Terragen in The Golden Compass

[Moose]

VFXWorld have a two part article on the visual effects in The Golden Compass. Part Two mentions that Rainmaker UK utilised Terragen for their work on the film - http://vfxworld.com/?atype=articles&id=3478&page=7 (registration maybe required):

The studio's assignment also included major enhancements of the Gyptian camp environment. "Much of the scene was shot with painted backings that needed to be replaced digitally," Eason says. "We generated a new background using a combination of digital stills, Terragen 3D-rendered mountains and snowscapes and pure Photoshop paintwork, along with moving elements such as mist, smoke and shadows."

It doesn't say whether old TG or new was used...

[old_blaggard]

Very cool 8-).  It's hard to tell which version it was because the example image is so small.  I'm going to see it in a couple of days, so I'll keep my eyes open and hopefully be able to tell which.

[Moose]

Yeah... also, if it's combined with paintwork and other techniques like the article says, it might be even harder to distinguish. Perhaps someone from Planetside knows more? Enjoy the film though... I'll wait till it's shown on TV. 

[Will]

Hmm cool, Yea I wonder which it is. *waits for staff*

[JimB]

The mountains from that angle were done in World Machine with Flow maps exported to help the snow distribution. They weren't done in one pass but several, combined in Photoshop as the outline had to match a particular look and time was of the essence. Some views had all TG2 skies separated into layers; others a mix of different rendered skies + photo elements + paintwork to fulfill the brief. No magic bullets. 

One particular view of the bear staring across the arctic landscape then engaging in conversation with the girl used a matte painting for the flat midground, some photo elements taken on location to enhance the overall look, a World Machine generated near background, then an alpine fractal for the distant mountains. The foreground snow that the bear sits on is mostly XSI and Mental Ray. The sky is completely TG2 with still renders separated into their respective cloud layers, and a slight drift added in XSI as a texture projection. The drifting shadows were generated using a LWO export of the scape to make them follow the topography.

[red_planet]

Thanks Jim,

Nice to have suspicions confirmed..it was nagging at me (in a nice way) all through the film....film's a good romp and in places looks stunning, but the "hollywoodisation" has removed a lot of the original book's power.(imho !)

Rgds

Chris

[Moose]

Cheers for the details there, JimB. 

[rcallicotte]

I wondered if those mountains were TG.  Wow.

[old_blaggard]

Thanks for the details .  Where did you find all of this out?

[JimB]

Thanks for the details .  Where did you find all of this out?

Because I did the matte paintings. 

[rcallicotte]

Good job, Jim.  I loved the backgrounds.  Did this include the backgrounds for the shots above the city in the balloon (with Nicole and her "soul")?

[old_blaggard]

Wow, impressive .  Nicely done, and thanks for sharing!

[Will]

Nice, good job man.

[moodflow]

Thanks for the details .  Where did you find all of this out?

Because I did the matte paintings. 

Heheh, then he will likely know then. 

[JimB]

Did this include the backgrounds for the shots above the city in the balloon (with Nicole and her "soul")?

No, not at all. Only the snow scenes surrounding the camp in the arctic where the big battle happens, and the big tilt down where the two guys fall of the cliff (which also had some TG2 elements). It was a massive show for VFX with a number of companies working on it.