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