HAL'S VFX SPEED UP THE AGING PROCESS
October 17, 2008

HAL'S VFX SPEED UP THE AGING PROCESS

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The video was directed by Marc Klasfeld, head of Rockhard Films, and executive produced by Bill Newcomb.

Chris Zapara led the HAL visual effects team. The actors were treated with makeup for each of the different stages of aging, up until age 60. Beyond 60, the characters are actually different actors, who were then made up to advance the aging process through the 70s, 80s and 90s.

While the close-up shots look natural and spontaneous, they were actually well choreographed. Zapara was on-set to make sure everything was captured perfectly.

Back at HAL, Shake artists chose the best facial element from different takes. Each element had to be stabilized and tracked back into another take to seamlessly blend the multiple takes together, revealing the entire aging process gradually, but with increasing visibility. The resulting sequences were then morphed over several hundred frames to make the transitions seamless.

The cracking effect used to show the couple dying at the end was achieved using a combination of filmed elements, 2D debris generated in Particle Illusion, and 3D dust and shards rendered in LightWave.

In the last shot, where the young couple moves apart, a dolly was removed using Synth Eyes. A replacement sidewalk was rendered in LightWave and then composited back into the shot using After Effects. AE was also used for color correction.