The Picture Mill Uses Cinema 4D in Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds The Picture Mill was initially brought on board to produce the titles and graphics for the trailer and film titles, including the prologue.

However, after initial screenings and meetings, Spielberg liked the Picture Mill's work and handed over all production of the CG shots for the prologue and epilogue. Clayton recalls that Spielberg wanted the prologue and epilogue to have the same look and feel. So, instead of having two different shops work on the prologue and epilogue separately, both scenes were to be completed by the Picture Mill. Indeed, a vital responsibility that would set the mood for the beginning and conclusion of the film.

The prologue's opening scene begins inside the nucleus of a single cell animal known as a paramecium, where strands of DNA sway gently back and forth. As the camera recedes, the paramecium's organelles and eventually the entire cell come into view. On the cell's surface, delicate cilia beat rhythmically, propelling the animal away from the camera, gradually revealing a teeming microscopic world, which then fades into a drop of water resting on the leaf of a tree. By contrast, the last scene in the epilogue reverses the sequence, beginning in a desolate macroscopic world, then zooming in to a drop of water swarming with microbes where eventually the familiar paramecium comes into view. The persuasive images perfectly complement the ironic message contained in the prologue and epilogue: That, despite mankind's technological prowess, the true protectors of the Earth are its countless microscopic armies.

The CG scenes simulating microscopic worlds inspire in the viewer a myriad of sensations, including that of watching an alien world. The CG lighting is a close simulation of confocal microscopy, i.e. photography made through a microscope. In the microscopic world light behaves differently from what we in the macroscopic world are used to experiencing. For instance, depth-of-field is shallow, colors disappear and, adding to the bizarre effect, the mostly transparent bodies of microbes appear ghostly and luminescent. Animated in Cinema 4D, the challenging CG scenes simulating microscopic worlds in the prologue and epilogue were, according to Lebeda, a fine balance between being photographically accurate at that magnification and creating something that the viewer could relate to and understand. Lebada quickly added that, if his dad can understand the shot, they have done their job [well].

When asked why Cinema 4D was chosen as the main 3D application for the production of the CG shots, Clayton promptly replied, "We don't pick software, we pick people." However, the person selected by the Picture Mill to create the CG shots for the prologue and epilogue was Greg Reynard, and he prefers to work in Cinema 4D. According to Reynard, Cinema 4D is intuitive, quick and [dependable]. Reynard turned out to be the ideal person for the job, not only because he is an expert animator and Cinema 4D user, but because, in a former life, he earned an advanced degree in biology and was involved in research for years. Reynard's extensive experience in science and Cinema 4D would be instrumental in creating the perfect CG shots.

At first the Picture Mill used Cinema 4D as a pre-visualization tool to work out the design and animation and had planned to use another animation application to complete the final CG shots. However, Reynard was achieving such excellent results that it was decided to stick with Cinema 4D for the entire production.

Reynard recalls that the most challenging aspect of the production was getting the details of the paramecium just right. Even though a paramecium is not something moviegoers are accustomed to seeing everyday, life-like motion is expected nonetheless, as it is a living organism. Although it took the better part of three months, with Cinema 4D Reynard was able to effectively model, texture and animate the paramecium and all of the other elements in the CG shots. Clayton and Reynard agree that one of the best features of working with Cinema 4D was its ability to integrate well with Maya. Clayton recalls that for the first time they were able to seamlessly pass all types of data and back forth between the two applications.

Undoubtedly the Picture Mill's success with the prologue and epilogue in Spielberg's War of the Worlds was the direct result of the talents of the people involved. When asked how often the Picture Mill uses Cinema 4D in production, Clayton's enthusiastic response was, "We use Cinema 4D a lot!" The Picture Mill's initial experiences with Cinema 4D was a design tool, but since that time it has become an indispensable production tool for all types of tasks. Other than War of the Worlds, the Picture Mill has successfully used Cinema 4D in the production of film titles and trailer graphics for Spider-Man, Team America, Mission Impossible 3, and Nacho Libre, among many others.

www.picturemill.com