Feature film visual effects facility CafeFX created a vertigo-inducing crane disaster sequence for SPIDER-MAN, setting the stage for a classic Spidey rescue. The 46-shot sequence, along with 35 additional shots, was awarded to CafeFX by Sony Pictures Imageworks, lead effects facility for SPIDER-MAN 3, the latest in the multimillion-dollar franchise.

CafeFX integrated hundreds of animated CG elements with live action cinematography, models and miniatures, digital doubles and photographic backgrounds of New York in the hybrid production of this signature sequence, which is also seen from multiple angles and triple takes. Scott Gordon, visual effects supervisor at CafeFX, oversaw the production of visual effects, along with VFX producer Richard Ivan Mann, CG supervisor Akira Orikasa, and lead FX TD Rif Dagher.

The scene opens as a steel beam, suspended from an out-of-control construction crane, spins toward a glass-encased skyscraper. From her photo shoot inside, Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) reacts to the impending disaster and the audience sees her dawning horror in the reflection of the windows. She dives for cover as the beam slices through the space, shattering windows and shearing off support columns. The off-balance crane then swings in a wild arc and takes out the floor below, causing the floor that Gwen is on to collapse and tilt at a perilous angle.

Without anything to break her fall, Gwen slides helplessly toward the now open edge of the building, along with office furniture, desks, chairs, computers, papers, pens and pencils. She manages to snag a phone cord for a brief, heart-stopping moment, but her halt at the precipice is broken by the impact of an enormous desk. In a truly terrifying shot, she shifts her hold in an instant to a thin piece of metal facing from the building exterior, which bows under her weight and slings her out over the chasm below.

he crane, meanwhile, in a violent upward pitch, carves a devastating 10-story gash in the building, sweeping Gwen from her precarious spot in an explosion of glass and debris. It is at this moment, of course, that she is rescued by Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire), who uses the colliding boulder-sized chunks of concrete to ratchet up his speed until he reaches Gwen in mid-fall.

Because the scene is played out from multiple perspectives, from street level to bird eye view, from within the office to the building exterior, it has all the heightened reality of the frozen moment one experiences just before an accident. From a visual effects production standpoint, perfect continuity and precise timing were required in order to finesse a sequence with this level of drama and detail, in all of its many iterations.

Scott Gordon, visual effects supervisor for CafeFX, said ‘The crane disaster sequence challenged us on all levels. In order for the action to work, it had to play out against the ultimate choreography, integration and interaction of countless practical and CG elements.’

Photographic backgrounds, shot by Imageworks, were tiled and mapped by CafeFX onto geometry of the Manhattan cityscape throughout the sequence. A real steel beam is intercut with a CG beam; the model crane cab augmented with CG glass and a CG crane. Plates of an actual building in New York were juxtaposed with its perfect CG counterpart, only to be destroyed in a hail of procedurally animated and propagated glass, rubble and smoke, achieved with cebas Thinking Particles, which enabled artists to define the rules and conditions of particle behavior. An unreleased version of Sitrisati Fume FX fluid system, which understood the topology changes of Thinking Particles, was used for smoke and dust elements. Mental Ray was used to render the CG building, crane and environment while cebas finalRender Stage-2, noted for speed and image quality, handled the office furniture, paper and debris. A myriad of unwanted reflections were removed and necessary CG ones added. Live action plates were re-projected on CG backgrounds and miniature photography reworked and re-timed to accommodate editorial changes. CG debris slams onto the street below, impaling a CG taxicab. Months of painstaking paint work were required to remove safety harness wires and their shadows.

‘Our relationship with Imageworks was just ideal. The process of sharing shots and assets was as fluid as any project I’sve ever worked on,’ said Mann. ‘The crane disaster sequence went so well that Imageworks assigned us 35 more shots.’

Among those were backgrounds for the climactic final battle between Spider-Man and Sandman and the addition of a matte painting of the city square for the key to the city sequence. CafeFX also used Massive software to populate the large crowd that has gathered for the ceremony. Other shots crafted by CafeFX included the rivets that burst from a subway water tank; burning butter and beaten eggs in a skillet; a foggy field; eye shield extensions for the villain Venom; and tears in Sandman eyes to enhance emotion.

Gordon observed, ‘We are seeing a greater trend toward the use of visual effects to heighten a dramatic moment and to provide a greater range of editorial choices.’

Imagework visual effects supervisor Scott Stokdyk said ‘CafeFX did outstanding visual effects work on SPIDER-MAN 3 at all levels. They were able to deliver creative and beautiful visual solutions to complex shots, and work efficiently under very demanding circumstances. The crane disaster work that CafeFX did was particularly well done, with fantastic integration work of different photographic and CG elements. CafeFX also successfully collaborated with Imageworks and its pipeline on a few shared shots, giving maximum flexibility to the filmmakers.’

Jeff Barnes, CEO of CafeFX, noted, ‘We are very proud of our contributions to SPIDER-MAN 3. Imageworks has raised the bar for visual effects and created a high level of expectation for the SPIDER-MAN films, so we are honored that they believed in our creativity and technical capabilities.’

CafeFX is currently in production on visual effects for FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER, EVAN ALMIGHTY, THE KITE RUNNER, and THE MIST, and recently completed GHOST RIDER, PAN’sS LABYRINTH, THE DEPARTED, and ERAGON.

The company production pipeline is configured with Autodesk Maya, cebas Thinking Particles, Sitrisati Fume FX, eyeon Digital Fusion, Autodesk Combustion, Massive, Autodesk Mental Ray, cebas finalRender Stage-2, 2d3 Boujou, Adobe After Effects and Apple Shake.

About CafeFX
CafeFX is an award-winning feature film visual effects facility offering visual effects production and supervision, CG character creation, and 3D animation. Founded in 1993 by Jeff Barnes and David Ebner, CafeFX is located in a 36,000-square-foot studio on an eight-acre campus in the heart of Santa Barbara County. The company credits include SPIDER-MAN?‚àö√´¬¨¬¢ 3, GHOST RIDER, PAN’sS LABYRINTH, THE DEPARTED, ERAGON, SIN CITY, KING KONG, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA and THE AVIATOR.

Its commercial and music video division, Santa Monica-based The Syndicate, is a creative design, branding services and digital production studio, specializing in live action direction, visual effects, animation, motion graphics, and telecine.

CafeFX and The Syndicate are held by umbrella corporation the ComputerCafe Group, which has also established Sententia Entertainment, a long form production company. With a focus on both live action and animated projects, Sententia Entertainment is poised to capitalize on years of experience in the feature film market while developing a catalog of properties utilizing the proven strengths of sister companies CafeFX and The Syndicate. Among Sententia credits are PAN’sS LABYRINTH and DANIKA.

www.cafefx.com

CAFEFX CREDITS:

Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Gordon

Visual Effects Producer Richard Ivan Mann

CG Supervisor Akira Orikasa

Lead FX TD Rif (Rifaat) Dagher

CG Artists Manuel H. Guizar
Will Nicholson
Geoff Mark

FX Animators Mike Fischer
Joe Scarr

Color & Lighting TD John Volny
Model/Texture Artists Steve Arguello
Vlad Bina
Alexander Pouchkarev

3D Matchmoving Lead Kevin Hoppe

3D Matchmovers Andy Byrne
Aaron Singer

Matte Painter Lei Jin

Compositing Supervisor Edwardo Mendez

Compositors Mike Bozulich
Richard R. Reed
Robin Graham
Christopher Scott LeDoux
Jorge de los Santos

Rotoscope/2D Paint Artists Lindsay M. Anderson
Chris Pinto
Ruben Rodas

VFX Editor Desi R. Ortiz

VFX Coordinator Wendy Hulbert

3-D Technical Support Brian ‘B-Op’ Openshaw

Production Executives Jeffrey T. Barnes
David Ebner
O.D. Welch

Executive Producer Vicki Galloway Weimer