The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5
You can not select more than 25 topics Topics must start with a letter or number, can include dashes ('-') and can be up to 35 characters long.
 
 
 
 

291 lines
10 KiB

<html>
<head>
<title>Babylon 5 Behind the Scenes: The Effects</title>
<map name="toplevel">
<area shape="RECT" coords="0,0,99,23" href="/lurk/universe/intro.html" alt="Universe">
<area shape="RECT" coords="100,0,199,23" href="/lurk/episodes.php" alt="Episodes">
<area shape="RECT" coords="200,0,299,23" href="/lurk/making/creators.html" alt="People">
<area shape="RECT" coords="300,0,399,23" href="/lurk/resources/online.html" alt="Resources">
<area shape="RECT" coords="400,0,499,23" href="/lurk/reference/episodes.html" alt="Encyclopedia">
<area shape="RECT" coords="0,24,499,31" nohref>
</map>
<map name="titlebar">
<area shape="RECT" coords="0,0,370,31" href="/lurk/lurker.html" alt="Home">
<area shape="RECT" coords="371,0,412,31" href="/lurk/search.html" alt="Find">
<area shape="RECT" coords="413,0,454,31" href="/lurk/toc.html" alt="Index">
<area shape="RECT" coords="455,0,499,31" href="/lurk/help.html" alt="Help">
</map>
<link rev=made href="mailto:koreth@midwinter.com">
</head>
<body>
<p align=center nowrap><nobr><img
align=middle border=0 usemap="#titlebar"
src="/lurk/nav/titlebar.gif" width=500 height=32
alt="[Home]">
<br><img
align=top border=0
src="/lurk/nav/bar-making.gif" width=500 height=32
alt="" usemap="#toplevel">
<br><a href="creators.html"><img
align=top border=0
src="/lurk/nav/dark/bh-creators.gif" width=100 height=24
alt=" [Creators]"></a><a
href="cast.html"><img
align=top border=0
src="/lurk/nav/dark/bh-cast.gif" width=100 height=24
alt=" [Cast]"></a><a
href="philosophy.html"><img
align=top border=0
src="/lurk/nav/dark/bh-philosophy.gif" width=100 height=24
alt=" [Philosophy]"></a><img
align=top border=0
src="/lurk/nav/lit/bh-effects.gif" width=100 height=24
alt=" #### EFFECTS ####"><a
href="history.html"><img
align=top border=0
src="/lurk/nav/dark/bh-history.gif" width=100 height=24
alt=" [History]"></a>
<br><a
href="awards.html"><img
align=top border=0
src="/lurk/nav/dark/bh-awards.gif" width=100 height=24
alt=" [Awards]"></a><a
href="production.html"><img
align=top border=0
src="/lurk/nav/dark/bh-production.gif" width=100 height=24
alt=" [Production]"></a><a
href="literary.html"><img
align=top border=0
src="/lurk/nav/dark/bh-literary.gif" width=100 height=24
alt=" [Literary]"></a><img
align=top border=0
src="/lurk/nav/dark/bh-empty.gif" width=100 height=24
alt=""><img
align=top border=0
src="/lurk/nav/dark/bh-empty.gif" width=100 height=24
alt="">
</nobr>
<p>
<b>Contents:</b>
<a href="#overview">Overview</a> -
<a href="#notes">Notes</a>
<p>
<hr>
<h2><a name="overview">Overview</a></h2>
<p>
<a href="/lurk/ftp/Pictures/Effects/approach3.jpg"><img
align=left width=85 height=64 hspace=4
href="/lurk/ftp/Pictures/Effects/Thumb/approach3.gif"></a>
<a href="/lurk/ftp/Pictures/Effects/line1.jpg"><img
align=right width=85 height=64 hspace=4
href="/lurk/ftp/Pictures/Effects/Thumb/line1.gif"></a>
<p>
All special effects for Babylon 5 are computer generated. Foundation Imaging,
headed by Ron Thornton, produced the special effects for the pilot movie and
seasons one through three. Starting in season four, the special effects
were moved in-house to Netter Digital Imaging, another subsidiary of the
parent of B5's production company.
<p>
The B5 effects teams, both at Foundation and at NDI, use
<a href="http://www.newtek.com/products/lightwave/lightwave_splash.html">Lightwave 3D</a>
by NewTek and specialized software to design and render the visual effects.
For the pilot, the effects were rendered on a network of Amiga computers;
later, Foundation used 12 Pentium PCs and 5 DEC Alpha workstations for 3D
rendering and design, and 3 Macintoshes for piecing together on-set computer
displays. The NDI team uses a similar array of equipment; see George
Johnsen's comments below.
<br clear><p>
<a href="/lurk/ftp/Pictures/Effects/station4.jpg"><img
align=left width=84 height=85 hspace=4
href="/lurk/ftp/Pictures/Effects/Thumb/station4.gif"></a>
<a href="/lurk/ftp/Pictures/Effects/feeder.gif"><img
align=right width=85 height=57 hspace=4
href="/lurk/ftp/Pictures/Effects/Thumb/feeder.gif"></a>
<p>
CGI space scenes are clearer and have more realistic movement than model shots.
Some interior shots such as docking bays are "virtual sets" combining live
action with computer imagery. Computer-generated aliens make regular
appearances on the show as well.
<br clear=all>
<p>
Babylon 5's makeup is put together by Optic Nerve Studios, which
has done makeup work on such projects as
<cite>Batman Returns</cite> and <cite>Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The
Movie,</cite> among others. On B5, they've made an attempt to break away
from the minimalist approach often seen on weekly series, preferring full-head
(and, in some cases, full-body) prosthetics rather than simple changes to
the nose or forehead. Their work has paid off in the form of an
<a href="awards.html#emmy">Emmy</a> award.
<p>
The Babylon 5 FTP archive's
<a href="/lurk/ftp/Pictures/Effects/Thumb/">Pictures
directory</a>
contains numerous examples of the show's special effects and makeup.
<p>
<a href="thornton.html"><img width=100 height=24 hspace=4 align=middle border=0
src="/lurk/nav/moreinfo.gif" alt="[More Info]"></a>
<cite>An interview with Ron Thornton.</cite>
<br clear>
<a href="mojo.html"><img width=100 height=24 hspace=4 align=middle border=0
src="/lurk/nav/moreinfo.gif" alt="[More Info]"></a>
<cite>An interview with Mojo (supervising animator.)</cite>
<br clear>
<a href="http://www.blackpoolstudios.com/"><img width=100 height=24 hspace=4
align=middle border=0 src="/lurk/nav/moreinfo.gif" alt="[More Info]"></a>
<cite>BlackPool Studios home page</cite>
<br clear>
<h2><a name="notes">Assorted production notes</a></h2>
<h4>From Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz, Foundation Imaging animator</h4>
<ul>
<li>
The general composition of our FX shots, including camera moves, are
dictated by the feeling of a scene. If JMS writes a big action scene,
we'll move around a lot to convey that mood - if the scene has a
somber tone, the moves will be slower to reflect this. Everything is
dictated by story - a swooping camera move just for the sake of it can
very easily draw your attention to the effect and away from the story
- something we have no desire to do.
<p>
Interestingly enough, big swooping camera moves aren't something we
can do very often for a good reason: you have no points of reference
in space. Next time you're driving around, look at the clouds. using
only them as reference, it seems as if you're standing still - even at
120 MPH! Now let's move into space, where your only reference are
stars and planets - it doesn't matter how fast you move the camera,
it's going to look as if you're standing still. In addition, without
the background moving, if you move a camera past a ship it tends to
look as if the ship is moving, which is why you will almost never see
a shot of the camera moving past Babylon 5.
<p>
All this is why we tend to bank the camera a lot (twist it from side
to side) - it's a way of adding camera motion to the scene without
bothersome perspective problems!
</ul>
<h4>From coproducer George Johnsen</h4>
<ul>
<li>
<em>Are Macintoshes used in the production?</em>
<p>
Even though the Joe uses "another" platform, the show actually uses
many! Macs have been essential to the creation of the show from the
beginning. Even farther back, the Amiga and the Newtek Toaster were
employed.
<p>
Currently we use Pentiums and Alphas for animation, Macs for Editing,
Matte paintings and Compositing, and SGI's for Compositing and titling.
If that isn't platform independent, I don't know what is!
<p>
<li>
The arsenal looks like the following-
<P>
Alphas for design stations serving 5 animators and one animation
assistant (housekeeping and slate specialist). Most of these stations
run Lightwave and a couple add Softimage. VERY plug-in hungry. PVR's
on every station, with calibrated component NTSC (darn it, I hates ntsc)
right beside.
<P>
P6's in quad enclosures for part of the renderstack, and Alphas for the
rest, backed up 2x per day to an optical jukebox.
<P>
Completed shots output to a DDR post rendering and get integrated into
the show.
<P>
Shots to composite go to the Macs running After Effects, or the SGI
running Flint, depending on the type of comp being done, and then to the
DDR (8 minutes capacity on the SGI).
<P>
Boy it sure sounds easy! The only problem is, we have a killer schedule
and very picky producers, and ESPECIALLY picky viewers! :-)
<P>
It is, however, a bunch of fun!
<p>
<li>
<em>What does the process of coming up with a new ship look like?</em><br>
The script will dictate a direction to look. Joe has some amazing
pictures in his head, and sometimes they actually pop out and leak onto
paper! Other times it takes more help. There is a discussion around a
table not unlike the one that you describe, where the general
characteristics of the race and their mode of conveyance are discussed
in detail. The ideas that result are communicated to a designer
(creature specialist, futurist, technical illustrator, theortical
scientist, or animator- depends on the type of design required) for a
concept sketch. Once that is adjusted and approved, a modeler builds
the object in the appropriate animation software, and the surfacing
begins!
<p>
At completion of that point, a move test is done, approved or rejected
by myself, John Copeland, and JMS, and the object is added to the
animator's arsenal.
<p>
Yes, it is collaborative, and fairly time consuming, but it does result
in some cool ships that no single vision could produce!
</ul>
<pre>
</pre>
<p nowrap>
<nobr><a href="/lurk/lurker.html"><img
align=bottom border=0
width=64 height=24 src="/lurk/nav/foot-station.gif"
alt="[Home] "></a><a
href="#"><img
align=bottom border=0
width=72 height=13 src="/lurk/nav/foot-pagetop.gif"
alt="[Top] "></a><a
href="mailto:koreth+lgfeedback@midwinter.com"><img
align=bottom border=0
width=80 height=13 src="/lurk/nav/foot-comments.gif"
alt="[Comments] "></a><img
align=bottom
width=284 height=13 src="/lurk/nav/foot-bare.gif"
alt="">
</nobr>
<h5>
Last update:
August 12, 1997
</h5>
</body>
</html>