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'Oliver Twist': A Dickensian VFX Effort

Alain Bielik talks with MotionFX and lair Numique about their work on Roman Polanskis Oliver Twist, and asks for more.

Invisibility is the key word for the vfx in Oliver Twist. Mattes helped create 19th century London. All images courtesy of Éclair Numérique. Photo credit: Guy Ferrandis. © 2005 Oliver Twist Prods. LLP. All rights reserved.

Invisibility is the key word for the vfx in Oliver Twist. Mattes helped create 19th century London. All images courtesy of Éclair Numérique. Photo credit: Guy Ferrandis. © 2005 Oliver Twist Prods. LLP. All rights reserved.

When Roman Polanski set out to direct the umpteenth film version of Charles Dickens classic story, he knew his work would be compared to highly regarded adaptations, such as David Leans Oliver Twist (1948) and Carol Reeds Academy Award-winning Oliver! (1968). But Polanski has a talent for adapting period stories for the big screen, as with some of his best movies, including Macbeth (1971), Tess (1979) and The Pianist (2002).

Visual effects supervisor Frédéric Moreau and his company Éclair Numérique completed 115 shots for Oliver Twist.

Visual effects supervisor Frédéric Moreau and his company Éclair Numérique completed 115 shots for Oliver Twist.

While directing the latter, he discovered how digital technology could help him visualize 19th century London like it had never yet been shown on screen. To realize this vision, he called upon the expertise of digital artists from MotionFX in London, with David Bush overseeing the effort, and Éclair Numérique in Paris. It was of paramount importance to Polanski that the visual effects be totally invisible, as not to draw the viewers attention away from the characters. Digital London had to look just like the real thing.

The film was shot at Barrandov Studios in Prague, Czech Republic, where many major American productions have been photographed recently, from XXX to Van Helsing. Polanski and production designer Allan Starski (Schindlers List) took advantage of the largest back lot in Europe to build an extensive network of streets and period houses that would later be augmented digitally.

Romans approach was to use visual effects in an artistic sense, when he felt he needed them for the storyline, or, as in some cases, if production or the art department required help to resolve shots, Bush observes. To this extent, we would follow Romans rehearsals for the camera crew and cast, and integrate visual effects on demand, when necessary. Some examples were the London Bridge and Workhouse exteriors.

Non-Invasive Visual Effects

On Olivier Twist, the visual effects challenges turned out to be more artistic than technical. One of them was being able to offer solutions on the fly not using motion control, or other invasive devices that could have influenced Polanskis storytelling style. Creativity and imagination thus replaced high technology, as when some of the sets were covered in a similar fashion to Christos famous artistic wrapping of objects and buildings with colored cloth in this case with Czech built, Velcro-lined, greenscreens. This technique helped provide a highly practical and efficient approach to additional virtual set solutions in the shortest possible time.

Éclair produced the opening credits. Shots were enhanced to emphasize certain aspects of the characters or to clarify story points, not for the sake of adding an effects shot.

Éclair produced the opening credits. Shots were enhanced to emphasize certain aspects of the characters or to clarify story points, not for the sake of adding an effects shot.

Bush is quick to add: Obviously, it was also fundamental to seamlessly integrate the virtual set extensions with Allan Starskis production design and the sets, so that the public will not be able to perceive where one finishes and where the other takes over (I sincerely hope this is the case). Some of the challenges were not so much the technicalities, but what I can only describe as matching the mood and the storyline of the film in other words matching Romans vision.

During production, every single set element was thoroughly photographed by high-resolution digital still cameras. Bush also used HDSI spheres of reflective glass that captured the reflections, the type and the direction of the light. This reference provided a full library with which effects artists were later able to extend sets and constructions virtually.

The movie needed a fair number of digital set extensions. To create them, Bush set up a small CG modeling facility that was housed next door to the art department in the Barrandov studio lot. This enabled the construction of all of the virtual sets with the direct supervision of the art department during principal photography. When production wrapped, all of the preparatory work including 3D Maya models and associated 16-bit tiff textures were taken back to the effects facilities for compositing and fine-tuning.

Éclair collaborated with MotionFX on the end credits to create the final shot of the movie, a complex 3D matte painting featuring an idealized vision of the English countryside.

Éclair collaborated with MotionFX on the end credits to create the final shot of the movie, a complex 3D matte painting featuring an idealized vision of the English countryside.

Rebuilding London

At MotionFX, visual effects supervisors Clare Heneghan and Jonathan Cheetham created a number of models and textures to complement the elements provided by the production. The facility first tracked the plates with Pixel Farm, PFTrack, Fusion and Cyborg, and then created the city extensions in Photoshop, with 3D elements being generated in Maya, 3ds Max and LightWave 3D. In a number of shots, the camera position allowed the extension to be built via a simple matte painting or a 3D camera projection. More often than not, the camera movement made it was necessary to build complete 3D environments in order to create the proper perspective shifts within the frame. 3D supervisor and assistant visual effects supervisor, Florian Gellinger, oversaw the task.

The opening shot was one of the trickiest to handle for MotionFX, as it was meant to set the tone for the entire movie. The original plate was filmed in the Czech Republic, Heneghan recalls. It provided the perspective and live action as a base for an effect shot that was going to be representative of a quintessential English countryside scene. Using a Viper digital camera, we filmed additional elements such as trees, hedges, walls, hills and sky plates. With these elements, we were able to quickly provide Roman with layout examples to compose the scene. The scene was then constructed using a combination of these elements and matte paintings. Once all the necessary rotoscoping and garbage work was complete, grain was added and matched to the original 35mm acquisition.

Artists at MotionFX faced another challenge with one of the toughest effects sequence of the movie. The sequence comprised 13 harbor shots featuring Bill Sykes in the foreground, struggling to kill his dog, Bullseye, Cheetham explains. These were hand held shots, captured in overcast conditions. We had the task of constructing a harbor scene as a backdrop. This involved us having to research London docks around the 1830s. We shot a number of ships of this period in a variety of locations around the U.K. using the Viper camera. Employing these as well as matte paintings for additional dockside buildings, we tracked and composited these into 3D space to ensure there was correct parallax and depth of field between the ships and between the cranes in the foreground. This proved very difficult to track, due to the fact that it was a hand held shot and that there was a lot of movement in the foreground. Therefore, multiple track passes were done, and a lot of rotoscoping and matting was necessary as no bluescreen was used to shoot the plate. We also had the additional task of adding a 3D chain within the foreground action, which had to match the textures and lighting of the scene.

On every shot, the various layers were composited in Digital Fusion 5, with some input from After Effects, and also 2K Cyborgs and IQ for immediate renders. Special care was taken to create a proper sense of diffusion in the backgrounds. This was achieved by our compositors using a number of 3D render passes, Heneghan notes. It gave us separate control over shadows and lighting. We also used multiple selective mattes and color correction techniques within the compositing packages.

Oliver Twist looks out over London from his window. Éclair used Discreet products for most of its work, including Flame and Inferno for tracking and compositing, and Autodesk 3ds Max for CGI.

Oliver Twist looks out over London from his window. Éclair used Discreet products for most of its work, including Flame and Inferno for tracking and compositing, and Autodesk 3ds Max for CGI.

Enhancing Live Action

On the other side of the Channel, Éclair Numérique was just as busy, focusing on the creation of more than 115 shots. Visual effects supervisor Frédéric Moreau has a pretty unique relationship with Polanski, working on all the directors movies since Tess, 26 years ago. We did a lot of shot enhancements to emphasize certain aspects of the characters or to clarify story points. These shots were never conceived for the sake of adding an effects shots. They were all invisible enhancements, just like when we digitally enlarged Fagins pocket to make his pickpocket trademark move look absolutely natural when performed by Ben Kingsley. The viewers will never notice most of these shots, but it doesnt mean that these small bits and pieces were not difficult to create. It was extremely hard work to have these effects not disrupt the flow of the movie.

Invisible effects included a rain sequence in which the rain that had been photographed during production failed to match from shot to shot. The continuity problem was made worse by the fact that the sequence had been shot over several days in varying weather conditions. Éclair first carefully graded the entire sequence to obtain an even look throughout. Then, extra rain elements photographed on black were added in the shots, with CG rain completing the effect when necessary. At Éclair, we very much rely on Discreet products for most of our work, including Flame and Inferno for tracking and compositing, and Autodesk 3ds Max for CGI, Moreau notes. The company also produced several major matte paintings of London, often working from layers and elements provided by matte painter Dimitri Delecovias. These layers were then complemented by a great variety of buildings, streets, rooftops, bridges, etc., all generated in 3D. In order to inject extra life in the scenes, Éclair added pedestrians in the streets and 3D birds in the sky. Finally, an element was generally positioned in the foreground to create a sense of depth.

Éclair also produced several major matte paintings of London, often working from layers and elements provided by matte painter Dimitri Delecovias. The vfx company generated 3D buildings, streets, rooftops, bridges, pedestrians and birds.

Éclair also produced several major matte paintings of London, often working from layers and elements provided by matte painter Dimitri Delecovias. The vfx company generated 3D buildings, streets, rooftops, bridges, pedestrians and birds.

Playing with Vertigo

Éclair met its greatest challenge with the rooftops sequence. The plates were shot at night with actors secured by thick cables, Moreau explains. So, our first task was to track the shots and remove the cables. Then, we replaced the featureless background sky by a much more dramatic cloudy sky featuring a high moon. We then focused on the down-looking angles. Roman thought that they lacked a sense of perspective. The characters were supposed to be on rooftops, very high above the ground, but the images didnt capture enough of a sense of height. We used several tricks to add a vertigo feel to the shots. First, we replaced the original set facades by 3D buildings, which were positioned at a visually steeper angle. We also used the buildings to create steep perspectives that opened on the streets far below. In order to add life and movement in the distance, we shot an extra playing a drunk and composited him in one of the streets. Finally, we animated CG tiles falling from the rooftops, a very good trick to emphasize great height on screen. Éclair also produced the opening and final credits and collaborated with MotionFX to create the final shot of the movie, a complex 3D matte painting featuring an idealized vision of the English countryside.

On Oliver Twist, the key word during the whole production of the visual effects crew was definitely invisible. As Bush confirms: In my view, the biggest compliment a visual effects supervisor can ever expect, and one that I hope for, is for the results of their work to go completely unnoticed, and I sincerely hope that this will prove the case on Oliver Twist.

Alain Bielik is the founder and special effects editor of renowned effects magazine S.F.X, published in France since 1991. He also contributes to various French publications and occasionally to Cinéfex. He recently organized a major special effects exhibition at the Musée International de la Miniature in Lyon, France.

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