Computer Graphics World

Edition 1 2020

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

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 26 of 35

e d i t i o n i , 2 0 2 0 c g w 2 5 ent ways Buck would use his paws. Lastly, the group needed a thorough FACS- based facial system that helped them remain true to real dog facial expressions and gave them full control over Buck's face using both real muscles and points of control that would help show excess skin folding while being manipulated from outside forces. "For exam- ple, if a dog opens his jaw to eat something, you would see a level of crinkle on his snout as he lis his lips to bite it. However, if he is just holding on to a bone, the lips would be up without the crinkle, so we needed to be able to do both," explains Morsy. "That, along with a gravity tool that was hand adjusted and also had an auto setting to compute velocity and weight in the face, gave us a version that was then sent to our tech-anim depart- ment where they adjusted and sculpted the finishing touches that gave us the final result we see today." Despite these advances, finding a balance between realism and performance was hard- ly a simple task. "We all know that dogs can emote and that the range of emotion a real dog can show is quite vast; however, there are just some feelings and thoughts that are far too subtle, if there at all, in a real dog," Morsy points out. "So to aid us, we used Terry Nota- ry and our own acting to tell every little beat of the story. The objective was that everyone would understand all the emotional nuances of Buck and his growth throughout the movie, turning every audience member watching the movie into a dog whisperer." Northern Exposure Nash estimates that about 60 percent of the film is plate-based photography, and the rest is CGI. Principal photography took place in Southern California – during the summer. And other than the opening of the movie, the vast majority of the film is set in the Yukon, mostly during the winter. So, it was up to MPC to build this setting of mountains and forests and so forth, with all manner of snow cover that comprised FX and VFX. Indeed, there are some practical sets, such as a partial physical build of the mining town; but, it was then significantly extended digitally. However, when Buck is in the wilderness and not around humans, everything in the scene is CGI, including the environments. "Those portions of the film were pro- duced using a virtual production paradigm – akin to that used for The Lion King." says Nash. One critical scene called for a very specific type of high-energy camera work – the nighttime fight between Buck and Spitz, the lead sled dog. "We wanted a really dynamic and reactive camera. So for that sequence, we did rough animation in Mon- treal, transmitted the files to the Fox Lab in downtown LA, and used their virtual camera system to 'shoot' the scene." Using the Lab allowed Sanders to be present and to direct the shoot interactively. The remainder of the all-CG scenes utilized MPC Montreal's in-house virtual camera system. This live camera allowed the team of artists to impart the CG camera work with very much the same character as Janusz Kaminiski's live-action cinema- tography. "Avoiding the traditional keyframe approach for creating camera moves, and instead using virtual camera tools, gave us a consistent camera language across the real and digital," Nash notes. Whether it was a CG or plate-based environment, the lighting pipeline relied on global illumination – whether from high-dy- namic range photography taken on set or using the digital environment and the light- ing condition selected for it. Nash credits Richard Clegg, in-house VFX supervisor, and his lighting team for always having Buck seated nicely within the environment, right out of the first comp. Animal Actors "Call of the Wild is a story about an innocent, pampered pup who is forced to grow and evolve through all the dangerous realities of this world, slowing transforming him into a mature, hardened, almost feral animal. And just like the human actors in this movie, Buck had to hit all the acting notes required to tell his story. This depth of acting would have been impossible with a real dog," says Davies. Moreover, Buck had to physically trans- form in the film, as he faced those harsh conditions. Not to mention, all the physical action that would have been potentially harmful to an actual dog. So, for this film, there was no choice, really, in whether to cast a real dog or a CG one. Of course, there are always humane concerns when live animals are used in film production. But with the proven technology today, photorealistic animals of all kinds are answering the casting call – not just as background characters, but also as leads. "I think what Call of the Wild does, among other things, is open filmmakers' eyes to the possibilities they're now afforded by advances in technology, where things you couldn't do in the past with digital animals are now possible," says Nash. "Up to this point, digital animals for the most part were either animals that talked or animals that weren't truly realistic. Clearly, with that a possibility now, albeit not an inexpensive one, productions have the opportunity and responsibility to assess on a project-by-proj- ect basis, whether to use live animals or go the CG route." And as the artists and animators have proven with the exceptional work on this film, such a call is now easy to make. Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor of CGW. Buck's facial movements are natural and subtle, adding to his believability.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Computer Graphics World - Edition 1 2020