Visual effects powerhouse Industrial Light & Magic has delivered explosive images for each of Michael Bay’s “Transformers” films. But their biggest challenge may have been the destructive climax of the latest Autobot vs. Decepticon saga, “Dark of the Moon.”
There the studio had to create a massive, eel-like drilling robot that wraps itself around a glass Chicago skyscraper and tears it apart.
Visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar first filmed the actual skyscraper in a helicopter from multiple angles and at different times of day. “We shoot the backgrounds real wherever possible and then shoot lots and lots of reference to copy it photographically,” said Farrar.
After creating a computer-generated version of the building, ILM artists used their own physics simulation engine to destroy concrete walls, glass windows, columns and even internal furnishings as the tower collapses.
“We had a pre-defined library of chairs, tables, desk lamps, bookshelves,” said ILM digital production supervisor Nigel Sumner. “All of these things would be [simulated] to slide out of windows, triggering a glass-breaking simulation and adding just more complexity and depth to the overall image.”
The driller itself, a companion to the Decepticon robot Colossus, is possibly ILM’s most complicated CG creature to date, with more than 70,000 parts.
“He’s comprised of 16 individual assets,” said Sumner. “He has a head, a body, but he also has five arms, three legs and a tail, a lot of which you don’t necessarily gain on an initial viewing.”
Ultimately, the driller’s menacing combination of spinning rotator blades, knives and teeth make short work of the skyscraper.
But it wasn’t just the building being smashed — ILM’s render farm was also crunched to the limit. A single frame from the skyscraper shot took 36 hours to complete.