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Metaphor in Alita: Battle Angel

2022-05-26

VFX | Alita: Battle Angel

On February 22nd, the film Alita: Battle Angel was released in mainland China. The film was adapted from the sci-fi comic book Gunnm published by the cartoonist KISHIRO YUKITO in Japan in 1991. The original work not only has a great historical background, but also has a story about in-depth discussion of human nature, memory and social issues. As the leading cloud rendering services provider, Fox Renderfarm, will analyse the metaphors behind the film.

We haven't read comics. It's said that the film' s reproduction of the film is very high, but we can be sure that the adapted film is a success. The humanity, society, and future issues discussed in the film are not 20 years old. We feel outdated.

Alita's Movie World: A Real World Mapping

The story takes place in the post-apocalyptic era after the collapse of the 26th century civilization. After the Battle of Heaven, there is only one Sky City left in the world: Zalem; there is only one city left on the ground: Iron City, where the survivors gather around the world, humans and mechanical reformers live together in the abandoned Iron City below Zalem, looking forward to we can go to Sky City to live.

In the world of Alita: Battle Angel, there are also three spaces like heaven, earth and hell. The highest level is the sky city Zalem, the middle is the Iron City where ordinary people live, and the underground is the devil's residence.

Nova, who is in charge of Zalem' s supreme leader, is full of eyeliners in the world and seems to know everything. Through the organization and shackles on the ground, the factory and Vector, the rules of the earth to rule the world on the ground, and even the underground demons are under his control.

In order to maintain the stability of the rule, the factory does not allow Iron City people to have weapons that can threaten Zalem. Those who break the law will be rewarded and be chased by bounty hunters. It can even be said that people will not even have the idea of "resistance". Everyone is involved in the maintenance of this evil system, and resistance is only a very small number of people.

Such a well-conceived movie world is quite a taste of political fables. In other words, political fables are one of the foundations of science fiction movies, and politics (human rule) is a metaphor for the rule of God. So a good science fiction movie is more or less looking for God or the kingdom of God.

Although the film is not burning, the narrative is not complicated, but the world view constructed by the film is quite complete.

We watched this movie twice. The film does not construct a new world. The scenes, humanity, rules, and worldviews are all moved from our world.

Perhaps the key to sci-fi movies is not to build a lame world, but to hope in the real world through futuristic language, to explore the future, but to open up the desires of the people and explore that real and reliable hope.
In this world, human beings are like a "junkyard" with no trust, no virtue, and a weak flesh. People are disappointed with the real world. Entering Sky City life has become the only hope. People trade through the black market, earn hunters' bounty, participate in the mobile ball contest... and win the opportunity to go to Zalem at any cost.

Seeing their determination to dream, looking at Zalem every day, meditating on the future in the sky, we feel embarrassed. In contrast, my hope for heaven is so weak.

Science Fiction Movie: Futurism? Still Realism?

From the movie category, this is a sci-fi movie, maybe it can be labeled with action movies and romance films. Of course, a mature story will not only discuss one problem.

Some people say that the plot of this movie is very old-fashioned and illogical. The protagonist has a thick aura, a single love line, and a narrative. If you just think of it as a science fiction film, you can't tangled these details, but from the perspective of science fiction, this Alita: Battle Angel is not too surprising. Interestingly, however, if you look at the film from the sci-fi category, you will find it very different.

We have to admit that this Alita world is like the world we live in.

All good movies and stories have realistic meaning and humanistic care. Science fiction films are no exception. Of course, this is only my personal opinion. Instead of Alita: Battle Angel is a science fiction film, we prefer to think of it as a film combining realism and romanticism with special effects skills.

So a sci-fi movie like Alita: Battle Angel, futurism is the carrier of narrative, realism is the connotation, responsible for the essence of the narrative. Of course, the main attraction of science fiction films is futurism, which cannot be ignored. The New Yorker magazine commented on this: Alita: Battle Angel's futurism is far more substantial than the world of Ready Player One.

My views are roughly similar. In science fiction movies, the two should be equally important, but for those who watch movies, perhaps more important is to see the reflection of the real world.

Prototype and Metaphor of the Science Fiction World

We don't know if the setting of the movie world is unique. All the characters, events, and scenes remind me of the world of biblical revelation.

Alita represents justice against evil. She is the only survivor of the Fire Union, carrying the task of defeating Nova to destroy Zalem. Perhaps the battle of three hundred years ago was the encirclement of human evil forces?
Although the fire union defeated the end, Sky City has only one left, but from the situation three hundred years later can also see the post-war Sky City tightening of the ground control, and even the Fire Union is portrayed as an enemy.

In the world of Alita, she is the "savior", not only the evil, but also the "redeemer" of the people around her. For example, Dr. Chiren's transformation, she was extremely selfish in Nova's eyes, unscrupulous for the purpose, but was demoted by Alita and withdrew from the evil camp. And Hugo, his freedom from accomplices to conscience, is the result of Alita's redemption.

High-quality sci-fi movies are more or less in the discussion or interpretation of the theme of salvation, which in turn is related to the achievements and depth of the film.

What is really powerful for Alita is her essence. As Nova said, this powerful power does not come from her body, but from her heart. The ability and memory left by the "previous life" have been leading her, and the battles have gradually reminded her of her identity and mission, and finally remembered everything after her "resurrection."

The most crucial battle in the movie was a battle between Alita and Grewishka at his home. Before entering the underground, Alita smeared the cheeks of the stray dog that was murdered by Grewishka and repeated, "I can't stand by in the face of evil."

In the underground battle, Alita almost died for a lifetime. Finally, with the help of Hugo and others, he escaped from the clutch and his body was completely destroyed. Then, Ido changed his mind and put Alita on the body that matched her strength. This is the rebirth of Alita and the resurrection of the dead. Really changing the people around Alita is also Alita after the "resurrection in the dead."

This crucial battle made Alita "fall in the underworld, better than death", but when he came back, he had the most powerful ability in the world.
Hugo, in my opinion, is the first supporting role, and his relationship with Alita also constitutes the main clue of the film. If the father-in-law Dr. Dyson Ido brings Alita into the world, Hugo is the one who really accompanied and led Alita to grow up.

Hugo was originally a street gangster, specializing in robbing the parts of the man (semi-robot) and selling it to the black market. Until one time, Hugo and his partner were hired by Vector to dismantle Kinuba's powerful new weapon. But this claws happened to be in the hands of Grewishka by Dr. Chiren, and Alita's life was almost in the battle of the underground. Hugo is condemned in his heart, and the transformation begins here.

Hugo then worked with Vector again to scam Alita into the arena and enter the almost dead trap. Perhaps Hugo didn't know Vector's conspiracy. He only played the role of Judas. After seeing the conspiracy, he decided not to do anything for Vector, and then completely repented.

At the end of the film, Hugo said the last sentence to Alita before he died, "Thank you, save me." Obviously, he refers to the awakening of his own soul (conscience).

Spiritual awakening is the highest level of salvation.

Of course, other characters are also worthy of analysis. This is a group of poor people, wandering, but dreaming of going to heaven, just like us.

Conclusion

Perhaps Alita: The Battle Angel team didn't put too much energy into polishing the story. The narrative was relatively peaceful, there was not much tension, and the plot transition was more common. The old-fashioned ending seems to also reveal the hope of the people in the real world.

In fact, what they really need and really pursue is not in Zalem, just as Dr. Chiren finally said when he rejected Vector. Zalem is only a desire in the human heart, and the biggest one. The essence of this desire is to escape from reality - from the control of God, into the sky city to replace God (or sit with God), the result of this desire is to perish, no one has escaped.

The film itself is not that important, but the reality of care and transcendence pursued by the film is worthy of repeated chewing.

Fox Renderfarm hopes it will be of some help to you. As you know, Fox Renderfarm is an excellent cloud render farm in the CG world, so if you need to find a render farm, why not try Fox Renderfarm, which is offering a free $25 trial for new users? Thanks for reading!

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A Guide to the Career Growth of VFX Compositors (1)

As the leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm in the CG industry, Fox Renderfarm has an outstanding team with over 20 years’ experience in the CG industry. Team members are from Disney, Lucasfilm, Dreamworks, Sony, etc. With professional services and industry-leading innovations, they serve leading VFX companies and animation studios from over 50 countries and regions, including two Oscar winners.In this artichle, we will share a guide to the career growth of VFX Compositors from Zhiyong Zhang, Compositing Technical Director in Base FX(Base Media is the leading visual effects and animation studio in Asia).Part 1: IntroductionWhat is Compositing?There are many different explanations about compositing on the Internet. Since it's difficult to explain, I would analyze compositing from some shots.Like the scene in "Monster Hunt", the foreground is made with a 3D model, and the background is made with a combination of the original paintings and pictures. That is to do some MP, color adjustments, elements setting and real shot adding. Finally, all the pictures are going to be integrated, which is a compositing process.The professional value of compostingCompositing is the last part of the visual effects in the later period. You need to blend and match three-dimensional things with the real shot through compositing techniques and methods. Through techniques and methods, add some 2D or 2.5D elements to make the picture more interesting. Compositing is making the projects that the entire visual effects team makes. Hence, compositors are responsible for the entire team, striving to adjust the project to the final optimal effect. This is the professional value of compositing.The artistic charm of compostingFor me, every adjustment on color, virtual focus, interactive light and others will make the scene more realistic or better-looking. Every step of the operation will improve the scene, bringing the compositors hope and happiness. It is awesome to do better in the time allowed and finally show something beautiful. This is the artistic charm of composting.Part 2: Six Basic Skills of CompositorsThe first basic skill is erasing. Many scenes have tracking points when shooting on the green screen, or there are some things that can’t be removed from the scene. We need to do erasing, which is very basic but important.The second skill is rotoing and chroma key. The chroma key is to keying the green screen. There is also a key called no green screen keying, which is the rotoing.The third skill is to match colors. Adding an element to the real shot to change the color of the material is actually matching the material, not creation.The fourth skill is to match the virtual focus or depth of field. The material itself will actually have virtual focus, so the compositor needs to also be good at photography, otherwise, it may become a bottleneck for the compositor. The ideas of the director and the main photographer will be presented in the scenes. We use compositing to re-express what they want to express in CG. We are doing matching rather than recreating.The fifth skill is tracking. Most compositors do 2D trackings, such as billboards or on-screen patches. And sometimes they also do 3d tracking.The last one is the matching noise. For some demanding projects, it is necessary to switch between red, green, and blue screen, or even zoom in to the local area for comparison. It also depends on the broadcast platform. Generally, if it is broadcasting on a TV platform, the noise is not easy to see the noise. If in the cinema, as long as the brightness of the cinema is large enough, the noise of some scenes can be easily seen. The noise matching can make the picture more realistic.Part 3: Standards for Cinema-level Film Compositing RequirementsThe standards here are not officially stipulated standards but are just some common standards that I personally summarize based on experience. I divided the cinema standards for film compositing into two types: technical requirements and artistic requirements.Technical RequirementsFirst of all, it depends on whether the color of the original material is changed. If you are not careful or have moved other parts of the screen including the color of the material for other reasons, it may cause customer dissatisfaction.Secondly, whether the maximum and minimum values of the screen are consistent with the material or not. Of course, the maximum and minimum values are not for a certain scene, but for all the materials of a project.Thirdly, whether the metadata is correct or not. If the editing requires metadata to be accurately restored, it needs to be correctly restored to the material. Generally, at the beginning of the project, it needs to agree with the previous DI or editing on how to set back.Fourthly, whether the shifting is stuck will also be a technical requirement. The shifting should be discussed with the editor. If the editing does not require any shifting, even if it seems to be stuck, it may be a fast switch of the front and rear scenes. This is one kind of editing methods. if you do something to make it smoother, re-reverting to the clip may cause problems.The last is whether there is any obvious flaw in the picture. The so-called flaw is whether there is a black border on the edge of the picture and whether the edge of the real shot is stretched.Artistic RequirementsThe artistic requirements will be significantly different from the previous technical requirements. We will check whether the details of the keying edges are enough to maintain the authenticity of the picture. In the normal budget, the details of the edges can be kept authentic. If the edges look fake, it may make the whole picture fall short.Whether the bright and dark parts of the screen is matching with the material within the acceptable range? The dark and bright parts here refer more to brightening everything in the viewing facility, to see if the added thing is the same color as the real shot and whether the degree of the color cast is the same. Without considering the budget, as a compositor, the only requirement is to do something better, so try to match it.Then, whether the compositing elements, the virtual focus of the background and the depth of field match the real shot. The depth of field of the real shot sometimes will be very shallow, sometimes it will be very deep. Generally, there will be a range, this range is taken by the lens and the camera. We can add an element in it, and change the depth accordingly.In addition, we must also consider whether the simulation of the lens effect meets the real shooting standard. With a normal lens, the virtual focus is 1:1, and with an anamorphic lens, the virtual focus is vertical, similar to 2:1 circular virtual focus. While doing compositing, it needs to pay special attention to matching.The next thing to consider is whether the addition of smoke, flame and other atmospheres is truly fused. The light and shadow, the virtual focus and the sharpness are matched with the whole, and the things that really melt into it are realistic.The last thing is to consider the interactive effects, the corresponding interaction between the real shot material and the CG elements. When we do the compositing, in addition to shadows, there are some light interactions, we should consider whether to add them.In the process of compositing, we need to give ourselves the opportunity to exercise and do more fine, otherwise, we can't make progress. In fact, the audience is very smart now, watching a lot of blockbuster movies. Therefore, we should try our best to be realistic in the time cost of cinema-level movies. If the audience feels satisfied in the cinema, it will be successful.Follow the leading render farm and cloud rendering services provider, Fox Renderfarm, for the next part: A Guide to the Career Growth of VFX Compositors (2).

2022-07-01

3D Tutorials: How to Make Dogs in Togo (1)

As the leading cloud rendering services provider and fast render farm, Fox Renderfarm will share you how to make dogs in Togo.The visual effects of Togo are produced by DNEG, Lola Visual Effects, and Soho VFX. The most impressive thing in the whole film is the loyal and brave sled dogs and the local weather. DNEG began production after shooting in October 2018. The cycle lasted for about one year. A total of 872 artists from 4 different branch teams completed 778 VFX shots. Next, we will divide the parts made by DNEG (CG Dog and Digital Environment) into three parts to introduce to you.3D scanning of sled dogsThe husky sled dogs we saw in the film are not necessarily real, some are full CG, and some are CG replacements of a dog head. The sled dogs produced by CG need to match the real shots of the sled dogs. It will involve 3D scanning of real sled dogs, collecting reference materials, redesigning hair tools, building muscles and bones, and reconstructing the roaring appearance of the sled dogs.Live shot1. TestingDNEG has done a rocket raccoon with 800,000 hairs in "Avengers 4: Endgame", and has also tested wolves in previous projects, but has not done a dog, nor has it dealt with something like this Such a huge fur/hair production in the film.For the "Togo" project, they updated the internal hair tool Furball. Through some development and optimization work, they first created the largest amount of hair on a single dog as much as possible, and then met the hair of 11 dogs in 1 shot. In addition to the real appearance, it is necessary to simulate the state of hair with water, ice, and snow and its rendering effect.2. 3D scanning of sled dogsDuring the shooting, DNEG performed two photogrammetric scans of 30-40 sled dogs in the studio using Clear Angle, one wearing summer clothes and the other wearing winter clothes. The dog handler introduces a single sled dog into the studio, first familiarizes himself with the environment, and then takes him to the designated C position. The scanning process must be completed all at once, otherwise, there will be no chance to do it again if the dog is scared away.There is a separate shed next to the Clear Angle shed, which is equipped with an animation reference camera, which can capture the detailed dynamics and characteristics of the sled dogs outside of the actual shooting, and provide reference materials for creating CG character bindings and assets.3. From data to sled dogsA 3D scan of a sled dog can get feet, legs, head, and rough body volume data, but not including fur/hair data. Without hair data, it is impossible to analyze the muscle mass and the tissues under the fur. The solution adopted by DNEG is to manually measure the fur on the sled dog’s neck, back, tail, and other specific locations with a measuring tape in the small shed mentioned above.However, this method of creation is more based on the dogs involved in ideal, anatomy textbooks, not necessarily data-driven, and some specific details of the sled dogs need to be added on this basis.Real shotFinal shotThe final creation is to customize the muscular system and the skeletal system, use Ziva Dynamics to create the muscle and fat system, Maya's nCloth to create the skin, the fur tool Furball to handle grooming, and Houdini vellum to handle the hair follicle dynamics.The production team found that a lot of fur movement actually comes from fat. The fur itself is very stiff and will not twist left and right. Instead, fat and muscles move around underneath, forming a feeling that the fur is moving. Of course, it also needs to simulate the effect of pulling the fur after putting on the protective gear for the sled dog.Real shotFinal shotNow follow the TPN-accredited render farm and cloud rendering services provider, Fox Renderfarm to the next part: 3D Tutorials: How to Make Dogs in Togo (2).

2022-07-01

3D Tutorials: How to Make Dogs in Togo (2)

As the leading cloud rendering services provider and 3D render farm, Fox Renderfarm will continue sharing you how to make dogs in Togo.3D Tutorials: How to Make Dogs in Togo (1)The Dogfaces System for Sled Dog Facial CaptureIn order to produce the final version of the sled dog animation, DNEG also explored the dog's motion capture and spent time developing the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) system specifically for the face of the sled dog.1. Research and development of sled dog motion captureIn the early stages of production, DNEG used well-trained sled dogs for motion capture in Animatrix Studios. We usually see actors wearing professional clothing for motion capture. This time the same process happened on sled dogs. The way the equipment is worn and how to set tracking marks on the fur is very technically challenging. Although these motion capture data were not used in actual production, it was still a good learning experience for the production team in the future.2. Research and development: dogFACS systemIn order to have a detailed understanding of the facial muscles of sled dogs, and to clarify the working direction of facial binding as soon as possible, DNEG also started dogFACS research very early. Since there is a human face-catching system, there can also be sled dogs. The researchers categorized all sled dog expressions, and drew facial expressions based on the dogfaces system, including "mouth raised" and "wrinkled nose". For example, a growl is "upper lip lift", "wrinkle nose", "wrinkle lips" "The expression of these three actions combined together. Facial control schemes based on these expressions can enable animators to activate or counteract individual expressions, thereby creating more detailed and believable animations.DNEG’s binding department has re-developed the entire four-legged binding system to simulate higher standards of real performance, including a new front leg module, which has the function of “fixing limbs” so that animators can imitate most animals. The fixed state of the front leg when the weight is on the leg; the reconstructed spine setting is also included to improve the realism and function of the animation. In general, the binding process requires a lot of effort. It is necessary to work closely with the animation department to develop and improve the four-legged binding standard, and always draw inspiration and direction from research references.3. Roaring timeThere is a scene where a little partner named Ilsa in the sled team roars at Togo, and Togo immediately subdues Ilsa. Please note that the seemingly real performance here is actually a CG shot.In the actual shooting, the dog handler used a "snarling device", which uses a rubber band and a prosthesis to open the sled dog's mouth. It is said that the sled dog who plays Ilsa is very docile and very coordinating with the whole process, but its eyes and constantly wagging tail reveals its extremely happy state, and it doesn't look angry at all.Real shot materialThe effect after replacing the CG headThe production team decided to use a real shot of the body + CG head to solve it, and designed some conceptual images of the sled dogs being angry and fierce. This production process is very challenging for riggers, modelers, and animators. They need to accurately grasp the subtle facial animations of sled dogs, and Ilsa's head production is more detailed and precise than Togo. After all, the lens is mainly In performance Ilsa.Real shot materialFinal shotThe most useful part of the dogfaces system is this close-up shot of Ilsa's rant. FACS expressions and mixed expressions are linear, while the sled dog's mouth and nose can be moved at will. In order to have the authenticity of proper micro-motion, the production team added many small details next to its nose. It is said that when the roaring scene animation test was shown for the first time, it was played side by side with the real shot material, and most viewers could not see that it was fake.Real shot materialFinal shot4. Sled dogs skating on iceThere is a plot in the film. The sled dog team braved the snow and cold to cross the unstable frozen lake under the leadership of Togo. When they returned, the ice surface was torn apart, and the sled dogs were moving forward quickly while their feet were slipping.The DNEG team also began to find some materials on the Internet about sled dogs slipping or falling, to provide a reference for finding the unstable feeling of sled dogs standing on the ice. These materials will be put into the rough cut of the animation processed with Time Editor to create a suitable effect for the overall shot like building blocks, and also help them determine the performance of the sled dog in some specific shots. From the perspective of animation quality and details, this method should belong to a relatively advanced blocking.5. Animate multiple sled dogsThe above-mentioned ice skiing. In addition, there are 11 sled dogs in Togo. The behavior of the sled dogs in the team is different from individual performance. For this reason, DNEG has developed a binding system to determine each The distance between the sled dogs in the team, if the distance is too far, part of the system will be displayed in red. Although this system is not super accurate, it can still provide the team with an approximate range.The production team carried out some layout development work when processing the animation, set up many different cycles and different speeds for the state of the sled dog action, and input them into the binding system so that the layout effect can be freely switched and loaded before loading The method of setting animation after binding is much more convenient.The Layout department can set up the sled animation according to the selected sled dog sport Cycles and speed while ensuring the work efficiency while achieving the authenticity of the effect as much as possible. It seems that this part of their work is also very convenient.Now follow the TPN-accredited render farm and best cloud rendering services provider, Fox Renderfarm to the next part: 3D Tutorials: How to Make Dogs in Togo (3).

2022-07-01