Digitally matching the elevator shaft in Marcinelle was a challenge for Videa’s vfx artists.

On stage we also did a light probe shot to recover lighting information and to push the HDR image data inside Softimage XSI, obtaining a lighting map that best matched our 3D backlot with the real environment lighting condition we had on set.

Difficulties came when we had to track the camera movements of the original shot because we didn’t have motion control during shooting, and the particular scene framing used for the long dolly movement didn’t allow the use of track markers on set. It was so hard for our operators to figure out the right solution to track this, but we did it using automatic tools and some good hand work for certain frames.

More difficulties arose when we had to add fire and smoke to a fight in the village.

Imitating nature is one of the things that we sometimes fail to manage, and while today it is easier to create good water, matching fire realistically represents a difficult task. The operation started by creating background fires in CGI, matched by archival footage in the foreground and shooting other footage on our backlot. More flames meant more haze and fog, so we had to provide enhanced particle animation. We used sprites attached to the particle systems along with some additional R&D work, but instead of using simple images, we relied on math and procedural techniques to generate them. The result was amazing and it looks so real, thanks also to great compositing work of more than 70 layers.

The collaboration between Videa and the R&D team has been so invaluable (they are now working on random particle paths to be applied to more complex surfaces and geometries, as well as further fluid simulations beyond what Maya already offers) that on Dec. 3, the University of Tor Vergata of Roma has organized an important meeting titled “3D Day,” in which the Videa R&D team will unveil the results that this partnership has produced.

Recently we also decided for a pipeline evolution to improve our technical administration procedures and to simplify the connection between the two offices located in different cities (which will soon expand to three). To achieve that, general manager Sergio Di Renzo, working in tandem with the various technical departments, launched a project for a special remote database with multiple access points; it will allow supervisors to check remotely the production course, viewing the state of the art of single tasks assigned to operators and evaluate the need for other resources to avoid delays on deadline. From the operator point of view, it will offer more control, especially for working databases, frame storage and backups. Other features will be the check of rendering processes, CPU availability, automatic response for rendered scenes, auto frame transfer to playout systems or compositing workstation, auto back-up on dedicated machines and more.The whole system will be developed and realized using the knowledge of several outside professionals with skills in system administration and network engineering.

When completed it will be implemented and carefully used on a new idea we want to realize here: a movie entirely created in CGI, which is already in the production design stage. Soon the Videa Website (www.videa.it) will host images and the first trailer, and will contain a stunning 3D city filled with background detail created by procedural modelling.

In conclusion, I think that several Italian visual effects companies have begun to sharpen their graphical weapons and it will soon be possible to talk about a real explosion of new technological implementation for motion imaging in Italy. And for the first time, the David di Donatello Academy introduced an award last year for special effects, which is great recognition for the category. This in turn will allow visual effects companies to increase their services and to be more widely known abroad.

Gianluca Dentici is the vfx supervisor for Videa, located in Rome and Pescara, Italy.