#Stargate
16 messages in this thread
Hello,
I would like to know how the helmet effects in Stargate were done using
Elastic Reality. Was the scene filmed twice (with and without helmets), where
there 3D generated effects added, was morphing applied each frame at a time or
in the whole? Thanks
The morphs were rendered in Win ER's jigsaw mode (for the collapsing helmet
effect). I beleive the effects were created in whole but I am not sure. I will
ask around and see how they did it exactly.
Personally, i though those morphs came off pretty darn good. Our whole company
went to the theater to watch Stargate on opening night and all were impressed
at how the f/x looked.
Chris Edgin
ERI Tech.
Were those guys working on SGIs? Is there anybody working with Pentium-class
machines who (how can I put this delicately) I might have heard of?
TIA,
..mark
StarGate was produced on SGIs. There are a bunch of movies, recently
that are being done on our Windows version (in addition to SGIs…hey
if you've got'em, use'em). These include sequences from the newest
Freddie movie, the next Clive Barker effort, a bunch of television,
and a bunch of other stuff. We haven't made any formal efforts yet
to collect success stories on the Windows product, but as soon as we
do, we won't keep them to ourselves.
Jason
ERI techport
I'm trying to put something together for one of my editors who's specifically
looking for some name recognition. I know that most 'real' stuff is being done
on SGI's … but I've heard that ER is doing serious work, even under Windows.
Can I get particulars from you on some of these movies and other projects if
need be?
Thanx,
..mark
Yes, you can. When the need comes up, give our company president a call and he
can get you the hard facts. The Windows product is new, therefore most of the
work being done with it is being done *right now*. Usually, our clients don't
want us talking about things in detail before the production is released. The
prez's name is Perry Kivolowitz.
Jason ERI technicality supporter
Benoit,
The scenes in which the helmets were "mechomorphed" were filmed twice. As you
suspected, once with the helmets in place and once without. The differences
between the scenes (ever get someone to choke the same way twice?) were also
part of the magic worked by Elastic Reality.
There were no 3D effects in those shots, the appearence of 3D was created using
the new Jigsaw rendering mode in Elastic Reality (also in the Windows version)
which allows every shape to be warped/moved on a totally seperate layer from
the rest of the shapes (allowing arbitrary overlapping of regions).
The morph was done over time given to the two film sequences.
Jason
Well, I am just amazed at your product! The helmet effects in Stargate seemed
so real! Thanks for the information on how it was done!
Another one of our favorites in the McComb death scene in Timecop. There,
there was a mixture of three prosthetics morphed together in motion,
finally ending in a morph to a 3D, well, puddle.
Jason
ERI technically supportive
What's the difference in features between the windows and SGI version of ER
besides speed of course?
Off the cuff: The windows product has a snap-to-grid mode that the SGI
product doesn't have. The SGI product has a bunch that the Windows
product doesn't have (multiframe editing, color correction, boolean
matte operators, bezierless beziers, additional shape editing tools,
audio synchronization, and a bunch of other stuff). Apart from color
correction and the boolean matte operators, the things you can actually
DO with the program are the same…the added features on the SGI version
are advanced conveniences. The two versions are so close in terms of
what they can compute, that the project files they produce are interchangable.
Jason
ERI support tech
As long as the final output is the same, I would love to have the program.
Thanks.
I didn't see Time Cop. If I'm correct, I didn't go because it featured Van
Damme and he's not featuring in the kind of movies I like so much to go see it
at the theater. It would be a nice idea to build a list of effects that were
done with ER that could be available in the download section.
We do have such a list and making it available for downloading ain't a
bad idea. If you haven't seen Timecop, perhaps you saw Forrest Gump? All
of the Presidents/Celebrity scenes have the Elastic Reality touch.
Jason
Technically, a supportive guy
>Technically, a supportive guy<
Do you make these up, or does your off-line reader make them up for you?
Doesn't the pressure to be creative get to you sometimes?
..mark
Actually,
I thought of making a different signature line for each message a few days
ago and I wonder how long I can keep it up without repeats (I am not keeping
track of the lines I've used except mentally!).
It'll be a running joke in this forum, I hope.
Jason
ERI technoporter