![]() ![]() The inferno that springs from nearly every corner in Deepwater Horizon spends more than 30 minutes on screen, and therefore demanded a more sustained approach to creating the digital blaze than previous projects Hammack has supervised, which include visually charged films like Battleship and Now You See Me. The considerable amount of practical effects built into the set also allowed the ILM team to focus their efforts on the movie’s prominent, non-human star: The raging, oil-fed fire that quickly consumes the Horizon. These gigantic, detailed set pieces gave the digital effects team a better canvas to work with when it came to filling in the gaps between set pieces and extending portions of the background environment digitally. “(The fire) needed to feel like an active, fast moving monster.” The rig was surrounded by a similarly massive tank holding millions of gallons of water and lined with pipes capable of engulfing the entire apparatus in flames. In order to create that tangible, immersive experience for both the cast members and the audience, Berg and his team did something few films would even consider: They built a massive replica of the oil rig in an abandoned parking lot in Louisiana, constructed to 85-percent scale. “The small margin of error involved in the work was kind of the main challenge, just to keep people in that experience.” ![]() “The only way that happens is if they don’t recognize the stitches of fake imagery,” explained the film’s lead visual effects supervisor, Craig Hammack, in an interview with Animation World Network. With so much of the action unfolding in and around fiery conditions, the need to show characters dealing with all of these threats while navigating the rig required a careful balance of practical and computer-generated effects. Recreating the explosive events aboard the rig - which generated a massive fireball visible from 40 miles away and led to the deaths of 11 crew members - was no easy task for Berg and the film’s VFX team. “I’m pretty sure it’s the biggest practical set ever built in the history of filmmaking.” And yet, some of the most demanding effects can be those that recreate real-world events in a way that brings the audience into the action. The use of visual effects is often associated with the most fantastic elements of films, whether creating a voyage through space, a jungle filled with talking animals, or magical abilities that defy the laws of physics. In recognition of these five films - and one of our favorite Oscar categories - we’re putting the spotlight on one “Visual Effects” nominee each day leading up to Sunday’s broadcast, and taking a closer look at what made them stand out.įirst up is the real-world drama Deepwater Horizon, which recreated one of the most devastating ecological disasters of the modern era by combining a monstrous set with highly advanced software and an explosive attention to detail. Each of the projects nominated this year offer a unique, inside look at the amazing tricks filmmakers and their talented effects teams use to pull off the visual spectacles that make for a big-screen blockbuster. Every year, five films are nominated for an Academy Award in the “Visual Effects” category.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |