Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/683118
a convoluted, complicated and expensive process now was estimated to save production between one and two hundred thousand dollars." Previously, the director and producers would need dailies starting from a specific beginning and going to an end point, which was complicated, time-consuming, and expensive to load and combine with essential data. Because of the need to generate the visual effects in the deliverables, they wrote new code that any editor could use to drag an EDL (edit decision list) into a folder and automatically generate exactly what visual effects were needed in their deliverables. Using a system from the company Natural Point, and their OptiTrack cameras, they built a half-dozen moveable twenty- five-foot towers containing six motion capture cameras each. Glenn explains, "The system that we built integrated the OptiTrack motion capture system with our own camera hardware and software, this was high-end inertial mea- surement unit data that was on the cameras. We created a hybridized optical inertial tracking system allowing them to choose how much of this was coming from the inertial center versus the optical motion capture system. "Further, in-house, we developed infrared active markers that allowed production to work in an environment where you could do real set lighting and still be captured by the motion capture (Mo-cap) cameras; a big breakthrough in our industry. If we could register the live-action camera from at least three of the six movable towers, then the live movable object (prop and or actor) within the volume and the virtual Jungle Book world would be aligned or calibrated." "On the performance side," adds Derry, "what we're really doing is capturing the actors and trying to record the essence of what they do and combine that with the 'jungle' world as quickly and efficiently as possible. We need to visu- alize the image for the director and the DP." Moore adds, "How do we figure out how to have a virtual bear (Baloo) walking next to the actor within the confines of a stage, so it looks like they're walking through the woods? These were one of many challenges that would come up frequently during the course of production. We also needed to have the virtual and live-action elements combined and represented on the monitors, which were placed around the set. Glenn Derry came up with the solution for the 'Baloo and Mowgli' challenge and decided on a turntable, with the ability to articulate the movement along with his motion control base to make it all come together." "We worked with Legacy Effects, who make really well articulated animatronics," explains Robbie Derry. "Their job was to make Baloo, a bear, so they manufactured a shell that rides on a motion control base. Neel would sit on it as if he was riding Baloo. The motion base has a 360-degree rotational top as well as a 30-degree tilt, pan and roll." They could import the final animation data into the onset computers and drive the camera and the motion base simul- taneously to get the true movement of what Neel should be doing in the scene. Robbie Derry continues, "When we played back the anima- tion on top of the real-world scenario, through camera, you could see Neel riding on it, with the full background, the bear was moving, the bear was turning, and we were capturing all this in real time, which was a really cool thing to be able to do. It allowed the director to be able to line up shots correctly; and move the camera on the fly. We could track where that camera was in 3D space, on the stage, at any time, and then back feed the animation cycles through the lens. So, when you're looking through the camera, you could see the bear. I could walk around with the camera and see the bear from all sides. This is something you couldn't do prior to being able to track camera data like this." The heart of Technoprops and Video Hawks opera- Top row: Dan Moore; Dan Moore and the machine shop; Moore working the set; the OptiTrack cameras; the Baloo turntable rig. Second row: Moveable tower with OptiTrack cameras; there were six moveable Mo-cap towers; Robbie Derry operating the turntable. Third row: (from left) Glenn Derry, Dan Moore and Gary Martinez; live action and a fi nal rendering of Mowgli and Baloo