Crafty Apes Delivers Incredible Subtle VFX for Hidden Figures with Help from Autodesk ds Max and Maya

Hidden Figures recounts the story of three female African-American mathematicians who played an integral role John Glenns launch into space and return. Captured on 35mm film, the movie is largely live action, but features nuanced CG throughout. Crafty Apes delivered 328 VFX shots for the film, working out of its Atlanta facility, with Founder Chris LeDoux at the helm, Mark LeDoux overseeing local artists and Tim LeDoux guiding the final look out of the studios LA facility. Together, a 20-person team created CG elements reminiscent of 1960s Russian and NASA space programs; period era technology; and capsules, rockets, launch pads and the like, in addition to a host of VFX and environment work for CG shots, from bolts to Earth.

Recreating historical assets in CG that couldnt be achieved practically, and matching them to the films Kodachrome look was no simple feat. One of the biggest challenges was getting our CG assets to blend in with the film. We didnt want anything to scream VFX Shot, said Chris. So we adjusted our shots to fit more with the practical shots as the edit progressed. It took quite a few iterations for us to hone in on the perfect looks.

Autodesk technology streamlined the process, making it easier for Crafty Apes to create photo-real CG elements for shots quickly and efficiently, from hard surface models to fog, space elements and more. Autodesk 3ds Max and Maya were the backbone of our CG work on the film, helping us solve CG riddles from modeling through to the final render, Chris explained. We married old stock footage with our CG, making the reference material and Autodesk tools all we needed to bring our assets to life.

Autodesk tools save us a ton of time and money, because they just work. The reliability is undeniable, but the real shine is in the performance, he continued. 3ds Max and Maya are tried, true, and the buttons dont move much from version to version, so we never skip a beat. Not to mention, they are also so widely used in the industry, which made it easy to exchange assets between vendors.

The majority of Crafty Apes work was done out of its Atlanta facility, but Chris also called in reinforcements. We were working under a tight schedule, and the number of shots grew as the project progressed, so we had to scale to meet the deadline. Thankfully, we have a great network of talent to call on, he said.

Crafty Apes enlisted the help of pro animator and generalist Dirk Valk to head up CG, and divvy out the workload between the in-house team and other vendors. Important Looking Pirates in Sweden was responsible for creating several hero CG assets. Anthony Vu assisted with asset creation while Rif Dagher brought his expertise in smoke, fire and fluids to the production. Other CG artists involved included Elliot Jobe, Brandon Young, and Andy Byrne.

Between all the different vendors and individuals involved, Crafty Apes was constantly receiving and managing assets and passes at all hours. The team completed all the comps in-house with guidance from Director Theodore (Ted) Melfi, Editor Peter Teschner and 1st Assistant Director Craig Hayes, who were instrumental in shaping the emotional arc of every shot.

The collaboration with Ted was fantastic; I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. He left us to our own devices, and once he saw what was possible, challenged us to push the limits even further; thats apparent in the look of the film, expressed Chris. I m proud of our work, but even more, the film itself. Its the epitome of cultural consciousness, and a film Im glad to tell my kids I worked on.

Image Courtesy of Fox

LINK:	https://www.kitplus.com/news/Crafty_Apes_Delivers_Incredible_Subtle_VF...
	See more stories from tvbay

Most recent headlines