Iron Man used Pixel Liberation Front's entire visualization toolset from pre-production to post for 19 months with a total team size of 25 individuals. All Iron Man images © 2008 MVLFFLLC. ™ & © 2008 Marvel Ent. All rights reserved.

If it's summer, it must be movie tentpole time, which is when VFX is at its busiest and arguably its best -- and previs too. Not surprisingly, Iron Man, Speed Racer and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull required the fullest capabilities that previs has to offer as an evolving, indispensible tool.

"Iron Man utilized our entire visualization toolset from pre-production to post," remarks Kent Seki, visualization/Heads-Up Display supervisor from Pixel Liberation Front. "We were on the film for 19 months and our total team size comprised of 25 individuals. The largest our team was at any one given time was 11 artists. I was the only individual artist from PLF to be on the show for the entire duration. We rotated artists and coordinators in and out as the needs dictated…

"We helped the production improve the film by giving the filmmakers the fastest way to conceptualize story/shot/sequence ideas and see the results on screen. They were then able to accurately evaluate the success of these ideas in a cost effective and timely manner. We became the digital 'scratch paper' of the film. This encouraged the filmmakers to repurpose footage, ideas and to continually try and improve sequences. This relentless pursuit was reflected by all the parties involved, especially in post-production. As a result of this experience, we gained valuable insight into motion capture integration and character rigging. In the middle of the show, we purchased our own in-house Vicon motion capture system and began seamlessly integrating it into the visualization. We pushed our abilities in terms of sheer volume of shots and work. We had a tremendous amount of diverse work at any given time. By the end of the show, we had managed to provide previsualization, technical planning, on-set consulting, postvisualization, HUD effects supervision [for controlling the Iron Man armor] and final shots that included graphic design and compositing. More important, we were allowed invaluable access into the filmmaking process through the generosity of Director Jon Favreau, VFX Supervisor John Nelson, VFX Producer Victoria Alonso and Editor Dan Lebental. Their encouragement and attitude created an extremely hospitable work environment. At the end of the day, this film reinforces PLF’s ideas about successful creative collaboration and the potential that this collaboration represents."

TD Brad Friedman took on the task of interfacing with Iron Man suit designer Phil Saunders. Since no final vfx vendors had been hired yet, Friedman began R&Ding suit motion for the eventual digital version of Iron Man. Both Saunders and Nelson were concerned with the physical properties of three-dimensional moving armor, according to Seki. Interpenetration and range of motion topped their list. PLF artist Mahito Mizobuchi worked to model Saunders’ designs while Friedman rigged and tested the suit. The team focused on the abdomen and the shoulder/torso/arm areas. Friedman repeatedly rigged and tested a fully articulated version (metal plate for metal plate) until he arrived at a solution that satisfied the need for appearance of realism while retaining necessary range of motion. The vfx production staff sent these early tests to the perspective vendors as reference. The production awarded the final build and refinement of the practical suit to Stan Winston. Their exemplary work also became the basis for the final digital suits used by ILM, the Orphanage and the Embassy.