The Marvel Cinematic Universe just keeps growing. The studio's latest offering, Ant-Man , marks the 12th release in Marvel Studios highly successful film franchise. Directed by Peyton Reed and featuring Paul Rudd as the title character, Ant-Man tells the story of con-man Scott Lang who, once in possession of a special suit, gains the ability to shrink in size, but become incredibly strong.
In the July-August 2015 issue, CGW takes a look at the visual effects geniuses behind some of the summer's biggest blockbusters, including Ant-Man . Here, Linda Romanello, managing editor for CGW's sister publication, Post Magazine , speaks with Prime Focus World's Richard Baker, senior stereo supervisor, about his studio's stereo 3D conversion for Marvels summer flick.
What was involved in creating the stereo 3D delivery for this film?
As you probably already know, Ant-Man's superpower' is that he can shrink down to the size of an ant when wearing his special suit. The great thing about this film was that we were able to make the stereo work to enhance the different scales of the characters, manipulating and designing the depth so that it works for the scene.
One of the things Evan [Jacobs, Marvel stereographic supervisor] and I discussed at the start of the project was how we were going to play the stereo for Ant-Man, and I designed a series of test shots so that we could discuss the relative merits of the different approaches. For example, when Ant-Man is human-scale, the camera is normal scale and normal height. However, when he shrinks down to being very tiny, we have options: Is the camera still a full-scale camera, or does it become an Ant-Man-sized camera in a big environment? Does it shrink with him?
The preferred route in the end was to go with the tiny-scale camera in the huge environment. As a general rule of thumb, the result was that we compressed the backgrounds and brought Ant-Man a bit more positive - out of the screen - so that everything looks slightly magnified in the background. We combined this with pumping up his volume a little more than we normally would, which served to miniaturize him in this massive world.
The shallow focus on these shots was interesting too - that macro filmmaking look that the filmmakers had employed miniaturizes the subject anyway, and obviously the film has to work for audiences in 2D as well. But the 3D conversion allowed us to really enhance this effect.
The film is quite unique in this respect because of these 3D moments - quite apart from the fact that it looks great anyway in terms of the way it is shot and the amazing VFX, and it being the introduction of a new character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe!
Was your approach here different from other projects you've worked on?
One of the main areas of progression for us was the further development of how we work with Double Negative (PFW and VFX house Dneg merged last year). Most of the shots we were working on for Ant-Man were Dneg VFX shots, and our shared pipeline is developing every day to deal with things such as the harvesting of VFX elements to support the conversion, and crucially getting these elements earlier in the process. In terms of the improvements in our workflow, we're able to present stereo shots to the client much earlier now, and this is really helpful when the timelines are so tight.
What were some of the key scenes you worked on?
I think one of the key scenes for us was the sequence we call the first suit experience,' when he uses the Ant-Man suit for the first time. This was interesting because I think it's the first time the audience experiences the macro-filmmaking look, as Ant-Man shrinks in the bathtub, has to outrun a cascade of water from the tap, survive a trip across a crowded dance floor and outrun both a Hoover and a mouse. We completed this sequence early, as we were delivering it for a 4D experience for Disney.
Just like with Avengers, did the conversion work on Ant-Man also begin in the post stage with the footage?
For Prime Focus World it did. Marvel supe Evan Jacobs was on-set, doing some second-unit directing and capturing motion control clean plates on some shots because there were quite a lot of in-camera particle effects. There was a big contribution towards the final stereo look for the movie during the shoot, even though it was not a stereo shoot. It was shot really well for stereo.
What tools did you use to complete your work on this film? Similar to Avengers - Fusion, Silhouette, Nuke, Maya, PFTrack and Framecycler for editorial, and TVIPs for live stereo reviews?
Yes, our pipeline was the same as for Avengers: Age of Ultron. In terms of our proprietary tools, we used our AssistedBreakout tool to help with the VFX element harvesting, and of course our View-D process for the depth creation itself.
What were some of the biggest challenges in this film?
I'd say that the biggest challenge for this show was getting the scale working. Although we'd established a style early in the process, it takes a few iterations to get the shots looking exactly right. That development process is fun though, and very creative.
Anything unique about the work you did on this particular film?
It was a new departure, working in this miniature world. It wasn't just about the character being small - it was about the audience being small with the character, and really feeling as if they are a part of this environment. It's not like natural history documentary footage of small creatures and insects that we have worked on in the past - in this film the audience is in this huge environment with the characters, and that was a completely new look - and a lot of fun to work with.
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
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, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
27/04/2024
On April 26, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik joined CNBC's Mor...
27/04/2024
PORTLAND, Oregon Audinate Group Limited, the developer of the Dante AV-over-IP solution, announced significant new additions to Dante Connect, its cloud-based D...
27/04/2024
TORONTO Bell Media has launched 10 English and French-language FAST channels featuring entertainment, factual, news, and sports programming. The new free stream...
27/04/2024
An extensive new analysis of the news segments in the broadcast evening news programs of ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS has found that broadcasters devoted most of their...
27/04/2024
GERMANTOWN, Md. EchoStar's Hughes Network Systems has opened a new manufacturing facility and private 5G incubation center in Germantown, Maryland....
27/04/2024
Harry Pappas, one of three brothers who founded Pappas Telecasting Companies in 1971, died April 24. He was 78 years old....
27/04/2024
ATLANTA and LONDON Mexican telecommunications and broadcast company Televisa has selected Synamedia for an overhaul of its broadcast distribution....
27/04/2024
Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this surve...
27/04/2024
SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
SDVI, the leading platform provider for clo...
27/04/2024
Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Cert...
27/04/2024
Charter Communications reported higher first-quarter profits despite continued cord-cutting and competition for broadband customers....
27/04/2024
Two environmentally-focused groups are partnering to engage the unscripted TV world in finding better ways to address climate change. Reality of Change is an ec...
27/04/2024
Sarah Garcia has been promoted to weekend anchor at KTLM McAllen, Texas, known as Telemundo 40. Starting April 27, she will anchor Noticias Telemundo 40 weekend...
27/04/2024
CBS Sports said it launched a new 24-hour free, ad supported streaming television (FAST) channel devoted to the UEFA Champions League....
27/04/2024
Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts received $35.4 million in compensation in 2023, up 11% from the previous year, according to a proxy statement filed by th...
27/04/2024
Art Happens Here With John Lithgow, which sees the actor study dance, ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz with students in Los Angeles, debuts on PBS ...
27/04/2024
Remember Leave It to Beaver? Bewitched? Dragnet? When cable ratings were rising?...
27/04/2024
Next up for the weekend binge at Catchy Comedy is Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Every weekend, Catchy Comedy features The Catchy Binge, a marathon of a classic sitcom....
26/04/2024
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...
26/04/2024
[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...
26/04/2024
Once again this year, SGL Carbon opened its doors to interested children and young people. On the occasion of the German Girls and Boys Day, which took place on...
26/04/2024
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x
Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century
In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
26/04/2024
Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...
26/04/2024
The Story Collective has gradually repurposed the former Mortlake Brewery to include production offices, workshops and sound stages
By Matthew Corrigan
Publi...
26/04/2024
Perkett joins the company following a 25 year career in product management, product marketing, engineering and user experience (UX) across multiple industries
...
26/04/2024
Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...
26/04/2024
NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....
26/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...
26/04/2024
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK Mattel has announced a deal to launch its first three 24/7 free ad supported streaming (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung...
26/04/2024
PORTLAND, Maine Viewers here can now receive the NextGen TV signals of five local stations with the launch of ATSC 3.0 service from host station WPFO, which is ...
The Marvel Cinematic Universe just keeps growing. The studio's latest offering, Ant-Man , marks the 12th release in Marvel Studios highly successful film franchise. Directed by Peyton Reed and featuring Paul Rudd as the title character, Ant-Man tells the story of con-man Scott Lang who, once in possession of a special suit, gains the ability to shrink in size, but become incredibly strong. 
