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An Illusion for The Time Machine If you can imagine time accelerating ahead 900 years over a matter of seconds, then you start to get the idea behind the effects work done in The Time Machine. "It's similar in concept to time lapse photography only done digitally in the computer," says Cinesite Visual Effects Supervisor Tom Smith. "We had to match the design established by another company for our involvement in the end sequence of the movie." That involved a redesigned metal sphinx structure that was originally shot as a 50-foot practical model in the scenes. "The sphinx acted as a portal to the underground world of the morlocks and its new look featured a more cat-like appearance which was modeled by Jonathan Gerber," says Smith.
"It was a pleasure working with Visual Effects Supervisor Jaime Price and Producer Kim Nelson on this project," says Smith. "We started off getting a few shots and by the end, Cinesite handled over 90 shots. |
As
the effect begins, the world starts to disintegrate below ground and
transitions to the surface. Cinesite's Lubo Hristov helped design the
overall spread throughout the valley by using a matte painting of cracks
combined with CG particles. Using a Renderman shader, John Hewitt animated
the time decay effect on the sphinx which also included a volumetric
light pass and rust flake particles. All of this, composited into live-action
helicopter plates shot in Hawaii, makes for a dramatic ending to the
movie.