boujou Helps Bring Charlotte's Web to Life
2d3 a leading developer of visual effects software and part of the Oxford Metrics Group, has revealed that its technology has enabled Rising Sun Pictures (RSP) to bring to life the character of Charlotte the spider in the current box office release, Charlotte’s Web. The boujou match moving software was used by a team of CG artists and technicians at Rising Sun’s studios in Australia to produce a movie that is as technically advanced as it is visually dynamic.Starring John Cleese, Julia Roberts, Robert Redford, Steve Buscemi, Dakota Fanning, Kathy Bates and many other top international stars, the film is an adaptation of EB White’s classic novel.
The filmmakers had to combine live action, actors who would provide voice talent, live animals and animated characters such as Charlotte herself. RSP was engaged to create a fully digital photo-real Charlotte, one that could seamlessly interact with other characters, her environment and also her very intricate webs.
Much time and effort was devoted to her development to ensure she had the screen presence that was required for such a well-known and much loved character. Charlotte’s on-screen presence had to be realistic and convincing from a nature documentary perspective, as well as allow the audience to empathise with her joy and sorrow.
In order for the animated character to be seen to interact with live action actors and animals, the computer generated (CG) image had to be inserted into live action film plates. The CG artists have to perform the complex task of working out the exact geographical position from which each camera is placed, in order to insert the three dimensional character seamlessly into the frame. This is where boujou match moving software is essential to the post-production team.
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| Ben Warner, Visual Effects artist at Rising Sun Pictures, explained: "Part of the director's vision for Charlotte was for her to be active and moving, meaning many of the plates we needed to add Charlotte to, were shot with moving cameras, either on jibs or tripods. The combination of a large number of moving camera shots, combined with tight timeframes meant we needed a solid tracking solution that we could use for both the easy tracking shots and the more difficult ones." |
Rising Sun Pictures had successfully used boujou in previous productions, building a relationship with 2d3, and was happy about the ease of use and gentle learning curve required to start using boujou in a production environment. "It was the obvious choice for us," said Warner.
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| "For most shots almost any artist could pick up boujou bullet and get good results on a camera track. This meant people with more experience in tracking could spend more time getting better camera track results from the more difficult shots – for which we utilised the additional features of boujou 3. We had animators, compositors and technical directors all tracking at some time on Charlotte's Web, which really help spread the tracking load," he concluded. |
Nick Bolton, Chief Executive of Oxford Metrics Group, said: "Charlotte’s Web is a breathtaking film and the realistic spider shots are going to excite cinema-goers all over the UK. I am delighted to hear that it has been nominated for a Visual Effects Society award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture and wish the team at Rising Sun the best of luck. Knowing that our technology enabled them to bring their ideas to fruition is yet more evidence that boujou is the preferred choice for post-production."
To find out more about the film visit the official website at: www.charlotteswebmovie.com
About Rising Sun Pictures
Founded in 1995, RSP has collaborated with many of the industry’s top filmmakers, and focuses on building collaborative relationships with clients through innovative creative and technical solutions.
With over a decade spent crafting images for a range of clients RSP now works predominantly for Hollywood on each year's crop of blockbuster films.
They specialise in working with highly collaborative filmmakers who need someone to make their vision a reality and seek to bring to every project an unwavering enthusiasm for delivering the finished film. www.rsp.com.au
About Oxford Metrics Group
Oxford Metrics (LSE: OMG) is a group of technology companies producing image understanding solutions for the entertainment, defence, life science and engineering industries. Be it for capturing the movements of actors (for the movie industry), sportsmen (for video games or improving team performance), children with Cerebral Palsy, rehab patients and animals (for medical, life science and research industries) or virtual reality displays (for engineering and development), the Group has the world leading market position and a strong international reputation for precision instruments.
Founded in 1984, the Group’s headquarters are in Oxford, UK, and has offices in California and Colorado, USA. It has customers in over 50 countries and is a quoted company listed on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange. The Group trades through three operating subsidiaries – Vicon, the world’s biggest motion capture and movement analysis company, 2d3, a manufacturer of specialised image understanding software for entertainment and defence applications and Geospatial Vision, our 3D mapping business.
Oxford Metrics’ global clients in science, medicine, sport, engineering, gaming, film and broadcast include major hospitals and research facilities such as Guy's Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and Loughborough University, engineering industry leaders including Ford Motor Company, BMW, Airbus, Caterpillar, and Toyota, and in the entertainment sector, Sony, Industrial Light and Magic, The Moving Picture Company (MPC), Sega, Nintendo, UbiSoft, EA, Square Enix and many others.
For more information about OMG and its subsidiaries, visit www.omg3d.com, www.vicon.com, www.2d3.com, or www.geospatialvision.com.
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