 |
|
|||||||
|
|
 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
 |
|
 |
|||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
MAKING OF...(page three) |
||||||||||||||||
SCALING NEW HEIGHTS Nothing in computer animation remains static; there is always new ground to break. On "Shark Tale," the lighting became one facet of the production in which the filmmakers pushed the edge of the envelope, especially in the application of global illumination. Global illumination is a way of achieving more natural atmospheric lighting taking into account the relationship of any light source with the surfaces and objects in a given space.  Doug Cooper expounds, "We've taken huge leaps forward in what we're
able to accomplish aesthetically--the level of detail...the quality
of lighting and shading. We used global illumination to get that
rich lighting quality, not just in special scenes, but throughout
the film. The artistic controls we developed allowed us to sculpt
and shape the lighting in a way that is more stylistic than realistic."
One form of global illumination used was the bounce shader. Simply put, the bounce shader gauges where and how light will bounce from surface to surface--whether animate or inanimate--so the visual effects team could generate natural light and shadows. Lighting the undersea environment meant also dealing with other complications, including what is referred to as underwater caustics--those wavy, rippling light patterns that are cast onto surfaces--and the subtle but ever-present haze that even clear water has, which obscures and tints everything in the distance. Before the lighting and effects teams could employ global illumination to achieve the desired lighting, they needed to learn exactly what that would mean in film terms. To that end, the groups underwent a series of training classes with world-class cinematographers where they learned about lighting design on live-action sets. "I think you'll see the results of that training shining through when you see the lighting work that was done on 'Shark Tale,'" Cooper says. Another recent lighting breakthrough, called subsurface scattering, is more applicable to organic objects. Skin, being porous, is permeated by light, which then refracts and re-emerges. Subsurface scattering mimics that effect in the computer, lending a natural glow to the characters' skin, or scales, as the case may be. Fish, however, have an iridescence that required more than subsurface scattering to accomplish. The surfacing department, led by Wesley Burian, took layers of color and light and composited them together to create a shiny, scaly, multi-colored surface that Healy notes, "gives the fish a jewel-like luminescence." The surfacing and effects teams layered Lola with as much sparkle as shine because she had to be utterly mesmerizing to a guy like Oscar. Nevertheless, Burian says that, once again, it was the jellyfish that presented the biggest problems. "They were the hardest characters to make look translucent," he remarks. "I studied a lot of jellyfish references and, obviously, they're almost not visible when you see them in real life. But the directors wanted Bernie and Ernie to look bright and appealing. We had to come up with specific shading to make their heads appear gelatinous, but still look like there was stuff inside." Water and liquid effects are a common theme when talking about challenges in animation, but never more so than in a movie that is set entirely under water. CG supervisor Michael McNeill offers, "We made a conscious decision early on not to hit people over the head with the fact that we're under water all the time, but we do try to give little clues, like adding bubbles and ripples and little particles floating slowly by, all of which give you that subtle reminder that everything is going on under water." "There are a lot of bubbles," affirms head of effects Michael A. Miller. "I think over 90 percent of this movie has bubbles in some way, shape or form." Bubbles were one thing...suds were something else entirely. Cooper admits, "In thinking of all the challenges we would face on 'Shark Tale,' the one thing that didn't cross my mind at first was how to do soap suds under water. Oscar works at the Whale Wash, so that was going to be a huge issue." The filmmakers discussed whether the suds should act like liquid in liquid--floating up and dissolving like Luca's coffee does in one comic moment--or should behave as soapsuds do in the air. "We ended up somewhere in between," Cooper continues. "We designed an effect where, when the suds first come out, they act like big, thick soapsuds would in the air; they cling to the whales and run down the sides. But as the workers scrub them off, the soap dissolves into a milky foam that drifts away in the water. So it's a bit of a cheat, but we do that sometimes when we need something more stylistic than realistic."  One realistic property of being underwater is that almost nothing is stationary...ever.
Sea grasses and plants continually sway in the current, and the fishes' fins
are constantly in motion. In essence, anything that is not "nailed down" is going
to be moving. Having to keep the environment in perpetual motion was complicated
enough, but the effects team was given a directive that compounded the task. "The directors told us that we had to time some of our effects to the music," Miller offers. "The movie had to have a beat, and the effects needed to sync up to it. So the music was an important element for us." SEA NOTES The music of "Shark Tale" is a combination of songs and score, with the score composed by Jeffrey Katzenberg's longtime collaborator Hans Zimmer. "I have such a long and amazing history with Hans Zimmer," Katzenberg states. "He came on board this film and once again was worth his weight in gold." Bill Damaschke comments, "Hans did amazing work to make sure all the music felt cohesive. Our movie is a collection of styles, from the urban setting to the top of the Reef and from a mob comedy to a love story. We have big orchestral moments mixed in with a lot of different songs, and Hans was able to glue it all together." The music of "Shark Tale" is integral to the telling of the story, which is not unusual for an animated film. But the "Shark Tale" soundtrack is not your traditional animated movie music. Music supervisor Darren Higman says, "Taking it from the standpoint of the story's location, which is very much an urban center like New York, we wanted music that would give the film that kind of urban feel." Damaschke agrees, "We wanted to use music that felt appropriate to that world, to give our Reef a contemporary urban sound, and that's hip hop, R&B, rap and pop music. It's the music of this generation and it's what dominates the charts every week." "Some people might think that urban music--even though it's the most popular music of the day--is still somewhat edgy when it comes to animated fare. But the great part about it is that no one had ever mined that kind of music for a movie like this. We were able to experiment and be as creative as we wanted to be in terms of the soundtrack," adds Higman.  The filmmakers reeled in a remarkable roster of contemporary recording artists
to contribute to the musical sound of "Shark Tale." Music supervisor Laura Wasserman says, "It's
really incredible that we've gotten this group of artists together for an animated
film, and the artists themselves have said that. They're very excited about it
because no one's ever done this before, and they had so much fun with it."
"It is a great line-up of talent," says Katzenberg. "There are a handful of songs that we went back and repurposed for our film, and then we have another group of songs that are fresh and original and were written just for the movie." The first song that was reworked for "Shark Tale" was the disco classic "Car Wash." Higman notes, "In the story, Oscar works at a Whale Wash, so how could we not? I mean, how many songs could fit the story so perfectly? I think it was even written into the script." Wasserman points out that "Car Wash" is more than a song in the film, saying, "It is a huge dance number, too, so we had to record it early on so they could animate to the song. It's not like a live-action movie where they can edit it to make it fit. Animation is more intricate than that." To create the dance number, the animators were enrolled in dance classes, in a manner of speaking. Although they didn't actually have to learn how to dance themselves, they needed to learn how to make their characters step to the beat of "Car Wash." The filmmakers brought in Nadine "Hi-Hat" Colquhoun, who is best known as Missy Elliott's choreographer, to teach them all the right moves. Supervising animator Fabrice Joubert notes, "Hi-Hat designed the dance moves for the characters in the film, which was an amazing reference for us. It really helped us to capture that hip-hop feeling in the dance." In addition to choreographing the "Car Wash" dance number, Hi-Hat taught the animators dance steps for the party scene in Oscar's new penthouse and also showed them how to put a certain spring in Oscar's step. "Oscar is always so energetic; even when he's just walking, he's kind of dancing," Joubert explains. The new version of "Car Wash" is performed by Christina Aguilera, featuring Missy Elliott, and Higman says that the two chart-topping artists' version "is even better than the original, in my opinion." Another duo, Sean Paul and the film's Ziggy Marley, teamed on the song "Three Little Birds," which was one of the late, great Bob Marley's biggest hits. Vicky Jenson reveals, "We were all a little nervous about asking Ziggy to reprise his father's song for the movie, but he was totally game." Music superstar Justin Timberlake, together with Timbaland, performs the original song "Good Foot" in the movie. Higman recalls, "We felt like we were shooting for the moon when we went to Justin. Lucky for us, he was interested and I think the song is great." Teenage music sensation JoJo is also heard singing the song "Secret Love," which sums up Angie's feelings for Oscar. Lola also has a theme song, the appropriately titled "Gold Digger," performed by rap star Ludacris, featuring Bobby V. and Lil' Fate. The other artists heard in "Shark Tale" include: D12, doing "Lies & Rumors"; Avant, performing "I Can't Wait"; India.Arie, singing "Get It Together"; The Pussycat Dolls, doing "We Went As Far As We Felt Like Goin'"; Fan_3, performing "Digits"; and Cheryl Lynn, singing "Sweet Kinda Life." If there is one song that sums up the theme of "Shark Tale," it is the remake of "Got to Be Real," performed by Mary J. Blige and featuring the film's star, Will Smith. Katzenberg states, "It really is the anthem for the movie because ultimately Oscar has to be real to get what he wants in life. We were able to use that song to reinforce the story of Oscar and his journey." "In many cases in life, and in the movies, people--or even fish--have to go through extraordinary journeys only to find out that what you needed and wanted was right there in front of you," Damaschke reflects.  "I think we can all relate to that feeling of 'if only...,'" Jenson says. "You
know, 'My life would be perfect if only...' Oscar can't see the treasures he
already has in his life because he has his sights set on the top of the Reef.
But he learns that everything he ever wanted was there all along."
Will Smith concludes, "The theme here is that greatness isn't in what you have or where you live or how nice your clothes are. Greatness is found in who you are, and that is something you can't fake. The universe will always find out if you're being true, so in its simplest form: who you are is good enough."
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||
 |
 |
||||
|
|||||
 |
|||||
|
Shark Tale - Characters 23 in. x 35 in. Buy posters at AllPosters.com Framed Mounted  'Shrek 2' DVD  'Shark Tale' DVD 
Shark Tale Games  Buy Books  Buy Posters |
|
|||
|
|||||
