Category 7 Uses Rings F/X
From SciFi Wire:
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/i...ory=0&id=32874
Category 7 Uses Rings F/X
The makers of CBS' upcoming disaster miniseries Category 7: The End of the World made use of the same visual-effects software developed for the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films, visual effects supervisor Craig Weiss told SCI FI Wire.
The program is called Massive and can create believable hordes of digital people. "We are using Massive to digitize the extras, like Lord of the Rings," Weiss said. "People can be running or walking in a crowd scene and be randomized so they each won't have to be programmed in separately. What used to cost $100,000 you can now get off the shelf for about $3,000."
For Category 7, about a killer worldwide storm, the digital visual-effects team is not only filling skies with lightning and clouds, it is also destroying landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Mount Rushmore and the Pyramids. In one sequence, the arm of the Statue of Liberty is ripped off by a tornado, an effect accomplished with a 14-foot model on the Price Is Right stage at CBS Studios in Hollywood, Calif.
The team is also make use of a digital compositing system called Inferno. With it, the team can mesh disparate pieces of footage, matching film shot in Winnipeg, Canada, for example, with footage of miniatures shot in a studio or in the CBS parking lot. In one scene, footage of a tumbling 10-foot miniature house can be combined with footage of stars Randy Quaid and Shannen Doherty, making it appear that they are standing behind a telephone pole while the house splits around them.
In another scene, a tornado machine was used to create a synthetic whirlwind on a soundstage filled with smoke. Those images were added to footage of the actors, Weiss said.
The super-storm drama is a sequel to last year's hit Category 6. The four-hour miniseries also stars Robert Wagner, Gina Gershon, Tom Skerritt, James Brolin and Swoosie Kurtz. Category 7 premieres Nov. 6 and 13.
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/i...ory=0&id=32874
Category 7 Uses Rings F/X
The makers of CBS' upcoming disaster miniseries Category 7: The End of the World made use of the same visual-effects software developed for the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films, visual effects supervisor Craig Weiss told SCI FI Wire.
The program is called Massive and can create believable hordes of digital people. "We are using Massive to digitize the extras, like Lord of the Rings," Weiss said. "People can be running or walking in a crowd scene and be randomized so they each won't have to be programmed in separately. What used to cost $100,000 you can now get off the shelf for about $3,000."
For Category 7, about a killer worldwide storm, the digital visual-effects team is not only filling skies with lightning and clouds, it is also destroying landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Mount Rushmore and the Pyramids. In one sequence, the arm of the Statue of Liberty is ripped off by a tornado, an effect accomplished with a 14-foot model on the Price Is Right stage at CBS Studios in Hollywood, Calif.
The team is also make use of a digital compositing system called Inferno. With it, the team can mesh disparate pieces of footage, matching film shot in Winnipeg, Canada, for example, with footage of miniatures shot in a studio or in the CBS parking lot. In one scene, footage of a tumbling 10-foot miniature house can be combined with footage of stars Randy Quaid and Shannen Doherty, making it appear that they are standing behind a telephone pole while the house splits around them.
In another scene, a tornado machine was used to create a synthetic whirlwind on a soundstage filled with smoke. Those images were added to footage of the actors, Weiss said.
The super-storm drama is a sequel to last year's hit Category 6. The four-hour miniseries also stars Robert Wagner, Gina Gershon, Tom Skerritt, James Brolin and Swoosie Kurtz. Category 7 premieres Nov. 6 and 13.
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