Production - Visual Effects
( 繁 )

For a movie like The Forbidden Kingdom with fantasy and supernatural elements set in a mythical time, there are around eight hundred visual effects scenes that need to be constructed, reduced from an original nine hundred over scenes.  

Senior visual effects supervisor, Ron Simonson explains, "In such a film, the type of visual effects scenes vary greatly, encompassing 3D virtual backgrounds, matte paintings, complete 3D environments, 3D weapons and effects such as fire, water, lava, smoke and debris, 3D digital character doubles and 3D face replacements.”

The visual effects are being completed in three places: Seoul, Hong Kong and Los Angeles.  A large portion of the work is done in Korea, divided up between three facilities there.  This pioneer collaboration with Korean visual effects houses assembled specifically for the movie: Macrograph, Inc., Digital Tetra Inc. (DTI) and Footage will be the first time that a non-Korean film with a complex and ambitious special effects profile will undergo post-production work in South Korea, a market that in the last decade has seen a rapid expansion of its filmmaking capabilities.

Working on such a big scale global film is a dream come true for the three companies.  “Macrograph’s goal has always been to become a global CGI house,” says Dr. Inho Lee, the CEO of Macrograph while the CEO of DTI, Yoon Suk Lee continues, “and DTI Pictures has always dreamt of working on such a major project.”

Producer Casey Silver reasons, "It is a combination of their qualitative talent and the quality of their work.  We really wanted to make an authentic Asian movie to the highest degree that we could.  Having already utilized a world-class Asian cast and crew, it only made sense to include this Asian sensitivity into the visual effects as well.  When you are great at what you do, it transcends whether you are Asian or Western."

Work started on the visual effects back in February 2007 and was ramped up during production with three artists on hand in China to develop the pre-visualization and animatics that are used to develop the CGI shots and aid in shooting the practical elements.  

Post photography, Macrograph, the main vendor in Korea, manages the bulk of the 3D work while DTI while Footage does most of the 2D work.  The bulk of the wire removal work is done in Hong Kong and some 3D environment work, face replacements and wire removals are being handled in Los Angeles.

Simonson targets to complete all visual effects work only after eleven months of preparation and hard work.  He explains further, “There are a number of shots in the movie that are a hundred percent CGI.  These include many of the establishing shots of the Jade Warlord’s palace and another important scene setting - the Five Elements Mountain.”

Another scene depicted in visual effects is the Peach Banquet, which was a total fantasy set and the inspiration was to make it seem like a heaven on earth.  The Monkey King appears both at the Peach Banquet and in the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit.  Suitably, these two backgrounds are completely computer-generated.  In the case of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, the only practical elements in the shot are the characters and just the tips of three rocks.  

The Forbidden Kingdom represents a watershed moment for the South Korean film industry, which is poised to take on more Hollywood-based projects. “Being a part of an international production of this scale will help to further develop the company,” concludes Tae Jung Han, the President of Footage.

Slated to be completed by January 2008, the final visual effects will not only show how visionary the filmmakers are, it will also show just how advanced the Korean visual effects houses are.  “Korea is on the cutting edge of media in Asia, so I am excited to see this team work their magic,” sums up director Rob Minkoff.