Last Friday night, the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented an in-depth discussion of "The Art, Science and Psychology of Production Design" at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
Hosted by Bill Kroyer, council member and senior animation director at Rhythm & Hues, the event featured appearances by legendary art director Bob Boyle (NORTH BY NORTHWEST), art director Daniel Jennings (G FORCE), previs specialist and Halon owner Daniel Gregoire (INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL) and production designers Alex McDowell (WATCHMEN), Doug Chiang (BEOWULF) and Ralph Eggleston (WALL-E).
The emphasis was on ways in which digital technology is opening up artistic possibilities for production designers to work in 3D space. With the advent of file sharing, computer-generated imagery and a variety of hardware and software tools, designers now have the ability to preview sets and coordinate with other creative departments more quickly and accurately than ever before.
Jennings provided a brief overview of software tools available, including Maya, 3ds Max, XSI, modo, LightWave, Photoshop, SketchUp, Painter, Rhino, Strata, AutoCAD, VectorWorks and form-Z.
Gregoire showed off some previs work from WAR OF THE WORLDS (the on-set highway sequence) before giving a realtime demo of previs in action using a model of the Samuel Goldwyn Theater to explore virtual space.
McDowell presented his conception of "Immersive Design for Film," a circular, non-linear process in which 3D visualization takes place within a central hub from within the art department in collaboration with the other departments. He said the goal is to "embrace technology to make better films."
Chiang discussed his collaboration with Robert Zemeckis on the performance capture hybrid as a two-part process in which the art department crosses over into character design and is present all through production.
Eggleston echoed that his 3D animation experience at Pixar has allowed him to be present all through production, and stressed that "nothing is for free" in the pursuit of creating believable worlds. Interestingly, Eggleston brought the discussion full-circle in explaining that Pixar functions like the old studio system that the 98-year-old Boyle fondly remembers as a communal experience.
Story by VFX Editor Bill Desowitz
