Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/57248
Visual Effects n n n n the sand," Aplin says. "We motion-captured a horse, but when we applied the motion to the rig, it looked exactly like a horse. Then we mo- tion-captured a camel and it looked fantastic. The uneven gait worked better for this sandy world. We ended up adding tiny things. We looked at elephants and hippos, mixed and matched. You reach a point where science and references get you only so far." For the animators, working with a direc- tor who had come from the world of feature animation was a particular joy. "I learned a huge amount," Butler says. "Andrew [Stanton] brought that Pixar legacy; it reminded me of my days at Disney. It was great to have a director who could talk our language. Andrew is skilled at getting the best out of people. He knows how to inspire without micromanaging." Aplin agrees. "He'd treat the animators like actors and would direct them like actors," he says. "He'd try to get you emotionally involved in what the characters were doing. I knew we would learn an incredible amount working with Andrew Stanton, and we did." Stanton is now one of many directors who have made the leap from live action to anima- tion, and vice versa. But, these days, when it's difficult to know what to call some films, it Cinesite created all the environments and airships for makes more sense than before: Is Tintin an ani- mated film? Should Andy Serkis have been con- sidered for a Best Actor award? Does it matter? "There's this assumption that I want to do everything animated, but I don't go to the church of animation," Stanton says. "The only reason you've never seen me do a movie like this is that I didn't think I had the skills. But after 20 years at Pixar, I've become more knowledgeable about filmmaking in general. "When I read the books, I would always picture a real person standing next to really tall creatures, and to do this movie, to realize that kind of imagery, you need to have CG Windows-32 / Windows-64 / OS X-32 / OS X-64 , including this fantastic, solar-winged ship in the foreground for the Helium tribe, and the darker Zodangan ship behind. characters with live action to make the whole idea work," Stanton continues. "I think that's what gave me the guts to [make the film]. When half the equation was something I was familiar with, I was willing to take the leap." And, like John Carter himself, Stanton's leap was extraordinary. n Use your smart- phone to access related videos. Barbara Robertson is an award- winning writer and a contributing editor for . She can be reached at BarbaraRR@comcast.net. 32-bit only $399 Now with Texture Extraction, Auto-Placement, Grid Lens Calibration Use SynthE es for animated critter insertion fixing shaky shots Use SynthEyes for r animated critter insertion, fixing shaky shots, virtual set extensions, making 3D movies, architectural previews, accident reconstruction, virtual product placement, face and body capture, and more. Andersson Technologies LLC February/March 2012 17 Computer Graphics W orld John Carter