From an inviting ice castle to a thawing waterfall, many of the holiday season’s movies were shaped with Autodesk, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ADSK) media and entertainment software. Leading post-production facilities, including Sony Pictures Imageworks, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and The Orphanage, relied on Autodesk’s systems and software to realize their wildest wintry ideas.
“Autodesk’s Discreet Flame visual effects system helped our team reach new creative heights with its speed and power,” said David Smith, digital effects supervisor, Sony Pictures Imageworks. “While working on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, there were many artistic challenges in creating just the right look for magical elements. The White Witch’s stone victims, the luminescent ice castle, talking animals and a vast fly-over shot of Narnia; they all needed to stir up a sense of wonder. The talent of our artists, combined with the capabilities of the Flame system, helped bring this classic to life.”
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a film based on the classic novel by CS Lewis, in which a group of children discover a magical wardrobe that leads them to the mystical land of Narnia. ILM used Autodesk’s Discreet Inferno and Discreet Flame systems as part of its proprietary SABRE visual effects system on the film. Sony Pictures Imageworks also used multiple Discreet Flame systems — including the latest system on a 64-bit Linux-based workstation — for 3D tracking, compositing and visual effects creation.
A particularly demanding sequence was that of the waterfall. Child actors were filmed on green screen, standing on-set on an ice peak model. When reviewing the shots in post-production, the performance of the actors in one take was preferred, while the camera movement in another was preferred. Using the Flame system, Sony Pictures Imageworks was able to combine the best of both takes.
In the sequence, the frozen waterfall thaws. The river then breaks apart and melts, showing a transition to spring. This enchanting change of season was crafted with computer-generated elements such as water, fog, icebergs, wolves and beavers — all combined by Sony Pictures Imageworks in the Discreet Flame system.
In another holiday hit, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter finds himself representing Hogwarts School at the Triwizard Tournament. Amid strange events and the evil presence of Voldemort, Harry faces his grimmest challenge yet. Framestore CFC used Autodesk’s Discreet Inferno visual effects system to create mystical elements such as a flying horse-drawn carriage and an animated stained-glass window for the film. ILM used the Discreet Inferno and Discreet Flame systems as part of its proprietary SABRE visual effects system. The Orphanage also shaped the magical realm of Hogwarts, a key backdrop for the film.
Shadi Almassizadeh, computer graphics supervisor at The Orphanage, said, “The Orphanage was tasked with creating a water surface in the Pensive sequence — essentially a bowl of water filled with ‘memory threads’ that gets manipulated by wands and wizardry. After experimenting with many fluid solvers, we concluded that the best tool for the effect was Autodesk 3ds Max software’s reactor simulation. Its quick iterations and complex wave generations allowed us to rapidly achieve the look. Coupled with the Brazil Rendering System, the complex water surface became a reality. 3ds Max software makes the artist feel in control of the shot. It’s fast, easy to use and has a robust feature set.”
Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi is the first high-definition Indian film. This light-hearted fantasy required extensive editing, visual effects, compositing and digital color grading. Leading post-production facility Prime Focus used an Autodesk film pipeline including Autodesk 3ds Max software, the Discreet Smoke and Discreet Fire editing/finishing systems and the Discreet Lustre digital color grading system. Numerous surreal environments were created with the Autodesk pipeline, including a car driving through clouds and illusions of the lead character.
Autodesk’s Discreet Lustre system was used to create dramatic looks for several fall and winter movies, including King Kong (Weta Digital), Oliver Twist and Revolver (Eclair Laboratoires), Stay (Laser Pacific) and Domino (Asylum). Asylum worked on approximately 100 visual effects shots and 160 optical shots for Domino, using an Autodesk film pipeline that consisted of the Discreet Inferno and Discreet Flame visual effects systems, as well as the Discreet Smoke and Discreet Lustre systems.
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