Page 91 - 3D World - October 2017

industry
47 Meters Down

images of rocks from
the set tank were
transformed into 3D and
introduced into the scene

much of the set extension work, such as the
sea floor. “To create it, we took images of OvercOming
the on-set rocks in the tank, processed them Obstacles
with photogrammetry and made scans of
them, using all the textures,” he explains. Duncan mcWilliam explains how
“Then we used Soup for Maya to recreate the studio came up with a solution
each individual stone, giving them different for editing what wasn’t there
sizes and rotations, and scattered them
around the seabed.”
the film needed more sharks, and that a new The artists were also tasked with “The movement and the positioning
ending needed to be shot. “So not only did constructing the cage in CG. ”The trickiest of the shark, the post bit, was the
we have a 16-week schedule, it got recut in part there was that lighting behaves very most creatively challenging part,”
the middle, and we had new footage that differently underwater,” says Mandi. “For says McWilliam, “because we were
had to be slammed in in the last 12 weeks,” instance, as the cage sinks from the top of on a 14-week schedule with an
recalls McWilliam. the surface, where it’s bright and clear, the unlocked edit, and the editor can’t
lighting becomes gloomier. But we had to edit without the shark movement.”
Fingers in many pies strike a creative balance between achieving Their workaround was that the
As well as the sharks, Outpost VFX’s work realism, without making it unwatchable for editor would have a red and a blue
on the film covered both 2D and 3D work, the audience because it’s just too dark.” dot that he’d animate left and right
including set extensions, simulation work, All in all, it was a make-or-break project in frame to represent the shark
CG environments, digi doubles, digitally that paid off for the Bournemouth studio, movement. “This helped make sense
removing the instructional divers keeping and it’s significantly expanded its artist continuity-wise across the sequence,
and from there we would post-viz. So
we ended up with one of our guys in
“how Do you make a tank in essex Feel like you’re at the the editing room animating a low-res
bottom oF the sea in the tropiCs?” shark on a laptop and throwing it
Duncan McWilliam, Outpost VFX Founder into the edit.
“Once that process was
underway, the director and editor
the actors safe, and CG integrations roster as a result. “This was our first would be able to say, ‘Hang on a
with live plates. Software used included big ‘look we’re here!’ creature feature,” minute, that doesn’t cut with what
ZBrush, Maya and Mari, as well as nuke McWilliam explains. “It was very much we did with the dots’. So it started
for compositing, Agisoft to process scans, done for the craft, as an opportunity to off with dots, then became greyscale
Particles for particle work, and houdini for show what we could do. We saw this as an sharks, then once approved went
above-the-surface water simulation. investment in our own work.” through to render and light and so
3D artist Laszlo Mandi, one of around Find out more about Outpost VFX on until finished.”
40 working on the project, was involved in FYI www.outpostvfx.co.uk

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