eyeon speaks with Eric Doiron, of Spin VFX, about the visual
effects work done by their team on the 2010 blockbuster,
Legion.
Legion is the story of an out-of-the-way diner
which becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of
the human race. When God loses faith in humankind, he sends
his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. Humanity's
only hope lies in a group of strangers trapped in a desert
diner with the Archangel, Michael.
|
 |
Q. What was your role on the movie Legion? How
many artists were on your team?
I'm the
Compositing Supervisor at SPIN VFX. A crew of nearly 50
artists worked on the project for 24 weeks. The team's primary
task on Legion was adding CG wings to Kevin Durand's character
'Gabriel' and later to 'Michael' played by Paul Bettany.
Several shots required full digital doubles for both actors.
In one shot, composited by Jeff Campbell, VFX Supervisor at
SPIN, we created a full CG double for 'Gladys' (Jeanette
Miller) who climbs up a wall and across the ceiling of an all
CG environment. We were also called upon for several matte
paintings and set extensions. |
|
 Q. Could
you supply a bit of background on how and when the project was
started?
The producers had seen SPIN's work
on Max Payne, which featured a winged demon character and they
liked what they saw. We were asked early on to provide some
wing concept sketches based on photographs of Kevin Durand. It
wasn't until several months later that we were awarded the
project. Production began in March and thanks to our
experience with winged characters, we were able to get the
wings rigged and into animation quickly. |
|
Q. Why did you choose Fusion to accomplish the
shots?
For several years now, Fusion has been
our main compositing package on all of our feature film
projects. During that time we have developed our compositing
pipeline, tools, and 2D rendering around Fusion. |
|
Q. Can you approximate the number of shots you completed?
We were initially awarded approximately 170 shots. But
over the course of the project, that number grew to more than
260 shots ranging from rig removals to full cg characters and
environments. |
|
 Q. It
looks like a pretty intense movie, what were some of the
biggest challenges you faced?
Generally
speaking, we spent a lot of time getting the wings to feel
organic and natural and to really match the live-action
photography. It was difficult at times because these are no
ordinary wings. They're armored and they have blades at the
wing tips. They're used as a shield and as a weapon. But
they're also part of the character. They needed to become an
extension of the actor's performance. There are some nice
subtle moments when the wings reflect the character's emotions
that work really well. |
|
 Q. From
the trailer, it looks like there was a lot going on at every
point of the film, what was the most rewarding shot using
Fusion?
It's hard to pick one shot. There are
some beautiful matte paintings by Juan Jesus Garcia near the
end of the film which turned out really nice. One of my
favorites is a slow crane shot overlooking 'tent city', a camp
at the foot of the mountains housing survivors of the
apocalypse. We had greenscreen footage of the actors on a
foreground set piece. And everything else you see is CG.
There's a really nice moment where the sun peeks over the
mountain top revealing life in the camp. |
|
 Q. Was
there a particular shot that was more complex than usual or
turned out better than you could have hoped?
There were many complex shots in this film. But one
that stands out is a moment when an army of angels descend
from the heavens. The shot begins in a medium close-up of
'Michael' silhouetted against a sunny sky. The camera then
tilts up to reveal a massive army of angels in formation. The
angels dive in a steep swirling vortex before flying by very
close to camera. The shot combines greenscreen footage with
crowd simulation and effects animation by FX TD, Tim Sibley,
and hero keyframe animation by Lead Animator, Marc Schreiber.
It was a challenge to pull together but in the end it turned
out very nice. |
|
 Q.
What's next for the SPIN VFX team?
We've got
an exciting slate of projects lined up for 2010. It's going to be a great year for all of us at SPIN
VFX. Visit us at www.spinpro.com for all the latest news and
show reels.
© 2010 Sony Pictures Digital Inc. All Rights Reserved. Images courtesy of Spin VFX.
|
|
|
| Make sure to check out the Spin VFX website
for more information on the company and all of the work they
have done! |