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44 cgw n o v e m b e r . d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4 N I G H T A T T H E M U S E U M : S E C R E T O F T H E T O M B RELEASE DATE: December 19 PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 21 Laps Enter- tainment, 1492 Pictures, TSG Entertainment In the past, this franchise has brought to life a menagerie of animals and historical fi gures. This time, the digital magic oc- curs at an international location: the British Museum in London, and then extends out into the world as watchman Larry and some of his crew (Teddy Roosevelt, Sacajawea, Attila the Hun, and others) try to save the life-giving magic from the Egyptian Golden Tablet of Pharaoh Ankmenrah as it begins to corrode. During this journey, once again exhibits become lifelike as people and animals burst to animated life thanks to the ef- forts of Digital Domain, Method Studios, Zoic, Cinesite, Gentle Giant Studios, and MPC. N O A H RELEASE DATE: March 28 PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Paramount Pictures, Regency Enterprises, Protozoa Pictures, Disruption Entertainment A number of visual eff ects required to tell the story of the biblical fi gure Noah. ILM han- dled the CG animals and water, while Look Eff ects created those required for the Garden of Eden, including a matte painting of the Tree of Knowledge, the apple, the serpent, and all the birds. ILM also handled the arrival of the Watchers in grand fashion, and created and animated these giant rock creatures that help Noah build and protect the ark. The artists also grew trees and forests, and extended the practical ark. The crew at ILM generated the land animals, many atypical beasts – thousands that had to be de- signed, modeled, and animated. Then came the rain, practical water augmented with digital drops, as well as the deluge. T E E N A G E M U T A N T N I N J A T U R T L E S RELEASE DATE: August 8 PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Paramount Pictures, Nick- elodeon Movies, Platinum Dunes, Gama Entertainment Partners, Mednick Produc- tions, Heavy Metal These superhero turtles have appeared in various genres and in various forms, from 2D car- toon characters to live actors donning animatronic suits from Jim Henson's Creature Shop. In this summer's incarnation, the heroes are completely CG, performing amazing animated stunts and acting alongside real people, thanks to the eff orts at ILM. The crew pushed the boundaries of performance capture, using its new facial- capture system, Muse, to give the computer-generated actors a grand performance. T H E A M A Z I N G S P I D E R - M A N 2 RELEASE DATE: May 2 PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Marvel Enterprises, Avi Arad Productions, Columbia Pictures, Matt Tolmach Productions The Spider-Man franchise has produced visual eff ects thrills, both for the hero Spider- Man and for the various villains appearing in the fi lms. This time around, animators at Imageworks gave the digital Spider-Man iconic poses that were natural, extreme, and purposeful. The artists gave the superhero a lot of muscle defi - nition that could be seen in the highlights of the renders of the CG double. They also spent a lot of time animating the muscles for more realism. In the fi lm, the young Spider-Man fi ghts three villains, each with unique CG requirements, in detailed digital environments. A re-creation of an eight-block area surrounding Times Square is especially im- pressive. Assisting Sony Pictures Imageworks were MPC, Blur, and others. T H E G R A N D B U D A P E S T H O T E L RELEASE DATE: March 28 PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Scott Rudin Productions, Indian Paintbrush, Studio Babelsberg, American Empirical Pictures, TSG Entertainment One can expect a Wes Anderson fi lm to contain some specially stylized eff ects, and The Grand Budapest Hotel is no exception. Artists at Look Eff ects enhanced Anderson's invented world in this feature. Here, visual eff ects are used to create ideal environments for the story. Miniature sets were used to capture what couldn't be had in camera, and then digital backgrounds were added to the greenscreen miniatures. T H E H O B B I T: T H E B A T T L E O F T H E F I V E A R M I E S RELEASE DATE: December 17 PRODUCTION COMPANIES: New Line Cinema, MGM, WingNut Films, 3Foot7 DIGITAL BIRDS (SHOWN HERE), ALONG WITH CG ANIMALS, ARE JUST SOME OF THE COMPUTER GRAPHIC ELEMENTS IN NOAH. IMAGE ©2014 PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORP. AND REGENCY ENTERTAINMENT