Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/663382
EDITOR'S NOTE www.postmagazine.com 2 POST APRIL 2016 first had a chance to speak with MPC VFX supervisor Guillaume Rocheron two summers ago, not long after he had finished work on the feature The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Rocheron recently headed up the MPC team to create 450 shots for the new film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which opened on March 25 th and at press time, had taken in over $530M worldwide. Directed by Zack Snyder, MPC served as the lead visual effects house and was respon- sible for the fight sequence in Gotham, and the action featured in the film's third act. Much of the fighting relied on digital doubles of Batman, played by Ben Affleck, and Superman, portrayed by Henry Cavill. On the Post Website, you can read all about MPC's VFX work, and how they achieved such realistic results at 4K/IMAX resolution. Audiences would be hard pressed to determine which elements are digital — costumes, capes, faces — and at what point? So does this mean the barrier for creating realistic digital characters has been broken? Rocheron is very pleased with the results achieved for Batman v Superman, but feels there is still work to do in creating digital humans that will totally convince audiences. "We are able to create photorealistic digital humans. But I think now, the key is how to make them digital actors?" There are still performance challenges that he feels need to be overcome. "It's always a complicated thing. You can make skin look realistic and make eyes look realistic, but it's all about the movements and the subtleties. I don't think we've cracked that yet 100 percent. "I think in this movie, we [took] a step forward in being able to do that on IMAX format in 4K resolution," he continues. "We have some digital actors that are almost full-frame at that resolution, and I think we were able to get them rendered and moving realistically. I don't know if they'd be able to sit down and read a book for two hours, and do that realistically. It's still going to take another few years." Performance, says Rocheron, is a key in convincing audiences that they are not watching digital actors. "A good performance can only be given by a good actor. How you translate that into the visual effects world, I think, is the key." ver the past year, it's become increasingly obvious how UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), or drones, have been making their way into a continuously-growing amount of projects reported on here at Post. So much so, that we, along with sister publi- cation CGW, decided to combine efforts and take a serious look at this growing technology and the impact it's making within the post and production markets. As a result, we begin in this month's issue, on page 34, with the first installment of a multi-part special report, offer- ing an overview of where we are and a glimpse into where drone technology is headed. It was exactly one year ago when we talked about Icelandic singer, songwriter and artist Björk's Black Lake multimedia experience at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) that featured CG and visual effects, created with a range of Autodesk tools. VFX artists at Wolf & Crow and xRez Studio built a number of digital assets, as well as various CG ele- ments and environments for the piece's video — xRez Studio created immersive landscape scenery using a combination of high-resolution terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry from drone photography and laser scanning. From there, the projects just kept coming in, from major Hollywood films and music videos to commercials, TV shows and special news reports. And all on the heels of the 2015 National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas, where everyone was buzzing (pun definitely intended) about the all-new "Aerial Robotic and Drone Pavilion." Chris Brown, executive VP, conventions and business operations at NAB, joins a group of industry experts in a discussion about drones in this month's report, but we'll continue the conversation in upcoming issues, looking at how the studios are using drones to create content for high-profile projects, the groups and organizations that are helping educate the market and the drones themselves, as well as cameras, batteries, gimbals, transmitters and more that all go along for the ride. As drones continue to take flight in our industry, we'll head into this year's NAB with one eye on the growing Pavilion, and the other on emerging and establishing trends and tech- nologies that will be revealed at this year's show. See you in Las Vegas! THE ONLINE BY MARC LOFTUS SENIOR EDITOR/ DIRECTOR OF WEB CONTENT MLOFTUS@POSTMAGAZINE.COM BY LINDA ROMANELLO MANAGING EDITOR LROMANELLO@ POSTMAGAZINE.COM SEE US ON EDITORIAL LINDA ROMANELLO Managing Editor 516.931.0730 lromanello@postmagazine.com MARC LOFTUS Senior Editor/Director of Web Content 516.376.1087 mloftus@postmagazine.com CHRISTINE BUNISH Film & Video IAIN BLAIR Film JENNIFER WALDEN Audio ANGELA AKERS Art Director angela@moontidemedia.com ELENA LACEY Designer ADVERTISING MARI KOHN Director of Sales 818.291.1153 cell 818.472.1491 mkohn@postmagazine.com GARY RHODES Eastern & Intl Sales Manager 631.274-9530 cell 516.410.8638 grhodes@copcomm.com LISA NEELY Corporate Sales Executive, Events, Custom and Integrated Print/Publishing Services lneely@copcomm.com 818.660.5828 SUBSCRIPTIONS 818.291.1158 CUSTOMER SERVICE 620 West Elk Ave, Glendale, CA 91204 csr@postmagazine.com 800.280.6446 DALE ESCEN Account Manager 818.291.1122 descen@copprints.com REPRINTS 781.255.0625 • 818.291.1153 LA SALES OFFICE: 620 West Elk Avenue, Glendale, California 91204 800.280.6446 WILLIAM R. RITTWAGE President / CEO Post Magazine is published by Post, LLC, a COP communications company. Post does not verify any claims or other information appearing in any of the advertisements contained in the publication, and cannot take any responsi- bility for any losses or other damages incurred by readers in reliance on such content. Post cannot be held responsible for the safekeeping or return of unsolicited articles, manuscripts, photographs, illustrations or other materials. Subscriptions: Address all subscription correspondence to Post Magazine, 620 West Elk Ave, Glendale, CA 91204. Subscribers December also contact customer service at 818.291.1158, or send an email to csr@postmagazine.com For change of address please include the old and new address information, and if possible, include an address label from a recent issue. Subscriptions are available free to qualified individuals within the United States. Non-qualified 1 year rates: USA $63.00. Canada & Mexico $94.00. All Other Countries $133.00. Airmail Delivery is available for an additional $75.00 annually. Postmaster: Send address changes to Post Magazine, 620 W. Elk Ave., Glendale, CA 91204. Please send customer service inquiries to 620 W. Elk Ave., Glendale, CA 91204 DIGITAL HUMANS 'V' DIGITAL ACTORS O I MUCH ADO ABOUT DRONES