Computer Graphics World

April 2009 23 in a stripped-down dune buggy over the desert. e desert's stark terrain was trans- formed into the surface of a Saturn moon, with matte-painted elements and some still photos of unusual rock formations found in the Mojave, the latter shot by Framestore London shoot supervisor William Bartlett. Except for the wheels and suspension, the real-world dune buggy was entirely replaced with a CG version. at made tracking a big challenge: e crew shot from a camera car that followed the dune buggy, so they couldn't place any markers on the actual dune buggy, yet the wheels and tires had to stay in motion to capture all the appropriate dust elements. "We built a rig in the computer that matched the real buggy and tracked it in [Autodesk's] MatchMover," says Mellor. e group used the exact movement as a starting point, and then added tweaks with hand animation if something didn't quite work as planned. en they added final dig- ital tweaks, such as jet boosters and decals. e wireframe and all the 3D model- ing and animation were done in Autodesk Maya. e smoke trails and jets were cre- ated in Side Effects Software's Houdini and rendered in Mantra. All the lighting information was cap- tured at the shoot with HDR images. e team created a still of a spacescape, using stars, planets, and nebula patched together in 2D using Apple's Shake. "We used those to create our own HDR image, and re- placed the original sky," says Mellor. "We used those HDR images of the environ- ment to light the buggy. It was rebuilding an alternate environment." Adding to the reality of the spacescape were some 3D elements, including float- ing rocks, and planets and rings of Saturn that rotated. "It gave the frame a bit more life, so space didn't look so static," Mellor points out. Creating realistic CG reflections in the helmets on the spacemen was another chal- lenge. "We had to track the helmet move- ments and render the reflection in the helmet so it would match up with the en- vironment," explains Mellor. Likewise, the UFO was created in 3D and rendered in a similar manner, as a reflection to be placed in the helmets. "at was quite fun, and was one of the last things we did," Mellor adds. Compositor Butler says he had six weeks to do the entire tricky composite. "We had to clean up the edges of the steel cage and make sure the spacemen were behind the CG," he says. "We had to make daylight disappear by cutting mattes for all the rocks and edges very precisely and replacing it with a night sky. A bit of lens flare and luminance from the stars also helped to sell it." In all, seven animators and seven TDs worked on the spot. "It was definitely a fun job to do," concludes Mellor. "We had a great bit of creative involvement…and it's space and rockets!" n Debra Kaufman is a freelance writer for numerous entertainment industry publications. She also covers video and other entertainment content for the mobile platform at www.MobilizedTV.com. She can be reached at dkla99@verizon.net. Aside from the wheels and suspension, the buggy used in the commercial is digital. w w w . f o c a l p r e s s . c o m focal press b o o k s F O R C R E A T I V E S , B Y C R E A T I V E S Game Art Complete Editor: Andrew Gahan ISBN: 9780240811475 $69.95 The Complete Guide to Game Audio, 2e By Aaron Marks ISBN: 9780240810744 $39.95 Digital Character Development By Rob O'Neill ISBN: 9780123725615 $69.95 Directing the Story By Francis Glebas ISBN: 9780240810768 $39.95 Visit www.focalpress.com! View video tutorials, chapter samples, podcasts and more. Sign up for specialized e-newsletters with tips and specials throughout the year. aZVg cbV hiZgXg ZViZ Focal Press helps youmaintain your competitive edge. Buy online or in your favorite bookstore today! Y I Y T A E R C Y R B R I T A E R C R o O F o k o o b c r p c p l ca c o f E S E V , S E S E s V s I k ss s e r t t u o gh u o pecials thr d s s an tip s w er tt wsle e ed e-n z peciali s p gn u . Si e r o d m ts an s podca er s t p a h , c ials r o t eo tu w vid ie V m .co s s e r ocalp .f www isit V m o c . s s e r . e year h with r o p f , s le p am s ! m e r o to ks boo ur f o r in yo o n uy o B v titi pe mp co a ta ain um o yo s e l Pre Foca Z g X g i h V c b Z Vg a y! p l a c o f . w w w ay oda e to e ite ri o av fa e nlin . e. ge e edg ve ur o ain yo s s help Z i Z V g CGW_THIRD_vert:CGW_THIRD_vert 12/23/08

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