Page 86 - 3D World - October 2017

industry
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

and production designer that there were and we had to walk the line of making it a technical challenge for Weta Digital. “As
over 400 in-camera shots,” muses Scott. respect the comic book but also work in the they emotionally respond, chromatophores
“nowadays everything can be a visual cinematic world of Valerian.” change patterns on top of their skin.”
effects shot. We had 4DMax, the scanning “Bubble [Rhianna] is a shapeshifter
company, there full-time. Anything that Doghan Daguis, pearls & Bubble who becomes a key plot point because she
went onto the stages we scanned and The real world also helped when it came enables Valerian to get into this restricted
photographed. It felt good to capture this to characters. “There are three characters area disguised,” remarks Scott. “The visual
ephemeral moment in time where Luc and called the Doghan Daguis that are waist- effects challenge was, ‘How do you make a
a group of talented artists created these high furry winged creatures,” explains transformation nowadays not look like an
amazing costumes, props, and sets.” Scott. “We decided to do those CG but old CG technique?’ It’s a very art-directed
But the joy also has some drawbacks. “It’s on-set had three people as stand-ins for blobby type of transformation with some
such a difficult problem to make something eyeline, acting and directing. Luc would get misdirection and speed changes. Every
that nobody has ever seen before,” notes a take he wanted and then we would shoot transformation has a little different flavour.”
Scott. “For visual effects, it’s about what a clean pass. It gave editorial something Initially, motion-control cameras were
piece of Earth texture can be injected into to cut with.” The emotional core of the considered and Weta Digital produced
pre-vis that allowed Luc Besson to virtually
scout the whole dance scene. “Martin
“For visual eFFeCts, it’s about what pieCe oF earth texture Hill and I decided to deal with the pain of
CaN be iNjeCted iNto that really Far-out CoNCept artwork aligning multiple passes in exchange for the
freedom of letting Luc compose what was on
to pull it baCk iN aGaiN” Scott Stokdyk, Production VFX Supervisor the day and work with what the dancer was
doing and being more organic about it.”
that really far-out concept artwork to pull movie are the gentle and highly advanced
it back in again. Martin Hill at Weta Digital Pearls. “They’re androgynous. We did a bit staging a heist
showed me some scanned driftwood with of motion capture in new Zealand at the The fantastical elements of the story
all of the details taken proportionally out of start of the project with men and women. presented their own set of challenges. “The
scale that was placed underwater in one of When we went to Paris to shoot principal Market Sequence was inherently complex,”
their scenes. It looked otherworldly.” Some photography, Luc ended up putting tall remarks Scott. “Part of it takes place in a
creative alterations needed to be made to women in boots, and in some cases cast more desert where tourists put on these virtual
avoid the impression of being derivative. masculine women in the roles of the men to helmets and go to the biggest market you
“For the design of the Intruder there are a get some interesting things to come through have ever seen in some other dimension or
lot of comparisons to the Millennium Falcon the motion capture.” The Pearls provided galaxy. You want to juxtapose those two

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