When Signature Entertainment met with London-based Magic Dust VFX to discuss a feature starring a fully CGI hippo and featuring extensive FX water sims - all to be delivered on a tight budget - the initial brief seemed very challenging.
Creature-led features typically end up with the largest VFX vendors, as they require robust CGI pipelines, very expensive computing power and storage - not the usual territory for boutique VFX companies.
However, the Magic Dust team, led by VFX supervisor Ahmed Yousry (Interstellar, Bond, Mission: Impossible, Pacific Rim, The Fast and the Furious, Thor, Ant-Man, Man of Steel, The King and Hugo), did not shy away from the challenge.
During pre-production, Magic Dust designed the hippo, which was shared with the creature SFX team to build a 3D-printed model.
Whilst on set, the team captured lighting information and scanned various locations using drones and DSLR cameras to build digital sets. This enabled Magic Dust to seamlessly integrate the CGI hippo with the filmed environment.
In post-production, Magic Dust’s team of small, experienced artists and engineers built an automation tool and templates that enabled multi-shot workflows and optimised GPU rendering.
This allowed the team to deliver a large number of shots with the smallest possible footprint.
As a result, Magic Dust was able to deliver over 80 CGI hippo shots within the production’s tight budget and schedule.
Director: James Nunn
Producer: Ben Jacques
VFX Supervisor: Ahmed Yousry
VFX Producer: Suzie Boavida
Creature-led features typically end up with the largest VFX vendors, as they require robust CGI pipelines, very expensive computing power and storage - not the usual territory for boutique VFX companies.
However, the Magic Dust team, led by VFX supervisor Ahmed Yousry (Interstellar, Bond, Mission: Impossible, Pacific Rim, The Fast and the Furious, Thor, Ant-Man, Man of Steel, The King and Hugo), did not shy away from the challenge.
During pre-production, Magic Dust designed the hippo, which was shared with the creature SFX team to build a 3D-printed model.
Whilst on set, the team captured lighting information and scanned various locations using drones and DSLR cameras to build digital sets. This enabled Magic Dust to seamlessly integrate the CGI hippo with the filmed environment.
In post-production, Magic Dust’s team of small, experienced artists and engineers built an automation tool and templates that enabled multi-shot workflows and optimised GPU rendering.
This allowed the team to deliver a large number of shots with the smallest possible footprint.
As a result, Magic Dust was able to deliver over 80 CGI hippo shots within the production’s tight budget and schedule.
Director: James Nunn
Producer: Ben Jacques
VFX Supervisor: Ahmed Yousry
VFX Producer: Suzie Boavida
More information about Magic Dust VFX here
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