A New Domain
25 years on, 3D World discovers how Digital Domain took VFX to new heights for Ron Howard’s Apollo 13
We take a look back at the Apollo
13 movie as NASA marks the 50th anniversary of the mission
In April 2020 NASA marked the 50th anniversary of its Apollo 13 mission, and June 2020 marks the 25th anniversary of Ron Howard’s Oscar-winning film of the same name. Originally released on 30 June 1995, the film remains one of the most celebrated movies to cover the space age and was lauded for its effects, created by a then fledgling Digital Domain. Kelly Port and Matthew Elliott Butler were involved in the production and remain at Digital
Domain to this day, now working as VFX supervisors. 3D World caught up with the pair to hear their memories of working on the film.
Digital Domain utilised a groundbreaking combination of models, miniatures and CG animation to create the out-of-this-world visuals of Apollo 13, earning the team an Academy Award nomination. “I had no clue that we were pushing boundaries, nor defining them,” Butler admits. “These were the times that you don’t know you are in until they’re gone. We were all just kids, bootstrapping our existence and making things up as we went along.”
“Because the team putting this all together had such an eclectic skill set, we couldn’t help but learn through osmosis most of the time,” Port reflects. “These were the days of film, so we would shoot some passes on a model on Tuesday and see the dailies the next morning. All the interested parties would be sitting in the screening room eager to see the film.”
Among those reviewing the footage would be VFX supervisor Rob Legato and VFX DP Erik Nash, colour gurus like Price Pethel and Mike Kanfer, and the physical model makers. “It was in these morning dailies in the screening room that I just sat there like a sponge, absorbing as much technical and creative knowledge as I could,” adds Port.
Even in its earliest days, Digital Domain was an eclectic environment that fostered creativity and experimentation. “No one had the same background, it was a mixture of talented people from several disciplines in the arts and sciences,” says Butler. “It was problem solving in the extreme – fearless and scary.” This feeling was bolstered by the relative lack of infrastructure at the time. “This was back when we were running rogue,” he adds, “but needed to be more systematic as we scaled up.”
Many of Apollo 13’s most impressive shots were achieved by combining practical and digital effects. “Back then there was no differentiation,” Butler recalls. “In fact,
“IN THOSE DAYS, WE LEANED ON PRACTICAL EFFECTS QUITE A BIT. THE MINIATURE WORK WAS BREATHTAKING” Kelly Port, VFX supervisor, Digital Domain
fully synthesised shots were really scary, and leaning on practical photography was a necessity. The more practical photography the better. I feel differently now.” Port adds: “In those days, digital effects simply didn’t hold up, so we leaned on practical effects quite a bit. The miniature work on Apollo
was breathtaking. We had to run a good number of motion control passes, all shot on film, which had to be scanned, and then aligned with one another to match at the pixel level.”
The cultural and historical importance of Apollo 13 meant that realism was crucial to the film’s success. Butler believes that the accuracy of Digital Domain’s effects worked to their detriment when it came to awards season. “I remember watching the 1996 Academy Awards and being astonished that Apollo 13 got pipped by Babe, the talking pig,” he admits. “The team behind Babe did an amazing job, but Digital Domain’s work on Apollo 13 was so believable that people didn’t realise that it wasn’t stock footage.”
“For the most part, both Rob Legato and director Ron Howard re-created shots that felt as if they could be stock footage,” Port recalls. “We wanted people to think that it was stock footage. In fact, one of the astronauts said something to that effect after the film was released.”
Apollo 13 would prove to be a landmark film in the development of VFX, utilising many state-of-the-art techniques to achieve its realistic visuals. For Butler the simulation software used by Digital Domain is a particular point of pride. “This was the first time that I saw physics simulated realistically in a photorealistic manner,” he says, “it was so believable.”
One of Port’s tasks during production was to create a procedural system that controlled the visuals of the directional thrusters the pilots used to manoeuvre around. “The rotations were done at the motion control stage,” he explains, “and once that film was scanned, and based on the rotations and if they were accelerating, I would turn on the digital thrusters. It was a very simple thing, but it made me feel like a genius.”
The landscape of VFX is ever-changing and has evolved dramatically since Digital Domain’s work on Apollo 13, as Butler reflects: “It used to be about, ‘how can we solve this?’, now it’s more about, ‘how can we approximate this affordably?’.” Port explains that the approach to using miniatures has changed fundamentally since 1994: “At that time we took advantage of miniature models in a very big way. Digital models were good, but hadn’t yet evolved to the photorealistic quality you often see today. Since that time, miniature photography has sadly been used much less frequently in productions.”
“DIGITAL DOMAIN’S WORK ON APOLLO 13 WAS SO BELIEVABLE, PEOPLE DIDN’T REALISE THAT IT WASN’T STOCK FOOTAGE” Matthew Elliott Butler, VFX supervisor, Digital Domain