Shepperton, England-based The Magic Camera Company has produced 92 digital
effect shots for the 19th James Bond film, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. One of
the effects sequences done by Magic involves Bond (Pierce Brosnan) and
Christmas (Denise Richards) hurtling through miles of unused oil pipeline
on board a service Rpig' (a trolley-like vehicle used to safety check the
inside of the pipeline) while chasing another one. Shooting the tunnel as a
miniature was not a viable option, so Magic Camera was given the task of
creating the interior of the pipeline as both complete CG shots and CG
backgrounds for the live-action footage. Other shots created by Magic
Camera involved animating flying paraskis for a mountain ski chase
sequence. The paraskis (flying skidoos) were shot for real on location in
Chamonix, France, but for the over-the-shoulder shots of the craft chasing
Bond and Electra, clean plates of the actors were filmed. A real paraski,
complete with piolet, was then cyberscanned by Viewpoint and the data
supplied to Magic Camera, where the model was further refined. The CG
paraskis and piolets were then animated in 3D using Lightwave, adding CG
parachutes and reflections before being tracked into the live-action
plates. Digital Effects Supervisor at Magic Camera was Angus Cameron and
Digital Effects Producer was Angie Wills. Supervising 3D animator was Gary
Coulter and lead 3D animators were Royston Wilcox, Iain Anderson and
Caroline Garret. 2D animators were Robin Huffer, Helen Ball, Richard
Little, Ed Plant, Sean Danischevsky and Chris Harding.