Transformers: there's more to them than meets the eye. The massive car-robots you'll see on the big screen are part car, part robot, and part state-of-the-art computer generated imagery (CGI). Here's a look at what's animating the new Transformers live-action feature, and how you can get in on the CGI action with an animation or digital design degree
Behind the Scenes at ILM
Industrial Light & Magic, industry leader in movie special effects, took up the challenge posed by Transformer's producers: transform moving vehicles into fighting robots. Sound easy? Not if thousands of metal parts need to move to make that happen. "Just Megatron's arm has 15,000 moving pieces that all converge like [a] Rubik's Cube," comments the film's lead Shia LeBeouf. In one scene, a real Mac truck speeding along at 85mph rears up on its hind wheels and shifts, piece by piece, into thirty-foot 'Autobot' Optimus Prime. And that's just one of the movie's twenty set pieces.
"Autobots...Transform and Roll Out"
How were the movie's producers able to transform live-action footage into a stunning choreography of moving metal robot-parts? "We have some of the most sophisticated visual FX that have ever been executed by ILM," explains Lorenzo di Bonaventura, the movie's producer. Hours of digital design work went into the Transformers' "aneurysm-inducing" action scenes--38 hours per 1/24th-second frame, to be exact, or about 80,000 hours per scene. Visual animation artists, computer graphics design experts pooled their talent and CGI skills to produce a special effects extravaganza. As one actor put it, "they did some pretty magical and wild things."
The Ultimate Transformation: You into a CGI Designer
If you can transform a car into a robot, you can transform yourself into a CGI professional. But first you need the animation skills. Art schools, technical institutes, and colleges offer design courses in everything from the visual arts to 3D Animation. To work on a movie like Transformers, you'll need training in a CGI-related specialty such as animation, computer graphic design, digital media arts, or computer science.
Here's a casting call of the Special Effects department, and a look at the qualifications for each role.
Character Animator: The character animator is responsible for the motion and personality of digital characters.
- Look for degrees in: Animation
Creature Developer: Creature developers refine the skin motion of a computer-generated model, ensuring realistic movement of hair, cloth, muscles, and skin throughout the animated sequence.
- Look for degrees in: Computer Science, Animation, Interactive Digital Design
Compositor: Compositors put it all together. They integrate the many layers of a shot, ensuring color continuity, tracking, and image stabilization. In a live-action film like Transformers, the Compositor produces a seamless transition between live-action and animated sequences.
- Look for degrees in: Graphic Design, Interactive Digital Design
Digital Matte Artist: Digital matte artists are the set designer of CGI. They use digital paint and photo manipulation technology to create virtual environments such as cityscapes, forests, etc.
- Look for degrees in: Photography, Digital Graphic Design
Modeler: Modelers work with Art Directors and Animators to turn 2D concept art into 3D wireframe models. The modeler is responsible for sculpting anatomical features, facial expressions, and surface animation details such as muscle tension or jiggling.
- Look for degrees in: Digital Media Arts, Graphic Design
With art training, technical skills, and an active imagination, you can land a starring role in the Cinematic Special Effects department. Animated and live-action features are continually pushing the boundaries of what's possible on the silver screen. We've seen tidal waves taking out the Golden Gate Bridge, Forrest Gump trading words with Nixon, and now, 30-foot robots dueling it out on L.A.'s highway 305. What magical and wild things can you create?