Blackmagic Design announced that Axis Animation used Fusion Studio for its work on the game cinematic and cutscenes for the latest real time strategy game from Relic Entertainment and SEGA Europe, Warhammer(R) 40,000(R): Dawn of War III(R).
Axis Animation has previously worked on AAA SEGA titles such as “Aliens: Colonial Marines” and “Alien: Isolation.” For “Dawn of War III” however, the team adopted a brand new approach to its VFX pipeline, allowing the studio to streamline its 3D characters and environments into a 2.5D compositing setup in Fusion Studio.
“It was the work of Polish surrealist painter Zdzisław Beksiński that was the essential ingredient in our pitch to Relic. We worked with the team at Relic to strike a careful balance between our intended aesthetic with Beksiński’s ethereal imagery and the established WH40K world created by IP holders Games Workshop(R),” explained lead LRC artist on the project, John Barclay.
Axis produced the award-winning trailer for “Dawn of War III” which received great responses from fans and critics alike. With the success of the trailer, developers Relic Entertainment wanted to take the same art direction into the cutscenes.
To do this, the Axis team assembled their scenes within the standard studio pipeline but automated the process of converting the 3D scene into the multitude of image planes required for their 2.5D comps. “This helped us enormously, especially for the cutscenes, which featured limited camera movement,” Barclay shared. “It was incredible that we had the flexibility to use effects like volumetric fog and insert them into the same scene as characters and environments built from 2.5D cards. It also meant our lighting artists could work on the scene as though it were any other 3D set.”
Brought into Fusion using a custom Python and Lua script to ensure all the data was positioned correctly, the cards meant that every artist at Axis could automatically render their character from Houdini and import it as a projection into Fusion. An alembic export was then used to bring in the camera positioning from Maya.
“Using image planes in Fusion allowed us some significantly reduced render times and also greater flexibility with more creative iteration over the whole show. The workflow allowed artists familiar with our standard pipeline to create something a little more unusual,” Barclay concluded. “Fusion is key to helping us solve both creative and logistical challenges. It was an essential part of our toolbox on Dawn of War III.”
Sandra Oh, Kumail Nanjiani and Bowen Yang Are In Eugene Yi’s HBO Doc On Being Asian American, Pacific Islander
Director Eugene Yi has always been interested in the term Asian American and Pacific Islander and which ethnicities it includes.
"When we're talking about Asian Americans or Asian people in the U.S., oftentimes it's people who might look like you and me, and maybe not people who look like (New York City Mayor) Zohran Mamdani," Yi told The Associated Press. "Why is that when this term is supposed to be so capacious and so inclusive?"
So Yi, who is Korean American, was beyond excited when approached to helm a new HBO documentary dedicated to AAPI identity and community.
Timed for release during AAPI Heritage Month, "The A List: 15 Stories from Asian and Pacific Diasporas" drops Wednesday on HBO Max. It's the latest in "The List Series" created by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. The franchise has previously produced documentaries on prominent Black, Latino and LGBTQ+ Americans.
In the documentary, Yi captures no-frills, intimate interviews conducted by journalist Jada Yuan with 15 people of AAPI heritage across industries. They include TV broadcaster Connie Chung, Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth and "Basement Bhangra" creator DJ Rekha. Actors Sandra Oh, Kumail Nanjiani and Bowen Yang — who are sometimes more associated with comical roles — also shared their thoughts about identity and belonging.
"When talking to people who are professionally funny, oftentimes they're really comfortable not being funny," in unscripted conversation, Yi said. "I appreciated that chance to get a little bit deeper into some of their stories."
Stars say talking about growing up AAPI on camera was cathartic
Yia Vang, chef and owner of Vinai, a popular Hmong restaurant in Minneapolis, filmed his "A List" interview three years... Read More