Roy’s Odyssey: Super-hero flying
I suppose it had to come around - I’ve been dreading the week when I have to do a post on this sequence, mainly because, as yet, I really don’t have a clue how/what we’re going to be doing….
This is the opening of the film, and we’ve been looking at the big fight at the end of The Matrix Revolutions for inspiration.
We’ve got the following options available to us:
Green-screen (no wires, though)
Digital doubles
Before the shoot, I am planning on pre-vizing this sequence extensively, so that we can plan out exactly how we intend to do each shot, and what will and won’t work. I don’t feel that we will be able to do anything other than very long shots with digital doubles.
Anyway, once the director has storyboarded this sequence out, I’ll have more information on it - but for now, well, any suggestions as to how to do this kind of thing on a shoe-string would be hugely appreciated!
April 13th, 2005 at 18:14
I’d have to suggest that, if you’re doing it without wires, the best way to do it would be to have shots from further away done in CG (ergo digital doubles) and for close ups use green-screen. This is probably the “easiest” way to do it (depending on how good you are with 3D). Besides, doing it with digital doubles allows for total flexibiltiy allowing the sequence to be created exactly as imagined.
April 13th, 2005 at 18:18
That’s what I’m planning for at the moment. My worry, though, is that we’ll be missing a group of expected shots - full-screen shots where you can see head-to-foot…. Stuff that’s too close to do digital doubles and you can see too much to do it green-screen with them actually standing on something…
Hopefully I’ll find out more about what the director wants on this next week.
April 13th, 2005 at 18:34
I know what you mean… It also depends are you doing day-time shots or night. Cause in the dark it’s easier to fake things.
But of course it will be much easier to “throw” ideas your way when you’ll have more information on how the shots will look.
April 13th, 2005 at 19:23
I’ve also just remembered something… since they will be flying… how about instead of standing on something on greenscreen they would be sort of “lying” down on something… It would be hard for the actors but at least you could get the bottom s of the shoes and stuff… It just has to be shot correctly…
April 13th, 2005 at 19:41
Could do - although that could feel far too much like Superman!
I suspect we’ll try to pull just about every trick we can come up with to stop it looking like we’ve just done the same thing over and over again…
April 13th, 2005 at 19:46
Well…it’s not neccessary to have the person lying down horizontaly…maybe at a 50 degree angle…but on second thought…lying down would be stupid if you’re going for a fight..you cant really fight lying down…except well if you’re lying on your hip and fake fighting and the camera is shooting from directly aboce…
I guess wires would be the best solution…or very good CG.
Please keep us posted on how you’ll be doing it, cause I (at least) am very interested about this.
April 13th, 2005 at 19:47
Wires would be wonderful….
Maybe I’ll persuade the producer that he REALLY wants to find a stunt guy who’ll work for free plus a green-screen studio with a wire rig… for free…
Or just get huge amounts of funding!
April 13th, 2005 at 20:09
yeah…for free
that’ll be a piece of cake…well… In wors case scenario I’ll be your wire-stuntman (I’ve always wanted to try wires 
)
April 13th, 2005 at 22:46
That’s the trouble with ambitious low-budget projects!
We’ll see what happens.
Oh, and your last comment there makes me … uh… reluctant to get you to help with the wires…..!
April 13th, 2005 at 23:06
hehe… I was just kidding… don’t take me to seriously… unless I’m talkin’ ’bout compositing and effects
April 13th, 2005 at 23:09
Hence the “;)”