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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the second movie in the series, celebrated its 15th anniversary this year. Whether you like the film or not, I think you'll agree its visual effects were impressive.
One of the VFX studios working on Transformers 2 was Digital Domain, which has also worked on Titanic, Apollo 13, The Fifth Element, and many other projects.
Alice transforming into her Decepticon Pretender look was a memorable scene that Digital Domain helped create. Adam Sidwell, a Character TD at the time, says it was a "particularly challenging shot" because the team had to blend CGI with the real actress.
Digital Domain, Paramount Pictures
"I built the rig for this shot," he shared on LinkedIn. "I think Danny Patterson did the animation. Raul Dominguez did the concept art and model. Then there was look dev, lighting, compositing, and wrangling it all together. I think there was some Houdini in there. David S. Sanchez did the roto and plate projection."
Digital Domain, Paramount Pictures
Sidwell revealed that sometimes, there were over 50 revisions at various stages of the project along with "keyboard smashing, fist pounding, and hair pulling," but it was all worth it. "Lessons learned: you have to iterate to get it to the finish line. Some day I'll have to write an epic post about the story of the Pretender's tongue."
Digital Domain, Paramount Pictures
Digital Domain, Paramount Pictures
While we're waiting for the tale, here are some more shots from the movie:
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This pack can help you get that realism that 3D often lacks with various different water stains captured from real surfaces.