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London's VFX Superheroes

A group of London's finest artists and animators are challenged to create the perfect CG short. 3dtotal investigates...

A group of London's finest artists and animators are challenged to create the perfect CG short. 3dtotal investigates...

Fred and Eric used a distinctive stop-motion aesthetic for their lazy teen superhero

In an unassuming and tucked-away old warehouse in London's Soho district something rather marvellous is happening. A group of CG artists and designers are facing their toughest challenge to date: to create a short CGI movie about a London-based superhero in less than 5 hours.

It's being created in an exquisite corpse style between six teams of two, with each pair only able to see the previous pair's last 30 frames of animation. It's a herculean undertaking and the artists will have to draw on their own CG super powers to finish the project in time.

Cut and Paste present the final video

Blackmeal's segment of the film shows the superhero while he's in nappies

Despite their incredibly tight schedule, we were able to talk to Territory Studio's Marti Romances and Nick Hill about the ongoing project. The studio is best-known for creating on-screen graphics for movies such as Zero Dark Thirty and Prometheus, and the dynamic duo were charged with creating the superhero's midlife crisis think along the lines of The Incredibles with a suitably British twist.

His superpower doesn't seem to work the way he was expecting, and rather than solving the problem it gives him a beer belly

We start with an opening scene of him cruising in his sports car, and he's loving it, says Nick. Maybe he's just divorced his wife and replaced her with a Ferrari. He gets a call on his old English pocket watch, which he uses in conjunction with his umbrella, and attends to this event but his superpower doesn't seem to work the way he was expecting, and rather than solving the problem it gives him a beer belly.

London's Soho is home to many VFX companies, so naturally lots of people attended the event

As a child, the superhero comes face to face with a giant pigeon, in Mummu's vision

Very short film

Despite the mere 10-second time-span of Nick and Marti's segment, the two approached it as they would any other project. They began with a few sketches, then fleshed out ideas in Photoshop. From here they created a 3D model of the character, which was rigged and weight-painted so it moved realistically. A combination of Cinema4D, Illustrator and After Effects were used to create the finished product.

While the two were tempted to jam a three-act structure into their segment, they realised it was far better to keep it fluid and organic. As for their character, Nick believes he subconsciously drew on a close relative. My dad thinks the superhero's based on him, he says. It's probably something to do with the vaguely ginger hair and the pot belly. He won't mind me saying that!

The event drew interest through social media sites such as Twitter. Naturally, free beer also enticed people to come

Animade's take is stylishly retro

HP source

Of course, events like this don't just happen out of thin air, and there's a bit of a hidden agenda: it's run by Cut and Paste to promote HP's latest professional workstation graphics. Nevertheless, it's an amazing event, and one that's a world away from the stuffy corporate environment one would unfortunately associate with HP.

The video RAM blows your face off!

Both Nick and Marti, who are used to working on Apple Macs, are impressed with the high-end Windows-based workstations HP has provided for them. There's like 128 gigs of RAM, says Marti. We're getting excited about the numbers, chips in Nick. The graphics are 12 gigabytes ridonkulous! The video RAM blows your face off. The specs are crazy we'd like to get them in just for rendering.

When it's not being used for cool events, the location doubles up as a film set

Nick and Marti's segment shows the hero entering his midlift crisis

Nick and Marti's experience is just the tip of the iceberg of the creative process behind the video, which also includes input from Animade, Blackmeal, Fred & Eric, Golden Wolf and Mummu. The event's also open to the public, with luminaries of the visual effects industry attending to discuss the trials and tribulations of working with CG. Our day ended with a talk by The Mill, who told us about creating realistic CGI chimps and squirrels.

(It's) been an experience, and it's been great

When it's not being used for cool events, the location doubles up as a film set

That's a wrap!

The finished video is definitely something Nick and Marti as well as the other animators should be proud of. 10 seconds is just enough time to establish a unique art style, and it's telling that each attendee chose something completely different to the one before them. Nick and Marti's Saul Bass-style pseudo-3D is a particular highlight in a film that's comprised entirely of highlights.

For me, it's like being back at uni

Audience participation is a big part of the event

The piece ends with Golden Wolf's London boozer-set escapade

Would they do it again? Yes! says Marti. Just being able to talk about what we're doing at lunchtime has been an experience, and it's been great. For me, it's like being back at uni, opines Nick. Just that level of being able to bounce ideas back-and-forth.

Related links

Cut and Paste's coverage
HP's Official Site

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