Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/863766
j u ly . a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 c g w 3 5 F E A T U R E can place the apes in the real world and treat them like actors, lighting them as a DP would light a set. "We can accurately match the lighting information that we capture on set and reproduce the way it interacts with the cameras in the same way that the film camera does, so we can very quickly and very accurately get the same response from our CG characters as we saw on set," says Lemmon. CG Sets and Environmental FX War features a number of all-digital shots, along with numerous CG set extensions. One of the largest fully CG locales is the interior of the Hidden Fortress, a huge, hollowed-out cave behind a computer- generated waterfall – a complex setting that also required a great deal of finesse in terms of simulations, lighting, and charac- ter interactions. Another complex environment is the pris- on, an especially large model that was very nuanced and detailed in its construction. Crews started with a practical prison set just outside of Vancouver, Canada, surrounded by greenscreens, and continued to extend it digitally. Then, the industrial-like backdrop of Greater Vancouver was digitally replaced to situate it in the Sierra Nevada. In the final face-off between Caesar and the colonel, the world is exploding outside, requiring a good deal of effects work, as squadrons of Apache helicopters crash to the ground. There's gunfire and missiles, all of which culminates in a huge avalanche, as the snow pack in the hills above the prison is loosened and comes raining down. Trees are pulled up by their roots. Clouds of snow race down the mountain. "There's a lot of research that's been put into the avalanche in terms of what causes it physically and how to best replicate it from an R&D standpoint," says Lemmon. "We are harnessing a lot of state of the art in terms of fluid and rigid simulations to rain down what starts as a fast-moving slab or cornice falling away quickly, turning into a giant cloud of snow that just rockets down the mountain." This scene required a heavy simulation and a number of new tools. "Sometimes the simulation ran for about three days on 30 machines," says Lemmon. In some instances, the emitters were driven by particle simulations, some of which were created with external tools, either Maya or Side Effects' Houdini. Then, the result was fed back into Synapse. Weta also wanted to improve upon the explosions. "The film is called War for the Planet of the Apes, so we knew there was going to be explosions and pyrotechnics," says Lemmon. He decided to take a page from the special effects handbook and in- corporate similar methods into the Synapse simulations in terms of how the charges were broken up and the various compo- nents needed to produce different looks. Parting Shot Barrett and Lemmon have gotten to know these characters well over the span of the three movies. "Bringing these characters to life never stops being fun," says Lemmon. But, also a bit sad. "There were some shocking moments and things that, as friends of these apes, we had to steel ourselves for," says Barrett. When asked whether he developed an emotional attachment to some of the char- acters, Barrett doesn't hesitate. "Absolutely. You can't not, really. I feel quite intimately involved with these characters and found some of those moments, especially at the end of the film, quite wrenching," he says. "It's an end of an era." Barrett continues: "I feel like this is my gang, or at least I am part of their gang, and that is probably the reason why I went a third time on the series. I couldn't say no to going into battle with these apes again." Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor of CGW. WETA REVAMPED ITS FUR GROOMING TECHNOLOGY. AS A RESULT, THE CHARACTERS HAVE ON AVERAGE THREE TIMES MORE HAIR THAN THEY HAD FOR DAWN. CAESAR (ABOVE) HAS CLOSE TO A MILLION HAIRS IN WAR.