VFX Voice - January 2018 Issue

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FILM earliest days of cinema, and used on many films prior to A New Hope. But ILM significantly revitalized the art of matte painting by using it in copious numbers of shots to render strange alien worlds, space environments and in many other often invisible instances. Until digital techniques took over, matte paintings were usually painted on glass or masonite with an array of paints. Matte painting done digitally is still called matte painting, but it now invariably includes 3D geometry, projection mapping and often more complex camera movements. ILM continued to innovate in these areas, too, as artists began to replace traditional methods. THE MAGIC OF CG Having already advanced the art in motion control, miniatures, matte paintings and optical compositing, ILM would also ultimately become a leader in using computer graphics for visual effects. It began, though, with Lucasfilm’s Computer Division, which, among other projects, delivered a wire-frame holographic model of the Death Star under construction in Return of the Jedi. The graphics part of the division ultimately became Pixar. By the time The Phantom Menace came around, ILM was fully engaged in CG, and was orchestrating shows with nearly 2,000 digital visual effects shots – including fully CG characters (although that film and the other prequels still made significant use of practical effects and miniatures). The Star Wars films have often showcased the collaborative nature of ILM’s work in combining real and digital. VIRTUAL CHARACTERS Jar Jar Binks, performed by Ahmed Best, was one of the first fully CG main characters to appear in a feature film when he made his debut in The Phantom Menace in 1999. Binks came to life through Best’s on-set performance, additional motion capture and via animation by ILM. Many more CG characters would be rendered by ILM for the remaining prequels, and into the latest Star Wars releases, where the company’s advancements in facial-capture and digital-double technologies continued to advance. For Rogue One, ILM resurrected deceased actor Peter Cushing to play the role of Governor Tarkin by having a look-a-like actor perform on set and then generating a completely photoreal version of Cushing as he appeared in A New Hope. (A younger version of Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia was also crafted). TOP TO BOTTOM: Jar Jar Binks, performed by Ahmed Best, was one of the first fully CG main characters to appear in a feature film when he made his debut in The Phantom Menace in 1999. Binks came to life through Best’s on-set performance, additional motion capture and via animation by ILM. LM was also able to capitalize on advancements in the area of projection mapping for the Star Wars prequels. It became incredibly helpful during the making of the pod race in The Phantom Menace for the massive desert landscapes. Here, artists took photographs of miniatures made as rock formations from multiple angles. Attack of the Clones became the first major motion picture to be captured completely on digital video using a Sony and Panavision 24-frame camera (the HDW-F900). The technology would enable faster set-ups and a completely digital workflow through to visual effects. PROJECTION MAPPING With new visual effects techniques tried and tested on several other projects, ILM was also able to capitalize on advancements in the area of projection mapping for the Star Wars prequels. It became incredibly helpful during the making of the pod race in The Phantom Menace for the massive desert landscapes. Artists took photographs of miniatures made as rock formations from multiple angles. The textures from the photographs were then ‘re-projected’ onto proxy geometry of the same formations. It meant that the camera could move around and zoom past these environments, while also ensuring they remained photo-real. 64 • VFXVOICE.COM WINTER 2018
VIDEO STARS During production on The Phantom Menace, Lucas experimented with digital video by filming a very small portion of the film this way. The next Star Wars film, Attack of the Clones, became the first major motion picture to be captured completely on digital video using a Sony and Panavision 24-frame camera (the HDW-F900). The technology would enable faster set-ups and a completely digital workflow through to visual effects. INTO THE VIRTUAL WORLD The Star Wars films have been catalysts for change in both analog and digital technologies, and now, most recently, in virtual immersive techniques. A few years ago, Lucasfilm launched ILMxLab, which stands alongside ILM in creating VR, AR and mixed reality experiences, many of which have been Star Wars-related. On Rogue One, too, ILM developed a virtual camera system that took advantage of motion capture and tracking and an existing virtual production workflow to allow the director Gareth Edwards to plan and stage shots on the fly with just a hand-held controller. The result was real-time feedback for constructing much more dynamic shots in the final film. LEFT TO RIGHT: ILM also developed a virtual camera system on Rogue One that took advantage of motion capture and tracking and an existing virtual production workflow to allow the director Gareth Edwards to plan and stage shots on the fly with just a hand-held controller. The result was real-time feedback for constructing much more dynamic shots in the final film. Phil Tippett, VES, manipulates a miniature AT-AT for a Hoth battle stop-motion scene in The Empire Strikes Back. Jar Jar Binks from The Phantom Menace. Soon many CG characters would permeate the Star Wars saga of films – this had even begun for the ‘Special Edition’ versions of the original releases in which Lucas added and adjusted several scenes to the original Star Wars trilogy. On set, Ahmed Best played Jar Jar Binks in partial prosthetics and a head-piece that was elongated to allow for proper eyelines. By the time The Force Awakens was released, ILM had established a strong photoreal pipeline that scenes like this could be completely CG. However, they were often still informed by the original miniatures and location shoots. WINTER 2018 VFXVOICE.COM • 65
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JOE LETTERI: CREATUREMASTER THE OSC
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[ CONTENTS ] VFXVOICE.COM FEATURES
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FILM THE VFX OSCAR: MEET THE CONTEN
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FILM BLADE RUNNER 2049 Few films ot
Page 16 and 17: FILM GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
Page 18 and 19: FILM OKJA Bong Joon-ho’s Okja is
Page 20 and 21: FILM THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS You mi
Page 22 and 23: FILM WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES
Page 24 and 25: SPECIAL REPORT VFX SCREEN CREDITS:
Page 26: SPECIAL REPORT FROM TOP: King Kong
Page 30: SPECIAL REPORT LEFT TO RIGHT: Gill
Page 33 and 34: sense of curiosity,” says Letteri
Page 35 and 36: character that lives in your midst
Page 38: COVER point. To bring that to the s
Page 41 and 42: house just about every part of the
Page 43 and 44: The Making of Zygote One of the mos
Page 45 and 46: project with Unity based on its ADA
Page 47 and 48: explored projects to help answer th
Page 49 and 50: TOP LEFT: Favreau with a nod to Iro
Page 51 and 52: “By the time I finally directed,
Page 53 and 54: worked to manufacture the creature
Page 55 and 56: Face-time To aid in the subtle faci
Page 57 and 58: Lisa Sepp-Wilson, suggests, too, th
Page 59 and 60: production’s post team made up of
Page 61 and 62: A PORG’S STORY The porgs are a cl
Page 63 and 64: sketches that were fleshed out with
Page 65: EMOTION WITH STOP-MOTION From the m
Page 69 and 70: WINTER 2018 VFXVOICE.COM • 67
Page 71 and 72: Achieved partly on location, with t
Page 73 and 74: computer-generated VFX embellished
Page 75 and 76: director to his many skills. “I
Page 77 and 78: LEFT TO RIGHT: LAIKA uses stop-moti
Page 79 and 80: anomalies we would have not have pe
Page 81 and 82: down, not just the artists. I am th
Page 83 and 84: Pam Marsden, Head of Production, So
Page 85 and 86: In the Land of the Dead are towers
Page 87 and 88: was open - even down to the design
Page 89 and 90: TOP TO BOTTOM, LEFT TO RIGHT: Adria
Page 91 and 92: with the debut of Google Glass. Whi
Page 93 and 94: up to. Based in Plantation, Florida
Page 95 and 96: “What we did was use photogrammet
Page 97 and 98: potentially be cheap and easy to us
Page 99 and 100: Virtual Vocabulary Virtual reality
Page 101 and 102: TOP: From “Merrell Twins Live VR1
Page 103 and 104: “We were at a point where we coul
Page 105 and 106: How the Elephant Shot Was Captured
Page 107 and 108: his work helming Ice Age, Robots, E
Page 109 and 110: “Looking at the evolution of visu
Page 111 and 112: VES Hall of Fame By NAOMI GOLDMAN T
Page 113 and 114: OPPOSITE TOP: Hall of Fame honoree
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VFX Voice - January 2018 Issue

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