Visual Effects

Dream Quest Wraps Inspector Gadget. Dream Quest Images, the feature film visual effects division of The Walt Disney Company, has wrapped production on more than 300 visual effects shots for Inspector Gadget, Walt Disney Pictures' live-action version of the '80s Saturday morning cartoon. The film follows the escapades of Inspector Gadget, the bumbling bionic detective, played by Matthew Broderick and his nemesis, the villainous Claw, played by Rupert Everett. The film is directed by David Kellogg and produced by Jordan Kerner, Roger Birnbaum and Andy Heyward. Dream Quest Images produced the CG deployment of Gadget's many physical extensions. To bring the bionic extensions to life, visual effects supervisor, Richard Hoover, and a team of digital artists at Dream Quest Images recreated Stan Winston's designs as computer generated imagery (CGI) and animated the moving parts, such as the Gadgetcopter blades, the rocket launcher on Gadget's hat and his 14-foot-long leg extensions. Dream Quest's Art Department also designed Gadget's finger accessories and streetwise dashboard CG character and customized Gadget's Stan Winston-designed leg extensions for use on the Gadgetmobile. Dream Quest Images used Alias|Wavefront Maya Cloth to recreate and extend Gadget's clothing as his 3D leg extensions rocket him skyward. These shots were created by placing Matthew Broderick on 3-foot painter's stilts and having him run on a treadmill against greenscreen while suspended from wires. After tracking his movements, digital legs were tracked and animated and parts of Broderick's body were manipulated on the live-action plate to exaggerate his body language. Dream Quest Images is currently in production on several major motion pictures, including Bicentennial Man, Mission To Mars, Shanghai Noon And Gone In 60 Seconds. Dream Quest has among its feature film credits the Academy Award-nominated films Armageddon and Mighty Joe Young.