ENTERTAINMENTENGINEERING TE C H N OLOG Y | C R E AT I V IT Y | F U N
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MOTION CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY Creating Wargs for Hobbit movies
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“WORLD WAR Z” AND 3D SCANNERS Brings zombies to life
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“WILFRED” & LITEPANELS’ SOLA 12 Gaffer uses LED fixtures
Volume 10 Issue 10
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CANE CREEK CYCLING COMPONENTS xxxxxxxxxx
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Terry Persun | 360-379-6885 E: terry@entertainmentengineering.com Bruce Wiebusch | 440-503-3013 E: bruce@entertainmentengineering.com
Greg Hale, VP Advanced Technology Disney Parks and Resorts Kevin Russelburg, Sr. Project Engineer, ITW Pancon John Lewis, Sr. Writer, Cognex Corp.
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Joe Gillard, Gerald Braude, S. Korobeinik Richard Mandel, Mark Persun
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MOTION-CAPTURED WARGS ARE MOST CREATIVE “Bebe” the dog helps Weta Digital use motion capture to create Wargs for Hobbit movies What would Weta Digital consider to be the best and most creative use of Motion Capture technology in The Hobbit; The Unexpected Journey? It could be how “Bebe” the dog helped create Wargs, according to Eric Reynolds. He was in charge of the Warg sequences for the Hobbit film, which was released late in 2012. “It was assumed at the beginning that they would be key-framed,” says Reynolds about the Wargs. “They were the size of small horses and needed to move with an intent of malice that you could never get from motion capturing a dog. But as we moved into production we decided to look at it again. One of the guys working at our mo-cap location has a dog, Bebe, that he brings in to work on most days. She has no acting credentials, but she was free, so we thought we should give it a go. Bebe was suited up with a special dog suit flown in from the United States. We got her to act out a huge library of basic dog motions, runs, jumps, leaping in the air, etc. Some of the best stuff we got was in between set-ups when she would just wander around and be a dog. To get the Bebe motion into a more Warg-like performance, we slowed down the capture by 20 to 30 percent. And edited out all the “happy” butt and tail wagging. It worked great.” Reynolds also added that from an animation storytelling standpoint, their portable motion capture set-up was a huge improvement in Weta’s dealings with the client on the Rise of the Planet of the Apes movie. 4
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“Rather than getting empty plates and a bit of a write up on what the director would like there, we got exactly what the director wanted immediately. Since the capture happened on set, the director could get the exact performance he wanted. This meant the framing, action, and timing of action were all built into the plate. On Apes, we had two plates shot for each vfx shot. One with Andy Serkis in it and one without. We ended up using the plates with Andy Serkis in them for most of the shots because inevitably, that plate was better. The camera was framed better since the camera man had an actual subject to frame on, and the other actors in the plate reacted better since they had Andy to play against.” Bebe was covered in special suit while cameras captured the dog’s motion. Wargs are five times larger than the dogs, so animators slowed down the captured motion data by 20 percent to add mass and weight. Wargs made an appearance in the The Two Towers, which was the second film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In Hobbit, the Wargs attack the dwarves, as can be seen in the movie clips below.
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Movie Trailer on YouTube > Peter Jackson > Video 1 > Solidworks 2014 >
Weta Digital > Andy > Video 2 > Black Magic >
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3D SCANNERS USED FOR “WORLD WAR Z” Bringing to life a world-wide zombie invasion starring Brad Pitt 2h3D Ltd, based near the Pinewood and Shepperton Studios in the UK, has a film and TV credit list stretching back 15 years. During “World War Z” pre-production, 2h3D was approached by the film’s VFX department to discuss how they might assist in the digital capture of assets for the upcoming production, including sets and locations, bodies, costumes, vehicles, and props. The company then worked alongside the VFX department at various locations in Malta, Hungary, Scotland and England as well as at Shepperton and Elstree Studios to deliver around 100 digital assets to be used in the flick. Artec scanners from www. artec3d.com were used to digitize weapons, multiple baggage items for the plane crash scene, as well as actors and their elaborate costumes. For scanning, one Artec MHT (for heads/faces and props) and one Artec L (for bodies) were used, in conjunction with a motorized turntable. Capture of each performer took less than 5 minutes and head scans were done in less than a minute. Then, Artec Studio was used to process and edit the scan data before exporting the fused model into other software for processing and poly-sculpting. 2h3d allocated 2 days for processing/editing of each full body, including merging the higher resolution head scan with the body data. Sometimes this process took less time, sometimes more - it depended on how still the subject stood and how complex his/her outfit was. In the words of Guy Hauldren - Director - 2h3D Ltd. Head of Scanning for World War Z: “Considering the quantity of scanning subjects, the numerous locations, the cramped areas we were expected to set up in and the often narrow set-up and capture window, Artec scanners were the only feasible option. With a plug-and-play USB interface and no calibration they are the perfect tool to 6
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use in the often chaotic world of film production. We were delighted with their usability in the field and the resultant data back at the studio, and we continue to utilize them heavily in all our feature production work.” In addition to the quality of data, 2h3d chose an Artec scanner for a number of reasons: • The equipment is portable. • There is no complicated setup. • Large jobs are not a problem. • Artec 3D scans humans easily. • Scans dark/black objects. • Ambient light is not an issue.
For More Information Click Below:
> Artec
WILFRED TO USE LITEPANELS SOLA 12 It is important for gaffer Tom Pugh to have the best lighting he can get for the quirky FX series, Wilfred, about a manic depressive man who sees his neighbor’s dog as a man in a dog suit. When Pugh saw the new Litepanels Sola 12 Fresnels, he immediately added the LED fixture to his lighting package. Daylight balanced LED lights have become critical in maintaining the dramatic look of the Wilfred comedy series, which is shot on Nikon D800 DSLRs. According to Tom Pugh, “They are great cameras, but when you get used to the 16-stop latitude that cameras such as the ARRI Alexa offer, the limited latitude of the D800 forces us to come up with creative ways to keep the image in proper balance. That’s why Litepanels’ Sola 12 is a perfect choice.” The Sola 12 not only provides the proper balance, but also uses approximately 4amps of power,
which means the unit can safely plug into any household wall circuit. To Pugh, who often works on location, the low power consumption comes in extremely handy when shooting where the use of house power becomes an option. To help produce the unique look of Wilfred, Pugh controls the output via the built-in dimmer that takes the Sola 12 from 100 percent to zero with no color shift and “no green,” he’s quick to point out. What’s more, he says the Sola 12s, “…work well as a nice sun crash when fully www.entertainmentengineering.com
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spotted in and also make for a beautiful key light or fill when flooded. At full spot, they put out about as much as a 1200W par with a wide lens at 12 feet. When in full flood, the Sola 12, with its unique Fresnel lens, has a very bright yet creamy light output. When I put it through some 129 or full grid, I get an amazing result at lower T-stops.” On practical locations, Pugh often finds it challenging to keep lights and cables out of the shot, especially when he has to light for two opposing overs and a wide master. “Our first use of the Sola 12 in this situation showed us that they are perfect for these kinds of shots,” he says. “We were inside a foyer with one of our cameras lensed up with a 20mm. We saw everything framed floor to ceiling, wall to wall. There was no way to get cable into the area without seeing it. So, I simply plugged the Sola 12 right into the wall, went full spot with it, and created a beautiful sun source.” Pugh sites the versatility of the lights as key to his choice. “Recently, we were shooting actors Jason Gann (Wilfred) and Elijah Wood (Ryan Newman) sitting at a kitchen counter that had a very large support column right next to them. It prevented putting our lights in our place of first choice. Directly behind, we also had large floor-
“We saw everything framed floor to ceiling, wall to wall. There was no way to get cable into the area without seeing it. So, I simply plugged the Sola 12 right into the wall, went full spot with it, and created a beautiful sun source.” to-ceiling windows that Key Grip Kevin Ball had covered with N9. The Sola 12 provided a simple solution. By bouncing it into a 3x3 show card and through a full grid frame, we were able to work around the marble column and create a beautiful light on our two stars.”
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CANE CREEK CYCLING COMPONENTS Pedaling a path to faster cycling component development with SolidWorks
If you’re riding a bike from one of the major bicycle manufacturers, chances are Cane Creek Cycling Components made one or more of its parts. Cane Creek developed the patented headset technology that couples a bike’s frame to its front fork on virtually all commercially produced bicycles. Building on its successful original equipment manufacturer (OEM) headset business, Cane Creek has expanded its product offering to include seat posts, grips, bar ends, brake levers, and rear shocks for fullsuspension mountain bikes, for both OEM and after-market customers. To prepare for the intensified research and development of its product expansion, the component manufacturer conducted a review of its previous Pro/ENGINEER® 3D CAD tools in 2004. Following that evaluation, Cane Creek management decided to switch to a new design environment to support its efforts to shorten development and time-tomarket— necessary steps to continue supporting existing offerings, while taking on the additional challenges of introducing new products. Cane Creek chose the SolidWorks® design platform because it’s easier to use, is the solution of choice for key Cane Creek vendors and customers, includes integrated simulation tools, and is more cost-effective. Cane Creek acquired licenses of SolidWorks Professional and SolidWorks Premium design software, and added SolidWorks Simulation Professional software in 2010 to utilize its large-scale deformation analysis capabilities for seal design. R&D Director Joshua Coaplen, who joined Cane Creek two years after the move to the SolidWorks platform, determined that SolidWorks was still the best solution to support the company’s pursuit of its ambitious product expansion initiatives. “SolidWorks has met all of our R&D needs and has provided the modeling tools we need to achieve our goals,” Coaplen stresses. “The purpose of our CAD system is to help us design, analyze, and manufacture parts in a way that reduces costs and time-to-market. SolidWorks enables us to accomplish everything that Cane Creek needs to achieve in terms of automating product development.”
Cane Creek Cycling Components leverages SolidWorks design and simulation tools to achieve its R&D goals—expanding its product line and reducing time-to-market at the same time.
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Shorter mold development, faster time-to-market Cane Creek’s use of SolidWorks solutions has led to both time and cost savings, particularly in the development of prototype molds. Using the software’s development and analysis tools, such as checking that a design has sufficient draft, the company’s engineers make sure that the design is suitable for molding. These capabilities result in fewer prototype mold iterations and shorter time-to-market. “With SolidWorks, we have significantly reduced our mold iterations while increasing the functionality of the molded parts,” Coaplen notes. “By conducting more design iterations in SolidWorks, we have cut the number of prototype molds required for each part in half, which saves us the cost of making prototype molds and up to 10 weeks of development time. The overall impact of these productivity gains is a 15 percent decrease in time-to-market.”
Simulating and configuring designs
Cane Creek utilizes SolidWorks simulation and configuration tools to contribute to these productivity improvements. The need to understand the large-scale deformations that rubber seals undergo in many of the company’s products prompted Cane Creek to add SolidWorks Simulation Professional software. “Part of the reason we have cut mold iterations involves producing more moldable parts, as we have learned from our mistakes. The other part is that we can now predict how our seals will deform and can optimize their shape during design to account for this behavior,” Coaplen says. With design table-driven SolidWorks configurations, Cane Creek designers can create a complete product family from a single-base design, saving time and money. “Many of our products come in different sizes, so we frequently use SolidWorks design configuration capabilities to automate the production of other configurations once we have settled on the base design,” Coaplen stresses. “These kinds of capabilities free up our engineers from repetitive tasks so they can work on other designs.”
Efficiency gains fuel product expansion By helping Cane Creek address issues related to time10
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Using SolidWorks Simulation Professional software, Cane Creek obtains a better understanding of how its rubber seals will deform, enabling engineers to optimize seal shape and improve performance.
to-market, SolidWorks solutions provide the manufacturer’s engineers with the time and energy they need to develop new products. Since implementing SolidWorks solutions, Cane Creek has increased its headset offerings by 30 percent and expanded its shock product line by 100 percent. “We have been able to achieve our product growth objectives because SolidWorks allows us to focus on design,” Coaplen points out. “We’re not interested in exerting more effort to learn about software. We want our thinking to concentrate on the products that we are trying to design, not the tools used to design them. SolidWorks helps us achieve that focus.” For More Information Click Below:
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