Technical wizardry in motion
> Andy Serkis once again dons the grey bodysuit and facial recognition dots to bring simian leader Caesar realistically to life in War for the Planet of the Apes
environment, including falling snow.
The crew included a team of 50 visual effects personnel, a 10person camera unit and an army of data wranglers, surveyors and photographers who 3D-scanned every inch of the sets and locations.
They crafted an array of more than 1,400 highly-complex effects shots, deploying advanced software bringing new levels of complexity to how digital fur behaves and interacts with the world.
A newly-built toolset called ‘Manuka physLight’ modelled with pinpoint accuracy how cameras pick up and respond to light so that the crew were able to light the apes similarly to how a cinematographer would light a soundstage.
The crew studied how snow sticks to fur, clumps on it, falls off and reacts as the apes walk through their wintry environments.
Caesar alone had almost a million strands of hair.
“It looks insanely realistic,” said Serkis. “It’s just such a brilliant technology and I’ve embraced it. I actively want to push the boundaries so that this movie is the most thrilling on every single level.”
Weta’s visual effects supervisor Dan Lemmon, who joined in 2002 to work on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, says the technology has improved dramatically.
“All of our fur systems, how we model the way light moves through the scene and other materials, have all grown significantly more sophisticated,” he added.
War will be competing with Spider-Man: Homecoming, Wonder Woman and several other effectsladen blockbusters, but industry tracking estimates the film’s opening in the US tomorrow (Friday in the US) at a healthy US$65 million (RM279.4 million).
That figure would be in the same ballpark as the two previous instalments, which went on to earn a combined US$1.2 billion (RM5.16 billion) worldwide.
War has a 96% approval rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website, which collates reviews, with the most enthusiastic superlatives all reserved for the towering effects.
Even BBC critic Nicholas Barber, who didn’t like the film, describes the technical wizardry as “frighteningly advanced”.
“The textures of leathery skin and thick hair are so convincing that you quickly forget that you’re watching actors in motion-capture suits,” he says.
“You feel as though you’re watching real live apes, even if those apes are carrying assault rifles and riding horses.” – AFP