Peter Jackson’s Hobbit in 3D- How Cool is That?
Director Peter Jackson is going to make me a 3D believer, I just know it.
Of course I was flabbergasted with the sheer and utter brilliance of James Cameron’s AVATAR– and who wasn’t?? ( I hope I said that right- Jim, please let me know offline- thanks). When 3D is done right/ well, it’s something to behold. Of course story, concept, story, script, STORY and well, a thousand other picky little things all have to work in collusion to leave audiences gaping at the screen in wide-eyed wonder– but what if the story kinda sucks? I mean in a sucking-chest-wound sort of way. You want more, but it Just Isn’t Happening.
Enter Mr. Peter Jackson. I may be seriously biased here, but from Jackson’s last few forays into filmic wonderment, I think he’s going to pull off The Hobbit 3D in glorious fashion. Why so?
Jackson is shooting The Hobbit with one of the better camera systems on the planet, namely the RED Epic. His RED cameras have been rigged for serious, in-camera stereoscopic filmmaking. No 2D conversion for him- or us, thank goodness. Least not on The Hobbit. Following the debacle the recent Clash of the Titans proved to be (Mr. Ray Harryhausen, I stand and salute you Sir), Jackson’s well on the right track. Apparently, there was much back and forth between AVATAR mastermind James Cameron and Lord of the Rings Maestro Peter Jackson during pre-production, so I can’t wait to see the fruits of those conversations on screen. Mr. Magoo glasses be damned.
One great thing about Peter Jackson is that as much as he likes to keep a secret, he’s very generous to his fan base (and the curious) as to what he’s working on. Jackson gleefully shares the production goings-on of he and his merry band of wizards. In that, Jackson and crew have posted the latest of several videos opening the window to the world behind the cameras. Much like Jackson’s production video journals of yore, released years before The Lord of the Rings reached the screen, we get a mini tour of the making The Hobbit, Mr. Jackson leading the way. Jackson himself is a huge fan of stereoscopic imagery, shooting many stereoscopic images on set of while shooting the Rings trilogy. Thee is hope some of these images will make it to a Blue Ray release one day in the near future.
Right round 1:26, Jackson’s stalwart Stereo experts share a simple explanation f the stereoscopic process they are currently utilizing- sort of Stereoscopic Filmmaking 101- definitely worth a look, and an impressive peek into the camera centric part of the process ;
There has been talk from Peter Jackson’s camp of a potential 2D to 3D conversion of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but who knows. Maybe by the time a real decision is made, there’ll be better equipped studios on the market ready to tackle such a formidable venture– and we’ll be the recipients of much awesomeness should it pan out. I await, fingers crossed.
As for shooting the shooting The Hobbit in stereoscopic 3D, for Peter Jackson, “it’s a dream come true”. With his history of making films of epic scale and grandeur, who knew he’d have yet more dreams to come true? Geez, Lord of the Rings, King Kong, The Frighteners- what else to do? -M
Spooky Short Film Fun for Hallowe’en!
What could be better than a bucket of Spooky shorts for Hallowe’en?
Animation & VFX on The Pit and the Pendulum
(Article originally released in full on CGSociety.org)
In the spirit of “Steven Spielberg Presents”, Ray Harryhausen had envisioned a way to help talented artists make a name in the industry. Where Spielberg spotlighted discoveries such as Robert Zemeckis, Joe Dante, and Chris Columbus in the 1980’s, “Ray Harryhausen Presents” found a similar way to showcase talent through projects under his name and approval. Thus the stop motion short “The Pit and the Pendulum” was created, falling under the umbrella of “Ray Harryhausen Presents”, which includes Harryhausen’s launch of comic books, movies, video games, trading cards and his official website.
Under Marc Lougee’s direction, The Pit and the Pendulum production team began to take form. Lougee pitched the project to Jon Campfens, Co -founder and VFX Supervisor at Switch VFX in Toronto, Canada, during the preliminary development stage. Campfens was impressed when he heard what Lougee intended to do. “We felt we really had to be part of this film. I am a big fan of stop motion animation and with the recent resurgence of this art form I knew that Marc would be able to bring a real visual style and be faithful to the poem”. Jon was brought on board as the VFX Supervisor and to help with technical requirements that might be needed in shooting the film.
Lougee also sought out Fred Fuchs, known for producing the films “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” and “Godfather III” while President of Francis Ford Coppolla’s Zoetrope Studio. “I was asked to come on board as Executive Producer,” Fuchs explained. “I was to help with overall creative and also financing and distribution. My company was producing a stop motion television series so had lots of interest in the medium. We were able to help by providing equipment and technology at no cost”.
Fuchs’s involvement and the Canadian programs that support this sort of work made the production feasible. Lougee credits Judy Gladstone at Bravo!Fact, an organization through CHUM Network, and Michael Fukushima at the National FIlm Board of Canada for their generous support in the form of grants from Bravo!Fact in Canada, as well as the NFB in Montreal. The short was partially financed independently by Marc Lougee and Susan Ma, and a shoot studio was provided by Pete Denomme, Laurie Thompson and Jon Campfens of Switch VFX, Toronto. Fuchs supplied editing facilities, and Urban Post Productions helped with deals to post.Harryhausen had script approval, striving to maintain faithfulness to Poe’s story. He also consulted and confirmed visuals were impressive and reflected his style of animation. Since Harryhausen lives in London, updates were handled via email and FTP file transfers.
Sets were designed with CG augmentation in mind, and were built on four by four foot tabletops, creating a challenge by the sheer limitation of space. Lens choice was key, to extend the set as far as possible. The practical sets would then be shot on green screen and extended with CG mattes.
Greenscreen on the small shooting stage (Left) before, and after CGI and VFX work completed in the final shot (Right).
The actual shoot was only about four-and-a-half weeks, but animators Mike Weiss and Ryan Fairley worked with Lougee from 9 AM til 2 AM, six to seven days a week. “We all had series gigs to jump into at the end of the shoot, so we went full on to get the film ready for post, while ramping up for the next job,” Lougee said. “Mike and Ryan pulled it off. They are a couple of heroes.”
With the digital assets in hand, Lougee turned to Jon Campfens at Switch VFX. The biggest sequence for Switch consisted of walls that close in on the main character. They shot the puppet against a green screen and then created the walls and fire in CG. “Scale was always a big issue. We needed to create a threatening environment, but stay true to the confines of the actual room, which wasn’t very big.” They managed this by practically lighting the set as though there was one light source from the small window far above. Set extensions were done with 3D matte paintings, and atmospherics were handled in CG using Maya software. Senior Visual Effects artist Gudrun Heinze helped create some of the set extension using Photoshop to create her blend of textures shot from the practical set. Gudrun and Visual Effects Artist David Alexander used Digital Fusion to handle the compositing.
Switch VFX Senior Visual Effects Artist Gudren Heinze breaks down a set extension;
The team worked closely together. Susan Ma was a Co-Producer, but acted as a Line Producer as well, handling resource and post production. “That meant I had to be ‘really creative by Tuesday’ she laughed. She got into stop motion since the principles are the same as a film shoot, only smaller. “It’s tactile. It’s like shooting miniatures.”
The puppets utilized a silicone skin for the head, and cast silicone eyelids for the blinks to match the facial skin. The eye blinks and facial expressions were all in camera. “We were thinking of going with CG eyes and lids, but I felt this might appear too mechanical” Lougee commented. They preferred to maintain a handmade feel overall, as far as the puppets were concerned, as a homage to Ray Harryhausen’s work. CG was primarily used to flesh out the set, a decision that was a good one, Campfens agreed. “We didn’t have to do anything with the puppet because it was so well animated it didn’t need any assistance from our end. The expressions speak for themselves.” The only digital character was a CG bird trapped in with the prisoner. This was also the only fully realized CG shot in the film. “I was very happy with the final results of the bird, as well as the digital set David Alexander built and textured”, said Lougee. “I was thrilled to see how closely Switch managed to match the set.” Yowza Digital animator Grant Harris also assisted with the bird’s animation.
The lighting was handled in camera by Dean Holmes. “The lighting I feel is one of the real beautiful parts of the film”, Campfens commented. “It’s lit very simply but conveys a real sense of suspense”. Switch utilized the light fall off into darkness leaving only a hint of what lies beyond. It implied what could be huge room or a very small one, giving a feeling of being trapped in a vast empty hopelessness.
The atmospheric effects were done entirely post; haze, smoke, dust elements all added in compositing. They lit to accommodate the effects, keeping in sight the final affect and feel of each room. Lougee wanted “The Pit” to feel dense, dark, and claustrophobic, despite it’s overwhelming size.
Nearly every shot of the film was augmented with CG in some way. Roughly a third to a half of the shots were effects heavy, about 50 visual effect shots in all. Switch used elements of fire, smoke and atmosphere that were shot practically. Campfens, not a big fan of CG elements, believes you can’t compete with the real thing. The pendulum was created digitally after Lougee looked at the footage and felt that the movement wasn’t convincing enough and he couldn’t get the angle he wanted, so Switch created the walls and the pendulum at the angle that Lougee preferred.
Marc Lougee’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” was a terrific start to the Ray Harryhausen Presents project, and Jon Campfens from Switch VFX agrees. “I think this is a great little film and it was wonderful to work with Marc and Ray Harryhausen. It shows the perseverance and passion that Marc had to get it down. I hope more films are made like this”. Harryhausen saw the completed short until a screening in Austin, Texas hosted by Ain’t It Cool founder Harry Knowles. It was a joy to see the finished product, and they were very pleased with what they saw.
But perhaps Marc Lougee put it best. “Ray Harryhausen and Fred Fuchs were Executive Producers on my short film. I still have a hard time grasping that. The amount of work we had to do was daunting, but the folks involved were absolutely amazing. I was indeed blessed with a wonderful bunch of friends who all went overboard in helping to see this through. Susan and I are eternally thankful. The fact we got to do this with Ray was astounding, a dream come true.”
Visit the Official site, Ray Harryhausen Presents; The Pit and the Pendulum -HERE-
The Pit and the Pendulum Comic Book Release to honor Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th Anniversary in ’09
SNEAK PREVIEW GALLERY!
On Shelves February 25th, 2009! Order yours today at your favorite comic shop or book retailer- from Bluewater Productions! See the preview pages at The Official Film Blog!
The success of the stop motion animated film adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum has prompted the release of the comic book version of the film. Scheduled for a February 25th, 2009 release thru Bluewater Productions of Portland, Oregon, the stop-motion film to comic will be a first for production partners Bluewater Productions and Hand Made Heroes Film & Television, honoring Gothic horror maestro Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th anniversary.
Wrapping up production and starting on the DVD, Lougee got in contact with Darren Davis of Bluewater Productions, famous for their Ray Harryhausen Presents Signature line of comics, as well as the Vince Price Presents line. Lougee pitched the idea of producing the story as a one-off comic, using the film images and Davis enthusiastically jumped on board, rallying the crew at Bluewater to help get the pendulum swinging.
“While we were in the throes of production on the short, I had the idea of pursuing various media outlets for the film and the story itself”, explains the film’s director, Marc Lougee. “So much of what we’ve been doing over the last couple of years to promote the film has involved the internet, social media and ‘alternative ‘ means of promotion for the project, as I wanted to explore the options that were available to us in pushing the story a little further, outside of the traditional channels of film distribution. Doing a comic was something I’ve always been keen to try, so we utilized the still images from the stop motion film as ‘sequential art’ in comic form; the result is a sort of hybrid between the film, a graphic novel and a short story comic. I think it’s a very cool-looking way of telling the story with a fresh approach.”
Sequential art in comics is a familiar sight for most everyone, but utilizing the images used in the film itself and re-processing them for another type of ‘sequential art’ made sense to both Lougee and Producer Susan Ma.
” With the multitude of delivery systems available, be it print, online, broadcast, et al, there are so many way of supplying a film or story to your audience.” states Susan, “A short film, being what it is, faces limitations in the sense it has much less of a chance of being screened outside of niche markets and events, such as film festivals. There are few real options to see shorts outside the festival circuit (location-based and online), unless you feel inclined to send it off thru a distributor or post it online yourself.
Many times we’ve found the film would be sold as a package with a host of other films, which I felt would lessen the impact and the viewing experience. As filmmakers, it was important for us to explore the broader potential for our film thru comic book publishing, and sought out a smaller, indy film friendly publisher. Thankfully, we found just that combination in Darren Davis and Bluewater Productions, and now with the comic set for release in February, we feel we’ve got another opportunity to see a broader range of visibility for EA Poe’s wonderful story, and another means of getting the story into the hands of fans everywhere.
One of the great aspects of working with Darren and the gang at Bluewater is that we share the same ideas pertaining to use of comic art for educational purposes. In producing the film, and the comic, we very much would like to see the two included in classrooms as an aid in helping students visualize Poe’s writing, starting with The Pit and the Pendulum.”
Marc adds; “We’re all about making the story of The Pit and the Pendulum accessible to students, teachers and fans of the Gothic genre. The goal is to get folks to spend more time with Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tale, to help see the subtleties in the story and lay groundwork for discussion in class. In the case of students studying EA Poe’s work, I feel this sort of approach, the combination of films & comics in tandem, may help get kids interested in literature.This is especially relevant as we’re in the midst of Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th anniversary; what better time to get to know the man and his work than now?”
Ray Harryhausen Presents; The Pit and the Pendulum short film Official Website
Director Marc Lougee Website
Bluewater Productions, Comic Publishers
