Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/639267
j a n u a r y . f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 6 c g w 3 7 n 1974, high-wire artist Philippe Petit accomplished an incredible feat, crossing between the tops of the World Trade Center towers on a thin wire strung between the two buildings. His daring act is retold in the feature film The Walk from TriStar Pictures. Bringing the story to the big screen required tremendous de- termination, will, and dedication to their cra by the filmmakers, visual effects artists, cast, and crew. The end result: Audiences felt as though they were on the ledge with Petit (played by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt) when he took that first step, and then on the wire as he traversed the void 110 stories above 1974 New York City. Forward-thinker Robert Ze- meckis directed The Walk, while Kevin Baillie of Atomic Fiction served as overall visual effects supervisor. Atomic Fiction completed the majority of the work involving the walk between the towers and replacing a stuntman's face with that of Gordon-Levitt's. UPP in Prague was tasked with the nighttime rooop antics, craed a digital reproduction of Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, and made Old Montreal look like 1950s/1960s Paris. Meanwhile, RodeoFX han- dled the ground-level work, such as the Trade Center lobby and plaza, and the shots of Petit on the Statue of Liberty. Legend 3D completed cleanup work and did the 3D conversion of the film. As the film is based on a real-life experience, re-creating reality was vital. And not just any reality. The entire set had to reflect true-to-life New York City – the towers and sur- rounding areas – as they were on August 7, 1974, when Petit took his famous walk. No small feat considering the scope of the work and the emotions the structures invoke following their destruction on 9/11. "We felt a lot of responsi- bility toward doing it right. We wanted to do justice to the towers and represent them in a way that was respectful and ac- curate, and would portray them in a positive light. This movie is a love letter to the Twin Towers," says Baillie. T H E T O W E R S The World Trade Center, which comprised seven buildings in Lower Manhattan, was constructed over two decades starting in the late 1960s. The centerpieces were the Twin Towers. The original One World Trade Center (the North Tower), when completed in 1972, stood at 1,368 feet, while its twin at Two World Trade Center (the ©2015 CTMG, Inc.