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Geek Culture / How's it done? Dinosaurs?

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dab
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 05:38
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Ok, I just saw Night at the Museum a few days ago. I really wanted to know how they did the dinosaur thing, so I look at the special features thing. It didn't quite explain it well enough for me to know how they did it. I'd really like to do something like this for my movies to show off with my friends. Another example is that Bridge to Terabithia, but I don't know how to spell it, or have I seen it. Anyway, if anyone can give me the term for that efect, or tell me how its done, or show me some google links.

Thanks Everyone!

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Osiris
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 05:58
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What effect exactly? how the dinosaurs are made or what?

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dab
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 08:01
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Just how they were able to put the dino in the scene. Mostly behind the characters. Like, the character will walk in front of the dino, or the dino runs behind a hall behind him. I'm just trying to figure out how they did it. I'm not even sure what the term is for it.

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Osiris
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 08:18
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Well, they probably green screened it, or had someone run around in the real scene with some light reflecting object, so they could place it more realistically.

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dab
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 08:55
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Hmmmm.... Have a term for it? or maybe a link to it? I'd like to try and do something like that myself.

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Cash Curtis II
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 09:16
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To put a dinosaur in a movie, you have 3 options - Computer graphics, miniature model, life size model.

Night at the Museum was a big budget movie, and there's no way you're going to approach its realism. Their dinosaur is completely CG, and very expensive at that.

You could do stop motion green screening with a miniature dinosaur model, if you have the proper video editing package. Old movies would use a combination of the small stop motion models and the big replica. That's why in old dinosaur movies you'd usually just see the dinosaurs head when it had someone in its mouth. Otherwise, they'd have the stop motion version running around on screen, but not directly touching anything.

Asking this type of question is a bit like asking how to make Gears of War or World of Warcraft with Darkbasic. You'll have to find a solution that fits your budget. You'll never get a dinosaur that looks like that in your home videos.


Come see the WIP!
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dab
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 09:48 Edited at: 29th Apr 2007 09:49
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I'm not asking how to make the dinosaur..... I know it'd be incredibly hard to do. I'm asking how the dino could move between the "sets" in the bg. Go in front of the actor, then behind the actor, then behind the pillars.

See my illustration. So, I do not care what my dino looked like. Let's pretend its a killer cube instead.


And I meant paint not pain. :S

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indi
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 09:58
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The process is called compositing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compositing

Masks are what allow you to overlap certain elements to give the illusion of a z dimensional order.

Look at the noodle table and notice how each object within the final scene is setup.


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Blobby 101
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 14:31
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I'm wondering how they made things react with the dino. like the dino runs and smashes a vase - the vase was presumably real so how could a piece of CG hit it and send it flying?


thanks to deathead for the sig!
Projects: alien abductor-5%
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indi
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 14:57
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there are two methods of thought to syncing action within video and 3d.


Action 1 : That vase was not real, it was actually rendered with the dinosaur, you will find a lot of car commercials your watching today are actually 3d renders and not real. To know for sure, look at certain "impossible camera paths" performed in real life.



Action 2 : The video is recorded with the vase smashing, the camera is in the exact location as the final scene.
The video is moved along to time exactly to the 3d element. It just means using your artistic eye to match the 3d to the video action.
Some guy off stage is firing an explosion or pushing a lever to tip the vase etc..

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Manic
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 15:23
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its done using a technique called camera matching

this tutorial is just for still images, but you can apply it to moving image too. I tried it years back following a different tutorial, but I didn't understand how to use the tracking points properly, so I didn't get very far.

Basically, you film your scene, and take lots of measurements of objects that are visible, then in your 3d software you use those measurements to extrapolate the camera's location and orientation.

Martin

I don't have a sig, live with it.
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RUCCUS
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 18:59
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Quote: "Yes, this was made in pain."


Thats quite possibly the best type Ive heard in months .


>> Gibble Blops - free, online, playable!
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Matt Rock
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 23:05 Edited at: 29th Apr 2007 23:06
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I think that most of the time it's action B. You can very easily (and cheaply) dress up a guy in a green suit and have him carry around or throw a prop dinosaur bone or break a prop vase... it's far less costly and time consuming than using CG.

Green screening is often said to be extremely expensive... it isn't. I've worked with it in college. You need a background muslin, which you can make yourself. I don't remember the exact color you need but I'm sure you could google "background muslin" and find out. I want to say it was called Chromakey green, but don't hold me to that (college was a long time ago lol). Anyway, you'll then need some software to replace the green in your frame with whatever it is you want to replace it with... a background, a CG character, whatever. In college we used Final Cut Pro (and that's why I hate Apple so much), but there are PC alternatives like Avid (and those alternatives are often much, much, much better , and not to mention cheaper).


"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe"
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Shadow heart
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Posted: 29th Apr 2007 23:36
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wow I think that the vase wasn't real either. It's the anyalagraph colaberation something or other lol

to the ones thats trapped inside of you, this is it!!
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BatVink
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Posted: 30th Apr 2007 00:15
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Camera Matching is done with hardware/software these days. The actual camera movement is recorded with sophisticated hardware, and effectively becomes a bvh file to import into your CG application. I think I-robot was the first film to do this.

Green Screening is cheap on a small scale, but still difficult. I did the "Amarillo" music video with my kids, using a 12-foot square Green cloth. Lighting is key, as well as a lot of patience to get the mask perfect afterwards.

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dab
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Posted: 30th Apr 2007 02:01
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Wow. Thanks for the info guys. I'll look into Google some of these phrases and find out more about them. I'll then try my own shot at them and you guys can see if it I don't feel too embarrassed by it.

Quote: "Thats quite possibly the best type Ive heard in months ."


In a good way?

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LD52
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Posted: 30th Apr 2007 05:43
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Yea i was wondering about how they make animated characters into these movies too like this dinosaur/shrek/finding nemo/and others and well does anyone know the programs , or software that they use to make these movies. The closest thing i found so far is Cinema 4d which they say they made "Open Season" with.
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Venge
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Posted: 30th Apr 2007 05:51
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They use Maya for special effects in the new doctor who, lol.
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indi
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Posted: 30th Apr 2007 07:08
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maya
3d studio max
shake
after effects
houdini
photoshop
etc
etc
etc

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hessiess
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Posted: 30th Apr 2007 08:30
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Yea i was wondering about how they make animated characters into these movies too like this dinosaur/shrek/finding nemo/and others and well does anyone know the programs , or software that they use to make these movies. The closest thing i found so far is Cinema 4d which they say they made "Open Season" with.

shrek and finding nemo wore 100% cg dont know about dinosaur

the carictors are verry high poly modals, witch are rigged so the joints deform perfectly.

blender has a verry good set of composing fetures, it is also capable of making full lenth anamated films. elephants dreem was made nirly entily in blender, its a 10 munit anamated short film. it has some storyline isues but thay wore cased by the lack of a propper script. not becose there are problams with blender.

learn blender, you will never regret it.
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Zerk
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Posted: 1st May 2007 04:01
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Also look up Chroma Keying

I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do. ~Hal-9000
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dab
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Posted: 1st May 2007 07:31
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Thanks, but I know what Chroma Keying is. I've done it countless times before. Cheers anyway.

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Suicidal Sledder
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Posted: 1st May 2007 07:42
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WHAT?!? You mean the dinosaur skeleton wasnt REAL??!?! this whole time I thought they had a real dinosaur skeleton do the acting for them!

--STAR RUNNER-- Full game, arcade clone, nice graphics and music, small download!!

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dab
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Posted: 1st May 2007 07:43 Edited at: 3rd May 2007 03:54
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hehe.

edit:sig test.

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Jeku
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Posted: 1st May 2007 09:27
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I'm fairly certain studios like Pixar and Dreamworks have their own custom 3D renderers, proprietary.

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indi
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Posted: 1st May 2007 11:55
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aka renderman and maya mel scripting jeku

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