Although it takes some effort in the early stage, you can save a lot of time on special effects later.

In addition, the system can be gradually enhanced so that it can be used not only in Pirates of the Caribbean 1, but also in the next 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 years, which will maximize efficiency and save costs.

So after thinking about it, Sid decided to make a full system in case of emergency.

Sid also left plenty of time for the preparation of Pirates of the Caribbean, and after discussing the issue of the ocean system, Sid and Roger Gate's special effects team then shifted their focus to the next one, which can also be said to be a major change brought by Pirates of the Caribbean!

"Mr. Leon, I've read your script and story, and the idea of the pirates of the Black Pearl turning into ragged skeletons in the moonlight immediately reminds me of Jason and the Argonauts. ”

"Oh, the first film in history to combine live-action and 'animation'?" Sid raised his eyebrows, although this movie is not fatal to ordinary people, but for special effects artists, it is a groundbreaking movie.

This is a classic scene in a Greek mythology movie where the great hero Argo duels with a group of skeletons. At the time, of course, the skeletons were filmed frame by frame using puppet frames.

"Yes, I think it's a great opportunity to pay tribute. Roger Gate's words made Sid nod.

"I'm not against that, but what are the difficulties if I want to really achieve the results I want?" asked Sid curiously.

"Well, there are at least three or four difficulties that we need to overcome. Roger Gate said with four fingers up.

"First of all, the movement of the skeletons, because we have a bunch of pirates who are going to be turned into skeletons, so in order to accurately capture the different characteristics of each actor, we need to 3D scan each actor's body, and then we have to do a detailed head scan of them, and then use this data to independently model and then texture. ”

"We needed to give each character a realistic skeleton with the right proportions. Since each person's skeleton is different from everyone else's, the next step is to modify each skeleton to fit in their coat or match their 3D graphics, which takes a lot of time. ”

The first movie character to use this body scanning technology was Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, and that gave fans their first glimpse of the power of motion capture technology made by Weta Digital.

"But this time, we're going to develop a more robust software system. Roger Gate said excitedly.

Being able to beat challengers in the field of special effects is definitely the favorite of these top special effects artists of ILM.

"What is the system?" asked Sid.

"Our goal was to develop a set of sensors that could record the body movements of human actors, so that not only could the 3D characters be brought to life with this data, but they could also be transmitted to a monitor in real time so that the director could see the composite effect simultaneously. ”

"ait!ait!" Sid interrupted with an outstretched hand, "you're saying I can see the final movie with special effects right while I'm shooting?"

Roger Gate and his lieutenants looked at each other, looked back and smiled slightly, "It's a relatively low-level modeled picture, but, yes, you may see the final effect screen at the same time." ”

"Holy Fu --!!" Sid covered his mouth and couldn't hide his excitement, and Roger Gate and other special effects artists also smiled, and it was of course a very double thing that his efforts could be affirmed by the director.

Sid and Roger Gate then discuss other aspects of the transformation skeleton effect, this seemingly fantastic transformation shot.

It is necessary not only to make the movements of the skeleton pirates accurate, but also to make the audience feel that each transformed skeleton pirate is still the original "person", rather than a dead skeleton frame, and at the same time, the transformation of all characters must be smooth and natural.

Finally, there is the scene of Captain Barbossa and Captain Jack Gao Cao, half of the body is skeletonized in the moonlight, and half of the body is a human body, which involves countless technical difficulties.

Fortunately, ILM is the world's premier special effects expert, otherwise it would definitely not be able to meet Sid's strict requirements.

For example, how to strike a good balance between life and death, so that the transformed skeleton pirates can show that they are still alive, that is, "living skeletons", rather than moving skeletons, there is a world of difference between the two.

The special effects on the characters' skins and eyes are a completely new technical field, and no one has challenged the relevant difficulties before Sid's "Pirates of the Caribbean", and in terms of realism, the technical team also faces another "uncanny valley effect" problem.

With the sketches and models provided by Sid, the special effects supervisor Roger Gate, and the animation supervisor Haile Hickel started working on the prototypes, which were to be completed within a certain deadline.

In order to agree on how to behave as a pirate and find the best balance between life and death, there were numerous discussions between Roger Gate, Henry, Sid, and Hale Hickel.

At the same time, visual stunts are used not only to show the transformation between the characters, but also to represent the transformed image of each skeleton pirate character. Sid didn't want to use the frame-by-frame stunts or other similar effects that are commonly used in sci-fi feature films.

Roger Gate's cinematic visual effects consisted of three aspects: a glass scene to represent the environment, a model frame to represent a ship sailing on the sea, and a pirate skeleton monster.

For Roger Gate, creating pirate monsters is the most exciting job for him.

The process of designing a pirate monster starts with costumes and makeup.

Later, ILM's VFX art director, Aaron Michaelberry, drew a prototype for each character.

Then, after many revisions by the designers, it was finally up to Sid to determine the final image of the character.

At the same time, after selecting extras and some distinctive sub-important characters such as the one-eyed dragon pirate and the fat man, the special effects team also scanned their bodies and faces.

The skin on top of the skeleton was then created, and the designers scanned the turkey's skin to give it the "jerky" shape that Sid had requested.

Finally, the skin is painted with pigments to create different textures and transparencies to make it more expressive.

In short, compared to the regular preparation of "The Departed", "Pirates of the Caribbean" is definitely full of challenges and adventures.