Multimedia
Blogs
Forum
Affordable HD
Whitepapers
Newsletters
Events
Advertisers
Blogcast
MillimeterPhoto-Grammetric Fight Club
Aug 1, 1999 12:00 PM, Michael Goldman
Visual effects supervisor Kevin Haug says that David Fincher's Fight Club features only about 60 digital shots, but "over half of them were severe R&D projects, a couple of which probably cost close to a million bucks by themselves." Vendors included Digital Domain, Blue Sky, and lead effects' house BUF Compagnie, Paris. BUF's "photo-grammetric" technique-a method of creating photo-real animation out of 2D still images that results in the so-called "frozen-in-time" effect-factored extensively in the project.
One scene depicts a condo catching fire at the moment and place of detonation: a gas leak under a kitchen refrigerator. The scene shows bolts of col orful plasma as they invade the kitchen before the actual fire breaks out. BUF's technique brings 3D camera movement to the still images.
The process depends on a meticulous still-photo shoot on-set. For the kitchen sequence, the photographer shot for three days, working from a map based on BUF's digital pre-visualization. "We took extreme close-ups of little things, like the tiny gap behind the refrigerator," Haug explains.
The photographer shot from five cardinal points-north, south, east, west, and above-using two still cameras at each point. This permitted filmmakers to later create 3D transitions digitally.
The 35mm photos were then scanned into BUF computers at the highest possible resolution: "about 6K," according to Haug. BUF artists used proprietary software to seamlessly stitch the still images together and eliminate any distortions.
Once all the images were captured, BUF digitally re-created the kitchen elements, such as the floor and refrigerator. Artists then placed those computer models in the correct beginning and end positions for the sequence. The remaining photo elements, plus newly created CG plasma images, were then re-manipulated to match the new, CG versions of what were previously 2D kitchen images.
The technique was also applied to a unique sex scene featuring CG body parts in a motion-blurred tangle. Haug says that the scene was shot onto film with the actors to give BUF a template map for the CG work. But the actual individual body parts and motion blur are all CG.
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.
