Computer Graphics World

Edition 1 2020

Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1234746

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 22 of 35

e d i t i o n i , 2 0 2 0 c g w 2 1 the sequence was edited, the stuff was re- placed with the computer-generated parrot. For the larger beasts, puppeteers in green suits would perform in place of the animal characters to achieve the proper eyelines and the physical interaction with the human char- acter. For instance, in the dungeon fight se- quence between Dolittle and Barry the tiger, Barry was portrayed by a green-suited fight choreographer. He and Downey performed an elaborate fight routine, with wrestling and full-body contact. The performer was then replaced by the computer- generated tiger. Yet, it's not just one or two CG characters in a scene; many scenes contain several digi- tal animals. For instance, in most shots in the queen's chambers, there are at least seven or eight high-resolution hero characters present in the same frame. "The main challenge with this was the complexity it created due to the amount of hair grooms in the shots that had to be computed," notes Aithadi. Building Environments Principal photography occurred at Shep- perton and Pinewood Studios, with some location shooting in the English and Welsh countrysides. However, a significant number of set extensions and complete CG environ- ments were necessary to add to the magic of the Dolittle mansion and to add to the peril of some situations. According to Aithadi, there were three main full-CG environments craed by MPC and Framestore. One was the English countryside when Stubbins, Dolittle's assistant, rides Betsy the giraffe to catch up with Dolittle's ship. "The Welsh countryside was extremely complex, as we were riding that line between storybook aesthetics and photorealism," Aithadi notes. For this work, MPC once again used Maya, Katana, Nuke, and Mari for the work, along with Adobe's Photoshop and Interactive Data Visualiza- tion's SpeedTree vegetation soware. Another big all-CG environment involved the establishing shots of the pirate enclave, Monteverde, while large set extensions were required for the action on the grounds of the mansion. While all the CG environments had particular challenges, Aithadi describes Monteverde as "a huge, intricate undertak- ing, due to its massive scale, many details, and water." Eventually in the story, Dolittle and com- pany arrive at the mystical Eden Tree Island – the archipelago and island were comput- er-generated, too. "We also created oceanscapes. Every shot on a boat was filmed on a sound- stage at Shepperton Studios," says Aithadi. "We had to complete those shots with sometimes extreme close-ups of water simulations, which were very complex and technical." In fact, the film features various types of water. "First and foremost, there are oceans – we have a significant amount of ocean shots, and we had to create them all in the computer," says Aithadi. "And, the ocean water had sub-categories, like boat wake and splashes. We also have a waterfall, cannon ball splashes, and, in some shots, we had to have feathery and fury animals interacting with the water." MPC employed two methods of generat- ing the water. For the wide oceanscapes and ship shots, a Tessendorf system was incorpo- rated, while Houdini fluid sims were used for the more intricate and higher-resolution sims, such as when Plimpton the ostrich is drown- ing or for the shots containing the whales. A Story Worth Retelling There's been an uptick of photorealistic animals in hero roles, and the work is getting so good that it's nearly impossible now to distinguish real from virtual. Yet, challenges still remain. "Every time you are telling a story from the perspective of a new director, it brings new challenges and pushes you further into the Wild West of the visual effects," says Aithadi. "CG animals are getting more realistic, but making animals talk in a realistic setting still requires us to think differently. First, we are trying to create characters that you can love or hate, just like any other character." Although we have seen (and heard) Doc- tor Dolittle talk to the animals in the past, this time, digital artists have enabled us to believe that this can actually happen – even if it's just for a short time. What might the animals say to the artists who gave them the ability to talk? Likely, job well done! Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor of CGW. The CG characters interact with each other and with the human actors. MPC artists craed the diverse animals that appear in the film.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Computer Graphics World - Edition 1 2020