Cynematik on IndieWIRE

By Cyndi Greening. Phoenix, Arizona USA (Cinema Minima) -- The last couple of days, I've been watching the Bonus DVDs for THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy and I've become fascinated with how to create the kinds of illusions that Peter Jackson & WETA were able to create. (This is the wonderful thing about summer for teachers, we finally get to catch up on all the things everyone else did during the year!)

Anyway, I've been learning about miniatures (or BIG-ATURES as model maker Mary MacLachlan calls them). According the Jackson and Visual Effects Director Alex Funke, there's a different kind of reality that was possible with models. Now, I want to write a script for a short film that uses miniatures composited with live action footage. The creative possibilities are limitless!

Of course, since I teach Maya, Shake, AfterEffects and Final Cut Pro, I was most interested in seeing the digital tools that were being used. I watch the monitors in the workrooms much more closely than I watch the actors. I saw evidence of nearly all of the key software packages. I could see Maya and Shake everywhere (this was very exciting for me).

I also saw a NEW program that was incredibly exciting. The enormous battle scenes were created with Massive Software, a program that ascribes behaviors and actions to "AGENTS" (as programmed digital actors are called) and allows them to intelligently and independently enter and fight a battle. (No wonder the retail price of the software is $18,000!) New Line's LOTR Effects Section on the LOTR site does a great job of showing how Massive Agents were used. (Look in the effects section under "ELVES" to see how mo-cap is used to program agents. Then, you can set your own agents into place and simulate your own battle.)

I was surprised to find that the new Radiohead Video used Massive Agents. The Massive site recommends using the program for education. Wouldn't life be something if we could "program" our student-agents!