8212019 a_list_effect[1]

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalisteffect1 14

The Company

Double Negative Visual Effects located in the

heart of Londonrsquos Soho district was formed in

1998 as a small studio with a staff of about 30

Today the company is a major player in the

United Kingdom digital effects market boasting

more than 220 983091D artists and animators and a

reputation for quality and talent that has secured

its place on Hollywoodrsquos A-list of facilities that

create digital effects for film

Top-Quality Shots

As Double Negative has grown so too has

its show reel which features increasingly

sophisticated effects for an impressive selection

of moviesmdashfrom independent productions to the

latest blockbusters Through it all the team has

relied primarily on one 983091D package to help them

consistently deliver top-quality shots Autodesk

Maya software

ldquoMaya has always offered clear advantages for usrdquo

says Rick Leary cohead of 983091D ldquo Itrsquos full featured

and I think wersquove used every Maya tool at some

point hererdquo

ldquoAnother huge benefit is the Maya API [application

programming interface] which is excellentrdquo he

adds ldquoAlmost everything can be accessed within

Maya Itrsquos a very open systemrdquo

Beyond Boxed SoftwareAs Leary explains large studios like Double

Negative need to combine off-the-shelf and

in-house software to remain successful ldquoThe Maya

toolset serves so many applications extremely well

from commercials and TV to films and games But

when you work at the high end of any of these areas

you sometimes need a capability that off-the-shelf

software doesnrsquot yet offerrdquo

A-list effects

Double Negative Visual Effectsdelivers blockbuster results withAutodeskreg Mayareg software

Double NegativeVisual Effects

Customer Success Story

Autodeskreg Mayareg

Maya has always offeredclear advantages for usItrsquos full featured and Ithink wersquove used everyMaya tool at somepoint here Anotherhuge benefit is theMaya API [applicationprogramming interface]which is excellent

Almost everything canbe accessed within MayaItrsquos a very open system

mdashRick LearyCohead of 983091DDouble Negative Visual Effects

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

8212019 a_list_effect[1]

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalisteffect1 24

The strength of Mayasoftware is that itrsquos fullfeatured yet open so wecan do most of our workin Maya and write scriptsthat plug into Maya toaccomplish specializedtasks

mdashRick LearyCohead of 983091DDouble Negative Visual Effects

Gain Flexibility with MEL Scripting

As a result on some films Double Negativersquos

RampD department writes a MEL (Maya Embedded

Language) script to accomplish some specific task

that no commercial software can do at that time

ldquoThe strength of Maya software is that itrsquos full

featured yet open so we can do most of our

work in Maya and write scripts that plug into

Maya to accomplish specialized tasksrdquo says Leary

Leary notes that these dual strengths have served

Double Negative well in all its projects including

its most recent endeavor Stardust an enchanting

tale of a shooting star that crashes into themagical kingdom of Stormhold and turns out not

to be a star but a beautiful woman chased by an

array of seekers who want her secret powers

Double Negative was responsible for about 330

shots in the film the most difficult consisting of

the Sky Vesselmdasha fantastical flying shipmdashand a

photorealistic rendition of Stormhold as seen

from the Sky Vessel

Deliver Spot-on Accuracy

According to Leary the team built the 983091D model of

the Sky Vessel entirely in Maya software ldquoOnly

about 90 feet of the 130-foot ship was built on set

for use in deck shots So in shots of the shiprsquos bow

and in all the wide shots showing the hull yoursquore

seeing our CG shiprdquo explains Leary ldquoTo make our

model blend with the live-action shots of the ship

our model had to be spot-on accuraterdquo

To aim for accuracy the team started with the art

departmentrsquos blueprints of the ship ldquoWe scanned

them in used them as image planes in Maya and

modeled the curves of the ship on toprdquo Leary saysldquoThis is a Victorian ship built from wooden planks

With the NURBS tools in Maya it was quick and

easy to project curves onto the surfaces to work

out exactly how the planking should be arranged

to match the on-set model Once we got that

finalized we converted to polygons which we

turned into subdivision surfacesrdquo As a final step

the team used LIDAR (light detecting and ranging)

scans of the on-set ship as reference while

modeling the finishing touches in Maya

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

8212019 a_list_effect[1]

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalisteffect1 34

Cloud Building with Maya Fluid Effects

In addition to landscape elements the team

generated cloudscapes for these shots simulating

moving foreground clouds using Maya Fluid

Effects and static background clouds using dnCloud

a cloud-building plug-in for Maya that Double

Negativersquos RampD department developed within MEL

for an earlier project the World War I drama Flyboys

Manage Large Data Sets

The resulting photondashCG hybrid environment

measured about 90 kilometers from center to

edge and weighed in at around 60 GB To

manage this enormous data set the team used

Tecto an innovative landscape management

system they also had developed within MEL to

manage similar work in Flyboys

According to Leary being able to extend Maya

softwarersquos already robust capabilities with a tool

for managing enormous data sets has played an

integral role in the facilityrsquos success in generating

photorealistic environments ldquoWersquove used Tecto

on lots of projects For Stardust in particular we

had to render huge sections of environment from

around 4000 feet So we built a grid of squares

in Maya and used Tecto to load into Maya the

high-res photo tiles we wanted to use along with

spheres to represent the cloudsrdquo he explains This

enabled the team to do a CG flyover and preview

how the scene would look before renderingrdquo

Create Complex Hybrid Environments

Whereas the team relied solely on robust

modeling tools in Maya software to build the

photorealistic 983091D Sky Vessel they took advantage

of the softwarersquos built-in features and a pair of MEL

scripts to create the Stormhold environment

For the aerial view of Stormhold the team began

with photos of Scotlandrsquos Isle of Skye which they

purchased from an aerial survey company

ldquoWe bought a 21x20 kilometer area split into

410 tilesrdquo says Leary ldquoThe photos were of

phenomenally high resolution about 25 centimeters

of ground for each pixel in the photosrdquo Thecompany also provided Double Negative with

LIDAR scans of the area ldquoThat gave us a digital

elevation map which we turned into a polymesh

in Mayardquo he says ldquoWe used this for the environ-

ment immediately below the Sky Vesselrdquo

Organic Modeling with Maya Artisan

To extend the Stormhold data set to the directorrsquos

specifications the team added to the mix some

survey data of the Rocky Mountains and used

Maya Artisan to make the Rockies look more like

a cross between the Alps and the Himalayas

ldquoWe use Maya Artisan for all our organic modelingrdquo

says Leary ldquoFor Stardust we brought in chunks ofthe Rockies and used a brush to quickly and easily

give them the precise look we were afterrdquo

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

8212019 a_list_effect[1]

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalisteffect1 44

Seamlessly Blend Photos and Effects

The Stormhold environment is a great example

of how the Maya toolset combined with its open

API and MEL scripting enables artists to achieve

otherwise impossible effects shots ldquoThese shots

encompass a large distance and needed to bephotorealistic so that there was no discernible

difference between these shots and the Isle of

Skye photosrdquo says Leary ldquoThe only way we could

view and work with this data set was with Tectordquo

Integrate Toolsets

Tecto and dnCloud are among a handful of MEL

utilities the team has created through the years

ldquoItrsquos quite interesting because once yoursquove been

at Double Negative for a while it rsquos easy to forget

whatrsquos Maya and what isnrsquot because our tools

integrate so well with Mayardquo says Leary ldquoThis is

something at which Maya excels and itrsquos one of

the reasons Maya has stayed the market leaderrdquo

Create Unique Creature Simulations

Itrsquos also one of the reasons Double Negative will

continue to rely on Maya The facility has recently

been working on the films 983090983088983088983088 BC and Hellboy 983090

both which feature a heavy amount of creature work

ldquoWersquore basing this work in Maya and using MEL a

great deal to write our own tools to achieve some

unique muscle and skin simulationsrdquo says Leary

ldquoThere are a lot of innovative effects on the horizon

for usrdquo he concludes ldquoAnd Maya will continue to

be an important element to our successrdquo

To learn more about Autodesk Maya software

visit wwwautodeskcommaya

Autodesk and Maya are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk Inc in the USA andor other countries All other brand names productnames or trademarks belong to their respective holders Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any timewithout notice and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document

copy 2007 Autodesk Inc All rights reserved

Once yoursquove been at Double Negative for a while itrsquos easy to forget whatrsquos Maya andwhat isnrsquot because our tools integrate so well with Maya This is something at whichMaya excels and itrsquos one of the reasons Maya has stayed the market leader

mdashRick LearyCohead of 983091DDouble Negative Visual Effects

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

8212019 a_list_effect[1]

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalisteffect1 24

The strength of Mayasoftware is that itrsquos fullfeatured yet open so wecan do most of our workin Maya and write scriptsthat plug into Maya toaccomplish specializedtasks

mdashRick LearyCohead of 983091DDouble Negative Visual Effects

Gain Flexibility with MEL Scripting

As a result on some films Double Negativersquos

RampD department writes a MEL (Maya Embedded

Language) script to accomplish some specific task

that no commercial software can do at that time

ldquoThe strength of Maya software is that itrsquos full

featured yet open so we can do most of our

work in Maya and write scripts that plug into

Maya to accomplish specialized tasksrdquo says Leary

Leary notes that these dual strengths have served

Double Negative well in all its projects including

its most recent endeavor Stardust an enchanting

tale of a shooting star that crashes into themagical kingdom of Stormhold and turns out not

to be a star but a beautiful woman chased by an

array of seekers who want her secret powers

Double Negative was responsible for about 330

shots in the film the most difficult consisting of

the Sky Vesselmdasha fantastical flying shipmdashand a

photorealistic rendition of Stormhold as seen

from the Sky Vessel

Deliver Spot-on Accuracy

According to Leary the team built the 983091D model of

the Sky Vessel entirely in Maya software ldquoOnly

about 90 feet of the 130-foot ship was built on set

for use in deck shots So in shots of the shiprsquos bow

and in all the wide shots showing the hull yoursquore

seeing our CG shiprdquo explains Leary ldquoTo make our

model blend with the live-action shots of the ship

our model had to be spot-on accuraterdquo

To aim for accuracy the team started with the art

departmentrsquos blueprints of the ship ldquoWe scanned

them in used them as image planes in Maya and

modeled the curves of the ship on toprdquo Leary saysldquoThis is a Victorian ship built from wooden planks

With the NURBS tools in Maya it was quick and

easy to project curves onto the surfaces to work

out exactly how the planking should be arranged

to match the on-set model Once we got that

finalized we converted to polygons which we

turned into subdivision surfacesrdquo As a final step

the team used LIDAR (light detecting and ranging)

scans of the on-set ship as reference while

modeling the finishing touches in Maya

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

8212019 a_list_effect[1]

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalisteffect1 34

Cloud Building with Maya Fluid Effects

In addition to landscape elements the team

generated cloudscapes for these shots simulating

moving foreground clouds using Maya Fluid

Effects and static background clouds using dnCloud

a cloud-building plug-in for Maya that Double

Negativersquos RampD department developed within MEL

for an earlier project the World War I drama Flyboys

Manage Large Data Sets

The resulting photondashCG hybrid environment

measured about 90 kilometers from center to

edge and weighed in at around 60 GB To

manage this enormous data set the team used

Tecto an innovative landscape management

system they also had developed within MEL to

manage similar work in Flyboys

According to Leary being able to extend Maya

softwarersquos already robust capabilities with a tool

for managing enormous data sets has played an

integral role in the facilityrsquos success in generating

photorealistic environments ldquoWersquove used Tecto

on lots of projects For Stardust in particular we

had to render huge sections of environment from

around 4000 feet So we built a grid of squares

in Maya and used Tecto to load into Maya the

high-res photo tiles we wanted to use along with

spheres to represent the cloudsrdquo he explains This

enabled the team to do a CG flyover and preview

how the scene would look before renderingrdquo

Create Complex Hybrid Environments

Whereas the team relied solely on robust

modeling tools in Maya software to build the

photorealistic 983091D Sky Vessel they took advantage

of the softwarersquos built-in features and a pair of MEL

scripts to create the Stormhold environment

For the aerial view of Stormhold the team began

with photos of Scotlandrsquos Isle of Skye which they

purchased from an aerial survey company

ldquoWe bought a 21x20 kilometer area split into

410 tilesrdquo says Leary ldquoThe photos were of

phenomenally high resolution about 25 centimeters

of ground for each pixel in the photosrdquo Thecompany also provided Double Negative with

LIDAR scans of the area ldquoThat gave us a digital

elevation map which we turned into a polymesh

in Mayardquo he says ldquoWe used this for the environ-

ment immediately below the Sky Vesselrdquo

Organic Modeling with Maya Artisan

To extend the Stormhold data set to the directorrsquos

specifications the team added to the mix some

survey data of the Rocky Mountains and used

Maya Artisan to make the Rockies look more like

a cross between the Alps and the Himalayas

ldquoWe use Maya Artisan for all our organic modelingrdquo

says Leary ldquoFor Stardust we brought in chunks ofthe Rockies and used a brush to quickly and easily

give them the precise look we were afterrdquo

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

8212019 a_list_effect[1]

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalisteffect1 44

Seamlessly Blend Photos and Effects

The Stormhold environment is a great example

of how the Maya toolset combined with its open

API and MEL scripting enables artists to achieve

otherwise impossible effects shots ldquoThese shots

encompass a large distance and needed to bephotorealistic so that there was no discernible

difference between these shots and the Isle of

Skye photosrdquo says Leary ldquoThe only way we could

view and work with this data set was with Tectordquo

Integrate Toolsets

Tecto and dnCloud are among a handful of MEL

utilities the team has created through the years

ldquoItrsquos quite interesting because once yoursquove been

at Double Negative for a while it rsquos easy to forget

whatrsquos Maya and what isnrsquot because our tools

integrate so well with Mayardquo says Leary ldquoThis is

something at which Maya excels and itrsquos one of

the reasons Maya has stayed the market leaderrdquo

Create Unique Creature Simulations

Itrsquos also one of the reasons Double Negative will

continue to rely on Maya The facility has recently

been working on the films 983090983088983088983088 BC and Hellboy 983090

both which feature a heavy amount of creature work

ldquoWersquore basing this work in Maya and using MEL a

great deal to write our own tools to achieve some

unique muscle and skin simulationsrdquo says Leary

ldquoThere are a lot of innovative effects on the horizon

for usrdquo he concludes ldquoAnd Maya will continue to

be an important element to our successrdquo

To learn more about Autodesk Maya software

visit wwwautodeskcommaya

Autodesk and Maya are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk Inc in the USA andor other countries All other brand names productnames or trademarks belong to their respective holders Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any timewithout notice and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document

copy 2007 Autodesk Inc All rights reserved

Once yoursquove been at Double Negative for a while itrsquos easy to forget whatrsquos Maya andwhat isnrsquot because our tools integrate so well with Maya This is something at whichMaya excels and itrsquos one of the reasons Maya has stayed the market leader

mdashRick LearyCohead of 983091DDouble Negative Visual Effects

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

8212019 a_list_effect[1]

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalisteffect1 34

Cloud Building with Maya Fluid Effects

In addition to landscape elements the team

generated cloudscapes for these shots simulating

moving foreground clouds using Maya Fluid

Effects and static background clouds using dnCloud

a cloud-building plug-in for Maya that Double

Negativersquos RampD department developed within MEL

for an earlier project the World War I drama Flyboys

Manage Large Data Sets

The resulting photondashCG hybrid environment

measured about 90 kilometers from center to

edge and weighed in at around 60 GB To

manage this enormous data set the team used

Tecto an innovative landscape management

system they also had developed within MEL to

manage similar work in Flyboys

According to Leary being able to extend Maya

softwarersquos already robust capabilities with a tool

for managing enormous data sets has played an

integral role in the facilityrsquos success in generating

photorealistic environments ldquoWersquove used Tecto

on lots of projects For Stardust in particular we

had to render huge sections of environment from

around 4000 feet So we built a grid of squares

in Maya and used Tecto to load into Maya the

high-res photo tiles we wanted to use along with

spheres to represent the cloudsrdquo he explains This

enabled the team to do a CG flyover and preview

how the scene would look before renderingrdquo

Create Complex Hybrid Environments

Whereas the team relied solely on robust

modeling tools in Maya software to build the

photorealistic 983091D Sky Vessel they took advantage

of the softwarersquos built-in features and a pair of MEL

scripts to create the Stormhold environment

For the aerial view of Stormhold the team began

with photos of Scotlandrsquos Isle of Skye which they

purchased from an aerial survey company

ldquoWe bought a 21x20 kilometer area split into

410 tilesrdquo says Leary ldquoThe photos were of

phenomenally high resolution about 25 centimeters

of ground for each pixel in the photosrdquo Thecompany also provided Double Negative with

LIDAR scans of the area ldquoThat gave us a digital

elevation map which we turned into a polymesh

in Mayardquo he says ldquoWe used this for the environ-

ment immediately below the Sky Vesselrdquo

Organic Modeling with Maya Artisan

To extend the Stormhold data set to the directorrsquos

specifications the team added to the mix some

survey data of the Rocky Mountains and used

Maya Artisan to make the Rockies look more like

a cross between the Alps and the Himalayas

ldquoWe use Maya Artisan for all our organic modelingrdquo

says Leary ldquoFor Stardust we brought in chunks ofthe Rockies and used a brush to quickly and easily

give them the precise look we were afterrdquo

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

8212019 a_list_effect[1]

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalisteffect1 44

Seamlessly Blend Photos and Effects

The Stormhold environment is a great example

of how the Maya toolset combined with its open

API and MEL scripting enables artists to achieve

otherwise impossible effects shots ldquoThese shots

encompass a large distance and needed to bephotorealistic so that there was no discernible

difference between these shots and the Isle of

Skye photosrdquo says Leary ldquoThe only way we could

view and work with this data set was with Tectordquo

Integrate Toolsets

Tecto and dnCloud are among a handful of MEL

utilities the team has created through the years

ldquoItrsquos quite interesting because once yoursquove been

at Double Negative for a while it rsquos easy to forget

whatrsquos Maya and what isnrsquot because our tools

integrate so well with Mayardquo says Leary ldquoThis is

something at which Maya excels and itrsquos one of

the reasons Maya has stayed the market leaderrdquo

Create Unique Creature Simulations

Itrsquos also one of the reasons Double Negative will

continue to rely on Maya The facility has recently

been working on the films 983090983088983088983088 BC and Hellboy 983090

both which feature a heavy amount of creature work

ldquoWersquore basing this work in Maya and using MEL a

great deal to write our own tools to achieve some

unique muscle and skin simulationsrdquo says Leary

ldquoThere are a lot of innovative effects on the horizon

for usrdquo he concludes ldquoAnd Maya will continue to

be an important element to our successrdquo

To learn more about Autodesk Maya software

visit wwwautodeskcommaya

Autodesk and Maya are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk Inc in the USA andor other countries All other brand names productnames or trademarks belong to their respective holders Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any timewithout notice and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document

copy 2007 Autodesk Inc All rights reserved

Once yoursquove been at Double Negative for a while itrsquos easy to forget whatrsquos Maya andwhat isnrsquot because our tools integrate so well with Maya This is something at whichMaya excels and itrsquos one of the reasons Maya has stayed the market leader

mdashRick LearyCohead of 983091DDouble Negative Visual Effects

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

8212019 a_list_effect[1]

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalisteffect1 44

Seamlessly Blend Photos and Effects

The Stormhold environment is a great example

of how the Maya toolset combined with its open

API and MEL scripting enables artists to achieve

otherwise impossible effects shots ldquoThese shots

encompass a large distance and needed to bephotorealistic so that there was no discernible

difference between these shots and the Isle of

Skye photosrdquo says Leary ldquoThe only way we could

view and work with this data set was with Tectordquo

Integrate Toolsets

Tecto and dnCloud are among a handful of MEL

utilities the team has created through the years

ldquoItrsquos quite interesting because once yoursquove been

at Double Negative for a while it rsquos easy to forget

whatrsquos Maya and what isnrsquot because our tools

integrate so well with Mayardquo says Leary ldquoThis is

something at which Maya excels and itrsquos one of

the reasons Maya has stayed the market leaderrdquo

Create Unique Creature Simulations

Itrsquos also one of the reasons Double Negative will

continue to rely on Maya The facility has recently

been working on the films 983090983088983088983088 BC and Hellboy 983090

both which feature a heavy amount of creature work

ldquoWersquore basing this work in Maya and using MEL a

great deal to write our own tools to achieve some

unique muscle and skin simulationsrdquo says Leary

ldquoThere are a lot of innovative effects on the horizon

for usrdquo he concludes ldquoAnd Maya will continue to

be an important element to our successrdquo

To learn more about Autodesk Maya software

visit wwwautodeskcommaya

Autodesk and Maya are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk Inc in the USA andor other countries All other brand names productnames or trademarks belong to their respective holders Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any timewithout notice and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document

copy 2007 Autodesk Inc All rights reserved

Once yoursquove been at Double Negative for a while itrsquos easy to forget whatrsquos Maya andwhat isnrsquot because our tools integrate so well with Maya This is something at whichMaya excels and itrsquos one of the reasons Maya has stayed the market leader

mdashRick LearyCohead of 983091DDouble Negative Visual Effects

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved

copy 2007 by Paramount Pictures All rights reserved