS SCIENCE HAS SPURRED That was the approach taken by fi lm- maker/investigative journalist Simcha HEATED DEBATE, AND ONE THAT CONTINUES TODAY. THE TYPICAL VIEW, IN Jacobovici in a 90-minute documentary titled The Exodus Decoded, which aired ITS RAW FORM IS THAT SCIENCE AND RELIGION ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE , recently on the History Channel. In the special, Jacobovici and director James CONCEPTS, AS SCIENCE IS BASED ON TANGIBLE EVIDENCE, WHILE RELIGIOUS F Cameron presented what they believe is TEACHINGS ARE BASED ON INTANGIBLE BELIEFS. YET THERE ARE SOME WHO archaeological evidence that one partic- ular biblical account—the exodus of the PURPORT THAT MANY BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS, THE FOUNDATION UPON WHICH Jews out of Egypt—actually occurred, albeit two centuries earlier, based on MANY RELIGIONS ARE BUILT, CAN INDEED BE PROVEN WITH SCIENCE. archaeological evidence. Ironically, Jacobo- vici’s “real” scientifi c evidence is pre- sented in a “nonreal” computer-generated For the documentary The Exodus Decoded, set within an entirely virtual environment, artists crafted a wide range of CG imagery, used to illustrate various points made by the museum setting. fi lmmaker. Using nearly every tool within Maya, the artists re-created artifacts, animations, At fi rst, examining the ancient past maps, and more. For instance, Maya’s ocean shader and fl uid were used to create the within a futuristic virtual environment oceanscape in the image above as well as for other simulated water effects in the program. seems a bit odd, particularly for an inves-
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tigator who is determined to prove his the- ories based on factual evidence. However, the use of CGI enabled Jacobovici to tie together vast amounts of material in a log- ical fashion and provide a three-dimen- sional look at numerous historical arti- facts, particularly through animations. The Exodus Decoded is one of the fi rst documentaries to use an all-virtual environment. Tasked with creating this unique digital space for presenting infor- mation and making artifacts come alive was Gravity Visual Effects, a VFX bou- tique with offi ces in Canada and Israel. “Many documentaries use CG for re-enact- Narrator/fi lmmaker Simcha Jacobovici and director James Cameron (above) were fi lmed ments, but Effi Wizen, our company’s against bluescreen and composited into the virtual set. CEO/creative director, wanted us to use that gave us a lot of artistic freedom.” system, and Maya. “We worked within that a different approach,” explains senior art The fi lm was planned inside the vir- circle nearly every day,” says Tsarfati. director Hili Tsarfati. “He is an architect, tual environment—specifi cally, the cam- After the group received the last of the and he provided a blueprint that eventu- era moves and the shots to be edited— material from the fi lmmaker, it still had ally became the virtual museum, inside using the voice-overs from the interviews to integrate footage of Cameron and nar- of which the material was presented.” (the group imported the wave fi les into rator Jacobovici, who were fi lmed at the According to Tsarfati, the documentary Autodesk’s Maya, the tool used to model end of the off-line work. The two were contained a great deal of diverse informa- the environment). “The workfl ow is sim- shot against a greenscreen; since Gravity tion from many sources throughout the ilar to that of a feature fi lm, but here it had used previz extensively for the proj- world, including numerous video clips of was a fi lm that lives inside the VFX, not ect, the team knew exactly where to place experts in the form of talking heads, or vice versa,” says Yuval Levy, head of 3D. them and which angles to use in the fi nal head-and-shoulders shots of the interview- Initially, the project called for the artists cut. “We did the whole process differ- ees speaking. Wizen’s idea was to bring to create four minutes of high-def special ently than most,” Levy says. “We built the material into a unique, consistent loca- effects. But after the fi rst off-line, Eldar the virtual environment, placed the arti- tion that added some fl avor while the story says, it became apparent that more CG had facts, integrated the sound for the tim- unfolded. At times, the digital artists aug- to be embedded into the fi lm to achieve ing, and gave all that to the off-line. Once mented the interviews with 3D replicas of the original goal of creating a stimulating the off-line was locked, then we did the actual artifacts and various animations. backdrop. In the end, the group, which greenscreen portion.” “All of this added visual strength to the was led by four senior artists, crafted 43 story Jacobovici wanted to tell,” she says. minutes of high-def imagery. Virtual Museum “Jacobovici was missing a lot of visual ref- “You can see how addicted the direc- The space inside the virtual museum was erence that would help tell his story.” tor was to the special effects,” Eldar says. vast; the design enabled the artists to “They solved many of his problems—the continually add to it as new material was Digital Workfl ow diversity of the material, the large amounts acquired and submitted. The basic design According to Zviah Eldar, the company’s of narration, and the talking-head inter- uses a high-tech grid of connecting cubi- other CEO/creative director, the group views—which could have made the fi lm cles that seems to extend endlessly inside began working on the CG portion of the boring. Because he was talking about the the space. “That allowed us to easily fi lm before the off-line work was done. “We ancient past, there weren’t many actual change and modify the design to coin- started before we had the backbone and visuals he could use.” cide with the camera moves,” says Levy. skeleton of the fi lm; the director was still Even after the artists received all the “The museum is huge; we only showed it on location gathering information,” she material, there was still a great deal of col- in snippets in the program.” On the sides says. “But the environment we chose gave laboration among postproduction, the off- of the CG cubicles, the group displayed us the fl exibility to constantly bring in new line editors, and the 3D artists as work virtual video monitors, on which fi lm material. Because the script was not locked, went in and out of Discreet Flame, an Avid clips of experts—scientists, theologians,
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archaeologists, and others, all shot head- and-shoulders—played on cue within the steel- and glass-like environment aglow in rich gold hues. Perhaps most impressive, though, were the 3D artifacts created by the artists that were randomly, albeit strategically, placed inside the virtual museum. One such item was an ancient stele whose hieroglyph- ics recount a story involving a severe storm, which rarely occurs in Southeast Africa, along with details of catastrophic events (like the plagues) that “mirror those of the biblical tale,” Jacobovici states in the documentary. Today, the real stone tablet remains aban- doned in delicate pieces in the basement of the Cairo Museum. Because no known pho- tos of the fi nd exist, the artists used copies of sketches made by the person who found the object to re-create the stele inside Maya. The team also reassembled the stele so it could be viewed dimensionally and as a whole. The artists spent a great deal of time care- fully re-creating objects like the stele from whatever sources were available, oftentimes photographs or fi lm footage shot by the crew at various museums. “Sometimes we had good-quality images to work from, and Using Maya, artists built a time machine that contained various imagery to give viewers a other times we didn’t,” says Tsarfati. When visual reference for events that occurred thousands of years ago, as well as the stone stele possible, the group used textures from the in the following image, rendered with caustics and global illumination within Mental Ray. reference material. Or, it used verbal descrip- tions from experts, the Bible, and similar period objects to craft Using a high-res photo of the actual wall painting as a reference, the items that today do not exist. “We had to create visualizations artists rebuilt the structure in Maya, using photographic textures that explained a lot of the archaeological work,” says Levy. “I felt to surface the model. As the camera pans across the scene, the as if we were visual archaeologists; we were extracting images ancient Greeks’ perception of depth is realized, explains Jacobovici, from real artifacts and bringing them to life. Often this required by translating objects situated farther away in the Z axis to higher us to connect the dots and do in-betweens—just as we do in ani- up along the Y axis. Using a high focal length and perfectly aligned mation—when certain archaeological information was missing.” camera, the CG artists seamlessly blended the 3D into the origi- In all, the artists crafted approximately 20 CG artifacts, nal painting. In addition, the artists animated the people, dolphins, including hieroglyphics, tombstones, a fi re pit, a granite monu- and other objects in the painting, bringing the entire scene to life. ment, and more, as well as water elements, geographical maps, “We had to recheck with Jacobovici and specialists on every- geological data, a re-creation of a volcanic eruption, and frogs, thing we did to make sure our models and animations were accu- locust, and other objects from the plagues. For one scene, the rate,” says Levy. group crafted a mummy of an Egyptian pharaoh. The scene In one instance, using 3D imagery actually enabled the fi lm- begins with fi lm footage of Ahmose, as the narrator explains maker to, for the fi rst time, place side-by-side a series of objects why he believes this was the pharaoh responsible for banishing (tombstones), some now housed in different locations, to extract Moses and his people from Egypt. The camera then suspends a cohesive picture. The stones were found in 3500-year-old tombs upward from the actual mummy and seamlessly transitions to a in Mycenae (Greece) along with numerous Egyptian gold items. CG replica of the mummy inside the museum. As Jacobovici states in the documentary, the images on the stones The artists similarly moved through dimensions in a number of have never been deciphered until now, and each contains a sliver of other scenes, such as when the narrator explains the importance a story, which he contends is that chronicling the parting of the sea. of a Greek wall painting depicting what he believes is the Exodus. To better illustrate the visual story on the stones that Jacobovici
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In a scene, the camera cuts from fi lmed footage of the Pharaoh Ahmose mummy at an actual museum to a digital version placed inside the virtual museum.
saw that no one else did, the digital artists made an accurate ver- Shader. In addition, the group also used Maya Particles and sion of each stone, and then, with the stones lying fl at, “lifted” the Maya Fluid Effects for the fi re and smoke elements. The team carved images upright, similar to a paper image in a pop-up book. also used the particle instancer for a number of objects, such “We extracted carved images from each of the three stones as to create the locust in the depiction of the 10 plagues. “We and put them next to each other to combine them into a story, used everything Maya had to offer,” Levy says. For the locusts, creating in-between animations so we had a full animated story the group created a Maya script that would dynamically ren- from those tombstones,” Levy explains. In instances such as der closer locusts with a high-detail mesh and the more distant this, the group extracted displacement and bump maps from models with a low-poly stand-in. images of the actual stones, then converted those into a polyg- onal model in Maya using the displacement information, and Visual Storytelling rendered the imagery using the Mental Images’ Mental Ray tool The artists also built a unique time machine. Many of the events within Maya. Later, the group used Autodesk’s Discreet Flame have a disputed time frame, most occurring between 1200 and to composite the imagery into the live action. 1500 BC; so, when an expert began talking about a certain event, In addition to the museum and models, there were numer- the massive time machine beside the video monitors provided a ous effects—water, fi re, and more—that collectively taxed the visual date reference for the audience. rendering. Throughout the project, Gravity had a renderfarm of For this documentary specifi cally, “CG became an excellent 40 Dell CPUs running around the clock, yet the group still had storytelling tool; it helped the director visually explain a very to render a good portion of the museum in layers. The water, complicated story,” says Levy. So much of the story depends on which was used inside a clear “cubicle” of the museum as well the fi lmmaker’s ability to connect many disparate events, and as in a number of animations, was created using Maya’s Ocean without the use of CG, many of those connections would have been confusing or not easily understood. Adds Tsarfati: “We discovered while making this fi lm that if you provide information or details differently than the eye and mind is used to, a person will be more accepting of the infor- mation. It makes the information easier to understand and more appealing.” Undoubtedly, that’s because today’s society is a visual one. “People are used to going to the movies and seeing special effects and visual aids,” says Tsarfati. “Today’s audience is ready for documentaries to be served a differ- ent way.”
When possible, real artifacts were used to craft the 3D models. The CG Ark of Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor for Computer the Covenant was based on biblical references and a piece of ancient jewelry. Graphics World.
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Everyone’s Hero owes painting its painterly look to a consistent vision
and old-fashioned a picture attention to detail
Images courtesy 20th Century Fox.
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Mail to [email protected] for any further request. Indie Film. . . .
Yankee Irving’s parents react to the action at the game. The creators of the fi lm focused a good deal of effort on facial animation, as well as on an overall Norman Rockwell-type look.
By Jenny Donelan “Consequently, we had to change the and double entendres familiar to CG fi lm- pipeline, making it more robust than it goers. “There was a sense that a lot of the Out of left fi eld, so to speak, at SIGGRAPH was when DKP was a contract studio doing more successful CG fi lms had a sort of this past summer, came Everyone’s Hero, simpler work, and work that was generally cynical feel to them,” says Foster. ”They a full-length CG fi lm that caught many of shorter duration,” says Frank Gladstone, were typically animals or fairy-tale crea- people’s attention with its unique look— vice president in charge of artistic devel- tures who felt like they’d just stepped off described by nearly everyone as “Norman opment at IDT. While doing so, the fi lm’s an LA casting couch and into a medieval Rockwell-esque.” The fi lm, about a boy who creators worked hard to imbue the movie or suburban set, yet still felt hip. The idea, travels across the US to return Babe Ruth’s with the look and feel envisioned by those and this really came from Christopher bat to him, uses a bright color palette that behind it from the start. Reeve, he adds, was to take a step away is softened to create warm, painterly scenes Everyone’s Hero began as a story that from that and do a story that was both that convey the sense of bygone days. Howard Jonas, founder of IDT Corp., gentle and not cynical in terms of the “It was nice at SIGGRAPH to have peo- used to tell his children at bedtime. characters and told a different story that, ple tell us, ‘Hey, I really like the look.’ We Somewhere along the line, he shared the hopefully, would resonate with American had run as a stealth operation until then tale with Rob Kurtz, also at IDT, who families. Underscoring that tone would be and hadn’t talked about what we were eventually wrote the screenplay, along the movie’s warm, nostalgic look. trying to do,” says Nick Foster, CTO of with Jeff Hand. Jonas decided he wanted IDT Entertainment/Starz Media. “It was Christopher Reeve to direct. According Planning a Pipeline a good way of establishing ourselves as a to Ron Tippe, co-producer of Hero, along The makers of the fi lm faced a daunting new animation company.” with Igor Khait, Jonas wanted Reeve combination of high ambition and lim- That new animation company was because, “this movie’s about heroes, and ited budget. They approached it through IDT Entertainment, spun off from tele- there’s no hero like Christopher Reeve.” prioritization and planning. According to com company IDT Corp. in 2004. In that Reeve reportedly loved the story and Foster, they decided to focus on two key same year, IDT acquired the Canadian was at work on the fi lm when he died. areas: facial and performance anima- animation and visual effects company Directors Dan St. Pierre and Colin Brady tion, and the overall visual appearance DKP Studios, where Everyone’s Hero was then stepped up to the plate. The fi lm is of the fi lm. For the latter, “we were going eventually made. (Starz Media has since being distributed by 20th Century Fox. for a distinct look, where the colors had a acquired IDT Entertainment.) Although The movie’s main character is young bright, crisp feel to them while also being DKP was nearly 20 years old, with a solid Yankee Irving, voiced by Jake T. Austin, slightly washed out—in a sense, creating history of creating visual effects and ani- who determines to rescue Babe Ruth’s bat, the nostalgic sense you get from Norman mation for television and fi lm, it had never which has been stolen, and return it to him Rockwell’s paintings,” says Foster. been set up to create a theatrically released in time for the deciding game of the 1932 The main modeling and animation tool full-length CG fi lm of this complexity. World Series. His companions along the was Autodesk’s Maya. Mental Ray from
In the independent CG feature fi lm way include Marti, a girl voiced by Raven; Mental Images was used for rendering, Everyone’s Hero, young Yankee Irving Screwie, a baseball voiced by Rob Reiner; and Fusion from Eyeon served as the com- (center) sets out on a rescue mission and Darlin’, the bat, voiced by Whoopi positor. The pipeline and production tools— aided by friend Marti (right), Screwie Goldberg. The movie was intentionally workfl ow and fi le management software, the baseball, and Darlin’ the bat. made without the usual topical references etc.—were proprietary to IDT. But achiev-
______www.cgw.com OCTOBER 2006 Computer Graphics World | 35
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Mail to [email protected] for any further request. . . . . Indie Film
ing the desired look had more to do with processes than tools, notes Foster. It meant attention to the rendering pipeline. “And the diffi culty there was how to achieve that sort of artistic control within the budget that we had,” he says. “We wanted it to look like a fi lm with a higher budget from an artis- tic point of view, but not feel that way from a pipe- line/personnel point of view.” The answer, Foster explains, was in setting up a rendering pipeline that didn’t force computer graph- ics techniques onto the artists. The team tried very hard to think about what tools the artists would need, and set up the tools accordingly, rather than Lefty (center), one of the fi lm’s villains, grips a nervous Screwie. Many shots included putting the tools in place and making artists work facial animation of humans and nonhumans side by side, which was done in Maya. with them as best they could. “When you spend more of your effort creating a pipeline that supports that workfl ow, Animators overcame this diffi culty by putting lots of expression it gives the artist a lot more control,” he says. “You get a more artis- into Darlin’s face, while minimizing the swinging and wiggling tic look on every object, on every texture in that scene, and much movements. The ball, Screwie, on the other hand, was lots of fun more lighting control.” for the animators. “No arms, no legs, but there’s something about Another factor contributing to the soft look, says Foster, was a that spherical shape that lends itself really nicely to a lot of expres- decision to render the frames at three-quarter, rather than full, HD sion,” says Foster. “I was surprised at that.” resolution, then up-res them to full frame. Practically speaking, he The end result is a fi lm that’s funny, sweet, and uniquely soft notes, this approach “halved the size of the renderfarm.” But an and retro in both content and tone. It’s also a fi lm that its creators additional, desired side effect was to help convey that soft look. believe stands up to higher budget counterparts. And, getting there didn’t take technical magic so much as it did careful planning. “It’s Play Ball being clear about how you want the fi lm to look,” says Foster. “Our The biggest animation challenge, according to Foster, was goal from the beginning was not to fall into the trap of letting cre- Darlin’, the bat. The character’s face was in an awkward posi- ative decisions early on pile up later and cause huge investments tion for dialog when a character was holding her. “She’s also so in [additional] people. Ironically, it just means we ran a production long, relative to the size of her face,” he says, “that it’s hard to how you should run a production.” have her move around when talking. It looks unnatural, this large baseball bat swinging around in the air—not that a speak- Jenny Donelan is a contributing editor for Computer Graphics
ing bat isn’t unnatural to begin with.” World. She can be reached at [email protected].
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Mail to [email protected] for any further request...... Postproduction HOLLYWOOD’S
DI gives The Black tion into the struggling actress’s death was ditional fi lm timing, like bringing down one of the biggest ever conducted by Los the skies without affecting the rest of the Dahlia its strong Angeles detectives. The list of suspects frame, or bringing a whole scene down was extensive, and the killer was never to a nice density level and then using [an film-noir look caught. And the story—with its allure of Autodesk Lustre] window to open up and sex, beauty, and violence—captivated the track a doorway, for instance.” nation and soon took on a life of its own. According to Sowa, he was tasked with By Karen Moltenbrey Nearly six decades after the murder, helping the director and cinematographer the fascination with the Black Dahlia maintain the desired look throughout the murder continues. Last month, director movie; this required him to go through Brian De Palma resurrected the story in the footage frame by frame, ensuring the period movie The Black Dahlia. Using that the style remained consistent. “I sat the mysterious, ominous, shadowed look down with Zsigmond and changed ele- of a fi lm-noir style, punctuated by post ments within the shot in terms of lighting The gruesome 1947 murder of fl edgling work by LaserPacifi c, the director and that, at the time of the fi lming, he either actress Elizabeth Short—dubbed the Black Oscar-winning cinematographer Vilmos didn’t have the time to do himself [on Dahlia by the press after her death (due to Zsigmond set an exciting stage for the set] or didn’t come up with until after the her propensity for wearing black clothing drama. “Zsigmond asked for an overall fact,” explains Sowa. and a play on the then-current fi lm title desaturated sepia look,” says senior col- This work—changing light sources The Blue Dahlia)—showed the darker side orist Mike Sowa. “He also focused on the and patterns on walls with shadows, for of Hollywood. At the time, the investiga- things you wouldn’t be able to do in tra- example—was done using the power
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Mail to [email protected] for any further request. Postproduction. . . .
The Black Dahlia, set in the late 1940s, uses a desaturated sepa look to emphasize its period style. That look was enhanced and standardized in the 4K digital intermediate process at LaserPacifi c, where colorist Mike Sowa worked alongside the fi lm’s cinematographer to achieve the fi nal look. Using the power windows feature in Lustre, Sowa was able to fi ne-tune a number of complex shots. © 2006 Universal Studios. Universal © 2006
windows feature inside the Lustre suite, the movie so the group had a digital ver- some changes—mostly lighting alterations a digital color-grading system. Power sion to work from. For this project, Sowa they had discussed doing for the preview windows, he says, allows him to draw a could jump right in rather than spending but didn’t have time to implement. So dur- shape and change the color density either the fi rst few weeks coming up with a fi nal ing the eight days of the DI process, Sowa within or outside that shape. “The best look. That’s because a style had already not only standardized the look of the movie, way to describe the tool is Photoshop on been established by LaserPacifi c’s Frank but also, with Zsigmond at his side, made steroids,” says Sowa, noting that what Roman for the movie’s preview. “By the many subtle changes, enhancements, and Adobe Photoshop does for photos in terms time I got it in the DI suite, they just said refi nements. “For every single scene, we of color density, Lustre does for fi lm to match the preview,” Sowa says. did a general balance and then looked at it frames albeit on a more complex level. However, that was easier said than for shadow detail and for window enhance- done. When the preview was estab- ment,” says Sowa. “We decided where to Shades of Gray lished, the colorist worked in a differ- best place windows so the focus of the Despite its dark look, The Black Dahlia ent color space—709. Shortly thereafter, attention remained on the actors. We also was fi lmed in color, with the sepia look LaserPacifi c migrated to a digital cin- made sure that if something distracting was a prominent part of the process. Sowa’s ema preferred color space of P3. “Part of in the shot, it was removed, or if something job was to enhance or create more of a the challenge was to create the look they needed to stand out, it was highlighted. desaturated sepia look by adjusting the achieved in the 709 color space in P3, That was almost a session in itself.” color and density from the color nega- which has a cooler white point and much According to Sowa, the windowing tive. To accomplish this, LaserPacifi c fi rst denser contrast,” explains Sowa. ability within Lustre made a difference in scanned the negative on Thomson’s Grass Also, in the time between the preview how far he can go with color timing. “I Valley Spirit 4K DataCine and conformed and the DI, the fi lmmakers wanted to make am no longer subjected to the limitations
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Mail to [email protected] for any further request. . . . . Postproduction
of circles, diamonds, or squares and having to make those work on had huge camera moves in them. One that stands out in over shapes that aren’t geometric patterns,” he explains. “I am his memory is a night scene in which the camera starts and now able to draw shapes around patterns in the frames and then stops at the sky, with the Hollywoodland sign in the foreground, soften the edges, maybe just one out of 10, before blending it before panning downward to reveal a car driving into a hous- nicely and morphing and roto‘ing whichever part of the frame I’d ing development below. The sky was very bright, he says, and like.” Moreover, Sowa says he isn’t limited in the number of win- Zsigmond wanted it to look like a very dark night. “All I had to dows he can use or his ability to track them. In the visual effects do was draw a window and rotoscope the window as the cam- world, editors have been able to do this for a long time, he notes, era moved, so I could just isolate the sky, and then at the bottom but it is relatively new during a feature timing session. of the frame, I have other windows coming up and illuminating Not long ago, creating different types of looks, such as a skip- parts of the housing development,” he recalls. “There were a lot bleach fi lm contrast or oversaturated/undersaturated shots, would of windows and morphing and tracking going on through this have had to be done through a different channel from straight- one shot.” Sowa adds that he had several similar shots that were forward photography. Now, though, most of these looks can be also challenging, and had he been working on any other system, refi ned in the DI suite as opposed sending the fi lm to an outside they would have been far more diffi cult. shop to be treated. “Sending the fi lm out means a lot of time and For another scene, Sowa fi ne-tuned the effect of a split diop- a lot of money for a look the fi lmmakers aren’t absolutely certain ter, which Zsigmond had used to maintain the same focus in the about yet,” explains Sowa. “We can sit here in real time and just foreground as in the background—about 40 feet back. “It splits create a look until they fi nally decide on something, in practically the frame in half, so you can focus on each half separately. The no time at all.” Because the work in the DI is performed on a digi- lighting in this scene required me to use power windows and tal scan, the director is not committing the precious fi lm, so the split the split diopter scene in half and treat each one separately,” original shots remain preserved.
In the Shadows Sowa says that The Black Dahlia is the fi rst fi lm- noir movie he has worked on where the sides of the actors are completely in shadow. “The shad- ows cutting across the faces really add a dra- matic feel,” he notes. Mostly, that was accom- plished through the lighting on the set. In fact, the fi lmmakers already used modern tools and techniques on location to make the fi lm look dated; the DI process just enhanced that style. Although there were some scenes that required relighting, Sowa says those were few and far between. “Zsigmond shoots to get it all on fi lm. He had never gone through this pro- cess and didn’t know these tools existed within this environment,” says Sowa. “The fi rst time I drew a window around something and brought [the lighting] down, I think it excited something inside of him. He realized he could do these types of changes here and now—changes he didn’t plan on doing when he got here.” As Sowa notes, many shots that he worked
With power windows, Sowa was able to transform the fi rst image on the right, which used a split diopter so that the background and foreground characters were equally in focus. But once the shot was color-timed, the background characters were no longer visible. Treating each element separately in power windows resulted in the fi nal shot (bottom image on the right).
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he explains. In the shot, actor Aaron Eckhart (sergeant Leland the DI before, and they have the experience and know how much Blanchard) is standing in the foreground while police offi cers control they have over the images. It’s a control factor.” are visible at the top of the stairs in a doorway. But once Sowa Another reason for going through a digital intermediate pro- timed the shot, the police in the stairwell were no longer visible. cess may be for technical purposes. Perhaps the movie was shot By treating each segment separately, however, he was able to on video and needs to exist on fi lm. Or, the movie could have make each character stand out. been shot on 16mm and will ultimately be released on a 35mm Sowa also encountered an issue whereby the split diopter print. In the past, this has resulted in a big optical blowup, middle was visible in the shot as a light density streak down the because the image suffers going through the process. But now, middle of the frame. Using the Lustre tools, he was able to mini- the group can scan the 16mm negative into the system, and the mize the streak and bring the fl aw down to where it didn’t draw copy follows the same process. The digital master is down-rez- attention. “Those are the things we found and fi xed as we went zed to a 1K proxy to expedite the timing process in the DI suite. through the movie,” Sowa says. The changes are applied to the conformed 4K fi les (if applicable), In yet another example illustrating the type of challenging and an ARRI Laser records the timed digital master out to 35mm work Sowa did on the fi lm, the colorist points to a nighttime scene fi lm, used to generate the release prints. “The resolution of the in which actor Josh Hartnett (offi cer Dwight “Bucky” Bleichert) image is kept intact,” Sowa points out. is seen walking toward a shed; originally, the exterior lighting Despite the magic of DI, Sowa says fi lm labs are still getting was so bright that he was nearly silhouetted against the structure. their fair share of fi lms—perhaps due to cost, confi dence, and/ To correct this, Sowa keyed the light source in the background and brought it way down, and then keyed the foreground den- sity to bring it up so that a little detail can be seen on the actor as the camera pans across the scene. “That shot truly shows off the win- dowing ability in Lustre,” he says. “I had the shed come in at the end of the shot, and I had to window that separately; I had four to fi ve power windows up, I was keying densities, and I was keying color. I had color density dissolving all the way through the beginning, the middle, and all the way to the end of the shot.”
DI to Die For Some shots contained huge camera moves. In the DI, Sowa darkened this one to give it a dark-night look, but had to illuminate certain parts, such as the housing development, so they would be visible. Every DI job has its own special requirements, notes Sowa. For this project, it was to achieve or time. Yet, there remains a steady stream of DI customers, and a fi lm-noir desaturated look. “This fi lm is unique; there aren’t Sowa does not expect the momentum to drop off any time soon. that many movies with this style. So trying to keep that look And with good reason. within the dramatic environment was fairly new for me.” “Once I worked on a movie and I heard the clients whispering Nowadays, many directors and cinematographers opt for to themselves that they wished they had done something differ- the DI process for a number of reasons. In fact, Sowa says that ently with the lighting on the set, and the one guy said, ‘well, it’s the fi rst few movies he did in DI, he was re-creating looks that too late now,’” recalls Sowa. “I overheard the conversation, and weren’t necessarily achievable through the traditional fi lmmak- while they were talking, I drew a window; while they were look- ing process, such as a bleach bypass or some other process that ing at the screen, I started to change the lighting to create what would require the fi lmmaker to commit the negative. In contrast, they were talking about, and it blew their minds. I get a little bit of today’s DI requests are not for visual effects, but rather for mak- that with every movie. That’s what makes the process fun: to cre- ing the movies look good. “But just having the ability to fi x issues ate something the client didn’t know he or she could achieve.” if necessary has attracted a lot of fi lmmakers to the process,” he says. “Often the director or cinematographer has gone through Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor for Computer Graphics World.
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Mail to [email protected] for any further request. . . .S . Modeling / Animation ensual
Robots illustrate their ‘feelings’ through fluid CG movements
Except for two quick shots, Digital Domain created this car commercial using all-CG: the backgrounds, the robots, and even the car. Fluid animation adds life to the robots, while complex modeling, textur- ing, lighting, and rendering enabled the studio to create a fl awless vehicle.
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By Karen Moltenbrey commercial. Simple? Yes. Risky? Possibly. of the robots. Yet, except for a quick exte- Effective? Absolutely. rior and interior shot of the Lexus, a dig- Although it is not unusual for car ital car became the star. “The nature of More and more, television and movie commercials to rely on stunning images, shooting cars is that you live and die by viewers have to ask themselves, is it real “Robots” differed in that the imagery was their refl ections and all the interaction that or is it CG playing out on the screen? computer-generated from scratch, mod- would occur with them and the robots. So, In a recent set of TV commercials for eled with a variety of software, includ- it didn’t make sense to light practical cars carmaker Lexus, it is quite obvious from ing NewTek’s LightWave and Autodesk’s in this case since we would have had to the presentation that most, if not all, of Maya and 3ds Max, all riveted together replace all the exterior refl ections anyway, the content is indeed digital. One 30-sec- with proprietary software. to make it fi t into the digital environment.” ond spot in particular, titled “Robots,” fea- Victor Garcia of MJZ, who is equally as To achieve those results digitally, the tures robotic arms in a production facility savvy when it comes to CG as live action, artists used the Chaos Group’s V-Ray for gently and lovingly caressing a Lexus ES directed the commercial. “He is very knowl- rendering and lighting. They also used a 350 in the fi nal stages on a production line. edgeable on both sides of post and live LightWave plug-in called FPrime (from Wor- The headlamps are fi tted by a robotic arm, action, and is very much into architecture ley Laboratories), an interactive renderer which lingers for a moment as it drags its and beautiful imagery,” says Barba. “His that allows them to set up bounce cards in “fi ngers” over the fender’s curves. Later, a directive was to use whatever medium it place of the lights in LightWave, then later quality-check arm cannot help but pause took to get the story told.” Using live action, transfer all the curves and data directly into in the middle of its programmed duties however, was out of the question; the bud- 3ds Max for rendering in V-Ray. “We didn’t to run its feelers over the leather head- get to build actual robots and the stylized set have to set it up and test it for every frame,” rest. As the car rolls off the production alone would have been prohibitive. says Barba. “It is quick, interactive.” line, the robots’ arms can barely let go as Instead, the environment is vir- Moreover, the artists used a mini- they reach longingly for the car as it slowly tual, built based on some of the modern, mal color palette and graphics to sell the pulls away. “You can’t build and maneuver stylized factories in Europe. “It’s hard car, while for the robots, they used warm robots to do what we wanted them to do to believe that some of them are work lighting to make them feel less cold and on a commercial budget,” says Eric Barba, spaces; they are so beautifully struc- industrial. Then they employed the same visual effects supervisor at Digital Domain, tured,” says Barba. Next, the artists built lighting techniques that a DP would have which completed the effects work. the robots, whose movements are more used with soft boxes and refl ections. At In fact, with the excep- sensual than the typical precise move- the end, the group composited the scenes tion of two quick shots, ments of industrial robots found in vehi- with Digital Domain’s Nuke. Final conform the entire spot is all-CG: cle manufacturing plants. was done in Autodesk’s Discreet Flame. the background (the man- Using a CG car, Digital Domain was ufacturing plant), the The Car’s the Star able to ensure perfection—no pits, no characters (the robotic And although the artists at Digital Domain dust, no streaks, and no unwanted refl ec- arms), and the star (the had honed their skills at giving human feel- tions on the metal and glass in a lot less Lexus itself). And the ings to machines in the 2004 feature fi lm I, time than it would have taken to fi lm commercial is sparse on Robot, Barba notes that is where the simi- such a scene practically—if indeed that ad copy; only six words larities in the two projects end. “None of would have even been possible. are uttered in the com- the techniques we used for I, Robot crossed “Unlike I, Robot, which used facial mercial: “Is it possible to over for this spot. The I, Robot technology expression to convey a mood, we had to engineer desire?” is ancient now,” he says. “The facial ani- look to body language to make this spot As a result, executive mation of Sonny was done amazingly well work,” says Barba. “A robot’s movements creative director Chris in the movie, but that is a whole different are limited by its design, so we had to Graves at Lexus’ ad agency beat to what we had to do in ‘Robots.’ The work within those constraints and still Team One Advertising animation was simpler, but had to convey assign them traits like elegance and style. relied heavily on the visu- the message. This had to be very photoreal, Transposing those sorts of human qualities als to convey the brand’s whereas Sonny had facial expressions that to CG robots was a unique challenge.” message. Thus, it was especially impor- sold his performance.” tant that the imagery not only be drop- The real focal point of the commercial is Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor for dead beautiful, but also carry the entire the car, which is accentuated by the actions Computer Graphics World.
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Mail to [email protected] for any further request. Portfolio SIGGRAPH Jury Art SIGGRAPH Jury
Clockwise from top left: One of the highlights of the annual ACM SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition is the art 4^16 This real-time on-screen art by Paul Brown resulted from the gallery, which features juried selections of digital works from artists around the world. continuation of generative works he began in the 1960s. The image At SIGGRAPH 2006, volunteers curated a spectacular art gallery for the annual comprises 16 tiles that can each be placed on one of four orientations. The work was originally made using Macromedia’s Director but more computer graphics conference. Chaired by Bonnie Mitchell of Bowling Green State recently re-created using Processing by Casey Reas and Ben Fry. University, the gallery, titled Intersections, comprised a wide range of 2D, 3D, and Ignotus the Mage From Paul Hertz, this image combines and 4D wall-hung artwork, sound art, installation art, sculpture, electronically mediated extends a series of earlier works in which a series of digitized faces and spoken names provide the raw material for an interactive installation. performance, art animation, and screen-based interactive work. Queensbridge Wind Power The intent of this project from Andrea As always, some of the works were created by students and newcomers to Polli is to generate discussion concerning alternative power sources, the digital arts fi eld, while others were from researchers and professionals in such as wind, in an urban setting. the CG art community. For some artists, this year was their fi rst showing in the
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SIGGRAPH gallery; for others, 2006 marked a repeat performance. Clockwise from top left: This year, some of those veteran SIGGRAPH artists served as art gallery jurors or Exertions of Exodus Jana Whittington’s time-based image illustrates committee members, including Kenneth Huff, whose innovative pieces have graced the artist’s aesthetic journey, from traditional to digital, and uses various tools: Flash, Motion, Final Cut, After Effects, 3ds Max, and more. the halls of many SIGGRAPH conferences. So, in addition to featuring a wide range Contemplations on Inner Space (Detail) By Anne Behrnes, this of creative, conceptual, and innovative digital art that explored new artistic territo- work was generated using various tools and techniques, starting with digital ries and crossed traditional boundaries, the Intersections gallery contained works by photos for the base, onto which other photos and textures were added. leaders in the fi eld of digital art. LavaBody + 6 LiQin Tan’s digital marble print incorporates a 3D animation of a lava-body formed by a simulation. A mirror situated underneath the Featured on these two pages are some of the Intersection images created installation refl ects the lava motion sequence. by these jury and committee members and displayed at this year’s conference and Studio This interactive networked media by Philip Sanders was produced exhibition. —Karen Moltenbrey with digital sketching, painting, 2D/3D images, editing, and video.
OCTOBER 2006 Computer Graphics World | 47
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video and fi lm, demonstrated new versions of its Boris Blue, Boris Red, IBC PRODUCTS and Boris Continuum Complete. The company added new performance enhancements and features to its Boris Blue real-time 3D motion graph- ics software for Windows only, including new Image Processors such as SOFTWARE Glow and Film effects, as well as Deformer effects that enable users to shatter and explode 3D objects. Blue now supports a wider range of COMPOSITING graphics cards and is available for $995. Meanwhile, Boris Red 4.0, for integrated compositing and effects Making Connections for the Windows and Mac, sports dozens of new features, including 16-
Win • Linux Eyeon Software announced Eyeon Connection, a new virtual bit color support and a sophisticated new paint engine. The new paint fi le system technology that speeds workfl ow and management by allowing engine is equipped with clone and roller brushes as well as a raster- Fusion machines to directly access Autodesk’s Stone fi le system over a LAN, giv- to-vector converter tool that can automatically convert a bitmap raster ing users the ability to interoperate with Inferno, Flame, Flint, Fire, and Smoke fi le into an animatable extruded vector shape. Other image treatment systems without having to import, export, or publish media. Eyeon Connection enhancements include an optical stabilizer feature that uses optical fl ow allows for direct reading and writing of fi le sequences directly to and from the technology to automatically remove unwanted motion from an image. Stone storage array. Eyeon Connection will be available to all existing Fusion 5 Among many of the new fi lters, Boris Red 4.0 ships with a Motion Path customers and is expected to ship in the fourth quarter for $995. fi lter that animates objects on a spline path. The product is priced at Eyeon Software; www.eyeonline.com $1595; upgrade pricing is available. And Boris Continuum Complete, for native compositing and effects VIDEO EDITING creation, contains the new BCC Motion Key, an image-treatment tool that allows users to remove objects from a scene without having to Suite Upgrade use complex rotoscoping or masking tools. Other next-generation BCC Win Sony Media Software announced the immediate availability of the features include Color Choker for push/pull style color correction, an Vegas+DVD Production Suite, a signifi cant upgrade to its award-winning enhanced Noise Map, and Turbulence for image distortion. Pricing professional video, audio, and DVD production software solution. The depends on the software system on which it is run. suite includes Vegas 7 and DVD Architect 4 software, as well as a Dolby Boris; www.borisfx.com Digital AC-3 multi-chan- nel encoder for 5.1 sur- POSTPRODUCTION round output. The all- new Vegas 7 nonlinear A Hot Intro editing software com- Win • Mac The Foundry debuted Tinderbox 4, a major new product bines HDV and XDCAM release for After Effects. Tinderbox 4 is a new collection of 18 visual support with workfl ow effects fi lters featuring new plug-ins such as Colorist, for automatic enhancement tools. It color correction and balancing; Cartoon, for giving images a hand- offers full frame-rate play- drawn cartoon look; and Fire, for generating animated fl ames and other back of native HDV on the Vegas timeline and includes improved memory effects. In addition to the for handling HDV 1080i long-form projects. It is now available for $699. new Tinderbox 4 range, The Sony Media Software; www.sonymediasoftware.com Foundry’s Tinderbox 1, 2, and 3 have been re-engineered to MOTION GRAPHICS take advantage of the new features within After Effects Colorful Wares 7.0, including automatic syn-
Win • Mac Boris FX, developer of integrated effects technology for chronization with the After
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Effects built-in camera and lighting features, support for 32-bit fl oat- real-time effects. Intensity is fully compatible with Adobe Premiere Pro, ing-point images, and more. Now shipping, the new Tinderbox collec- Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, and any tion is priced at $500 per node-locked license. Existing customers can DirectShow- or QuickTime-based software application. Intensity, avail- upgrade for $250 per box. able in mid-October, will be priced at $249. The Foundry; www.thefoundry.co.uk Blackmagic Design; www.blackmagic-design.com
Card Rollout HARDWARE Win • Mac • Linux Bluefi sh444 announced a new series of multi- channel SD SDI uncompressed video cards supporting Windows XP, VIDEO CARDS Windows 2000 Pro, Linux, and Mac operating systems. In all, fi ve new SD SDI video cards are available: the SD Dual Link Pro, SD Ingest Pro, SD Showing Intensity Lite Pro, Iridium AV Pro, and SD Single Link Pro. The new video cards
Win • Mac Blackmagic Design rolled out Intensity, an ultra-low-cost are well suited to applications such as video servers; encoding, decod- HDMI capture playback card that allows, for the fi rst time, low-cost ing, and streaming of MPEG and H.264; live and non-live CG; and more. consumer cameras with HDMI video connections to move beyond The cards are available now for $17,995. the quality limits of HDV compressed video to uncompressed editing and Bluefi sh444; www.bluefi sh444.com design. Intensity is a small HDMI capture and play- back card that instantly switches between 1080HD, 720HD, NTSC, and PAL video standards. Once Intensity is plugged into compatible PCI Express Windows or Mac OS X computers, users get the quality of uncompressed video via HDMI from cameras, decks, and set-top boxes, enabling them to play back to any HDMI big-screen television or video projector for video editing, in SD or HD, and with
NEWS IBC Show Sees Record Attendance IBC 2006, held last month in Amsterdam, welcomed more people than ever before, with delegate fi gures for this year’s event passing 2005’s mark, at 44,808. Commenting on the attendance, IBC director of marketing and business development Michael Crimp released this statement: “IBC is growing its stature as a must-visit for professionals from all over the globe who are interested in the future of electronic media. But more than that, we have been pleased to welcome more and more visitors who are leaders in their fi eld. It is the quality of indi- vidual delegates, not just increased volume, which is IBC’s hallmark.” ______
______www.cgw.com OCTOBER 2006 Computer Graphics World | 49
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HARDWARE MediaNetwork 4.2, priced starting at $57,215, is software is targeted at digital content creators in designed for collaborative environments handling the fi lm, broadcast, video, animation, graphics, MOTION CAPTURE multiple streams of high-resolution projects. With design, and visual effects markets. The WalkerFX a price tag starting at $106,995, Unity ISIS Version collection of 18 plug-ins is offered in three ver- ShapeHand Solution 1.1 includes up to 192TB of storage, compatibility sions—Basic, Designer, and Professional—start- Measurand, a developer of portable motion-cap- with Mac OS X and Windows XP workstations, ing at $89. Version 2.2 has been upgraded for ture systems, has introduced its ShapeHand wire- and support for up to 150 active users. Each of increased stability, improved compatibility with less hand motion-capture solution for animators. these new Unity systems uses Avid’s new fi le sys- After Effects 7.0, and greater productivity. Portable and lightweight, ShapeHand features tem for increased performance and 500GB drives WalkerFX; www.walkerfx.com fl exible ribbon sensors capable of attaching to to boost overall storage capacity. virtually any glove and fi tting any hand size. The Avid Technology; www.avid.com STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION system incorporates the data-capturing system (Required by 39 USC 3685) Publication Title: Computer Graphics World of 40 sensors and disposable, interchangeable Publication Number: 665-250 gloves. ShapeHand integrates with Vicon, Motion Filing Date: 9/29/06 SOFTWARE Issue Frequency: monthly Analysis, Measureand’s ShapeWrap II, and other Number of Issues Published Annually: 12 Annual Subscription Price: $55.00 motion-capture systems to deliver hand, fi n- 3D GRAPHICS Complete Mailing Address of Known Offi ce of Publication: 620 W. Elk Ave., Glendale, CA 91204 ger, and full-body motion-capture information. Contact Person: Tim Matteson Telephone: (310) 836-4064 Measurand also offers ShapeHandPlus, a system Inivis Introduction Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Offi ce of Publisher: 620 W. Elk Ave., Glendale, CA 91204 that combines ShapeHand with the company’s Win • Mac • Linux Inivis, Ltd., celebrating Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher: Computer Graphics World, 620 W. Elk Ave., Glendale, CA 91204 Arm ShapeTape arm-tracking utility. its 10-year anniversary, has unveiled Version Editor: Karen Moltenbrey, 620 W. Elk Ave., Glendale, CA 91204 6 of its AC3D graphics software. Version 6 is This publication is owned by: Computer Graphics World - William Rittwage Measurand; www.measurand.com Computer Graphics World a subdivision-surface modeler with integrated Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: 9/29/06 Extent and Nature of Circulation STORAGE polygon control. Features new to the latest edi- Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months 35,440 No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date 35,618 tion are a real-time 3D editing engine, intuitive Total Number of Copies 38131 36628 Paid and/or Requested Circulation More Memory controls, and tools for speeding the creation Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541 35104 33896 Avid has announced the availability of its lat- and manipulation of 3D shapes. Available now, Paid In-County Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541 0 0 Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other est Unity shared-storage solutions, which pro- AC3D 6 is priced at $70. Non-USPS Paid Distribution (Includes non-USPS requester distribution) 1050 768 vide twice the capacity of Avid Unity LANshare Inivis, Ltd.; www.ac3d.org Other Classes Mailed Through the USPS 62 51 Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation 36210 34715 and MediaNetwork systems, and three times the Free Distribution by Mail COMPOSITING Outside-County as Stated on Form 3541 0 0 storage space of the company’s Unity ISIS. Unity In-County as Stated on Form 3541 0 0 LANshare Version 4.2 employs the LANserver Low Other Classes Mailed Through the USPS 160 193 Free Distribution Outside the Mail 1380 4320 Profi le (LP) storage and server device with 16 drives Software Suite Total Free Distribution 1540 4513 Total Distribution 37756 39228 in a three-rack unit to offer up to 8TB of storage Win • Mac Compositing software developer Copies Not Distributed 375 400 Total 38131 39628 capacity. Starting at $24,995, Avid Unity LANshare WalkerFX has announced the WalkerFX 2.2 suite Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation 95.9% 88.5% 4.2 systems sport Fibre Channel and Ethernet con- of visual effects and motion graphics plug-ins for Publication required. Will be printed in the October 2006 issue of this publication nectivity. Also now in Version 4.2, the Avid Unity Adobe After Effects. WalkerFX provides compos- Name and Title of Editor, Publishers, Business Manager, or Owner: William Rittwage - owner MediaNetwork system boasts a three-rack unit iting professionals with channel handling, key- Date: 9/29/06 ing and matting, and color-correction tools. The I certify that the statements made by me above MediArray LP with 4Gb Fibre Channel connectivity. Are correct and complete.
October 2006, Volume 29, Number 10: COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD (USPS 665-250) (ISSN-0271-4159) is published monthly (12 issues) by COP Communications, Inc. Corporate offi ces: 620 West Elk Avenue, Glendale, CA 91204, Tel: 818-291-1100; FAX: 818-291-1190; Web Address: [email protected]. Periodicals postage paid at Glendale, CA, 91205 & additional mailing offi ces. COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD is distributed worldwide. Annual subscription prices are $55, USA; $75, Canada & Mexico; $115 International airfreight. To order subscriptions, call 847-559-7310. © 2006 CGW by COP Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without permission. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specifi c clients, is granted by Computer Graphics World, ISSN-0271-4159, provided that the appropriate fee is paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA 508-750-8400. Prior to photocopying items for educational classroom use, please contact Copyright Clearance Center Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA 508-750-8400. For further information check Copyright Clearance Center Inc. online at: www.copyright.com. The COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD fee code for users of the Transactional Reporting Services is 0271-4159/96 $1.00 + .35. POSTMASTER: Send change of address form to COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD, P.O. Box 3296, Northbrook, IL 60065-3296.
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continued from page 52 between the tracking department and For the fi lm Lords of Dogtown, Gray Matter fi xes are getting routine, though few peo- the 3D animation group. composited a circa 1970 Santa Monica pier ple talk about them, for obvious reasons. into the scene. On the left is the original What is your basic approach shot, and at right is the fi nal shot. How has DI affected the Q to compositing work? Q role of compositing? That’s tough to say. Probably matte edge they missed. Then, when it is Many simple editorial tran- years of experience. No two reviewed again and the edge is still evi- sitions, such as cross-fades, A composites are ever the same. I dent, they will protest that they ‘know’ A wipes, fade-ins/outs, and so look at the shot fi rst and try to they took care of it, rather than trusting forth have become part of the determine if it is better done in Flame or what their eyes are telling them. DI process, and have thus been removed in Shake, and who has the skill set among from the compositing realm. my artists to accomplish the work. Is it What are the fi nal steps? more technical, or is it more of an artistic Once past that, it would be Are there more composites Q composite? Does it require painting? matching color, edge, grain, and Q in projects today than as many of the hundreds of ever before? cues that we take for granted A brief list of A Every project has its own when an actor is standing in some popular needs. In general, projects, front of a background, as opposed to the A compositing tools: large and small, have more actor and then the background being shot effects shots in them. Almost all effects Adobe’s After Effects totally separately and at different times shots have some element of composit- Apple’s Shake and Motion and in different places. All of these cues ing in them. Very few are ‘stand-alone, must be considered during the shooting, Autodesk’s Discreet Combustion right out of the computer 3D CGI shots.’ then the compositing of the shot, in order Even those often have some compositing and Inferno for it to become truly ‘seamless.’ in them. With the expansive experience Autodesk’s Toxik out there in regard to effects work, cli- What are some of the Boris’s Blue and Red ents are seeing that a composite is often challenges you foresee D2’s Nuke Q a better solution to the production equa- in the future? tion than doing something practically. Eyeon’s Digital Fusion That would be less and less use of screens, as well as a reluc- Pinnacle’s Commotion A From a technological tance to shoot motion control Q standpoint, what have or clean plates. been your biggest And then what? challenges to date? Q After that it becomes a mat- What kind of effect will HD A Adaptation had very high ter of remaining objective Q have on compositing, if any? demands for its seamlessness enough to see. That is the key. If you are working at the lower of approach. The twin work and the bee A Too many people look with- resolution of HD, then it will be had to be done to a very high degree of out seeing. If they are working A slightly easier and faster to work fi nish. Lords of Dogtown had immense on a shot, they also ‘know’ what they at that resolution. However, you tracking issues that were worked out did. For instance, in a previous revise of will not have fi lm grain and camera weave by handing the work back and forth a shot, they might be told to remove a to help obscure your work.
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Mail to [email protected] for any further request. back Interview by drop Chief Editor Karen Moltenbrey Gray Marshall is visual effects super- visor and co-founder of Gray Matter. Compositing 101 A 2D and 3D VFX producer with 15 years of CGI expertise, he has discreetly An industry veteran looks at the tools and techniques required enhanced movies such as Fight Club, for this digital process, and highlights lessons learned Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and more with his invisible effects.
In 1997, Gray Marshall teamed up with visual effects executive producer Margaux Mackay In your opinion, what and formed Gray Matter FX, a company with a reputation for its high standard of effects Q are some of the better work and project selection. Since its inception, Gray Matter FX has created 2D composit- compositing programs ing and complex 3D effects sequences for The Life Aquatic, Lords of Dogtown, Pirates out there, and why? of the Caribbean, The Italian Job, and many more motion pictures. The company’s most I still like Shake, although current projects include All the King’s Men, Dreamgirls, and The Invisible. A its future is in question. I also think that D2’s Nuke is How long have you Soon thereafter, outside soft- a very well-thought-out compositing Q been in the business? A ware, such as Shake, was program. The Sapphire plug-ins and the I’ve been in effects work for developed. While there were Furnace plug-ins from The Foundry have 15 years, 13 years in digital other compositing systems out there, great general application and fi ll in many A effects—mostly for feature fi lms. Shake was one of the fi rst to be truly a gaps in the basic programs. professional tool. It included a concat- Have the compositing enation of both spatial and color opera- Are the jobs today Q requirements for your tions, as well as a fl oating-point option. Q more diffi cult? company changed over time? Jobs, in general, have become They haven’t changed, What about D2’s Nuke? more diffi cult because clients A really. You still have to do it Q Recently, D2’s Nuke, originally A now believe that we can do well. The greenscreens are developed in-house [at Digital anything. As a result, fully 50 still green, people still need to be roto’d. Domain] has emerged, in addi- percent (or more) of any given proj- What have changed are the speed of the A tion to others. These have ect will come from the ‘unplanned for’ machines, some specifi c bits of automa- enabled a node-based system of shot category. Some of the fi x-its will be tion for specifi c tasks, and the nature of compositing, supporting rapid alteration easy, but some will require the utmost of color in its fi nal delivery stage, as in DI. to composites, while also allowing plug- skill and artistry to achieve. On the other ins from both professional companies and hand, the ‘planned’ shots have gotten a How have the compositing talented users. They also have the ability little more challenging, but this is often technologies evolved? to work in a fl oating-point space and can in response to the abilities provided by Q For many years, any really seri- handle log data in a smooth fashion. the new software. ous compositing was done on A a Discreet system, like a Flame Are the Discreet Is there any such thing or an Inferno. Several studios systems from Autodesk Q nowadays as a basic began making their own “in-house” soft- Q still a good choice? composite? ware, not as a cheaper duplication of The Discreet systems to this Sure. Monitor burn-ins (putting the Discreet systems, but as alternatives, A day still provide the fi nest in A video into greenscreen moni- often with better fi nal results. rapid interaction for both cre- tors), basic car/plane/train ative design and client feedback. I fi nd interiors shot on greenscreen...these Was there room that having a combination of both sys- sorts of things are fairly basic. Make-up Q for other players? tems is a great benefi t. continued on page 51
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