IMAXs new MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION: WALKING ON THE MOON 3D takes viewers back to the United States lunar landings, using the high res, large-screen 3D format for a compelling lunar experience.
Behind the scenes, the format posed challenges for visual effects providers Digital Dimension and Sassoon Film Design. The large screen necessitated a 4K resolution, and the 3D process required that separate images be processed for left and right eyes.
The features new imagery was shot on a stage prepped with a simulated lunar surface and surrounding green screens. Extending the surface to the horizon required adding digital set extensions using 3D tracking. The astronauts highly reflective helmet visors also required tracking to replace reflected crew and equipment with appropriate lunar reflections.
Both Sassoon Film Design and Digital Dimension relied on Andersson Technologies Llc.s 3D camera tracker, SynthEyes. As Digital Dimensions camera tracking td, Travis Yohnke points out, "Obviously under the IMAX stereoscopic format, tracking accuracy needs to be flawless. When you are looking at a 4K projection, any kind of a slip or a bump will appear like a ketchup stain on a white dress."
The large image size posed an operational challenge. According to Johnathan Banta of Sassoon, "Although SynthEyes was capable of tracking 4K shots, we did so sparingly so as to maximize our speed. 2K and 1K resolutions were the workhorse for most tracking." Similarly, Digital Dimension usually tracked from lower-resolution frames, moving up to 3K to handle particularly difficult helmet tracks. Due to SynthEyes sub-pixel tracking, even 1K proxies could produce accurate tracking for the 4K plates.
MAGNIFICENT DESOLATIONS signature opening shot begins with an extreme close-up of an astronauts foot, traveling upwards to the helmet and (replaced) visor. This was the first shot Sassoon handled on the project, and it had to be turned around within two weeks. The inter-ocular distance and focus changed throughout, causing minor changes in the field-of-view that were difficult to account for.
Banta added: "Since many of the shots had no scale reference outside the astronaut's helmet, we needed to find some way to set the scale of the resulting SynthEyes output. SynthEyes has the ability to independently track several cameras, but we began reversing the order of the left-eye plates, and appending them to the end of the right-eye sequence instead. The resulting frames were then tracked as one continuous shot. At one point the camera would make a one-frame jump as it shifted from right-eye to left-eye. This inter-ocular distance (normally 2.5 inches) can then be reconciled to the known measurement from the notes provided by production, and the scale set there."
All told, Digital Dimension tracked and delivered about 25 shots in less than 8 months, utilizing the talents of up to 40 artists. Senior vfx artist Andrew Roberts described their pipeline as follows: "As the film scans came in, they went through a 2D prep phase (lens distortion correction, dust busting, etc.) before tracking could begin. Rotoscoping and wire removal ran in parallel with the creation of digital moonscapes and visors. Compositing, color correction and general sweetening up of the frames came at the end."
Though the shot count is not high compared to a typical blockbuster, due to the nature of the project "the average duration of the tracking shots on MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION was significantly longer compared to any other projects that I have worked on to date," according to Yohnke, with shots averaging approximately 400 frames. Their longest shot came from the "Future Moon" sequence, in the neighborhood of 800 frames. "Normally these lengths are not an issue, but when you are tracking 2 & 3K frames its a different story," he added.
Sassoon handled about 50 shots, including the Apollo 11 sequence, the last half of the Apollo 15/Hadley Rille sequence and the contingency procedure sequence, in less than four months with a team of six to 12 artists. The longest was the 1,234 frame opening sequence, which is especially impressive since not only did the background have to be tracked, and two separate astronaut helmets, but also each element was tracked in both left and right frames. Some shots of the lunar rover in action required tracking and replacing its antenna, which extended past the top of the greenscreen, preventing keying. The tracked points from SynthEyes were used in Maya as a basis for photogrammetry, allowing computer-generated extensions to seamlessly blend with the sets. Animation was converted to Electric Image Animation System for final rendering.
Based on feedback from the MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION tracking, Andersson Technologies developed RAM-optimization features for its newly released SynthEyes 2006 edition to aid future projects. Yohnke said, "We would have been able to cache the entire shot at one time, making for a smoother, more productive workflow."
SynthEyes 2006 is priced at $399 and available now for PC and Mac. An upgrade to Windows XP 64 Pro adds $200. A CD adds $10 when shipped to the U.S., or $20 internationally. Quantity and volume educational-institution discounts are available.
A free demonstration version of SynthEyes 2006 is available from the website www.ssontech.com.
For more information on Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Anderrson Technologies Llc., go to: www.ssontech.com.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
