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Follow on Google News | DIVE’s VFX Precision Brings Authenticity to The RoadDirector John Hillcoat chose DIVE as lead visual effects house to create the post-apocalyptic world of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road." Led by veteran VFX Supervisor Mark O. Forker, DIVE delivered ethereal and subtly complex visuals for the film.
By: PUNCH Media for DIVE DIVE (www.the-dive.net) The Road is an ethereal, dark and wrenching tale about a father and son fighting for survival while traveling through a decimated landscape. So Hillcoat wasn’t looking for explosive, otherworldly effects. He needed DIVE’s deft precision to immerse stars Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Charlize Theron in the stripped down, ashen and all-but dead world of “The Road.” Says Hillcoat, “I very much go by the creative eye and professionalism of the key crew that I’m dealing with and in this case, Mark Forker had quite a history... but not only that, he came from photography. And just the way he spoke about effects, I knew immediately that DIVE should be the lead VFX house.” Hillcoat’s team even took it a step further, having Forker actually shoot visual effects second unit material. Hillcoat’s experiences with the team at DIVE further confirmed his decision. “John and I come from the same place visually.” says Forker, VFX Supervisor on the film. “We both have a respect and passion for still photography. Since the film consists of three characters: the Man, the Boy and the Landscape, John entrusted DIVE as lead VFX house to oversee an actual character and we were honored and challenged. I understood his insistence on imperceptible visual effects and was thrilled to manage that for “The Road.” That’s the stuff I love to work on: the creation of atmospheres and worlds that look like an actual location—one that seemingly must honestly and truly exist.” DIVE’s location in Philadelphia as opposed to LA, New York or London, was an added advantage for the Director. Says Hillcoat, “Having worked in LA, New York and London: the level of dedication and passion and perfectionism at DIVE was so impressive. When you’re in a huge pool like LA or London it’s very professional, but you don’t have the degree of interest that we found in our particular case.” DIVE’s location also allowed Forker to come to the set and to visit the locations before or after shoot days to take all the necessary plates. The team at DIVE was also able to easily accommodate a changing shoot schedule: seamlessly coordinating and updating all of the changes as quickly as possible. Scenes shot in already austere locations, mainly in Pennsylvania, with additional scenes shot in Louisiana and Oregon, were digitally stripped of life. Ominous signs and structures were created and tailored to match Hillcoat’s vision for the film. Forker explains just one scene’s multiple challenges in a very complex film. “There was a location in New Orleans we very much wanted to use, but it was only about 40% ‘right’. A street of new homes which, midway through construction, were devastated by Hurricane Katrina, worked well because it was as if progress had stopped on a dime and became instant ruins all at the same time.” “Our task was to try and obviously create this world that was as real as possible and not feel like visual effects,” says Hillcoat. However, DIVE faced three major hurdles. First, the freeway directly across the street interrupted the neighborhood feel. Second, the location still looked too “fresh”. And the third and most dismaying problem: the shoot days were clear and sunny for a film where all exterior shots needed to appear overcast and dark. Forker shot some alternate angles on the street, replacing the freeway with an opposing side of houses and replacing fences with trees. Additional houses were created when he shot digital plates of certain details used to give the final appearance of a more intimate neighborhood. DIVE also made new light and telephone poles appear crooked and torn apart. The team at DIVE also visually enhanced the shot with some additional set dressing not available the day of the shoot. They chose piles of skeletal remains and clothing configurations from a library previously shot on DIVE’s own stage, littered the ground with a few of them, and added a flapping American flag in a window. Additional tweaks in the final composite gave the impression that more of the street was covered in ash, while the sky was replaced with dark foreboding clouds that Forker photographed on a more appropriate day during the shoot. “The final shot is impressive and devastating, just what the director wanted,” says Forker. Called “the most important movie of the year” by Tom Chiarella of Esquire magazine, “The Road” makes its World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2009. The film is also scheduled to make its North American Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival followed by screenings at the Toronto Film Festival. The Domestic wide release will be November 25, 2009. Based in Philadelphia, PA, DIVE (www.the-dive.net) EQUIPMENT: - Avid Media Composer - daVinci Resolve RT, 2K data - Autodesk Inferno 2010 - cineSync - Nuke - Apple Shake - Imagineer Mocha - Qube! Render Farm - Autodesk Maya - Silhouette - Adobe Photoshop - Adobe After Effects - NewTek Lightwave - SynthEyes Camera Tracker CREDITS: Visual Effects Supervisor Executive Producer VFX Producer Compositing Supervisor Compositors Digital Effects Artists Paint & Roto Artists Integration Specialist VFX Coordinator 2D Coordinator VFX Editors Facilities Manager Facilities Support Facilities Engineer VFX Production Unit: Jason Pinardo Craig Needelman Leon Sanginiti Othmar Dickbauer Jack Swern John Goraj Phil Bradshaw Jeff Cox, No Joke FX Clarissa Shanahan Luke Forker Tony Trovarello Mark Norman # # # PUNCH Media is a boutique agency specializing in public relations, media management, events, marketing and brand development. End
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