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Bits & Pieces RSP contributes 260-plus shots for The Wolverine A DELAIDE, AUSTRALIA — Rising Sun Pictures (www.rsp.com.au) created more than 260 visual effects shots to The Wolverine, the latest addition to Twentieth Century Fox's X-Men franchise. Working under the direction of production VFX supervisor Philip Brennan, the independent shop created digital environments, set extensions, explosions and combat effects. One of Rising Sun Pictures's (RSP) notable accom- Wolverine gets picked up by the wave and thrown into a well." Many of RSP's other effects involved environments and combat sequences. The studio produced digital copies of Wolverine's claws and tracked them into several fights. "Running around with prosthetic metal claws while doing stunt work can be extremely dangerous," Crosbie explains. "Hugh instead wore a set of stubs for the more dangerous stunts, or simply had plishments involved recreating the World War II atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki, Japan. A flashback sequence from the film's opening minutes has Logan (Hugh Jackman) being held as a POW in a camp close to the city when the blast occurs. He finds refuge in a stone well, where he saves the life of a Japanese soldier by using his own body as a shield against the radioactive shockwave. Working from vintage photographs, matte painters built a photoreal, 3D model of Nagasaki, while other artists, using historical footage of the actual blast, created a towering mushroom cloud. The team also created and animated shockwaves and debris clouds that sweep through the city and the prisoner of war camp, destroying everything in their wake. "[Director] James Mangold wanted something other than your typical library image of a nuclear bomb," recalls RSP VFX supervisor Tim Crosbie. "We were able to leverage research we had done for earlier films to create a much bigger and more complex explosion. "The initial flash is seen over the shoulder of a soldier. It progresses during a cutaway and when we come back to it, it's still not fully formed, but it's big. A series of shockwaves runs through the rest of the sequence as the destructive force of the explosion grows closer. The show reel moment comes when Whitehouse Post promotes Shane Reid Rising Sun Pictures re-created the atomic blast that leveled Nagasaki and exposed Logan to radiation. 4 Post • August 2013 tracking markers applied to his hands and we did match moves to those." An extended fight sequence occurs in a Japanese Village (shot on a partial set built in a parking lot in Sydney, with set extensions, mountains and snow added by RSP), where Wolverine confronts an army of ninjas who attempt to subdue him by firing arrows attached to ropes. RSP created the arrows and ropes as digital elements and then worked out the complex choreography as they ensnare him. "We started off with very simple, almost pen and ink, post-vis in order to give the director an idea of how it all would run," Crosbie says. "From that point, we began adding each of the elements in, ensuring that the ropes had the right bounce." RSP completed its large package of shots with a team of 70 artists. "We've developed a very efficient pipeline that allows us to deliver shots quickly with a small, but nimble team, without sacrificing quality," Crosbie notes. "Our senior artists are highly experienced; they determine what our goals are at the outset and then develop intelligent plans to achieve them." For more on VFX for Films, turn to page 14. www.postmagazine.com L OS ANGELES — Whitehouse Post (www.whitehousepost.com) continues its tradition of growing editorial talent in house, with the promotion of LA-based Shane Reid to editor. Reid began assistant editing, primarily working in television, before joining Whitehouse in 2010. He has worked on a number of notable campaigns, including Subaru's "Stick Shift," directed by Lance Acord for Carmichael Lynch; Bank Audi "Teaser," directed by Adam Hashemi for Venables Bell and Partners; and Intel and Toshiba's "Inside," directed by DJ Caruso for Pereira O'Dell. In addition to his commercial work, Reid was an assistant editor on Kumaré, which won the 2011 Audience Award for Best Documentary at SXSW. Smith Micro's Steve Cooper demos Poser Pro 2014 (http://poser.smithmicro.com/poser) at SIGGRAPH in Anaheim last month. The low-cost animation tool is being used by Rooster Teeth on the popular RWBY and Red vs. Blue videos.