EarthCam.net has posted a video of a time lapse of the construction of the Final Battle set for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico which I think occurred around June 2008. It gets some of the early filming but not of any of the big explosions and resulting destruction of the set. A set constuction like this helps give you an idea of the sheer volume of hard work that can go into a movie. Thanks to David for the links especially the flash file so could upload to YouTube.
Showing posts with label TF2 Behind the Scenes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TF2 Behind the Scenes. Show all posts
ILM's Benza Talks ROTF FX
The AllSpark has a great write-up with ILM's animation supervisor Scott Benza from the Paramount's press junket from a few weeks ago for the home video release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. He talks about the challenges and landmarks of the film. A lot of the information has been covered in previous articles and the special edition of the movie but still makes for an interesting read. Below is a snippet, the full article can be found here.All robots were rigged in a way that they could animate almost any individual part that made up of the robot, ranging from springs to brake pads and all sorts of mechanical pieces one would find in various vehicles, using Mudflap as an example. That way it helped with the robots’ transformation sequences and the way how they moved. Benza added that each robot was defined by both external and internal pieces, sometimes certain parts filling out the interiors and certain animation models used in the first film were reused and revamped in the second. Since they had the same amount of time to animate everything like in Transformers but with a larger workload due to having over 40 robots, the animators had to make use of whatever they created and had. They tried to introduce more personalities into the transformation depending on the character and to work best from the camera’s point of view – Ironhide has a more forward attitude and is a veteran, hence his rather slow transformation, compared to Sideswipe’s energetic and flashy change, as well elegant and heroic for Optimus. Devastator’s combination sequence was intentionally made clumsy and dirty, as well difficult, showing off a pre-visual sequence. None of the transformations are done ahead of time and simply plugged into the shot, Benza noted.
Revenge of the Fallen Props for Auction
If you have the money Profiles in History is auctioning props and collectibles related to Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Items for sale include the Hero Bumblebee robot (not sure if same as one used at the various premieres), the 1977 Camaro (Bumblebee) used in the first film, Jetfire's cane/landing gear, various NEST gear and weapons, Tomb of the Twelve pieces, stunt Matrix prop, actor costumes, Hero Wheelie RC truck, and more. The only caveat is the value of many of the props is measured in thousands of dollars. Even if you don't have the money, the images of the various props are interesting. Each piece includes an image, description and size and comes with a certificate of authenticity from Bay Films and Paramount Pictures.Two ways to view the available pieces. Either click here, or go to the Profiles in History and type "Transformers" in the search field. Thanks to Scorpio for the link (via the Allspark).
Magazine Confirms Seven Constructicons
TFW2005's Dinobot Nuva has posted a scan from an article in the current issue of Nick Magazine that has comments from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen lead animator Shawn Kelly were he talks about eyes and the complexity of Devastator and merging seven vehicles. This is, to my knowledge, the first time someone directly associated with the movie has confirmed that seven vehicles combine to form Devastator. Previous mentions were second hand information in articles, a toy, and novelizations.Devastator
Says Shawn, "Devastator is easily the most complicated character we've ever done because of his size, which is absolutely gigantic. Just trying to figure out how he might form into this giant thing and then walk around was a huge challenge." Animating Devastator required so much computing power that one artist's computer overheated and its insides melted!Emotion via the Eyes:"We tried to make a scary transformation for [Devastator] where things are slamming together and getting pulled around. All seven vehicles are shoving themselves together and clicking into place as he grows into this giant, scary dude."
An important part of making the robots look real is their eyes. According to Shawn, "We had to pay a lot of attention to the robots' eyes because a lot of them don't have much more to their face. As long as we can bring the eyes to life, it works pretty well." To do this, animators spent time studying real eyes to see how they move and blink. They also filmed each other and studied the eyes of different actors as they recorded their lines.
