Don’t miss this VFX Breakdown by Pixomondo about their work on the impressive World War 1 sequence and many more for PERRY MASON:
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Michael Shelton: My interview of Michael Shelton, VFX Supervisor at Pixomondo.
Justin Ball: My interview of Overall VFX Supervisor Justin Ball about his work on PERRY MASON.
© Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2020
Come have a look at the Vanya (Ellen Page) powers and more created by the team of Canadian studio Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies for the second season of THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY:
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Everett Burrell: Here is my interview of Everett Burrell, Senior VFX Supervisor, Co-Producer and 2nd Unit Director.
Netflix: You can watch THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY on Netflix now.
© Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2020
Michael Shelton has worked in many areas of visual effects for over 30 years. He joins the Pixomondo teams in 2017. As a VFX supervisor, he has worked on projects such as HERE AND NOW, MARY POPPINS RETURNS and GOLIATH.
What is your background?
I have been fortunate to have worked in a wide variety of fields under the umbrella of Visual Effects over the last nearly three decades. My working journey has included stints in stop motion animation, miniature building, and photography, optical fx work, and all manner of practical makeup, and creature work before entering into the computer-generated realm of things. I have always loved animation and worked for several years in traditional 2d cel animation. If I had to sum it up, my background is that I’m a well worn Swiss Army knife.
How did you and Pixomondo get involved on this show?
We were originally approached, if I recall correctly, in June of 2019 to do some tests for the WW1 sequence. It included layering smoke into the scenes to build a sense of depth, as well as removing or reducing the lighting of the bright California sun to make it feel like the French countryside. We took the test and ran with it, putting in some artillery explosions alongside the layered smoke, and it led to the conversation of digital crowds. Pixomondo, at that point, was deep into production on Roland Emmerich’s WWII film MIDWAY, which had substantial crowd needs, so we were well-suited to offer our help in that area.
How was the collaboration with VFX Supervisor Justin Ball?
Exceptional. Justin is an artist to the core and a great Supervisor, which made it truly feel like we were in the trenches together. When you work with someone whose knowledge is based on actual practical experience, it allows for a shorthand and everyone talking the same language. He understood the ups and downs from an artist’s perspective, and his feedback on our submissions reflected that. Solutions and praise throughout the whole wild ride.
How did you organize the work with your VFX Producer?
Like any show, it’s all about strengths and availability, both in assigning shots to artists, and utilizing any of our eight global Pixomondo studios. As a Supervisor at Pixomondo, I’m fortunate to have plenty of exceptional teams around the globe, so more often than not, it’s a case of something being more technically suited at one particular PXO location, or if there is a tax incentive to consider.
How did you split the work amongst the Pixomondo offices?
PERRY MASON was a project like no other in that we were caught in the middle of post-production by the pandemic, which forced us to pivot everything about how we were working. Initially, the entire project was based in Los Angeles, but we had to adjust to the new norm, which meant a global involvement, in order to adhere to our schedule.
What are the sequences made by Pixomondo?
Out of the eight episodes of Season One, Pixomondo was involved in six of them to varying degrees. The WW1 sequence was entirely Pixomondo’s, as was all the interior crowd shots for the Radiant Assembly of God scenes.
How did you approach this big World War 1 sequence?
Enthusiastically! We knew when we were awarded the sequence, it was going to be huge. Justin Ball gave us great reference and direction and just set us loose. There were several important issues to get sorted out that would drive the entire sequence, so we focused on those first. They included a methodology for handling smoke layering as well as neutralizing highlights caused by the Santa Clarita (California) sun, and replacing it with a more ambient feel to the world. We devoted quite a bit of time detailing out roto specifics, really getting into the minutiae of ground objects, people running from foreground into background, and reverse. We worked and reworked our approach several times before finding solid footing. The explosions, tracer fire, matte-paintings and cg work ended up being the easiest part in comparison.
Where did they film the WW1 shots?
WW1 was filmed in Santa Clarita, California, at a location called Mystery Mesa.
How did you extend the location?
There were two parts to this. First, we needed to lower the mountains and hills down to almost the horizon level as the French countryside where the battle took place was fairly flat, except for the town of Montfaucon, which was the prize in this battle. The other part was creating the hillside that made up the outskirts of Montfaucon, and extending the German trench lines past where the practical set ended. All of this was accomplished through matte-paintings, and full CG set extensions. The ground, the trenches, and machine gun emplacements were all part of the build. We also populated the extended areas with more soldiers to give a sense of scale to the battle.
How did you work with the SFX and stunt teams?
The production SFX and stunt teams had a solid game plan, and we were there to help in any way we could. We knew there would be some practical smoke and explosions which would require further seaming into our post elements, so we pretty much were prepared when the footage came.
How did you create the various FX elements such as fire, muzzle flashes, …?
Like most VFX studios, we have a pretty extensive library of filmed elements we draw from. Muzzle flashes and bullet impacts are pretty standard things these days. However, we did create the mustard gas entirely in Houdini as it needed to be art-directed for speed and motion to work within the edit. Justin saw the gas as a character, which was a helpful way of looking at it, and gave Khi Kim, our FX lead, a framework to his approach.
The cinematography for the WW1 sequence is really strong. How does that affect your work?
It’s everything. Cinematography creates the frame from which you work inside of. It goes beyond just having pretty pictures to look at; it’s the fundamental art of it all – composition and timing. A DP who knows how to frame for something that isn’t there, and who has the ability to see beyond their part in the process, sets us all up for success.
How did you enhance the crowd for the Radiant Assembly of God?
Pixomondo was tasked with adding rows of crowds beyond what was possible to capture on set. These included ushers walking up and down the aisles with collection plates, and adding density in areas that were already nearly full of people. There were roughly 300 extras on any given day during principal photography, and to achieve the needed density of people, we ended up adding roughly 3-4 times that in the widest shots.
Can you tell us more about the crowd animation?
The crowd animation was primarily all motion capture done in-house with character animation support to help where needed. During principal photography I shot quite a lot of reference of the congregation throughout the various scenes so we had a reference library of motion. From there, our Previs Supervisor Tefft Smith put on the suit and worked through a series of motions that we started with. The approach gave us the flexibility to return to our mocap set-up and refine as needed. CG Supervisor Dan Smiczek oversaw the bulk of the capture sessions and was integral in our workflow.
How did you create the various doubles?
All of the doubles started off as full body scans that were then used as a base for creating the production model. We brought a mobile scanning truck to set and started pulling in extras who were idle and running them through the process. We wanted to leave with more scans then we could use. From there, Pixomondo’s CG and Lighting Supervisor Matthew Maude created a workflow to help multiply a handful of base meshes into a decent variety of characters without us having to model and create each one from scratch. In the end, we had roughly 2500 possible character variations. Additionally, Matthew set up the lighting to achieve the level of realism needed.
Which sequence or shot was the most challenging?
There was a 2000 frame shot that we created a full hair simulation on one of the main characters to solve an issue with a wig. It was months in the making, and much blood and tears were shed. It’s the kind of shot you do stand-alone articles about…
Is there something specific that gives you some really short nights?
Not so much when I’m in the studio, but definitely when I’m preparing for a shoot. I spend quite a bit of time coming up with contingency plans for things, like most plans, regardless of how bulletproof they seem to be, go out the door to some degree the moment you get to set. So I run through scenarios to be as prepared as possible, ripping apart my methodology and reassembling it to make sure it is still logical.
What is your favorite shot or sequence?
I’m really proud of how the WW1 sequence turned out. Justin was great in giving us the green light to make that sequence ours, and the team responded.
What is your best memory of this show?
So many. One moment in time that stands out is when I saw the first greyscale render of the hero digi double shot, which happened to be the very first shot inside the Radiant Assembly gathering. It’s a long sweeping camera move that shows the hall’s entire inside and was our most populated scene. Matthew’s lighting, along with the comp integration by our very talented senior compositor Tun-En Chen turned what would normally be a playblast into something entirely different. That’s when it got exciting.
How long have you worked on this show?
From our first meeting to final delivery of last shot, it was nearly a year.
What’s the VFX shots count?
Pixomondo’s shot count was approximately 240 shots.
What was the size of your team?
At our peak, we were probably around 40 artists.
What is your next project?
I am the VFX Supervisor for Amazon Studio’s GOLIATH, and we are prepping to return to shooting Season 4.
What are the four movies that gave you the passion for cinema?
1. THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD
2. ALIEN
3. HEAVY METAL
4. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
A big thanks for your time.
PERRY MASON – VFX BREAKDOWN – PIXOMONDO
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Pixomondo: Official website of Pixomondo.
Justin Ball: My interview of Overall VFX Supervisor Justin Ball about his work on PERRY MASON.
© Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2020
Here is the first trailer for LA REVOLUTION, a reimagined history of the French Revolution:
The VFX are made by:
CGEV
Release Date: October 16, 2020 (Netflix)
© Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2020
If you like science-fiction and spaceships, then don’t miss this VFX Breakdown by Swedish studio Important Looking Pirates about their work on the second season of LOST IN SPACE:
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Netflix: You can watch LOST IN SPACE on Netflix now.
Jabbar Raisani & Terron Pratt: My interview of Jabbar Raisani (VFX Supervisor) and Terron Pratt (VFX Producer) about LOST IN SPACE – Season 2.
© Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2020
Let’s have a look at the creatures, environments and magical FX work made by Milk Visual Effects on the Netflix series, CURSED (click on the picture below to watch it):
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Milk Visual Effects: Dedicated page about CURSED on Milk Visual Effects website.
Ciaran Crowley: My interview of Ciaran Crowley, VFX Supervisor at Milk Visual Effects.
Dave Houghton: My interview of Dave Houghton, Overall VFX Supervisor.
Netflix: You can watch CURSED on Netflix now.
© Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2020
A few months ago, Chris White and Aidan Martin told us about Weta Digital‘s work on SPACE FORCE. Today they are introducing two new characters for THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY:
How did it feel to be back on THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY?
Chris White // It was great to be back working on THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY. We were lucky enough to get the same team as Season One. With new quirky characters like AJ Carmichael, we knew that it would be another fun project from the beginning.
Aidan Martin // It was a real pleasure to be back with the Umbrella Academy team. We had such a great time working on Season One and were thrilled with its success. It’s always great to work with the same creative teams so you can build on your collective experiences. We had a lot of the original crew from Season One back on-board, so it felt like we were « getting the band back together », which is a bit of a rarity when working in VFX.
Pogo is back too, a younger and cuter version. How did you approach him?
Chris White // Similar to Season One, we received a design bust of baby Pogo. From this, we made additional modifications to match our references for baby chimp anatomy. We also introduced a younger version of the skin patterning seen in older Pogo from Season One. It was essential to carry those details through; we wanted the audience to recognize the older Pogo in this much younger version.
Aidan Martin // For Baby Pogo’s performance, we followed a similar approach to Season One. Everett Burrell, the shows overall VFX supervisor, shot a stand-in performer onset for eye-lines, timing and spatial cues. Then we recreated that performance on our motion capture stage using Craig Young as our ape performer. This time around we didn’t have Adam Godley for facial reference, so we looked at actual baby chimps instead.
How does his younger aspect affect your work?
Chris White // Even with fewer character lines and age spots, we wanted to maintain variation and detail in his skin. Skin texture, pores, and fine fur would be crucial for doing this. His eyes would also be a strong focus and add to his cuteness, so we paid particular attention to his iris textures and modeling in this region. Baby chimps also have a cute pucker that they can do with the middle area of their muzzle. To achieve this effect, we created additional shapes in the facial animation rig to produce this look.
Aidan Martin // In the Motion department, the most significant difference was his size and weight. Pogo is much smaller, more agile and much more chimp-like. On the mocap stage, we scaled up all the digital elements, so that Craig’s performance was relative to Baby Pogo’s scene size. On top of the scale, Craig’s performance needed to be more youthful, energetic, and much more ape-like than before on Season One.
How did you enhance his fur and eyes?
Chris White // If you watch carefully, Pogo’s eyes change after he is given the serum from Hargreeves. Before receiving the serum, we designed his eyes to match baby chimps. The iris fibres are flatter. The sclera (the white part of the eyes in humans) is darker in chimps. After he receives the serum, his scleras go whiter, and his irises become a more human-like texture. His eyes transform to the older Pogo eyes you know from Season One.
His fur groom is young and smooth like that of a true baby chimp. The hair around his ears starts to form the little swoops you see in older Pogo. When captured, small pieces of leaves and dirt litter his fur. Under Grace’s care, his fur becomes clean and well maintained.
This new season bring also a new great character AJ Carmichael. How did you work with the art department for his design?
Chris White // We quickly determined it would be helpful to have some real-world shubunkin goldfish reference during his design phase. It was important that AJ looked and moved like a real fish. We didn’t want him to feel cartoonish or stylized. After photographing some local pet store fish, we decided to adopt them. There were two fish, one named AJ, the other Carmichael. They became our reference for shape, motion, textures, and shaders. Because fish have limited expression, we positioned skin markings to enhance his features. Dark pigmentation served like eyebrows above each eye, around the upper lip to feel like a moustache, and a spot on the head’s top resembled a hair patch. The only anatomical cheat we made was to give him eyelids, which fish don’t have. These were necessary to hit some of his expressions for the scene.
How did you manage the animation of AJ Carmichael?
Aidan Martin // For AJ’s motion, we weren’t able to motion capture a goldfish. Instead, we set up a reference shoot of our two adopted goldfish. We set up three cameras, including a Red camera so that we were able to get a front, side and top view for reference. We had all the footage synced up so we could use it as a guide for our shots. From this, we created a ‘layer stack’ of pre-made motion which we could blend in and out of. Combining real-life reference with our layer stack streamlined our ability to maintain consistent performances for AJ from shot to shot. We also developed an overlap tool to use in our Maya scenes, which was to give us some nice overlap in the fins that we could see without having to wait for the full simulation process. The simulation was run on top to add the final touches.
Can you tell us more about his tiny face animation?
Aidan Martin // AJ’s face was all hand keyed. The challenge was to maintain the correct anatomy of a goldfish while making it talk and perform. We started with a couple of facial tests using dialogue from Alec Baldwin in « Glengarry Glen Ross ». These were hilarious and very successful. We didn’t need to make any changes to the original anatomy other than adding some eyelids for a bit more readability. Goldfish don’t have a tongue and are therefore unable to reproduce many of the phonemes required of AJ Carmichael – carefully selected head angles went a long way in helping this issue.
Can you explain in detail about the creation of AJ Carmichael?
Chris White // AJ was built from the inside out. We started with an internal skeleton paying particular attention to the skull and fin bones. He has multiple layers, including skin, scales, absorption, metallic sheen, and mucus layers. All these add up to give him a realistic fish appearance, both in and out of the water. Subtle dynamics were added to his fins to flow naturally in the water.
How did you handle the lighting challenges for AJ Carmichael?
Chris White // AJ was difficult to light if he looked straight at camera because fish are so thin; to effectively place him inside of his glass dome habitat, the lighting needed to be consistent. To achieve this, we tried to position him slightly off centre to catch more light of the scene, and then utilize the reflective qualities of his scales to pick up key-light highlights.
Can you tell us more about the water simulation?
Chris White // We used our newly developed water simulation software for AJ’s dome. The simulation made the water splash naturally as he moved, and smoke and air bubbles could be released to flow up to the surface. If the water became too active and distracting from the dome’s movement, we would subtly cheat the viscosity to settle it down.
The natural refraction of both the water and glass would sometimes magnify AJ in various positions. We solved this by cheating the refraction index to keep his visual size consistent between shots.
Which sequence or shot was the most challenging?
Chris White // The smash of AJ’s dome was the most challenging. It required a combination of glass and water simulation in slow motion and an extreme close-up on AJ’s eyes featuring a reflection of an umbrella.
Aidan Martin // The shot when the Handler swallows AJ was challenging. It was a lengthy shot, and there were some tricky logistics getting AJ in the right spot. Maybe the reference footage I shot of me wriggling around on the couch might reach the internet one day.
Is there something specific that gave you some really short nights?
Chris White // At first, we were concerned about how close we’d get to AJ’s eye in the extreme close-up shot. Would it hold up to filling the screen at 4k? Once we did our first render test we found it worked quite well—only some small adjustments were needed.
What is your favourite shot or sequence?
Chris White // I like the sequence of Pogo in the capsule; it was fun to work on such a dynamic sequence cut to a great track.
Aidan Martin // I love the Pogo space training scene. It was fun to work on and revealed some cool insights into Pogo, Grace and Hargreeve’s backstories.
What is your best memory on this show?
Chris White // Since AJ is a smoker, we made a practical test dome of water to show how the smoke bubbles would react. We attached a rubber tube and blew smoke into the water-filled dome – it’s always fun to create real-world references along with digital effects.
Aidan Martin // My best memory of the show happened just after THE MANDALORIAN came out. We were already working on Season Two and Everett called us to say « Have you seen baby Yoda? We need to make Baby Pogo cuter than that.” That was when I really understood the full potential of just how adorable our new version of Pogo could be.
A big thanks for your time.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Weta Digital: Dedicated page about THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY on Weta Digital website.
Everett Burrell: Here is my interview of Everett Burrell, Senior VFX Supervisor, Co-Producer and 2nd Unit Director.
Netflix: You can watch THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY on Netflix now.
© Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2020
Come have a look at the creatures and environments work made by Image Engine on MULAN:
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Image Engine: Dedicated page about MULAN on Image Engine website.
© Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2020
Mysterious planets, iconic characters and lightsabers? Yep, you will find all of that in this really cool VFX Breakdown by Hybride about their work on STAR WARS – THE RISE OF SKYWALKER:
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Hybride: Dedicated page about STAR WARS – THE RISE OF SKYWALKER on Hybride website.
© Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2020
