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Robogeek takes a look at POP fx studio and their work on MYSTERY MEN
Hey folks Harry here with an indepth report by Robogeek on the fantastic work that POP did on Mystery Men. The vistas in this film are just breathtaking and for me. Finally we get a city that... while overdone isn't cluttered to the point of no longer being a city. Champion City... Looks like a city. Like it's possible. Too often people try to go too far and it ends up looking dumb, you know what films I'm talking about. Personally I'm dying to see some shots of their work on THE GREEN MILE. Some of the work they are doing on that is going to be so good, you won't even know work is being done. Invisible effects. I love em!
ROBOGEEK EXPLORES THE FX WORK BY POP IN "MYSTERY MEN"
Recently, I had the opportunity to pay a visit to the two primary effects
houses that worked on "Mystery Men" -- POP and Rhythm & Hues, courtesy of
the brilliant and gracious Lori Nelson, who deserves some serious accolades
for her work as Visual Effect Supervisor on "Mystery Men."
Among other things, Rhythm & Hues did what is arguably the "show piece"
effect in the film, the dreaded PSYCHO-FRACULATOR. It is a really wonderful
piece of work, and demostrates a state-of-the-art blending of both 2D and 3D
texture morphing in an inventive and inspired way. It is an effect that is
so striking, yet perfectly balanced aesthetically; it could have easily been
executed too grotesquely, or too cartoony. But they pulled it off, yielding
something equally horrifying and hysterical. It is so deliciously sick and
twisted, I can't wait to show it to all my geek friends.
Unfortunately, I can't really show the effect to _you_, because its
use(s) represents a major spoiler in the film. But I can say that you are in
for a definite treat, and something you haven't seen before. In this day and
age of effects films, that's saying something.
R&H also provided a lot of other CG work in the film, notably in the
climactic conclusion. All in all, they produced over 60 shots for the film.
They're a great group of people, and a pretty massive company. I believe
they have something like 300 employees, and are working on a host of
projects. (I couldn't resist doing a little poking around, and it seems
they're working on one of the "Fantasia 2000" sequences, as well as the
"Flintstones" sequel "Viva Rock Vegas" -- which I was thrilled to learn
features the Great Gazoo!) All in all, I was very impressed -- and hope to
be able to tell you more about them and their work in the future.
However, I have to admit that I was absolutely _blown_away_ by scrappy
rough-and-tumble POP Film & Animation. My God, are they cool. They're a
smaller effects studio, and they're hungry. They may not be a name as
familiar to you as Rhythm & Hues, but they will be.
POP first came to my attention for their jaw-droppingly gorgeous work on
"What Dreams May Come" (which won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects). It is
simply one of the most beautiful looking films I've ever seen. POP's
resident genius Deak Ferrand (who's also one of the coolest people I've ever
met) provided the breathtaking digital matte paintings for the Vincent Ward
film, which were worth the price of admission alone. Due to sheer ignorance,
I didn't give Deak anywhere near as much
attention and credit as, say, production designer Eugenio Zanetti. Well, I
am privileged to redress that situation now. Deak rocks really hard.
If you've read the reviews by me and others on the site, you know that
"Mystery Men," first and foremost, is a comedy -- and a damn funny and
inspired one, at that -- featuring the single coolest cast you'll find on
film this year. However, it also features some highly impressive effects
work, much of which you simply won't be expecting. I don't want to ruin some
of the surprises, but I do think the contributions of the effects artists
warrant some attention, so I'm going to give you a little "tease" to intice
you into seeing what I think is a seriously cool movie that shouldn't be
lost in the shuffle this weekend.
Walking around POP and hanging out with Deak, I got the palpable sense of
magic in the air. There's digital alchemy afoot, much of it absolutely
extraordinary. You don't have to take my word for it; while you've been
reading the last few paragraphs, your browser should've been loading a
wealth of cool images that you are now just a scoll away...
But first, a quick intro to what you're about to see. POP did about 150
shots for "Mystery Men," including Champion City, digital matte paintings,
and digital compositing. They also did one _very_ important CG effect
element, but I don't want to tell you what it is, because you may not even
realize it's CG for most of the movie (it isn't always CG, but it is more
often than you might think). Feel free to post your guesses in Talk Back,
and I'll let you know later this weekend therein.
Anyway, I'm pleased to be able to show you some examples of their work --
and how they were developed. Below you're going to see some conceptual
renderings paired with their finished CG mattes, as well as some raw shots
and their fully composited final versions. In other words, you're in for a
real treat.
Please note: These images do not nearly do the original art and the
finished film justice as they are compressed, scaled down JPEGs. Also, in
case you're interested, these shots were done using the following software
-- Photoshop, SoftImage, Eddie, Inferno, and Cineon. (All images courtesy
POP and Lawrence Gordon Productions.)
CHAMPION CITY -- FROM CONCEPT TO FILM:
POP landed the "Mystery Men" gig in large part to Visual Effects Designer
Deak Ferrand's conceptual designs -- which he developed in a miraculous
three days. Below are some examples of his original proposed renderings, and
the final shots that appeared in the film. They come from the film's awesome
opening sequence, in which the viewer does an virtual-aerial approach of
Champion City, literally flying through a matte painting with fully
volumetric shots. It's a glorious 12-second sequence that masterfully blends
3D and 2D matte paintings and CG elements.
Here's Deak's original first conceptual rendering of Champion City...
...and here's the final version of the shot as appears in the finished
film:
[Artists: Deak Ferrand, Visual Effects Designer & Senior Matte Painter;
Rocco Gioffre, Senior Matte Painter; Sandra Germain, CG Animator; Jacques
Levesque, Senior Inferno Compositor]
Is that cool, or what? (And by the way, Senior Matte Painter Rocco
Gioffre did traditional matte painting work for both "Close Encounters" and
"Blade Runner.") Oh, just wait until you see it all MOVE! Anyway, there's
more. Here's another one of Deak's original concept paintings...
...and here's a corresponding shot showing how it was ultimately
translated to the film:
[Artists: Deak Ferrand, Visual Effects Designer & Senior Matte Painter;
Jacques Levesque, Senior Inferno Compositor]
Now here's one of my favorite shots. In Champion City, there's a giant
statue of the metropolis' protector, Captain Amazing. Here's Deak's original
concept for it -- before the role was cast...
...and here's a finished shot of it from the film, now digitally
"sculpted" with Greg Kinnear's likeness (note El Cosmico's favorite
restaurant in the background):
[Artists: Deak Ferrand, Visual Effects Designer & Senior Matte Painter;
Robin Tremblay, Senior CG Animator; Jacques Levesque, Senior Inferno
Compositor]
CHAMPION CITY -- COMPOSITING
Okay, now we're going to look at some of the digital compositing work
done at POP for Mystery Men. Basically, compositing is when you take "real"
photographed footage, and meld it with "unreal" footage. (That's my low-tech
explanation for non-techies.) Let me show you.
Here's an original plate of real footage shot for a scene in Champion
City...
...and here's the finished version of the shot from the film, now
seamlessly integrated with the "virtual" Champion City:
[Artists: Deak Ferrand, Visual Effects Designer & Senior Matte Painter;
Rocco Gioffre, Senior Matte Painter; Hans Payer, Senior CG Animator; Sandra
Germain, CG Animator; Kelly Bechtle-Woods, 3D Tracking; Bob Wiatr, Senior
Inferno Artist; Kelly Bumbarger and Ken Lam, Roto/Paint Artists]
Now here's another example, that shows an intermediate stage of the
process. In this shot, you'll be a composite-in-progress -- the live footage
matched with temporary, rough CG modeling...
...and now with the completed CG, and final composite:
[Artists: Deak Ferrand, Visual Effects Designer & Senior Matte Painter;
Ken Littleton, Senior Cineon Compositor]
And there you have it! My thanks to Universal and producers Larry Gordon
and Lloyd Levin for letting me share these with you, as well as Visual
Effect Supervisor Goddess Lori J. Nelson and everyone at POP Film --
especially Visual Effects Designer Deak Ferrand and Digital Effects Producer
Melissa Brockman.
It is a real joy to find cool people doing cool work, especially those
who don't often get the attention they deserve. I, for one, can't wait to
see what these folks do next. They are names to be reckoned with. I did get
a peek at a secret pet project of Deak's which was absolutely stunning, and
I hope he'll let me tell you about it on the site sometime (hint-hint!).
Now get off your butt and go see a bunch of great movies this weekend!
- robogeek@aint-it-cool-news.com
P.S.: POP recently handled the renovation of "Yellow Submarine," which
MGM is re-releasing this fall, and has also been doing some work on "The
Green Mile" and (I believe) "End of Days." I hope to bring you more on these
projects in the future.
-
+ Expand All
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FYI,
Here's a list of current projects at POP Film:
"Green Mile"
"Three Kings"
"For the Love of the Game"
"Story of Us"
We are not currently working on "End of Days"
Thank You again for the GREAT! comments about our group.....
Best regards,
Joe Gareri
Executive Producer POP Film -
You're right--I wouldn't spend a dime on a CG shark, especially for one in a Renny Harlequen film. To compair Mystery Men to Deep Blue Sea is outrageous. One film was economically a waste of money (Deep Blue Sea); I can agree with QMBlank on that point. Movies like Mystery Men are rare gems--pure entertainment. I live for the opporitunity to see CG landscapes like those in Mystery Men. They inspire us, and advance us further as visual storytellers. To be afraid of technology is one thing, but to be afraid and ignorant is dangerous. Digital is here to stay. Film is here to stay. They can both be independent, or work together.
Right on, POP! We all see good things in your future!
Yo'Jimbo -
In case you didn't notice, CG cost less money than mechanical effect. And, it's less time consuming.
-
Those shots looked very good. It almost makes me want to see a live action adaption of the Matt Broome comic from Wildstorm `Defcon 4', with it's meticulously detailed Neo Tokyo. I think that city would look beautiful onscreen. I almost want them to adapt it. Almost, but not enough.
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The thing that was CG most of the time, but not some of the time that we migh not notice: either The Blue Raja's forks in flight, or The Bowlers ball. I know these are stupid guesses, but I can't think of anything else. Bosch<<===
-
Aug 07, 1999 12:57:01 PM CDT
If CGI is Advancing So Far, How Come "The Frightners" Had Better
by grouchlord
After wathing the debacle of the "Haunting", I happened on a lark to put in "Fightners" which is kind of dated now, and beheld the truth in the axiom that it's not the tools, it's the artist. The Reaper, though fake looking at times, was far more menacing and effective than the stupid image of Cane that looks like something my obselete Playstation would render. Don't get me wrong the set design in Haunting was pretty cool, but when it comes to creepy, the simple distorted wavery image of house in Frightners worked better. In fact, they did the whole face behind material thing better than Haunting. BTW, why did the acending souls of the children still look like poorly rendered CGI cherubs? Would the images of real children acending have gotten an "R" rating? Why didn't they use real faces tweaked by CGI instead? Also, the forms moving through the curtains and sheets looked too liquidy, slippy. Haven't seen Mystery Men yet, but from the trailers it looks pretty cool. I'm just not as confident it's funny... RENT the Frightners, JO BLOB SAYS CHECK IT OUT!
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what you might not realize is that cg animators and compositors rely on practical models to reference their cg work...in other words, it gave the fx guys a lot easier time matching real-world models to the live action plate than if they had to conceive of the entire thing themselves. This was especially true in CG lighting, which does not obey the same rules as practical lighting.
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Now that I'm reminded of `The frighteners', the Reaper had a realistic flow, and texture (in some, but not all scenes) to his cloak. More so than the CGI cloth in TPM. Mainly with Boss Nass. I didn't believe the way his robe folded on the arms, or how it just hung off of him unwrinkled. I guess the above poster is right: It's the attention, and love the artist supplies to it, not the technology.
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First of all, whoever said "Models always look better than CG" is full of crap.
Point of example, SW:ANH:SE, ie. The Trench Run. You cannot tell me that the CG x-wings and Tie Fighters did not look better than the models! That is just plain ignorance!
Whoever said Frighteners had good effects is also smoking some crack!
Point of reference, the hell shot where those tentacles are wrapping around the two ghosts at the end. Piss poor CG, especially when compared to ILM's dinosaurs from only the previous year. Conclusion: other companies are getting worse while the best few are getting better and still pushing the envelope. The reaper had SOME nice cloth movements, but it moved so fast and choppy at times that it looked like GO-motion animation, which is NOT a good thing.
Though POP did a good job on the shots above, to me it wreaks of Final Fantasy 7. I need to see new visions of cities, not just the same old crap regurgitated over and over. That city idea was cool back when Bladerunner came out, but after Akira and FF7 and countless other examples, newer design ideas are now a requirement. Geez, somehow I get the feeling I'll be saying this again when the FF movie comes out.
TPM is the only film recently that has convinced me that new design ideas for cities are still possible and can convincingly be portrayed on screen. I suggest conceptual design artists take a cue from ILM's example or read some books for new ideas.
POP is very talented and have proven it, and now they need to come up with fresh ideas to put their talent to work on so that they can really shine. -
Quote: `the Reaper had a realistic flow, and texture (in some, but not all scenes) to his cloak. More so than the CGI cloth in TPM. Mainly with Boss Nass. I didn't believe the way his robe folded on the arms, or how it just hung off of him unwrinkled.' `Some, but not all'. However it was - *AT *TIMES* - more believable than Boss Nass' in TPM. His just seemed to be `there', rather than be part of him. Most of the time, Boss Nass' cloak looked like something on a claymation character; The movement, and folding was too clean, and there was no `hang' on the arms. Whereas the Reaper's cloak seemed to be a part of him, and had flow. Yes, the majority of shots involving Repear were cartoonish, but those few that were good - roundabout 3-4 shots - were better. Though, looking at other cloth in TPM, Jar Jar's clothes were far more realistic, as were the few shots of Maul done with CGI. Still, comparing Reaper to Boss Nass, the reaper's cloth had more believable movement.
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I think MM had all the great elements to have made it a great movie...but those of us who saw it already know that wasnt enough! Throughout most of the movie I kept hoping the camera guy was just as bored as me and would eventualy submit to my mental commands and just keep the camera rolling and go for a long stroll through the city! That city wasnt so much overdesigned or cluttered, it was perfect. On the street level it was like most cities, from the sky...that was a different story. still totally kick ass though! I just wanted to take a puff break and just walk...that mightve made that experience just a lil better. YO'JIMBO knows whats Im talking about, what else can set up so much info so quick? The environment where anything happens has great inflluence to everything, the culture, the persons living within it, the attitude, etc..it establishes detail for the story..it puts us in that world. as far as new design is concerned, yea we need new shit, but as far as this movie is concerned I think it worked really well,..still very Bladerunner, (but who could blame them?)
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but that the skin texture and the 3D matchmove/spacing aren't 'there' yet. Remember how models were filmed with a stationery camera overlooking its motion. Well, the result that you got was a photographic image that looked fake. Then came motion control camera and everything changed. What we need for CG is a kind of motion control camera technology that will with the matchmove/spacing and lighting information. What this would do for the animators is it give them more freedom to overlook other aspect of the animation process, like the Reaper's clothing. One thing that I would like to add is that the CG clothing on the reaper was part of the basic model whereas Boss Nass and Jar-Jar were specially designed plug-ins that wrapped around the characters.
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Well...Let's see...I guess I wouldn't be "guessing" about the Mystery CG Element since I KNOW. It's been a week now, so hopefully you've all gone out to see the film...otherwise, go see it this weekend so that it does more than 10 mil this weekend (scary turnout last weekend, eh?...I guess we should all be fearful of the new low budget horror films due to be greenlit by studios after what we all saw happen to Blair Witch!)...The BOWLING BALL (done by Hans Payer) is the CG Mystery Element. So good guess whoever that was...AND, I know there was talk in the beginning of doing CG Forks (R & H would know for sure), but I think for the most part they were done practically. There were some practical bowling ball shots as well. That's it for now. Enjoy!
-
A single, sorrowful horn blows throughout as a dark figure approach the podium. He taps his finger on the mic, producing a beating sound on the stereo around the message board. Finally he breaks his silence. "Yes, people, I am the last poster on TALK BACK. I declare it unpostable! Thank you." Boos and Jeers are toss at him as he bows at them.
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