MAXON CINEMA 4D Takes Blu-ray Star Trek
Out of This World
December 18, 2009
Source: MAXON
Advanced Capabilities of CINEMA 4D with
BodyPaint 3D Enables VFX Artist Max Gabl to Digitally Recreate
Original Matte Paintings in Stunning High Definition for Star
Trek: The Original Series Re-mastered
MAXON Computer, a leading developer of professional 3D modeling,
painting, animation, and rendering solutions, today announced
that the advanced 3D matte painting and texturing capabilities
of MAXON’s CINEMA 4D were used to recreate backgrounds
in high definition for release of the original Star Trek television
series on Blu-ray Disc.
Relying primarily on CINEMA 4D’s BodyPaint 3D texturing
capabilities, acclaimed matte painter Max Gabl worked closely
with CBS Digital over the course of nearly two years to restore
and update visual effects for the legendary ’60s series.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Star Trek: The Original Series Re-mastered
(Star Trek TOS-R) were released by CBS/Paramount Home Entertainment
earlier this year; Season 3 went on sale December 15th.
Working under the direction of Star Trek: The Next Generation
art director Michael Okuda, longtime Star Trek producer Dave
Rossi, and visual effects supervisor Neil Wray, Gabl was tasked
with elevating production values across all 54 episodes, which
contain many original shots that were filmed with very simple
lighting setups and hastily painted and poorly lit backdrops.
Gabl deployed BodyPaint 3D as a core software application
to bring the look of backgrounds up to present-day high-definition
standards, recreating 33 establishing shots and scene extensions,
as well as 47 planets and several paintings of nebulae and
other planetary system objects.
A key creative challenge was the complete lack of data crucial
for visual effects content creation, such as camera type and
focal lens that are used to match the virtual camera to the
scene. “I quickly realized that successfully bringing
elements such as matte paintings of planetary objects from
the original series into an HD format and maintaining the
visual integrity of the iconic television series would necessitate
a 3D software solution that offers stability and customization,”
Gabl said.
“CINEMA 4D with BodyPaint 3D is the ideal solution for
matte and texture painters. It offers numerous workflow advantages
that are key to maintaining high production standards on a
long-term project of this magnitude, and the interface is
well designed, stable and extremely easy to use and customize.”
Gabl, whose credits include Stealth, Flags Of Our Fathers,
Racing Stripes, and Pushing Daisies (see www.maxgabl.com/Content/Matte_Paintings.html),
created many of the matte paintings of the buildings and planets
from scratch (3D model to final render) directly in CINEMA
4D. He also worked in some cases with models built by other
artists at CBS Digital, which he imported into the application
to light, texture, and render. Some of the paintings were
completely new overview shots while others were crafted around
original Star Trek footage, with subtle enhancements blended
into existing images.
CINEMA 4D’s modular design was a major factor in Gabl’s
ability to complete the project efficiently. “Being able
to select the modules I needed as I needed them kept the interface
uncluttered, lending itself to a fast workflow,” he said.
“The Projection Man feature was especially handy, affording
quick setup of camera projections while allowing me to look
directly at the textured 3D object when touching up textures
and seams in painting mode. Virtual set creation is uncomplicated,
allowing me to switch back and forth between modeling, projection
painting and texturing within the same application.”
“We’re thrilled that Max chose to rely on MAXON’s
animation and texturing solutions to handle this challenging
project,” said Paul Babb, president, MAXON USA. “Star
Trek is among the most venerated and beloved television series
ever made, and with the high resolution afforded by the Blu-ray
format, the original backdrops might have detracted from viewer
enjoyment. Instead, with the help of CINEMA 4D with BodyPaint3D,
Max and his colleagues at CBS Digital were able to update
the series beautifully for HD, allowing millions of fans to
enjoy the show to the fullest.”
To create the large number of planet matte paintings required
the creative team to identify basic concepts such as Earth-like
with large, dark mountain ranges, pink skies, poles, swirly
clouds, etc., usually based on shots in each Star Trek episode,
which included at least some features of the planet that viewers
could see.
Gabl used a NASA template to start modeling each planet, manipulating
the textures in BodyPaint 3D until he had approximated the
“look”. The dimensionality of each planet’s
surface was achieved using data gathered from geological Web
sites for the displacement maps, to create elements such as
mountains and other terrain.
Over the course of the project, Gabl built an extensive library
of textures that could be modified, as needed, allowing him
to turn a blue ocean green or vegetation from green to brown,
saving much needed production time. “By using BodyPaint
3D I could paint textures directly onto the planets and see
the results right away rather than having to wait for them
to render before entering Photoshop which proved to be a real
time-saver,” said Gabl, adding that the planets rendered
at 4000 x 4000 pixels.
While Gabl worked on planets and establishing shots, another
team of modelers, animators and texture artists worked almost
exclusively on a new CGI version of the fictional starship,
Starship Enterprise. Once the various matte painting elements
were finished, CBS Digital’s team of compositors inserted
them into the footage for the finished look.
Submit
a Company
Submit News
Submit a Job
Submit an Event
|
