Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/371911
42 cgw j u ly . a u g u s t 2 0 1 4 web mesh elements in 3ds Max to help achieve the fi nal density of the cocoon around Brooks. At the end of last season, a new character named War – an empty set of armor – was introduced. The armor was real, but the person inside had to be digitally removed and a sword of fi re added in his grasp. "With a character, we take a practical approach fi rst and then see what we need to do to help," says Zimmerman of VFX's role. For instance, the team helped transition a character from a regular girl into a demon child for an episode. "In that case, we did a full CG scan of the girl in regular form and in the demon prosthetic version, and translated between the two looks." In her possessed form, CG limbs were added as she fl ailed wildly. Her face was also digitally replaced with contorted features during the transition and was practical therea er. Last season, Detective Brooks released Moloch's acolytes, who were sent to do the Horseman's bidding. Zimmerman, along with Alex Kurtzman (execu- tive producer), Len Wiseman (executive producer), and Mark Goff man (executive producer/ showrunner), were looking for a unique death scene involving the acolytes. "They just didn't want them to simply fall over or disap- pear," says Zimmerman. "So we worked together and came up with a shattering, breaking eff ect when they are hit by a bullet, so it makes them look as if they were made of rock." That se- quence, handled by Pixomondo, required a particular simulation to achieve the fi nal look. In fact, the shattering eff ect was used a number of times in the fi rst season. One instance happens when Abbie and Crane step through a portal – there is a forward shattering eff ect (achieved with a particle eff ect) that invokes an open door leading into long, monastic-like halls with lots of atmosphere and ancient aesthetics. "The ri in reality is a 3D environment that is ultimately the characters' door to the other world," says Zimmerman. Pixomondo's Nhatphong Tran describes the work. "The shattering eff ect consists of two separate simulations, one being the cracking and the second being the blast. For the cracking, we made a hand- drawn crack map from reference photography that was shaped in Photoshop to match concept drawings of the portal. This was used to generate cracks that form around the actual portal with the [RayFire Studios'] RayFire plug-in." To animate the appearance of cracks, L-systems combined with conventional rotoshapes were used. To create the actual blast, the inner part of the portal was procedurally shattered using RayFire. Approx- imated geometries were used as so force fi elds to defl ect the virtual shards from hitting the actors. Additional hand-animat- ed shards were placed in the scene for direct interaction with the actors. The CG work was done with 3ds Max. The shards were ren- dered with two diff erent shader setups using Chaos Group's V-Ray. "When the shards are still sticking in the wall, a glass shader is applied. Once they blast out, the shader switches to an opaque diff use shader with refl ective properties of glass that has the plate statical- ly projected," Tran explains. The hall was modeled as a really long hallway. At the end of the hallway, the artists placed an area light to blend into the other realm. "A lot of lights were placed between the pillars to produce atmospheric lights. Additional smoke and atmo- sphere were added in comp," notes Tran. The most challenging aspect of the VFX work in Sleepy Hollow is not necessarily the characters or the set exten- sions, but rather the schedule: Typically, there were just 10 days from when the plates are received to fi nal delivery, though this year there will be more time. Another challenge: fi guring out the best way to approach some of the eff ects. "We play to the strengths of the vendors," says Zimmerman, noting the work is done by feature fi lm-level art- ists, so the expectation is higher than for the average television series. "We have to fi gure out a way to make sure we deliver on that level week a er week." And, in each episode there is something diff erent. "This week we might have to wrap some- one up in vines and drop them into a grave, or come up with a CG portal. There's never a dull moment," Zimmerman says. "There's always something new and fun to fi gure out, and as a visual eff ects supervisor, that is why I started doing this, so I can have a good time with it." No doubt, audiences can also expect something new and fun in each episode of Season 2, as new demons, plagues, characters, and even a haunted house fi nd their way to Sleepy Hollow. ¢ Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor of CGW. VIDEOS: GO TO EXTRAS IN THE JULY/AUGUST 2014 ISSUE BOX C G W. C O M VARIOUS ACTORS PLAY THE ROLE OF THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN, DONNING A GREEN MASK THAT IS LATER TRACKED AND REMOVED DIGITALLY. THE ARTISTS ALSO MATCHMOVE A CG COLLAR AND NECK STUMP, AND FILL IN THE BACKGROUND IMAGERY OBSCURED BY THE ACTOR'S HEAD. COMPLICATING THE WORK IS THE FACT THAT THE HORSEMAN IS ALWAYS MOVING. P R I M E - T I M E E F F E C T S