In the 12 years since the release of " The Golden Compass , " the first Holy Writ in Philip Pullman ’s " His Dark Materials " trilogy , the novel has won legions of lover and been made into a play and aradioshow . Now it ’s a $ 180 millionmovieopening on Dec. 7 , compose and direct by Chris Weitz ( " About a Boy " ) , star Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig and sport some of the most complicated outcome sequences ever seen on film .
In this clause , we ’ll explore the unparalleled challenges flummox by bringing " The Golden Compass " to life and excuse how its ocular effects evolved , from concept to writ of execution to final product .
Animated Movie Image Gallery
Shot at England ’s Shepperton Studios – and also in London , Oxford and theNorth Pole– the film follows a immature British girl identify Lyra ( newcomer Dakota Blue Richards ) on her journeying to deliver a kidnapped friend . It ’s a fantasy on an epic scale , set in a parallel universe where armored polar bear do battle and people ’s souls take the form of animal companion have it off asdaemons . It expect nearly two year to complete – and the skill of 100 of special effect artists in three countries .
" There were 1,100 to 1,200 CG [ computer - generated ] shot , average for a film like this , but the spirit level of complexness far exceeded most , " says optical effects supervisor Michael Fink , who worked on the film for 22 months . " There ’s an revive character in just about every one of those shots . " Fink , the effect executive program on " X - Men , " " X-2 , " " Lethal Weapon " and " Batman return , " say " The Golden Compass " is more complex than all of them combined .
One full-grown challenge , Fink says , was the frequent interaction between human and digital fauna – like when hoi polloi match their daemons . The effects team had to fare up with a direction to make the computer - generated fur react to contact with a human hand . But the tough trouble was " a full CG , fully enliven fight between two bear in front of 100 to 120 other bears in the middle of a live - action movie , " he says . " We had to create a photo - real surroundings with bears that you ’d really consider are fighting . "
Fink notes that such a chronological sequence would have been impossible five or six age ago and " could have been done badly " two or three years ago . " Lighting is the biggest progeny – light a clean bear in a snowy environment , or any surroundings , is one of the punishing tasks in CG , " he say .
The armored bears , or Panserbjorne , were the employment of London effects house Framestore CFC.Los Angeles - base Rhythm & Hues worked on the main daemons , and a number of other special effect companies palm various CG tasks .
On the next page , we ’ll meet the Rhythm & Hues squad and learn how they create the demigod .
Designing Daemons
Rhythm & Hues was tasked with creating the main daemons , including the integral characters Pantalaimon and the Golden Monkey . The R&H designers also worked on thespy fliesand dissever shots with Digital Domain on thealethiometer(the goldencompassitself ) . essence manufacturer Gary Nolin says it ’s the biggest project the 20 - year - erstwhile caller has ever worked on – all tell , more than 500 artists were involve .
In the film ’s world , where animals be humans ' somebody never leave their sides , " just about every dead reckoning where you ’d see a human would have a daemon in it , " says R&H visual effects supervisory program Bill Westenhofer . R&H had actually done much of the groundwork for the animals when the company worked on " The Chronicles of Narnia . " They builtdestruction kits(animated body - parts libraries , if you will ) , where they could regain perfectly plan antelope leg or ferret out mitt if they needed them . aspect , however , had to be custom - designed .
There were hundreds of brute to create . Animators meditate specially shoot footage of blow leopards to produce Stelmaria , the daemon of Lyra ’s uncle , IE Lord Asriel ( Daniel Craig ) . They designed a true - to - life snowfall leopard with a very specific centre colour . " The centre colors are meant to match the actors ' , " says R&H ocular effects executive program Ray Chen , " so with Daniel Craig , we had that gelid cold blue devil . "
The Golden Monkey ( the daimon of Mrs. Coulter , played by Nicole Kidman ) posed one of the trickier challenges . It is n’t based on a realmonkey , but rather a blend of capuchin , spider and three type of tamarind monkey . " Tamarinds are beautiful monkeys with horrifying faces , so we used a face that was more like a Cebus capucinus , the size and build from aspider monkeyand capuchin , and fur from a tamarind tree , " Mike Fink explains .
The result team also had to cipher out how to express the demon ' personalities . " Mrs. Coulter is a beautiful adult female but she has a darkheart , and the Golden Monkey exhibits that part of her personality , " Westenhofer says . " He ’s a nasty short guy . "
Lyra ’s demigod , Pantalaimon ( " Pan " ) , transform accord to his humor – so at various times , he ’s a ferret , a wildcat , a woodwind mouse , a cobra , a doll and a moth . His personality , reflecting the smart , spirited Lyra , had to hail across in its many incarnations and be uniform within the various designs . " We want to have his look be similar across the many creature forms and make him as cunning as possible , " says Chen . " When he ’s a black-footed ferret , he has a little brigand masquerade around his case , and we put a hint of that in all the forms he assume , such as the morose area around the wood mouse ’s eyes . We also render to keep the same palette of Brown University and golds . "
Pan ’s design required several development . The wildcat personification was especially toughened , Fink tell . Its " butch spirit " had to match Pan ’s toughest persona , but it was n’t very visually sympathetic . " So we worked on the shape of his eyes , his colouration , the shape of his head a small bit , " Fink says . " He ’s definitely a Scottish wildcat , but he has a slightly softer look , vernal in the facial expression . "
The animators also added a luster to the fur of the daemons , which makes it clear " that they are somehow dissimilar and special , " Chen says . " you could see the difference when you see the existent animals that do n’t have the daemon quality to them . "
Once the devil ' invention were establish , Rhythm & Hues had to figure out how to insert them into live - action surroundings and have them interact with the human characters . We ’ll learn about that appendage on the next Thomas Nelson Page .
Animation and Live Action
During output ongreen - screensoundstages at Shepperton Studios , the actors contain and act with a smorgasbord of target that would be supervene upon by computer-
sire daemon .
" We used every form of contraption you’re able to think of , from a small greenfootballto a cat on a sportfishing line that we could swing into Lyra ’s arms for situations where Pan is a computerized tomography , " say Rhythm & Hues visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer . " We had to get [ Lyra ’s portrayer Dakota Blue Richards ] to put her hands in the correct place and react in the right way . " An on - set puppeteer would also act out Pan ’s part and read his negotiation with I. A. Richards .
Other aspects of daemon placement were equally tricky , such as when Pan and the Golden Monkey fighting in Mrs. Coulter ’s living elbow room . " It ’s the little touches that slang the eye into believing he ’s in the scene , " pronounce Westenhofer .
In scenes with many daemons , like battle sequences , R&H animators used " monumental , " an artificial intelligence service program , to add background characters . They would coordinate and share materials with the other effects mansion .
Rhythm & Hues was also responsible for creating a overplus of other effect , including : a daemon death result , theelectricalsparks in the Intercision automobile , the mystical particle call Dust , and a complex grand stopping point sequence involving theaurora borealis .
" We bring on about 80 shots for that sequence , " says R&H effects producer Gary Nolin . " But the decisiveness was made to stop the movie somewhat earlier and have that prospect begin the second movie . " The 2nd film in the serial , based on " The Subtle Knife , " is the next step in what New Line Cinema hopes will be a franchise as successful as the " Harry Potter " films or the " Lord of the Rings " trilogy .
" Every class we ’re getting better at what we do , and already we ’ve made another leap forwards in realistically portraying these animals , " say R&H animation director Erik De Boer . " Some of it has to do with the technology , but it ’s [ more ] the experience and the craft that we have and are expanding on every year . "
Mike Fink , the movie ’s ocular effects supervisor , is evenly proud of his oeuvre . He says his preferent episode are the ones " that do n’t appear like visual effects shots . You do n’t want the audience to suddenly think they ’re in a fake piazza , a different spot … The more unseeable my work is , the happier I get . "
To learn more about " The Golden Compass " and moving picture special effects , check out the link on the next page .