MIDDLEWARE

Discreet announced today that Asylum and Industrial Light & Magic made extensive use of Discreet technology in the post production work for box office hit, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Over 350 visual effects shots from Master and Commander were created at Asylum, including the pivotal storm sequence that was filmed in a variety of conditions ranging from foggy to bright sunshine. Visual effects shots were created in Discreet's inferno(R) and flame(R), while Discreet's lustre(TM) system was used for color grading to ensure film-look continuity. "All our visual effects shots for Master and Commander were color graded using lustre," said Nathan McGuinness, owner of Asylum. "It was unbelievable; using lustre was like having one eye to oversee the project rather than having to calibrate and coordinate 20 different workstations. "lustre played an essential role by acting as both a color grading/continuity system and a data wrangler. As a result, Asylum was able to significantly streamline the entire post production process. lustre reduced Asylum's film print out to about ten percent of what it is traditionally, by eliminating the need to continuously check color consistency through wedging individual workstations, taking measurements and then printing to film. "lustre was installed in the screening room for a collaborative color grading process between the colorist and director Peter Weir. McGuinness added: "This was the director's first experience using digital intermediates. With lustre, it was such a simple, invisible process -- he really took to it. Each day, the visual effects team could show him the entire film sequence, in order, and this had a huge impact on the speed with which we could make changes and obtain approvals." In addition, Discreet's inferno and flame systems are an integral part of Industrial Light & Magic's (ILM) proprietary SABRE visual effects and compositing systems, used to create a few shots for Master and Commander's opening battle sequence and approximately 90 shots for the final battle sequence. "inferno and flame are used as part of our SABRE system, and continue to provide the performance required for feature films like Master and Commander," said Stefen Fangmeier, Visual Effects Supervisor at ILM. "It was critical that the opening battle scene between the two ships be perfect, so that it would set the stage for the rest of the movie. With SABRE, we were able to create an incredibly realistic battle." More than 30 ILM compositors worked on Master and Commander's final battle sequence. According to Fangmeier, one of the greatest challenges was the scene in which HMS Surprise's mast breaks and falls. "This scene was heavily computer generated. We brought together hundreds of separate elements like water, miniatures, debris, smoke, and computer-generated people on the ship's deck, along with live actors. SABRE was perfect for such complex compositing, and the result is a state-of-the-art, seamless visual effects scene that lives up to Peter Weir's desire for realism."