Pixel Magic Lights Up the Crowds in My All American

Pixel Magic announced that it recently created all of the visual effects for My All American. The movie, directed by Angelo Pizzo, (writer of RUDY and HOOSIERS), opens in theaters on November 13, 2015.

Based on a true story, this emotional sport drama is about the journey of Freddie Steinmark, a former University of Texas defensive back who faces the toughest challenge of his life after leading his team to a national championship season.

Pixel Magic completed over 400 visual effects shots of which 300 were adding full CG crowds, and nearly 150 shots adding period CG stadiums.

According to Raymond McIntyre Jr., VFX Supervisor on the movie, Production wanted the ability to move the camera all the time. This eliminated the traditional approach of locked off cameras and tiling practical people in different spots in the stadium, hence the need for cgi crowds.

He added, Production shot with six cameras, so we saw nearly every direction in every shot, reducing the effectiveness of using green screen. As a result, nearly every shot had to be rotoscoped. A full digital crowd was mixed with extras shot on green screen and composited with the few extras available on set. Shooting HDRIs on set allowed for realistic and accurate lighting for all the digital crowd and stadium shots. This is the real advantage of CG crowds, an exact match of lighting. When using green screen people, you cannot light people on green screen to match all of the lighting scenarios that occur on set.

CG people of various shapes and sizes, and their clothing were created in Maya. We used our in house motion capture system to generate animation cycles of people clapping, cheering, sitting and standing, said Victor DiMichina, Pixels Production Supervisor. The CG crowds were randomized using Golaem inside of Maya and rendered in VRay. These CG elements were then composited with the live action game plates in After Effects and Nuke.

Many shots required the addition of a CG period football stadium to be created. For the University of Texas Stadium, the entire stadium was created digitally to match its look from 1969. Additionally, Pixel Magic created four full CG period 1960s college football stadiums. Pixel Magic completed 90% of all the visual effects work at its facility in Louisiana, which generated a tax incentive for production.

In addition to My All American, Pixel Magic recently completed over 100 shots on The Young Messiah for 1492 Productions. The Company is currently working on LBJ, directed by Rob Reiner.

About Pixel Magic:

Located in the media district of Toluca Lake, California since 1985, and in Louisiana since 2010, Pixel Magic has earned a long list of feature films and television credits including everything from Hollywood blockbuster films to cult classics. The company maintains a culture of combining art and technical expertise.

Pixel Magics services in Louisiana are eligible for the states 30% tax credit on qualified productions. All product and movie names are trademarks of their respective companies

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