Mech vs. Giant Slugfest mit iClone & Character Creator
18.12.2023
Below is an interview with Cesar Turturro, a successful film director who was honoured with the coveted Epic MegaGrant 2022 for his outstanding work on “Invasion 2040”.
Reallusion (R): Hello Cesar, please tell us something about yourself.
Cesar (C): Hello, let me start at the very beginning. i started my journey as a filmmaker in 2004 with my first war film about the 1982 Falklands War, for which I produced VFX close-ups that seamlessly blended real images with 3D animation. I went on to direct my first documentary film on the same subject for the History Channel, which featured over 60 minutes of captivating aerial combat animation.
Cesar Turturro and Fernando Acuña as co-directors at the premiere of “1982, estuvimos ahi” in 2005
As part of my creative journey of discovery, I ventured into the area of fan films and gained worldwide attention with a production about Robotech. In Japan in particular, the film received a huge response with over 200,000 views within one day.
On the podium at the Robotech Academy 2014 at Comic Con in San Diego
R: How did you come up with the idea of making the science fiction film “Nick 2040”?
C: Based on my previous experiences, I ventured into my own science fiction world, which I called “Invasion 2040”. This transformative endeavour took seven years. Along the way, I secured an Epic MegaGrant and our project caught the attention of Reallusion, whereupon we participated in their Pitch & Produce programme.
MegaGrant-winning film “Invasion 2040”
With “Nick 2040” I went one step further and raised the production to cinema level, I filmed with RED cameras in 6K. The post-production was meticulously rendered in 4K, completing the trilogy of short films. This last part serves as a proof of concept for an ambitious feature-length film, which is currently in the pre-production phase.
Shooting of “Nick 2040”
The prerequisite for this is that a large part of the VFX preparations have already been completed before shooting begins. At the moment I am actively involved in this preparation phase – every scene, character, animation and VFX test created for the short film will be seamlessly integrated into the full feature film. This dual role allows me to act as both co-director and VFX director.
Shooting of “Nick 2040”
R: Please describe your workflow using the Reallusion software?
I started by scanning the robot’s face with Reality Scan. At the same time, I created a face from a photo using Headshot. In parallel, I used ZBrush to connect the two models and create a mesh that closely resembled the target face. I then imported the mesh and texture created in iClone into the Character Creator using the Headshot plugin. Once completed, I transferred all the components into the Unreal Engine to generate the robot’s face in a metahuman framework. Additionally, I scanned the clothing to improve the realism of the final rendering.
Highly detailed head of the giant created using ZBrush and AccuRIG
I carefully worked out the antagonist, a tall giant, and designed the facial features down to the smallest detail. I was inspired by the facial expressions of the metahumans and went beyond conventional methods. Using Blender, I seamlessly merged an AccuRIG body with a metahuman face, which led to an amazingly impressive result.
The key breakthrough was creating facial animations with Dynamic Wrinkles. This allowed us to realistically render the protagonist’s face as well as the characters in the invasion scenes.
For some scenes, the actress’s face had to be recreated, which was not possible with conventional shooting methods. I scanned the actress’s face with the Headshot plugin and optimised the mesh with ZBrush in combination with CC4. I then animated it in iClone 8 and seamlessly transferred all the data into the Unreal Engine via Live Link, which led to a fantastic result.
With CC4’s advanced dynamic wrinkle features and the use of face mocap, I was able to create complicated facial expressions effortlessly in a matter of minutes.
Phase 2 – Animating the fight scene with iClone and ActorCore
The integration of iClone played a crucial role in the development of the transformation animation for Invasion 2040. This was particularly crucial as the character seamlessly stands up and places his hands on the ground as he undergoes a dynamic metamorphosis into a robotic form.
The invasion scene in “Nick 2040” was carefully crafted in the Unreal Engine with a mix of characters from different platforms – some from Metahumans and others from iClone. Using the handy and easy-to-edit Actorcore scans retrieved via iClone’s Live Link proved ideal for seamlessly integrating the various animations from the“Run For Your Life” pack and perfectly complementing the intensity of the invasion sequences. To create a cohesive scene, I cloned the iClone animations onto the skeletons of the Metahuman characters in Unreal.
Reallusion and iClone 8 allowed me to create complex animated scenes with epic battles between giants and robots. These scenes, which are at the heart of my films, are brought to life by the powerful features in my workflow pipeline. The possibilities offered by these tools, especially in the field of computer graphics and animation, play a crucial role in realising the vision and complexity of my cinematic creations.
The Live Link extension is truly remarkable. The process of transferring animations to Unreal is both seamless and stable. Correcting a motion is a simple task – I make the adjustments in iClone and make sure I adhere to the start and end times on the timeline. Then I simply replace the animation with the Unreal Sequencer and complete the process with a few clicks. In a few moments, the updated animation is finished and ready to render.
Timecode Sync Rendering has also revolutionised my workflow. Now I can seamlessly transfer objects into iClone, animate characters and use these objects as references. The speed at which I can send the animation to Unreal is remarkable. It only takes a few seconds. This streamlined process has made animating incredibly easy and fast, which has greatly improved my efficiency and creative ability.
The final fight between the robot and the jumper was a two-step process. Firstly, I choreographed the movements of the two characters using Mocap, executed the choreography in person and perfected the hits in iClone to achieve effective results. These animations were then sent via Live Link to Unreal for rendering. At the same time, the fight scene was supplemented with additional sequences from the Reallusion Marketplace to increase the dynamics and intensity of the fight scene.
R: Why did you choose Reallusion?
C: We are currently finalising the storyboard, shooting, budget and VFX plan for “Nick 2040” – an important task that forms the foundation of our feature film. In a compact animation studio where the tasks are inherently complex, our small animation team has developed unimagined possibilities through this process.
Stability: The entire process is characterised by maximum stability without crashes.
Speed: Animations with more than 1000 frames are transferred to Unreal in less than a minute. It is remarkable that the processor and GPU are often not overloaded during this fast process.
Organisation: I streamline my workflow by storing different animations in iClone’s Content Browser. This allows for quick retrieval and use in different scenes of the film, as virtually all the sequences I need are stored there.
Practicality: Integrating animations from various sources, including Noitom Mocap, Mixamo animations and Unreal character animations, is a breeze. Simply drag and drop these animations from Explorer into iClone and they are seamlessly integrated into the project.
Nearing completion, the trailer gives a first glimpse of our work and we look forward to the release of the final short film.
