Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/47583
bits & pieces Stargate builds large virtual set for ABC's series New DI trailer hits the road ANCOUVER — Cosmic Post (www.cosmicpostinc.com) recently launched with a high-end, mobile digital finishing trailer that can provide on-loca- tion post support for both 2D and 3D productions. In addition to editing capabil- ities, the 40-foot trailer has facilities for screening dailies as well as for realtime monitoring of cameras during production. According to Paul St. Amand, who OS ANGELES — Stargate Studios (www.star- gatestudios.net), with offices in LA,Vancouver and Toronto, has created one of the largest virtual sets ever designed for a TV show.The series is ABC's Pan-Am, which is set in the 1960s and follows the lives of the airline's stewardesses and pilots. It pre- mieres this month. Stargate's Sam Nicholson,ASC, and Chris Martin, VFX supervisor, worked with producer Sid Ganis and director Thomas Schlamme to virtually recreate the Pan Am World Terminal at JFK.The set features six 707s, hundreds of virtual tourists and passengers as well as ground crews from the "golden age of flying." The CGI Pan Am World Terminal interior and ex- terior was created by Stargate CG supervisor Al Lopez working with a team of 20 artists and techni- cians. It took over two months to create the 18 mil- lion-polygon model using a combination of Maya and LightWave. Led by Martin, the Stargate team Compositing was accomplished using After Effects. used After Effects for compositing.The on-set real- time precomping was accomplished with two Pre- vizion systems and Stargate's proprietary Vir tual Backlot technology.This system eliminated any need for post motion tracking. The on-set cameras used by John Lindley, ASC, were two Arri Alexas, and there were multiple CineDecks and S2 recorders working in Log 444 color space.The composited dailies generated on set were sent directly to the studio, allowing for a rapid 10-day delivery of over 300 highly complex shots. Modeling of the period cars were done with Star- gate's partners in India, planes were modeled at Star- gate Vancouver and the CG terminal was built at Star- gate Los Angeles. Compositing was done through Stargate Vancouver,Toronto and Los Angeles for de- livery in Los Angeles. Animated videos preview Mars rover mission RANADA HILLS, CA — Bohemian Grey (www.bohemiangrey.com) spent eight months creating two animated videos that depict the planned mission of the Mars Science Labora- tory's Curiosity Rover. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) plans to launch the new rover in November, and the videos — a four-minute narrated version, and an 11-minute version with- out narration — are available for viewing by the public on YouTube and the mission site. According to Bohemian Grey president Kevin K. Lane, the studio's biggest challenge was making sure the Rover model and animation was as ac- curate and as true to the real mission as possible. The animated model was scrutinized by JPL mis- sion experts and many changes where made over the course of the project. Bohemian Grey employed three full-time and two part-time animators during the course of production. Lane and another Bohemian Grey artist were animators/modelers.Another worked as a dedicated modeler for the rover.The part- timers focused on rigging the rover and texture painting.The studio used NewTek LightWave 9.5 and 10.1 as the primary modeling and animation software. 3D Coat was used for detailed sculpt- ing and painting the Mars terrain.The Vehicle Rig- ger LightWave plug-in was used for rigging the rover's unique suspension.All of the software ran on i7 64-bit Windows PCs with 16GB of RAM. Small but powerful: The trailer features a screening experience similar to a cinema. configured to allow for maximum space. The distance from the projector to the screen is 29 feet, creating a screening ex- perience similar to a cinema. St.Amand says the trailer will be used specifically for feature work, particularly those in the $30-50 million range. It will also be used for Cosmic's own original content creation. Maja Zdanowski serves as VP of post and operations for Cosmic Post, bringing experience as an editor and 3D data man- ager. Additional partners in the venture in- clude logistics manager Jesse Norsworthy and CFO Curtis Christopherson. By Marc Loftus serves as producer for Cosmic Post, the trailer cost $1 million to configure and features a Quantel iQ with the Pablo con- troller, Christie DLP projector with RealD, a Stewart Silver Screen and assist stations loaded with Quantel's Pablo PA, Apple's Final Cut Pro and Avid Media Composer. 100TBs of storage is also on hand. The 40-foot-by-8-foot trailer has been V Pan-Am L G