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Visual effects in Kong: Skull Island: An exclusive interview with Hybride

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Philippe Theroux, VFX supervisor at Hybride, has worked on an impressive list of projects: from Avatar, 300, and The Hunger Games to the new Kong movie. RENDERU.COM reached out to Philippe Theroux to quiz him about visual effects in Kong: Skull Island.

RENDERU.COM: Could you tell us about yourself briefly? Which projects have you worked on before, and how many years have you worked in VFX for?

Philippe Theroux: I graduated from Sheridan College in Oakville (Ontario, Canada): a renowned polytechnic institute specialising in computer graphics. After that, I studied Softimage 3D at the Centre Nad in Montreal, and then I embarked on a journey that would lead me to the heart of the world of VFX creation.

I started by working as a concept designer at Musique Plus in Montreal, where I collaborated on numerous television programmes. After that, I went on to work for DHD Communications, where they specialised in computer graphics for television commercials. Later on, I joined the ranks of Vancouver-based Mainframe Entertainment, where I participated in the production of ReBoot: a Canadian CGI-animated action-adventure television series that aired on various Canadian and American television networks from 1994 to 2001.

In 1995, I joined the Hybride team as a 3D Animator, and gradually moved on to take the role of Supervisor. I spent 16 years as Head of the 3D department. I am currently VFX Supervisor, and I’ve worked on all of the studio’s major projects, such as Sin City, 300, The Hunger Games, and Avatar. More recently, I supervised Hybride’s effects work on Jurassic World, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Warcraft, Arrival, and Kong: Skull Island.

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RENDERU.COM: Which scenes in Kong: Skull Island were produced by Hybride?

P.T.: The Iwi village, the Wall, and the Wanderer boat wreck were done by Hybride. We also did a lot of work for shots of the Athena vessel, and Aurora Borealis, and we also worked on the Stick Creature sequence.

RENDERU.COM: How was your collaboration with ILM?

P.T.: Our collaborations with ILM are always great! We have a long-standing relationship with them, and we share assets on a daily basis, as if they were in the department next door. Our producers, VFX supervisors, and coordinators are in constant communication with each other, so we practically work as one service provider instead of two separate entities.

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RENDERU.COM: What was the size of your team? How long did you work on the film for, and what software did you use?

P.T.: Our team of 114 employees worked on the show for 10 months, from March to December 2016. The technical resources used included Flame, Smoke, Nuke; Softimage, ZBrush, Marvellous, Maya, Arnold, Motionbuilder, Horde (Fabric Engine), Unfold, Mari, Photoshop, SpeedTree, Nuke, and 3DEqualizer.

RENDERU.COM: Do you remember which sequences were the most interesting or challenging for you?

P.T.: A lot of our sequences required extensive work from our FX department. The Spore Mantis sequence itself required a lot of work. After we received artwork of the Spore Mantis, our modelling team set out to build a 3D version of what they’d seen on paper. After that, we sent the rendered image to ILM, so that their concept artists could paint over it, and request design tweaks when needed. After a bit of back and forth between ILM’s concept artists and our modelling team, we received creative approval for the model. In retrospect, it was especially challenging to get the leg and body junction to look believable, but it finally turned out great.

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As for the Spore Mantis… Well, he’s my favourite! After we received approval for the model, we created dirt and moss effects rolling from its back and belly, and we also had to have its feet interact with the dead leaves on the ground as it rises up on its legs and walks away. To achieve this, we worked with the FX department to integrate the creature in the forest floor. It’s been lying there for a while, so we had to keep that in mind when we created the dirt and moss effects coming off of its body.

Any last minute changes in the animation of the creature meant we needed to re-sim the FX entire layers for the shot. The FX department worked with an animated version of the Spore Mantis when we were close to the final version, but it was not yet approved as final so we worked with ILM to get approbation on the FX layers before the final animation was done. Every layer was then re-rendered with the approved version one last time, before being sent to the compositing team.

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The sequences with the Athena at sea needed a lot of water simulation, so that was a challenge as well. Sequences for the Iwi village also required atmosphere FX, so basically our FX team was under a lot of pressure to deliver high quality simulations, in a short period of time. Side Effect Houdini was used throughout our sequences to provide the compositing team with great elements in order to achieve photoreal integrations.

RENDERU.COM: Could you explain in detail how you created the CG environments?
P.T.: The Iwi village was created by the production as a practical set, comprised of a few tents and native artefacts. Our job was to create CG tent models, and to extend the village in size. Using our in-house crowd system, we added villagers to populate the space. The village is surrounded by tall mountains, some of which needed to be added in CG to create the illusion that the village tucked in underneath. The village is also protected by a huge wall of logs that was entirely built in CG along with digital set extensions, CG villagers, clouds, and smoke from the fires and the shipwrecked steamer (The Wanderer).
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In an impressive establishing shot, we fly over water and swoop through a gap in the wall, revealing the Iwi village and the Wanderer wreck. We created set extensions for the village and inserted CG wall and Wanderer assets, and we also added CG vegetation around them to ensure the integrations would be seamless.

For the Athena shot, we used a basic Athena asset supplied by ILM, and created set extensions for shots in and around the boat. We then added Huey Helicopters, a CG Boeing Chinook, Sikorsky Sea Stallion, and CG crew members on deck.

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There was also was a real size model of the deck and a part of the bridge that had already been built on location. The set also had several full-sized Huey Helicopters on it. In one of the shots – that we’re particularly proud of – the camera flies towards the Athena, swoops over the deck and the bridge where someone is standing, and makes a 180-degree turn, revealing a huge storm coming from the distance. In the original photography, the camera actually flew over the set, so we matched the moves of the camera and tracked our CG Athena under the deck from the set. We added missing parts of the bridge for the fly-by, and added additional helicopters on deck. Our FX department simulated the water interaction between the hull of the boat and the sea.

Out FX team used Houdini to create the water environments. Water simulation was important, because the boat was often seen travelling at sea. Houdini was particularly helpful in creating the waves hitting the bow, and it was also used for the interactions on the sides, and behind the boat.

Some of the final models were done at Hybride: we’d receive basic geometry and our modelling team finalised the boat models (for both the Athena and the Wanderer). We looked up references of boats and boat wrecks to finalise the modelling of the vessel, including all the details that we needed to make them look real. That’s when we’d present them to the production team for approval.

RENDERU.COM: Could you explain how you created the Aurora Borealis?

P.T.: First, we simulated the Aurora Borealis with Houdini, and presented them as long ribbons floating in the sky. After that, the simulated geometry was sent to our Nuke artists, where they added the colours and comped them back into the plates.

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RENDERU.COM: What project are you working on now?

P.T.: We are currently working with ILM on Valerian (245 shots), and we have other on-going projects, but we can’t mention them yet!

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