Matt went to visit ILM to find out more about the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.
They might never recover.
It all sounds so simple, doesnt it?
Oh, we had to capture data, so we just used science.
Then we ran a quick paintbrush over the science and Ninja Turtles fell out.
The lengths the team at ILM have gone to are pretty incredible, though.
Theres a newTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesfilm coming out and Ive been pretty excited about it.
Not a bad day when that call comes through.
ILM is the special effects company started by George Lucas.
Youd know it once you got there, too.
I was so excited to talk to ILM about the newTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesfilm.
Luckily for me, I found the people at ILM to generally be friendly and chatty.
Lets start with the most controversial element of the film: Megan Fox.
No, Im teasing.
I mean the designs of the Turtles.
Youre probably wondering how we have the designs that we have.
Pablo Helman astutely suggests as part of an introductory presentation.
We tried all kinds of things, with a really wide scope.
We started with something really on one side.
Pablo Helman leads the day.
He showed us (the assembled journalists) some of the designs theyd been working on.
Not me, though.
says Helman, in soft, almost sympathetic way.
I would have liked that.
If you look at his face, there are really not any human qualities at all.
Hes just all rat.
The MUSE system wasnt the only innovation applied toTurtles, though.
We have three cameras around the set that triangulate the performance of the actor.
We track that movement with a digital version of the actor says Tim Harrington.
Once we have that, we take that motion data and we apply it to the Turtle.
Probably the physical constraint of having a giant shell on their back, he replied.
No running, nothing.
Ok, we need that six more times to shoot again, he would do it six more times.
So, I thought that was going to be a really terrible physical constraint but it wasnt.
Now, onto the MUSE capture system.
The MUSE system was explained to me repeatedly, out of necessity.
Im handsome but Im not the sharpest blade on Shredders forearm.
And not just the speed, but most importantly, that would capture the subtleties.
We were, I think, very successful at capturing the just-so-subtle nuances in the characters.
Pablo Helman told us, We had 138 tracking markers on the faces.
Throughout the day we had to recalibrate that about two or three times.
A further requirement of the MUSE system was that it be flexible, Helman continued.
Its a real big, big process, especially when you are dealing with a comedy.
Thats whats different about everything that were doing.
To do that we designed a helmet that for the first time would have two HD cameras.
To do that, youre basically capturing about one terabyte of data a day per performer.
So, you have to manage all your data and thats part of the new system.
I cant even begin to imagine what their Dropbox subscription costs.
I cocked an eyebrow at the idea at first.
Oh right, the special effects guys want credit for the animation and the performance, do they?
Donatello says Allow me to be the badass for once!
and then he turns and runs.
He had to build up his courage, rather than just running off.
We found that interesting.
They showed us an unfinished version of the animation where just that happens.
Id get into describing what the early animation looked like but video presentations rarely come to life in print.
See, I was following the entire time.
Adding that little nervous smile definitely changed the feeling of the scene says Martel.
We can animate those ideas and mix and match.
Its a really great way to come up with the ideal performance for the scene.
He goes through fifty-five different expressions that we captured.
We clean them up a little bit, see to it theyre good.
Once were happy with that we can transfer it to the Turtle.
But once you take Alans facial expressions and put them on Raph, he starts to come through.
Thats something we didnt anticipate.
They showed us a side-by-side comparison and you could totally see it.
It was mad, because once youve seen it you see the actor in the Turtles face every time.
There was a downside to mixing human and mutant turtle faces, though.
Teeth are very difficult in animals and creatures.
If a dog is showing you its teeth, its not good news.
Its something that we had to really take into consideration.
Is this a case of the temptation of can over should?
The team at ILM would likely disagree.
Their design process was clearly thorough and theres no denying that they believe in what theyve done.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lands in the UK on Friday 17th October.
