Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 7, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
“We wanted both studios so that we could get the best results from each,” explains co-producer Tom Peitzman. “Tippett Studio is known for its work on films such as ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Robocop’ and was responsible for developing the army of creepy goblins and their leader Redcap, the goblin Hogsqueal and the menacing troll. ILM produced the characters Thimbletack, Mulgarath (in his various forms), the goblins and the sprites. Together, the two studios created around 600 visual effects shots.”
Academy Award winner Phil Tippett, who was brought on as creature supervisor, explains: “My job was to coordinate the development of the characters at both studios to ensure continuity.”
The designs were based on drawings by one of the authors of the successful book series, Tony DiTerlizzi. “That was a lovely challenge as a starting point for Phil Tippett (founder of Tippett Studio), Pablo Helman (ILM Visual Effects Supervisor) and our production designer Jim Bissell,” explains co-producer Peitzman.
The team’s main task was to translate DiTerlizzi’s two-dimensional drawings into a three-dimensional reality. “Our reference was the drawings, which are themselves the result of Arthur Spiderwick’s observations. We took the reverse route, so to speak: from the drawing back to the creature,” Tippett explains.
“The original intention of the book was a unity of nature and art,” explains Helman, who therefore gave the creatures an organic basis. “Animal studies were made for many of the beings,” says Tippett, “with rodents and birds in particular serving as references.” Both traditional clay models and modern computer programs were used for the three-dimensional character designs.
#Bild_SW_1
$$$$
Using its Rapid Prototyping System, ILM first created simple computer-generated models that served as concept designs and were used for initial motion studies. “This allows the director to see how the character will move and to establish its appearance and movements at an early stage,” explains ILM visual effects supervisor Tim Alexander.
During the intensive animation phase, the animators used video recordings made with real actors as references to give the creatures as much personality as possible. “Without this process, the effects do not look right; the characters simply lack a soul,” Helman explains.
“This method is enormously helpful,” Alexander explains. “It lets us transfer the body language of the real actors in the videos to our characters very effectively. Martin Short, for example, was a very good reference for Thimbletack’s mouth movements.”
Nick Nolte served as the animators’ reference when creating Mulgarath. “Together with ILM animation supervisor Tim Harrington, I attended the recording sessions, in which Nick delivered a truly impressive tour de force,” Tippett recalls. “He played Mulgarath so intensely for two hours that he was completely drenched in sweat afterwards. I would have paid money for scenes like that in the theatre.”
The silent characters of the unknown world, the fairies and sprites, presented a particular challenge for the effects people. “For the enchanting flower fairies, we stayed with the natural surroundings,” Alexander reports. “These characters come from a flower bed, so we grouped flowers around them, from which they suddenly emerge.” For the majestic flow of their calm movements, the animators took inspiration from jellyfish and used cloth to simulate the gentle swaying of the leaves.
#Bild_SW_2
$$$$
While special “particle generation” software was used at ILM to depict the millions of delicate sprites, animation supervisor Todd Labonte and his crew at Tippett Studio dealt with the varying sizes of the many goblins. “The difficulty in a crowd scene is making it possible to tell the individuals apart,” Tippet explains. “Todd and his team did a wonderful job of this. You recognise the individual and at the same time get a good feel for the crowd.”
Filming lasted six months and took place outdoors and at Mel’s Cite du Cinema studios in Montreal. Tippett, Helman and special effects supervisor Michael Lantieri paid close attention to ensuring that the scenes would later match the computer-generated visual effects. “Audiences are most impressed by visual effects when they take place in a realistic environment,” Tom Peitzman explains.
For actors accustomed to making eye contact with their opposite number in a scene, filming without a real partner was an entirely new experience. “People express a great deal through their faces when they talk to others,” Tippett explains. “A lot happens: the eyes scan the other face, the head leans forwards or backwards while you assess the person opposite you.”
To support the actors, the visual effects team developed numerous aids to help them find their bearings. “We had models in full clothing, or even just a piece of paper with an X drawn on it. It is only through little tricks like these that the scene gains credibility in the later edit. If someone simply stares into empty space, the sequence later looks very flat,” Tippett explains.
The models also served as references for the animators, who could use them to observe realistically how the light changed. These findings were used in the computer animation, allowing the actors to be incorporated into the scenes very realistically later.
#Bild_SW_3
$$$$
Special effects supervisor Michael Lantieri is primarily responsible for the chaos that descends on the Spiderwick estate. “I was responsible for all the mechanical effects, which also includes the interaction between actors and CGI characters,” Lantieri explains. “All the action was determined by the particular characteristics of the figures, including those of the digital creatures.” There was constant exchange between the different effects departments. “Our philosophy was to go as far as possible with the real scenes, because that makes the CGI effects all the more powerful,” Lantieri says.
Every day, Tippett, Helman and Lantieri watched the previs together as preparation, to get an impression of how the characters react to one another in the scenes. “How big will the footprints be, how deeply will they sink into the ground, will the right or left hand be used? A goblin, for example, would never behave like an ogre. Mulgarath is quite large and reacts in his own particular way to things that are even bigger than he is. So the trick for us was first to develop the characters and then to consider what they come into contact with in which scenes — in this case, it was a massive attack on the house,” Lantieri explains.
Lantieri made the destruction of the estate by Mulgarath and the goblins as realistic as possible. “We did a thorough job of the destruction. We really blew up the walls and added the characters afterwards. Everything the characters touch, move or break, we did exactly that way on set.”
#Bild_SW_4
#Bild_SW_5
