Martin Pelletier, visual effects supervisor at Rodeo FX, explains how House of the Dragon's fantastic flying beasts are able to take to the air
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: October 15, 2024
Martin Pelletier, visual effects supervisor at Rodeo FX, explains how House of the Dragon's fantastic flying beasts are able to take to the air
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> Martin Pelletier, visual effects supervisor at Rodeo FX, explains how House of the Dragon's fantastic flying beasts are able to take to the air
https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/making-the-dragons-fly title=Share via Email class=share-email>
Snowdonia (Eryri), a land of majestic peaks, high, silvery lakes and rich, rolling pasture could almost have been tailor made as the backdrop for HBO's House of the Dragon, prequel to the world-conquering Game of Thrones. Visiting the region, maybe finding one of its forgotten castles or hidden valleys, it's easy to imagine that fantastic creatures really do soar among the jagged mountains, great leathery wings spread wide as they flit from point to point.
Redefining possibility For the team at Rodeo FX, turning imagination into reality is all in a day's work. When three spectacular new dragons were needed for season two, they were perfectly placed to deliver. Moondancer, Vermax and Silverwing were integral characters in the continuing story. Just like their human counterparts, they, too, were shaped by their life experiences. Martin Pelletier, visual effects supervisor at Rodeo FX, oversaw their creation and gives an insight into the process behind it.
Martin Pelletier, visual effects supervisor, Rodeo FX The first step is understanding the storytelling point of each and every character, he explains. We had a meeting with the client where they presented us with concepts of their dragons basically a simplified version. They also gave us a size reference next to a human being, to give us a good understanding of the scale. From there, we dove into a personality description. Using Moondancer as an example, he continues. Moondancer is a mid-size dragon in the series. He's meant to be reckless, snappy and unpredictable. He's a bit of a punk he has the mohawk. It was a really good way of picturing how we were going to animate the character.
The team then considers the types of actions that are required, such as soaring, diving, moving in a jerky way to reflect the dragon's spiky personality. The mechanics of his movement are explored, Do we have to collapse the wings, or keep them open all these things have to be considered when we start building. A skeleton is built up with muscle groups added before surfacing is applied. This takes into account the dragon's past, how his life has been lived according to the story, all of it intended to ensure the character is plausible and convincing. All of this combined ends up in maybe a four month process to build one creature from the ground up to a final beast that is going to be renderable in a shot.
Highlighting the importance of this aspect of the work, Pelletier says that the past life of an object being created is sometimes underestimated in CGI and VFX. We need to do the exercise when we build our assets, so that they really belong within the storytelling lines and don't stand out in a bad way, he says.
Turning reality into fantasy Understanding the need for believability, the team uses as many real life reference points as possible. With dragons, we're kind of short on real life references, Pelletier laughs, so we try to figure out what does exist that would translate. The wings, for example, have membranes that flex as the skin moves. To accomplish this, the team studied footage of bats in flight. The facial movements of komodo dragons and other lizards were also examined. All these things are based on the closest things we can find in real life, he continues, that was the biggest challenge.
Rodeo FX created around 230 shots for season two. Some 160 people worked on the project which took a little over eight months. Pelletier describes the technology required to breathe life into their creations. Our two main tools for 3D creation are Maya and Houdini. Maya is used with ZBrush, to sculpt our final models. To create texture, we use Mari or Substance. Everything else is handled in Houdini: lighting effects, simulation, muscle definition is also being driven in Houdini. Final renders are done in Houdini using Arnold, and the final compositing of everything is combined and finalised in Nuke.
Although AI is very much an industry buzzword, the technology was not extensively used by Rodeo FX. AI is an interesting beast, says Pelletier, before commenting that studios are sometimes reluctant to use it, perhaps because of concerns over privacy. There are some grey zones, he says, some limitations. Studios want a heads-up on whatever AI tools or technology we are going to be using, to ensure we're going to be safe playing with their content. It's quite sensitive. We couldn't go too wild and broad with AI especially on this show.
Aside from the creative elements, some AI solutions were used to handle repetitive work, effectively freeing up the team to concentrate on higher value tasks. There's a bunch of little AI tools [that we] used across the show that are not cloud-based and very secure, such as automated rotor work in Nuke [and] automated tracking in some instances,' Pelletier explains. It's just speeding up the process of early assembly, and it gives us a bit of a head start without spending too much time and money then we can finish using real artists to do the final work.
Achieving believability has clearly been a driving force for Rodeo FX, and Pelletier is fulsome in his praise, b
Most recent headlines
09/12/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced that it has been named an IDC Innovator in the IDC Innovators: ...
09/11/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced three new members of its executive team. Tara Bryant joins as Chi...
15/10/2024
Earlier this year, Spotify introduced music videos in beta, giving Premium subscribers in 12 markets another way to connect with the songs and artists they love...
15/10/2024
Music serves as a powerful memory booster, and Spotify recently introduced a new...
15/10/2024
Statement on the passing of George Negus
15 October, 2024
Media releases
We are deeply saddened by the passing of George Negus, a giant of Australian journ...
15/10/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (herein referred to as NFVF) is a statutory body set up by the government to grow and develop the South African Film and ...
15/10/2024
Long-term partnership expands with new technology, paving the way for further ef...
15/10/2024
WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2024 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) debuted its new autonomous reconnaissance and security vehicle system, Diamondback , at the Associa...
15/10/2024
Australia's most desired EV models revealed
More than half a million Austra...
15/10/2024
September typically brings changes in viewing habits of video content on TV screens which are primarily attributed to the start of the school year and the end o...
15/10/2024
Amazon Prime Video exhibits the highest monthly growth among streaming platforms...
15/10/2024
Adobe has expanded its Firefly family of creative generative AI models to video, in addition to new breakthroughs in its Image, Vector and Design models. The Fi...
15/10/2024
RASTATT, Germany Lawo said it hired Nick Pemberton as global partner, business development director, responsible for leading the strategic and commercial develo...
15/10/2024
WOWOW's Yours Shot and Graded with Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K and DaVinci R...
15/10/2024
Martin Pelletier, visual effects supervisor at Rodeo FX, explains how House of the Dragon's fantastic flying beasts are able to take to the air
By Matthew ...
15/10/2024
The company has also unveiled updates to Frame.io and plans to help 30 million people develop AI literacy and content creation skills by 2030
By Jenny Priestle...
15/10/2024
Watch a panel featuring TVBEuropes content director Jenny Priestley discuss some of the biggest talking points from IBC2024
By TVBEurope Staff
Published: Oct...
15/10/2024
The new licence is designed to support Channel 4's digital content and distribution strategy, while safeguarding its investment in UK content, said Ofcom
B...
15/10/2024
We're halfway through a thrilling October, so it's time to take a beat and celebrate our wicked achievements so far.
Caroline Parot, CEO Technicolor G...
15/10/2024
Red5's Chris Allen on Syncing Low-Latent Video Feeds to Deliver Unique Exper...
15/10/2024
Olympic Gold: Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe's Scott Young Breaks Down...
15/10/2024
SVG All-Stars: Sarah Backerman, Senior Director, Production Operations, Big Ten ...
15/10/2024
New SVG Sponsor Spotlight: Ateliere's Andy Hooper on Tapping Into Artifical ...
15/10/2024
NBA App Adds Multiview Capabilities on Connected Devices Fans can view up to four games simultaneously on TV with NBA League Pass subscription By Brandon Costa...
15/10/2024
Rohde & Schwarz drives AirFuel Alliance RF standardization efforts with first RF...
15/10/2024
Back to All News
Top 10 Week of Oct. 7: Outer Banks' and The Menendez Bro...
15/10/2024
HMS Networks changes organization to strengthen customer focus and cross-selling 15 Oct 2024 at 07:30 GMT+2
Regulatory press release
HMS Networks AB (publ)...
15/10/2024
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today introduced the new iPad mini, supercharged by the A17 Pro chip and Apple Intelligence, the easy-to-use personal intelligence s...
15/10/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
The German Armed Forces conducted operational te...
15/10/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
KNDS awarded Thales a contract to deliver compact, programable and scalable High-Power Solid-State Power Distribution Boards (SS...
15/10/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Leveraging its longstanding experience in radar-...
15/10/2024
RT Player debuts new original sitcom Good Boy exploring comedy, career and comi...
14/10/2024
Libby Hakaraia speaking at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Jovelle Tam...
14/10/2024
Since its launch just over a year ago, Spotify's Audiobooks in Premium offer...
14/10/2024
Through our first-of-its kind partnership, Spotify and FC Barcelona are committed to uniting the worlds of music and sport. And when the Bar a men's squad r...
14/10/2024
WESCAM MX -20 on a fixed wing aircraft....
14/10/2024
A green paper published today outlines the governments aim to attract investment...
14/10/2024
Tim Kiely, Longtime Producer of Inside the NBA, Returns to TNT Sports as VP & Ex...
14/10/2024
Back to All News
Bring Back the Heat! Culinary Class Wars Returns for a Sizzlin...
14/10/2024
Helping Brands Engage and Influence Buyers with New Advertising Capabilities Published on Oct 14, 2024 Categories: Product News, Company News, Europe, EMEA
...
14/10/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Thales Alenia Space and ESA sign contract amendment to extend and optimize ESPRIT module
Milan, October 14, 2024 - Thales Aleni...
14/10/2024
14 Oct 2024
VEON Announces Plan to Move its Headquarters to Dubai International...
14/10/2024
14 Oct 2024
VEON appoints Andrey Pyatakhin as the incoming CEO of Beeline Uzbekistan Amsterdam and Tashkent, 14 October 2024: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON, Euronext...
14/10/2024
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: JetWave Wireless' Jim Dugan on Delivering Wireles...
14/10/2024
Carving powder: Austrian broadcaster ORF on the challenges of bringing the Alpin...
14/10/2024
On the piste: ORF on bringing new innovations in sound and interactivity to ski ...
14/10/2024
ESPN's Adam Whitlock on the Under-discussed Side of Live Sports Video Transm...
14/10/2024
March to Victory : A Parent Media Company Starts From Scratch To Give Dallas Sta...
14/10/2024
FOX Sports, TNT Sports Elevate Production Plans For MLB's Star-Studded Leagu...
Martin Pelletier, visual effects supervisor at Rodeo FX, explains how House of the Dragon's fantastic flying beasts are able to take to the air
