Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/813438
www.postmagazine.com 6 POST APRIL 2017 BITS & PIECES SGO DEVELOPING SOLO APPS BASED ON MISTIKA TECHNOLOGY MADRID, SPAIN — SGO (www.sgo. es) is drawing from its established Mistika technology to introduce new pipeline tools that will be more ac- cessible to the post community as a whole. The company's Mistika system, which began development back in 1996 and first appeared as a product in 2001, is an all-in-one, Linux-based post production solution capable of performing editing, compositing, color grading, 3D, VR and finishing. At NAB, SGO is "slicing" the system into tools that address different and specific post functions. SGO CEO Miguel Angel Doncel says the company has been working since last fall's IBC show to deliver new workflow products based on technology from the all-in-one Mistika Ultima. SGO's Geoff Mills adds that the company's work with director Peter Jackson on The Hobbit helped recognize the need for specific pipe- line tools. The Mistika Ultima was used for dailies, conform, stereo correction and DI on the feature film. "We're now going to have specific applications for that workflow," notes Mills, pointing to Mistika VR, the first dedicated release from the compa- ny. Mistika VR offers realtime optical flow stitching, taking camera position information and sequencing and stitching footage together in realtime. The result is what Mills says could be a "game changer," taking just hours to complete what normally requires weeks of time. The company is also going to be offering the new Mistika tools as Mac and Windows releases, making them more attainable to a wider audience. And a pay-per-use model will also help broaden their use. As SGO develops these specific tools, they will then be integrated back into the Mistika Ultima turnkey solution, making sure the suite bene- fits from all of the company's develop- ments. Mills says pros will see Mistika Color and Mistika Conform releases in the near future. SGO is also highlighting Mistika Insight at NAB, the free education- al tool than enables students and freelancers to learn how to use Mistika technology. Interested parties can sign up at the SGO booth, and see further example of the company's workflow technology at the Quantum and Canon booths. — By Marc Loftus INTELLIGENT CREATURES CREATES CLONE VFX FOR ORPHAN BLACK TORONTO — Fresh off an Emmy win for Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black is about to start its fifth and final sea- son. The show stars Tatiana as Sarah Manning, a con artist who witnesses the murder of her doppelgänger and soon realizes that stranger things are afoot as Manning is one of many sister clones. Toronto-based visual effects (VFX) house Intelligent Creatures (www. intelligentcreatures.com) has been at the helm of the show's VFX since it began back in 2013. With Maslany not only playing Manning but also a myr- iad of clones, Intelligent Creatures is tasked with creating a world where Maslany can appear as multiple peo- ple in one scene. Geoff Scott, VFX supervisor at Intelligent Creatures, breaks down the process for creating those im- pressive clone-filled scenes. "While we've been doing this for years, the approach always varies depending on the complexity of the scene. For example, it's more complicated when the clones interact with one another. On the production side, we always film multiple passes either locked off or with a motion-control rig. We're very careful throughout the shooting day that nothing is moved on set and that the lighting doesn't change. "For the first season, we always filmed several takes without Kathryn Alexandre, Tatiana's acting double, in order to get clean takes of Tatiana. We would often get her to act alone with little more than an eye line set on a wall or a tennis ball. As we've progressed, we very rarely exclude Kathryn now as it helps create a more dynamic believable scene," contin- ues Scott. "When shooting the clone scenes, I'm always impressed with how well Tatiana and Kathryn work together. It's like watching one person split into two. "Once the scenes are shot, we use Fusion Studio from Blackmagic Design to blend the performances into a seamless shot. When the clones touch, we'll use parts from Kathryn and blend them with Tatiana — so you might see Kathryn's arm on Tatiana's body or Tatiana's torso on Kathryn's legs." "We use Fusion Studio's rotoscop- ing and paint tools extensively," adds Eric Doiron, compositing supervisor. "There are times when we may have to remove parts of Kathryn from the scene. For instance if she crosses in front of Tatiana, we might have to use Fusion Studio to paint out a hand or a leg. There have even been times where we've had to completely reconstruct Tatiana by painstakingly isolating and tracking body parts so they an- imate naturally and seamlessly with her performance." Typically, the Intelligent Creatures team starts working on their portion of the show once they receive the fi- nal cut and it takes four to six weeks to complete the VFX. However, some episodes can take significantly longer depending on what's needed. Doiron explains, "For example, epi- sode 4.10 was particularly long. We had more than 100 VFX shots for that one episode, which was a third the amount of shots we had for the entirety of Season 1." While they're currently working on Season 5, Scott's tightlipped on what's to come. "I can't say anything other than I'm really excited for the audience to see, but hopefully not notice, our work in Episode 2." See our "VFX for TV" feature, be- ginning on page 16.