Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/663385
m a r c h . a p r i l 2 0 1 6 c g w 2 1 the Houdini Ocean Toolkit, the artists generated water sims, building up to the rough sea. This included the ensuing foam, spray, and white water. "The Houdini simulation varied significantly across the job because we transitioned from mild water all the way up to cra- zy action and a waterfall at the end," says Osborn. "So we used the whole range of the Houdini Ocean tool set." As Osborn points out, all CG water is tricky in its own way. "But the waterfall – to make it feel big and at the edge, where you quickly realize it's not a waterfall at all – was the tricki- est part of it all," she says, noting that many layers of animation were added on top of the water to achieve the appropriate look. Tied closely to the water simulations were the wind sim- ulations. "They were almost an extension of the water," says Osborn. As the simulations were being built, the artists would generate more of the foam and mist that whips off the water surface, "and that defines the windy look," she adds. "And then we added more mist and spray in the air to make it feel like a violent storm." While the water and wind simulations were tied together, the atmospherics were done separately. However, they had to feel like they were grounded in the same world as the water and wind. The sails, meanwhile, were animated in Maya, giving the artists more control over their movement. So instead of a full simulation, the artists used a partial rig. Then, a small amount of simulation was dialed in. "Because the boat was done in Maya, we thought we'd keep everything in the same program, and combined them [the boat and sails] aerward," explains Osborn. Once again, the animators had to marry up the wind simu- lation, only this time they tied it in with the cloth motion in Maya. B O A T B U I L D I N G The boat's interior, along with the oars and shields, were prac- tical, as was one end of the ship with a removable dragon head so that the section could serve as both the front and rear of the ship depending on the shot. CG artists extended the portion of the boat that came into contact with the digital ocean. A great deal of planning went into determining the movement of the boat, with the artists completing a fully detailed pre- vis prior to the shoot. "We went into the shoot knowing what movement we needed from the camera and how the boat would have to move up and down to feel like it belonged in the ocean environment," says Osborn. The practical boat (the interior) was mounted onto a gimbal, which rocked it back and forth for the various stages of motion. "Then we had to matchmove that to the water simulation. But it is never ex- actly the same as how you plan it. Still, we had a good idea of what we would be looking at," says Osborn. The movement of the gimbal was somewhat limited, working well for the opening shot but not as well for the subsequent shots as the water became stormier. As a solution, the crew tracked the boat and the camera movements on set, and then translated the information into the CG world. An extra layer of animation was added on top of the tracked motion to make the boat feel like it was traveling through the world, and the tip- ping motion was exaggerated to match the dramatic waves that were created. As Osborn points out, this project was more challenging than a lot of the commercial work MPC has done, mainly due to the technical demands of the water simulations and the animations of the boat. "It felt like a mini trailer for a feature film," says Osborn. (TOP) MPC GENERATED CG WATER, ATMOSPHERICS, SAILS, AND MORE FOR A VIKING-THEMED SPOT PITCHING DEATH WISH COFFEE. THE BOAT'S INTERIOR (BOTTOM) IS PRACTICAL. WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/ WATCH?V=V_3H_Y5QUWW