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In the end of the Los Angeles escape sequence we see huge slabs of earth sliding into the ocean. What methods did you use for this visual effect?
Larsson: The big slabs were actually modeled and hand animated. If a big slab lifted up the effects team would go in and shatter the edges. We used the same kind of tools we generated the box with, we would just add crumbling on the sides. It was all custom made and only for two shots, it was all a little built from different pipeline even thought same tools wee used.
How do you determine where to draw the line between realism and entertainment in developing the effects?
Stephens: Ultimately, in almost everything in individual effects, it’s always about visual expectations. If you watch the discovery Channel, or anything where they are going to show a real earthquake, volcano or tidal wave. Normally, it’s more spectacular than you would imagine. Other times it is obviously subdued or subtle. We very rarely see these events so the audience, in their minds are actually pulling from other experiences. For example you’re watching a glacier shatter, you mind is wondering how glass is shattered, or something you know what it looks like when it shatters. You start trying to push towards what the brain is trying to expect. In something like this in the earthquake and buildings falling over, it’s trying to tap into what the audience would expect or the director is looking for, or build on that and come up with something even more spectacular. The physics of it you’re trying as best as you can to make sure weight and mass get conserved, so that your brain doesn’t say that texture looks too light ir that moves too fast. It’s allot of dramatic license trying to hit both the audiences expectations of what looks real and what the director is trying to push for dramatic effect.
A lot of landmarks get leveled in the destruction. Did you get to destroy Digital Domain?
Stephens: As it turns out its only visible in one shot in the film, where California is sliding into the ocean. I don’t think we actually crumbled the building but unfortunately one of the planes fuselage is actually on top of that area, so unfortunately, as far as we know DD doesn’t get dunked into the ocean. What I really wanted to do was when the Santa Monica airport gets collapsed, there’s actually a very nice restaurant that a lot of us go to called Typhoon and it’s right there on the runway and I wanted to get the building in there and destroy it with us in the windows but unfortunately it just didn’t work out.
What was your take on finishing Digital Domain’s effects in the most devastating disaster movie?
Stephens: Just the fact that we lived to tell the tale was a big part of it. It was a lot of data and many months and many cases for the larger shots. It was almost like giving birth at that point. A tremendous since of relief in some cases and of course the thing is that you’re so close to it, so when you’re watchn it you can’t really see anything except all the flaws or things that you wanted to change. You see it a few months later and you’re like well, that’s really kinda cool. That’s the happy part creating the effects for 2012 and it makes it worth while.
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