Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Louis Morin, Source Code, and Modus FX Building a riller with Invisible VFX

06/03/2013

April 1st, 2011

Visual effects supervisor Louis Morin's latest project, SourceCode, comes to the big screen across North America today. Modus FX, who collaborated recentlywith Morin on Barney's Version, was one of six facilities that contributed stunning, seamless CGfor the new thriller by emerging British director Duncan Jones. The film is just the latest in the newgeneration of films blending brilliant, yet imperceptible, visual effects with live action.

Some people still think of visual effects as something artificial, said Louis Morin, but digital toolsare no different from any of the other illusions that we use to tell great stories. I think it is becausesome of the early CG work was not as sophisticated, that visual effects got a bad reputation, butthat time has passed. Visual effects have become a powerful tool for the filmmaker at the sametime as they have become mostly invisible for the audience.VFX supervision is actually Morin's second turn in the international limelight. In his teens he wasa competitive freestyle skier. When I was 14, I saw the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, herecalled. I decided then that my first goal was to become a world champion skier, and after that I wanted to become a filmmaker.

He came very close to realizing his skiing dream, reaching the World Cup, but ultimately kneesurgery forced him to retire from competition. Meanwhile, in 1981, the young Morin had startedfilm school, and soon after that moved to Europe where he spent several years making ski films.I learned as a director and camera man about shooting, lighting, lenses and so much more, saidMorin. That experience was so important for the work I do now. Filming forces you to thinkconstantly about how to grab reality with a camera, how reality is perceived by the audience, andhow to capture it and make it look great on the screen.

Back in Montreal, Morin moved on to producing commercials and became involved in visualeffects. Commercials are a great place to learn the craft, he related. You have good budgetsand the best tools. His breakthrough came in 2004, as VFX supervisor on Eternal Sunshine ofthe Spotless Mind, which was nominated for a VES award. Since then, Morin has worked on arange of high-profile projects, including Brokeback Mountain, The Aviator, Mr. Nobody, TheAmerican, Barney's Version and Source Code.

Bringing Source Code to Life

The new film, Source Code, is a sci-fi thriller. While the storyline involves obvious fantasy, thevisuals for the film are almost entirely based on live-action reality. Visual effects shots for the filminvolved CG trains, snarled traffic, complex set extensions and incredible explosion scenes.To create photo-real effects, I try to make as many live elements as possible available to the artists, explained Morin. For example, on Source Code we went to a quarry and set off all kindsof explosions, shot at different speeds and angles, to use as plate elements. Later, we bring thelive elements into compositing, and only then do we go to CG for enhancements, or to fill in anygaps.

In total, Source Code has over 850 visual effects shots, the majority of which are set inside acommuter train. These included hundreds of greenscreen windows showing passing landscapesor train station backdrops. Here the use of CG in post allowed the director and the actors to workwithout outside distractions during production. I wanted to give the director total freedom insidethe train, so that he could focus on storytelling, said Morin. Set extensions on the train station in Source Code provide another example of the critical linkbetween digital and traditional filmmaking tools. Production designer Barry Chusid based the setdesign on an actual train station in Chicago. The postproduction component called for extendingthe train station building and the surrounding parking lot. At some point in post we decided tochange the parking lot, recalled Morin. As a result, in the final sequences the whole side of thetrain station is digital. That meant more than 65 new shots, but it was a small price to pay. This ishow CG gives the director more room to maneuver, not only in planning the shots, but also in thefinal stages of fine-tuning the story.

Director Duncan Jones, whose first feature, Moon, won him kudos from audiences and criticsalike, worked closely with the team, designing transition shots and carefully storyboarding thefilm's climactic scene. Duncan's background is also in commercials, so he has an excellentunderstanding of the tools, explained Morin. He has a very respectful and collaborative way ofleading that was critical on a complex project like this.

Editorial was done in tandem with the visual effects. As they were cutting the film in L.A., I had aVFX editor with me with a mirror image of the cut, explained Morin. As the editors worked, wegot the new EDLs, so if they changed the cut, we knew right away where we'd have to changethe effects. This way we were always ahead of the curve.

Six facilities, including Modus FX, participated in the project. Rodeo FX crafted most of thegreenscreen windows for the train interiors. MPC Vancouver handled the big explosions andcrash sequences. Fly Studio provided key transitions, Mr. X did additional window backgrounds,and Oblique FX created bomb interiors, a virtual stuntman, and slow-motion explosion sequence.

Modus FX on Source Code

Modus started early on in the project doing pre-visualization, including the film's climacticexplosion scene. Once those sequences were roughed out, the shots were handed over to MPCVancouver for completion. Modus also created the CG commuter and cargo train models for theteam at MPC, as well as producing shots depicting enormous traffic jams.

There is widespread panic at one point in the
LINK: http://modusfx.com/news-press/louis-morin-source-code-and-modus-fx-bui...
See more stories from modus

Most recent headlines

04/08/2024

Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....

03/06/2024

Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...

16/05/2024

Telestream Taps Power of AI to Manage, Define Media Workflows

TV Tech recently sat down with Telestream CEO Rhonda Bassett-Spiers and CTO Simon Clark to discuss how the M&E industry is adapting the cloud, IP and AI to enha...

16/05/2024

1185 Films launches one stop shop' for industry talent

1185 Talent will include directors, editors, colourists, VFX artists and photographers By Jenny Priestley Published: May 16, 2024 1185 Talent will include...

16/05/2024

Updated: Presteigne Broadcast Hire enters administration

The administrators said they are focused on trading the business as a going concern while they assess options, including exploring the possibility of a sale By...

16/05/2024

AWS CEO Adam Selipsky steps down

Selipsky will leave the company on 3rd June, and will be succeeded by Matt Garman, a senior vice president who has overseen sales and marketing at AWS By Jenny...

16/05/2024

Sony Pictures Post Production Services Completes Sound Facilities Expansion

Sony Pictures Post Production Services has announced that the final phase of a multi-year effort to expand and modernize its motion picture and television sound...

16/05/2024

CNN, ABC to Televise Two Presidential Debates

President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump have agreed to participate in two televised debates, the first of which will be hosted by CNN on June 17....

16/05/2024

Disney+ Debuts First Concert Film to Stream with IMAX Enhanced Sound

BURBANK, Calif. and NEW YORK Disney+, IMAX Corporation, and DTS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xperi, have announced that Queen Rock Montreal is now streaming ...

16/05/2024

WBD Unveils Advanced Advertising Features for Max

NEW YORK During its upfronts presentation, Warner Bros. Discovery announced a suite of new advanced ad products available on Max, that include shoppable ads, ad...

16/05/2024

iZotope announces RX 11 audio software, introducing new machine learning for tackling noise, and new tools for music streaming

iZotope announces RX 11 audio software, introducing new machine learning for tac...

16/05/2024

Check Out the Cine Gear Expo June 7 9, 2024 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA

Check Out the Cine Gear Expo June 7 9, 2024 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank...

16/05/2024

Nouvel Photo & Film Captures Cinematic Wedding Films with Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K

Nouvel Photo & Film Captures Cinematic Wedding Films with Blackmagic Cinema Came...

16/05/2024

Replacing Surfaces Like a Pro with Mocha AE Planar Tracking

Replacing Surfaces Like a Pro with Mocha AE Planar Tracking Levi Borland May 15, 2024 0 Comments Welcome to our comprehensive tutorial on planar track...

16/05/2024

CBC's CPL Teams Salamanders, Yard Gnomes One Week Away From Season Opener

The world of baseball at Capitol Broadcasting is about to expand like fireworks on a Friday night. The Holly Springs Salamanders will open their season at home...

16/05/2024

Blockgraph Adopted by tvbeat, Enabling Audience-Based Planning

Blockgraph said that its identity and data collaboration platform has been adopted by tvbeat, a provider of campaign planning technology for media companies....

16/05/2024

Skeem Saam: Wednesday's episode, 15 May 2024 [video]

Skeem Saam: Wednesday's episode, 15 May 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African so...

16/05/2024

Monet painting fetches R640 million at New York auction

Monet painting fetches R640 million at New York auctionA Monet has sold for nearly R640 million at auction, Sotheby's said, marking a solid start to New Yor...

16/05/2024

Cruinni na ng 2024 - a day of free creative activity for young people

RT is supporting Cruinni na n g with a nationwide campaign on television, radio, online and digital. For a full listing of all activities and information on h...

15/05/2024

UKTV Ventures partners with The Farewell Guide in 1million airtime-for-equity deal

12th March 2024 - Award-winning broadcaster UKTV has today announced it has inve...

15/05/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Jianjie Lin, the Writer-Director Behind Brief History of a Family

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...

15/05/2024

De viktigaste insikterna frn Spotifys rliga Loud & Clear-rapport

Med sin rliga royaltyrapport Loud & Clear kar Spotify transparensen i musikindustrin, s att artister, l tskrivare, fans och hela musikbranschen f r en st rre...

15/05/2024

Chegaram as ltimas estatsticas: Artistas brasileiros geraram mais receita e alcanaram mais fs no Spotify - basta perguntar Anitta

Nos ltimos 10 a 15 anos, a mudan a para o streaming de udio transformou comple...

15/05/2024

The Latest Stats Are In: Brazilian Artists Generated More Revenue and Reached More Fans on Spotify-Just Ask Anitta

Over the last 10-15 years, the move toward streaming audio has completely transf...

15/05/2024

Celebrating 80 years of success in Morganton

On May 15th, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the SGL Carbon site in Morganton, North Carolina. The entire SGL Morganton family came together to celebrate t...

15/05/2024

SBS Audio marketing campaign tells the stories of new Australians, with multilingual content offerings to assist migrants

SBS Audio marketing campaign tells the stories of new Australians, with multilin...

15/05/2024

ST Engineering iDirect's SKYflow Wins 2024 NAB Show Product of The Year Award

The pioneering satellite OTT solution clinched the Hardware Infrastructure award...

15/05/2024

L3Harris CEO to Present at Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions Conference

MELBOURNE, Fla., May 15, 2024 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik will present at the Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions C...

15/05/2024

Netflix to Stream Live Christmas Day NFL Games

In a major example of how large streaming services are successfully battling for lucrative sports rights, Netflix has announced that it has secured global right...

15/05/2024

NAB Show: Creative Lens on Live Sports

LAS VEGAS The premise of the 2024 NAB Shows Creative Lens on Live Sports: Next Gen Video Production and Fan Experiences session was very simple to understand if...

15/05/2024

ATEME Integrates Advanced HDR by Technicolor into TITAN Encoders

SILVER SPRINGS, Md. Encoder specialist ATEME has integrated Advanced HDR by Technicolor into its TITAN video compression solution, Technicolor said today....

15/05/2024

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major US Music Festivals this Summer and Fall

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major US Music Festivals this Summer and Fall The Berklee Popular Music Institute arranged placements at top festivals including...

15/05/2024

ABC Sets The Golden Bachelorette' for Fall Schedule

ABC shared its 2024-2025 fall schedule hours before the Disney upfront presentation Tuesday, May 14. There's The Golden Bachelorette, a new Ryan Murphy show...

15/05/2024

Alicia Keys Kicks Off Amazon Upfront Show, Reese Witherspoon Wraps It Up

Amazon's first-ever upfront presentation, at Pier 36 in Lower Manhattan, got a late start due to its remote location. But the energy spiked when Alicia Keys...

15/05/2024

Disney Upfront Welcomes Back Bob Iger and Jimmy Kimmel

The Walt Disney Co.'s upfront presentation went on with a connections theme, and Bob Iger himself appeared onstage moments after it began. Emma Stone introd...

15/05/2024

Hulu's Under the Bridge' Tops TVision Power Score Rankings

Hulu's Under the Bridge moved up to take the top spot in TVision's Power Score rankings of the top shows on connected TV for the week of May 6....

15/05/2024

The CW Gets Rights to 11 PAC-12 Football Games

BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network has announced it will be the broadcast home for 11 Pac-12 football games featuring Oregon State and Washington State during the u...

15/05/2024

Nielsen: Disney Is Top Media Distributor with 11.5% of TV Usage

NEW YORK Disney has landed on top of Nielsens newly launched Media Distributor Gauge, which offers its first cross-platform view of total TV consumption across ...

15/05/2024

Max Sets a May 21 Streaming Debut for 'Dune: Part Two

Warner Bros. Discoverys Max streaming services has finally set a launch date for Dune: Part Two with the announcement that the film will begin streaming on Thur...

15/05/2024

FCC Establishes Spectrum Steering Team

WASHINGTON, D.C. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced the establishment of the Spectrum Steering Team that will lead the FCC's efforts to develo...

15/05/2024

Gary Heelas joins TSL as principal engineer

TSL said the appointment marks a strategic enhancement in the companys commitment to focusing on UK and US-designed and manufactured solutions By Jenny Priestl...

15/05/2024

Is Sony about to pull out of its bid for Paramount?

Sony and Apollo may decide to acquire Shari Redstone's National Amusements, which is the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global By Jenny Priestley P...

15/05/2024

Presteigne Broadcast Hire enters administration

The company appointed administrators yesterday (May 14th) By Jenny Priestley Published: May 15, 2024 The company appointed administrators yesterday (May 1...

15/05/2024

Matrox Video Demos at InfoComm 2024 Will Showcase New AVo...

Technology innovator Matrox Video today announced that the company will highlight its leading AV-over-IP (AVoIP) technologies including the brand-new, next-g...

15/05/2024

RMi Amplifies Connectivity and Clarity at Major 2024 Musi...

Riedel Communications today announced its pivotal role in bringing unparalleled audio clarity and connectivity to one of the U.S.'s biggest 2024 music and a...

15/05/2024

Chyron Unveils Significant Updates to Chyron LIVE Cloud P...

Chyron today released a series of significant updates to its Chyron LIVE cloud-native live production platform that were demonstrated at the 2024 NAB Show in La...

15/05/2024

VisualOn to Showcase Revolutionary Optimizer Content-Awar...

VisualOn, a leader in video software technology, is set to unveil its groundbreaking Optimizer suite at Broadcast Asia 2024. The unveiling will take place in th...

15/05/2024

StreamVue announce exclusive parnership with DigiBox

StreamVue, one of the global leaders in IPTV and digital signage solutions is excited to announce an exclusive distribution partnership with DigiBox, one of the...

15/05/2024

Vega Project Uses Blackmagic Design Workflow for XR Studio in Hilton Tokyo

Vega Project Uses Blackmagic Design Workflow for XR Studio in Hilton Tokyo Brie Clayton May 14, 2024 0 Comments Blackmagic Design announced today that...

15/05/2024

Chaos Releases V-Ray 6 Benchmark

Chaos Releases V-Ray 6 Benchmark Brie Clayton May 14, 2024 0 Comments Popular Rendering Benchmark Brings Back CPU/GPU Stats in a Minute; New Benchmark...