The world of visual entertainment has grown leaps and bounds since the advent of 2D visual effects. Then 3D came into the picture, offering the most immersive experience. Recently, efforts are going towards combining the two to get the best of both worlds.
Filmmakers going for 3D, be it animated or not, generally rely on VFX Outsourcing for their VFX needs. In recent times, studios have stepped up to offer this new option, giving filmmakers complete creative freedom over their projects without the constraints of 2D and 3D incompatibility.
Hybridization of Animation
Hybridization is the term used to describe the combining of 2D elements into 3D animation or vice-versa. Animators use a host of techniques to do so. Sometimes, the visual is shot in the stereo itself. This renders it 3D ready, requiring just compositing to complete.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day 3D Conversion Case Study Example
VFX Voice magazine has done a story on the conversion process of the iconic movie Terminator 2, originally shot in 2D but was recently converted to 3D by Stereo D animation company. It contains some of the first 2D CGI VFX in movies. The steps are elaborated below:
- 4K Conversion: The first copy of the film was scanned and re-mastered into 4K resolution using a device called a wet gate scanner, which is custom made. The liquid present in the scanner hides and minimizes the emulsion and base ones. The scratches then become invisible to the camera.
- Cleaning: The same department then removed the dust. Some remaining scratches were also repaired.
- Rotoscoping: All the lines of the film’s objects were traced so that left and right images of the same could be produced.
- Depth-Mapping: 3D depth maps were then created with the rotoscope. Finagling was also done where all occlusions in the images were dealt with, and all artifacts were painted to render the two stereo images.
- De-Graining and Scaling: Low light images produced grains which had to be removed. Scale matching also had to be done to give the right amount of depth to the characters and effects.
The result has been a successful conversion of the movie into 4K 3D with all of the original 2D animations intact. In some cases, it can be enhanced as well.
Some Common 2D VFX Elements and Their 3D Conversion Process
Many common 2D visual effects are present in films and animations like sparks, lens flare effect, fire, water, rain, snow, camera shake, dust, smoke, etc. Sometimes, objects in the image need to be added or removed from it, called compositing. These effects are easier to make in 2D and later included in the 3D final image. You can get it done with the help of VFX outsourcing.
The 3D production stage involves these steps:
- 3D Layout: It is the 3D version of a 2D animation piece. It is used to define the rudimentary qualities of the 3D version like shape, surroundings, size, proxy geometry, simple character animations, etc.
- 3D Modeling: This process involves the use of 3D specialized software to develop the geometric surface representation of a 3D object. The common software used are Maya and 3Ds Max.
- 3D Texturing: 3D models till now are in a flat shade of color. It is up to the skills of a texture artist to create and apply surface textures and colors to the 3D object.
- 3D Rigging: the geometric 3D object is provided with a skeletal structure that animators can use to move the object around. It is similar to having a rig, hence the name.
- 3D Animation: It is the stage with the most amount of work done in the entire pipeline. This is when the movements of the 3D characters and effects are created in the scene or environment.
- VFX Inclusion: this is where many of the 2D VFX elements are integrated into the scene. Things like Hair, Dust particles, fur, snow, fire, etc. are rendered and added with physics-driven software.
- Lighting: Lighting in 3D animation is just as important to set the scene and mood as it is in filmmaking and photography. Pre-production designs are used to create real-world like light effects for added depth.
- Rendering: It is the final process, where different elements of the 3D animated scene are separated and rendered into a myriad of layers. These layers individually contain the components of the scene, like foreground, background, colors, objects, shadows, etc. They are then combined in post-production, in a process called compositing.
The right VFX outsourcing partner is thus imperative to produce the desired effects in every scene.