I was planning to update my compositing showreel with these Harry Potter shots but when I started editing it I decided it was too long so I took out my other work and created a Potter only reel.
The Deathly Hallows Part 1 was only my second show as a compositor and I think I got some pretty cool shots. The sequence with Dobby and Kreacher had long lingering shots so we had to get the CG looking perfect. Fortunately there had been plenty of R&D time and the renders were looking really good when we got them so I could spend my time getting the interactions right.
The charm hit shots with Lucius Malfoy were good fun and I got to experiment a lot with the particle passes rendered from the FX TD. Someone else had already done a lot of the keying and set up the face replacements but I had to finish them off and get them finalled.
Surprisingly I probably spent the most time working on the two bus shots. There was a lot of fine tuning with the keys and the lighting. It was worth it though as they were used in loads of the marketing and I saw them every morning on the video billboards on the tube.
The music is The Prodigy remix of 99 Problems, that I found on SoundCloud, there is a version with the lyrics there too.
hi conrad
love your reel and how its all in time with the soundtrack, im learning rotoscoping/compositing through fxphd and have attended escape studios but i really struggled there, (i didnt know enough, my fault) and have been following your career for sometime now and found your website really helpful to me and gives me loads of inspiration! good luck in canada!
carlyx
Hi Carly,
I’m glad you found my site helpful and you liked my reel. I used to want to be an editor to I try to make an effort when I cut my reels. I feel that the overall reel has just as much impact as the shots included in it, if you know what I mean.
Good luck with your career. Don’t give up.
Conrad
Hi again Conrad!
It’s really amazing your work at HP!! But for me it’s important too the way you present your work :-).
Very stilyzed detail and elegant compositing pieces.
I hope next web update contain another of tour great tips and tricks.
Best regards!
Joan
ps:Certainly I never had thought that “Draco Malfoy” shot used a stunt… the magic of film I suppose ;-).
Hey man…. How were the particles done and what effects did you put on them? Thanks 😀
Hi Michal,
The particles were done in Houdini by one of the FX artists. I think he rendered two passes, one with the fine whispy elements and one with the bigger more solid elements.
His renders were crazy colours, based on the position of the particles, so I have to colour correct them and add a glow to them. I created the glow by duplicating layers of them, blurring the duplicates, and adding them together.
I spent a lot of time adding interactive lighting from the particles onto the plate to sell the idea that they are a source of light.
I had to roto out areas of the particles to make it look like the arm of Malfoy was moving through them.
I also added some blur and distortion to the plate to create a heat haze effect.