Rhythm & Hues utilized the Massive AI-based 3D animation system as part of its vfx arsenal for Universals THE FAST & THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT.
The work follows on the heels of Rhythm & Hues' epic visual effects for THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, and saw the facility extending its command of Massive to meet such diverse new challenges as digitally creating Tokyo street scenes.
THE FAST & THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT takes place in the underworld of Asian drift racing. Computer-generated people and automobiles produced in Massive helped bring several establishing and action sequences that could not be filmed on location in Japan to life. These include an elaborate chase sequence and other shots set in a densely populated Shibuya Square.
"We used Massive to help us convincingly create the atmosphere of Tokyo streets," said Dan Smiczek, vfx supervisor, Rhythm & Hues. "Massive is the only tool that lets us animate so many characters with this level of organic realism, and add all of the little touches from being able to put drivers on the other side of the car to actually having our digital Japanese pedestrians observe decreased personal space boundaries."
Massive provides the flexibility to produce autonomously responding characters, or "agents," for anything imaginable. Rhythm & Hues previously used Massive to animate fantastical beasts and animals. Here, the studio leveraged its same Massive licenses for a project that called for vehicles and human forms.
Added Smiczek: "We modeled and motion captured 'typical' Tokyo citizens and brought them into Massive to produce people walking, crossing the road, jumping out of the way of cars, etc. We needed large amounts of characters moving in opposing directions, so that it would mimic real-life pedestrians in intersections. This level of interaction can only be achieved in a short amount of time using Massive."
Rhythm & Hues has multipurposed Massive across a wide range of needs and projects, from animating tens of thousands of creatures for battle clashes in THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE to building piles of writhing snakes for ELEKTRA.
Rhythm & Hues is a preeminent producer of quality visual effects and character animation for entertainment and advertising. With a track record of more than 100 feature films to its credit, the studio also offers full service production expertise to an extensive list of Commercial and Design clients. Currently, Rhythm & Hues' Film division is in production on CHARLOTTE'S WEB, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM and EVAN ALMIGHTY. In 1995, Rhythm & Hues was recognized with an Academy Award for Achievement in Visual Effects for its work on BABE.
New Zealand-based Massive Software (www.massivesoftware.com) is the leading creator of artificial intelligence-based 3D animation systems. Massive was founded when Stephen Regelous programmed a unique piece of software for director Peter Jackson to make creation of complicated visual effects scenes involving hundreds of thousands of digital characters a practical reality for THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. Massive garnered a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2004.
Today, Massive Software develops a family of standalone, commercially available products, with customers such as The Mill, Centro Digital, Digital Domain, Framestore CFC, Rhythm & Hues and other leading digital production and effects studios.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
