3D animation
Besides the real-life images of live-action filming, animation is another major aspect of 3D filmmaking.
Compared to the excitement and challenges of live shooting, animated 3D, which is done mainly on computers, is relatively simple, whether in terms of adjusting depth of field, changing virtual camera positions or adjusting camera offset. Scenes using multiple angles of view are generally easily created, usually by setting up appropriate computer scenes and simultaneously "filming" on two or more virtual cameras. Then, the three-dimensional animation effects can be accomplished by superimposing the images using computer software.
However, because 3D animation is fundamentally a regular process that everyone is used to, a lot of extra effort is required on making the end product more interesting. Vibrant "actors," vivid scenes and a rich subject matter are essential in order to attract audiences. From this perspective, production requires a lot of careful thought and hard work.
With huge global box-office sales, Avatar is a stunning example of the possibilities of 3D. Planet Pandora and the human world are separate, the former being animated and the latter "real," with a scene ratio of about 4:1 between the two. In order to minimize the gap in vividness between the two worlds, director James Cameron used a group of specialist actors. Their performance of the expressions and movements of Navi creatures were shot using the most advanced "motion capture" techniques, and then these were used for the animated characters.
Reuben Langdon, who was the actor for the main character of Jake in Avatar, participated in a forum entitled "Digital 3D, Amazing Taipei" at this year's Taipei Film Festival and explained motion capture. The entire bodies of the human actors were wired with hundreds of electronic sensors-movements of the face, in particular, were precisely measured in order to catch changes in emotion which require the most delicate adjustments to expression. When the actors made any facial expression or movement, the sensors transmitted this information to a computer, and through software conversion, all their movements were applied to the animated characters.
"It's hard work acting around a pile of wires and sensors. Once I was almost decapitated by wires connected to my head because I moved rather violently. I damaged some of those very expensive sensors too!" Langdon remarks with a wry smile that he was almost put on the production crew's blacklist because of that accident!
Only Avatar, with total investment of US$300 million (about NT$9.6 billion) has had the money to spend on motion capture techniques to enhance the reality of their animated images. Taiwan's moviemakers, in contrast, have much less capital to play with than Hollywood, so they have resorted to science to reconstruct reality.
Digimax is one of Taiwan's leading animation production companies. In 2007 they obtained exclusive licensing from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to produce a film based on the Cassini-Huygens space mission to Saturn and Titan. The project was first submitted to NASA in 1982 by a group of scientists including Ip Wing-huen, a professor at the Graduate Institute of Astronomy, National Central University in Taiwan, and had the support of 19 countries including the US and a number of European countries.
The 3D animation Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey took two years to make and cost nearly US$60 million (about NT$1.92 billion) to complete, which is regarded as an enormous investment for Taiwan's domestic film industry. Since the film used a great deal of information and images provided by NASA, many spectacular space scenes which had never been seen before were able to be used in the film. To date, the broadcast rights for the film have been sold to a number of countries including Taiwan, Japan and China, and museums in the US, South Korea and India are negotiating to buy the rights. Jeff T.J. Yang, a vice president at Digimax, points out that it is not easy to convert cold scientific data into spectacular images. The production team spent huge amounts of time consulting NASA researchers, and then used the most advanced computer animation software to continually reproduce and modify the images. Eventually, they created simulated space scenes which amazed even the scientists themselves.
Experiencing the filmmakers' work, the audience feel as if they are traveling through space or across the surface of Titan (one of Saturn's moons), and exploring the depths of the Solar System's largest canyon on Mars. Even for many NASA researchers, this was their first experience of the virtual reality of outer space.
Whether it is 3D shot live or used in animation, the process poses unique technical problems. If audiences were more aware of the multifarious techniques involved in creating such amazing images when they're watching 3D, they would perhaps be more appreciative of the wondrous experience it can provide.
Taiwan's first live-action 3D drama, Clownfish, was shot by Charlie Chu. A love story between the male character Wu Guoyu, who has had an inferiority complex since his childhood, and a blind girl Xuerou, the content is inspirational and warm, and very touching. But unfortunately inadequate marketing meant that it failed at the box office. The picture shows e-book stills of Clownfish (anaglyph 3D technique).
Taiwan's first live-action 3D drama, Clownfish, was shot by Charlie Chu. A love story between the male character Wu Guoyu, who has had an inferiority complex since his childhood, and a blind girl Xuerou, the content is inspirational and warm, and very touching. But unfortunately inadequate marketing meant that it failed at the box office. The picture shows e-book stills of Clownfish (anaglyph 3D technique).
(right) The vertical mode camera equipment is expensive and cumbersome, but it can shoot exquisite close-ups. The picture shows Charlie Chu shooting a live-action scene with such a camera rig.