Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/749700
VISUAL EFFECTS www.postmagazine.com 15 POST NOVEMBER 2016 nipulation sequence from ILM. There's another sequence at the end of the film called 'Dark Dimension,' completed by Luma. That's a huge environment that we created with Luma and it's a very tricky, colorful, black-light environment, so it's all based on the comic images from the old comics — the very colorful, black light poster imagery." How big a role did previs play in this film? It was completed by The Third Floor? "Yes. Faraz Hameed, previs super, very brilliant guy. Previs was key to the de- velopment of the film. We really worked on the film since September 2014, while the script was still being written. We started working with Charles Wood, the production designer, as well as Scott, the studio and a bunch of storyboard artists working on the film, but we really found out that because of the complexity of the environments and how important they were to the storytelling, we had to go into previs very fast so that we could actually do a more dynamic representa- tion of what the action was. And, on that note, we had our editor Wyatt Smith join us even before we started to shoot so that we could edit the previs and make sure that the previs was edited correctly by an editor, by the guy who would actu- ally do the movie, because the shoot was so complex, we had to be very prepared for the shoot, and the previs was used as the bible as much as possible. Scott was adamant that we prevised as close to what we needed as possible, so we could figure out the best way to shoot the scenes." What was your biggest challenge? "The fact that the crews were distorting reality so much and because we're trying to invent new worlds, new dimensions, new magic and that we were trying to be as original as we can. It's also something Marvel has never done before. The biggest challenge really was to conceptualize the entire thing and make sure it all makes sense. You can do whatever images you want but it doesn't meant it's relevant to the story. So, it's about finding the right balance between the storytelling, the vi- sual storytelling and making sure one isn't preventing the other one from happening. "It's finding that right balance between not overwhelming, visually, the story and not taking over the story, and also trying to find the right pace and rhythm and quantity, and the right balance between the visuals and the story. The film is complex from a technical point of view, but also from a storytelling point of view. There are so many ideas in the film, and the great thing [are] the vendors. Everybody has been so excited about the project and adding their own ideas to it. It's like a dream project, there are so many cool things that you can add to it. We have a lot of voices and it's difficult trying to find the right balance, but in the end, I think it all makes for a better film." What do you consider the most cutting- edge work in the film? "I never like hearing that term — you're always using the same tools but it's the way you use them that makes the difference. Today, we can pretty much do anything — digi-doubles, full cities that do whatever you want them to do — it's just how you use it. The cutting edge is in finding the right visual effect for the right story. It's not about whatever you can do, but how you use it to tell the story. We have very close to camera full digi-doubles and facial animation that looks a lot like our actors — and that's very difficult to achieve. We all have the same tools in the box, it's the way we use them that's the challenge." Arri Alexa 65's captured the action THE THIRD FLOOR LENDS PREVIS TALENTS TO DOCTOR STRANGE Faraz Hameed, previs and postvis supervi- sor from The Third Floor, led a team of 35 artists from the studio, working in LA and in London, to help design camera, action and looks for most of Doctor Strange. This includes all the key sequences: Car crash, emergency room, church transformation, London alley, New York chase, teahouse fight, mind trip, sanctum attack and Hong Kong battle. In addition, each shot was planned with detailed tech-vis. The previs team worked closely with the art, stunts, props, cameras and VFX departments to work out how to execute the unique folding, mind-bending, mirror and reversing effects seen in the film. Thirty-five artists made up the previs team.