Paul
Hormis 已參與製作3D動畫長達23年，目前在Pixomondo in Los Angeles California擔任Visual FX artist、Rigger、Scripter和Pipeline TD。
他從工業與建築設計開始，之後到Autodesk擔任Product Support Specialist一職，一年後，他到Blizzard製作遊戲動畫如《暗黑破壞神II》、也曾參與《魔獸爭霸3》動畫片頭的製作。
他還曾在Blur Studio做過Character Rigging和Script Tool的研發。他參與許多不同的專案。其中更有些重要的代表作：如電影《2012》、《阿凡達》、《絕命終結站5》、《熾天之翼》、《公主與狩獵者》及《權力遊戲》和許多遊戲。
Knight Shattering shot - Snow White and The Huntsman
Helmet Shattering shot - Snow White and The Huntsman
cebas：《公主與狩獵者》是您和Pixomondo重要代表作。請問您參與製作的項目？
《公主與狩獵者》，我的負責製作碎裂騎士特效。包含外觀到發展成一完整系統，使它可以容易變更以配合任何拍攝 ，無論給我自已處理或是轉交給別的部門都可以一樣簡單。
cebas：為什麼選擇使用cebas的軟體？
碎裂騎士這個片段全都是用thinkingParticles製作的。當時為了《絕命終結站5》我花了一年的時間在溫哥華學習tP，當我接到製作《公主與狩獵者》碎裂騎士的外觀，我就知道thinkingParticles是唯一解決這項任務的方案。
cebas：你是如何使用我們的軟體來製作特效？
我可以輕鬆的將騎士的動畫帶到tP中並且將騎士的身體部份分開成可碎裂的粒子。我可以隨時物件甚至是其它的後製特效也完成之後也不需要"Pre-break"每個物件。這讓任何重新拓樸的物件要轉到tP中碎裂不會很麻煩。
As
I stated earlier, I developed the look for the entire opening battle sequence
as it related to the shattering knights. I worked on most of the shots, but
specifically the first shatter shot where King Magnus slices though the first
Knight to the shot where he moves the helmet with his foot as it disintegrates.
Those two are my favorites but I also really like the shot where the knight
gets his leg shattered from beneath him. That was a very fun shot to carry
out.
cebas: What features in particular helped you achieve your goal and how?
Using
the Volume Break node gave me the ability to “shatter” the knight on the fly
without having to pre-break the knight.
This was
instrumental in getting the look exactly the way the Director wanted it.
If I
needed larger shards it was just a matter of changing a number or two. If I
needed to change the shape of the shards it was also just a matter of changing
two or three different numbers.
In
the end, a larger variation of shards was requested and all it took was
duplicating the VB Nodes and feeding the particles into random VB nodes with
different settings.
It was AMAZINGLY easy to do so. As a programmer, the
logical process that you take using tP came
incredibly natural and making changes to an already established system was
trivial.
cebas: What was the most difficult aspect of this
project and how did you solve it?
The
most difficult thing to do on this project was developing the look at the
beginning. To give you an idea; the version of the Max scene that I ended up
with was 294. In all my years I don't think I ever had to pass 100 much less
reach almost 300!
By difficult I do NOT mean that thinkingParticles
made the work difficult - on the contrary; it made things MUCH easier. The
difficult part was noodling
the look until it looked just right.
cebas: How did the cebas
tools perform for you and how was the experience of working with them like?
thinkingParticles worked EXACLTY as expected. There really
isn't anything else that needs to be said about it.
cebas: How did it compare to other software you
may have used?
Honestly,
nothing compares to thinkingParticles. The ability
to, basically, do whatever your mind can think of (and more) makes it one of
the most versatile plug-ins that I have ever used. At this point I could not
see doing anything, particle and dynamics wise, in any
other package other than thinkingParticles.
cebas: How did cebas
software integrate into your production pipeline?
Seamlessly. Where it showed it's
biggest strength was in how I was able to take my initial work and turn it into
a template that could be easily repurposed to work for any other shot.
Being
able to pull values out to the modify panel to easily tweak the speed, spread
and timing of the volume breaking helped tremendously. Being
able to designate which body parts would even need to be in the sim also made repurposing the simulation a breeze.
What I ended up doing was taking a shot with the Knight Rig in it and setting it up with tP.
After that, all I needed to do was load the animation onto the Rig then tweak when the shattering needed to start and how fast the shattering would travel across the body. I even had helpers as part of the rig that initiated the Volume Break Activation - this allowed me to control where the breaking would start.
In the Magnus slice shot, the Shattering is initiated at the Knights waist. In the Knee sweep shot, it is initiated from the knee. In the helmet shot, I had helpers animated across the surface of the helmet that would initiate the Volume Break across the surface like a zipper.
cebas: What was the most fun or rewarding part of this project for you?
Using
thinkingParticles and perfecting my knowledge of it!
Seriously, I have been using it for less than two years and I can confidently
say I could do whatever I need using tP.
cebas: What do you wish cebas software did that it's not currently doing for you?
A
few things that I have asked for and are currently in Beta so I can’t really
say. Hehehe!
cebas: What new projects can we
expect from you in the future? (if you're able to tell
us).
I
could tell you but, as they say, I would have to kill you ;-)
Check
out the final look of the shots:
And
for the final cut featured in the movie's official trailer, click HERE
Thank
you so much Paul for your time, we really had fun doing this interview with you
:)
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