rhinofx recently completed extensive effects work on DreamWorks' GHOST TOWN, the sole vfx creator for the supernatural romantic comedy. The film, released September 19, is written and directed by David Koepp, best known for lending his award-winning writing talents to action blockbusters INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, SPIDER-MAN, JURASSIC PARK, and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE.
In the story, a surly dentist (Ricky Gervais, creator of THE OFFICE) dies for seven minutes in a colonoscopy gone awry, and awakens with the unwelcome ability to see and help ghosts. The rhinofx team's role expanded as the film went through development, with VFX Supervisor Arman Matin and Compositing Supervisor Jim Rider leading over 50 effects shots, including a very intricate opening scene and introducing an entirely new 3D collision modeling approach to simulate ghosts moving through buildings, buses, and even people.
While Koepp's work includes several action-packed visual spectacles, GHOST TOWN, filmed in NYC incorporates cool and understated VFX not usually found in comedies, making the supernatural storyline life-like and believable. The rhinofx team spent a month on set to supervise and help construct the effects-heavy paranormal scenarios. The film opens with a high-angle, moving boom shot showing NYC's 5th Avenue normally overflowing with people and cars. To complete the extremely intricate scene, Rhino used 3D tracking, modeling and photogrammetry to recreate the scene in 3D, removing all traffic and people, completely reconstructing an empty cityscape.
Elsewhere, 3D photogrammetry was also used to transform a standard locked off time lapse shot into a moving "helicopter" shot over Central Park. 3D tracking, modeling, lighting and animation were also used to create the innovative "pass through" effect which allowed ghosts pass through anything and everything.
To produce the complex pass throughs, the team created a 3D virtual world and physically collided them in the CG environment. VFX Supervisor Arman Matin explained, "The 3D tracking process allowed us to extract three-dimensional measurements from the 2D footage. For each pass through, we filmed both actors using a motion control camera. The "ghost" actors were shot on a greenscreen, with the motion control camera ensuring that the two camera moves could be seamlessly blended. The scene would then be tracked in 3D using visual information derived from the footage. We would then model the scene in 3D, creating a physically correct intersection-even complete with proper lighting and shadow interaction. Elements from 3D would then be passed onto Jim in Flame to finalize the composite."
A similar process and approach was used for when ghost actors pass through inanimate objects such as walls and buses.
Arman and Compositing Supervisor Jim Rider worked closely to complete the project. Jim elaborates, "The project's intricate effects and heavy compositing allowed us to really take advantage of our broad production experience. Leveraging my background in live action and motion control and Arman's extensive history with the world, we were able to make seamless transitions between actual footage and Computer Generated Imagery." The team worked in Autodesk's Flame to complete the heavy compositing needed to integrate the CG elements and live action.
Commenting on the project, rhinofx COO/EP Camille Geier noted, "Film is such a dynamic medium, demanding an extremely high quality of work, and entailing great challenges. It was a very involved process, with rough comps and several iterations to really nail the shots. Ultimately, we were able to create a series of complex shots that aren't overt or flashy, but use innovative elements that really add to the storyline." Arman added, "The entire project was completed in an environment of tremendous collaboration and creativity, even beyond our team. From the very beginning, David appreciated our ideas and really understood our approach. We worked together to make every shot happen and developed a great creative relationship that allowed us to work freely to deliver the best visual solutions." The team also worked extensively with Cinematographer Fred Murphy, brainstorming the set up and execution of each VFX shot.
The company completed the project out of their Connecticut studio, dedicated to large-scale feature film ventures.
Credits:
VFX/Animation: rhinofxVFX Supervisor: Arman MatinCompositing/Plate Supervisor: Jim RiderCOO/EP: Camille GeierProducer: Cara BuckleyProduction Executive: Karin LevinsonLead TD/Timelapse Plate Supervisor: Bogdan MihajlovicTimelapse Flame Compositor(s): David W. Reynolds, Ronen SharabaniFlame Compositors: Yoshiko Hirati, Brad ScottLighting TD: Jasmine KatatikarnDynamics TD: Ivan GuerreroAnimators: Sean Curran, Goran OgnjanovicMatch Mover: Chris HillModeler: Piotr Glabinski3D Matte Painter: Bora JurisicTimelapse VFX Still Photographer: Yaron EiniHead of IT: Paul TsungFlame Assistant: Barry FurlanoProduction Coordinator: Gerta Xhelo
