Zoic Studios stages an epic battle to save a legendary sword from the grips of an evil warlord in The Weinstein Company/Netflix production of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, directed by legendary fight choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping and starring Donnie Yen and Michelle Yeoh, reprising her role of Yu Shu Lien. Led by Production VFX Supervisor Mark Stetson, VES, who was on location for the shoot in New Zealand and China, Zoic crafted 150 VFX shots centered on a pivotal action sequence that takes place around an ornate pagoda. Stetson oversaw the VFX for the entire film and worked closely with the filmmakers, the production art department and the Zoic Vancouver CG team to bring the stylized 18th century Chinese aesthetic to life. The film is the first ever to receive a simultaneous release in select IMAX theaters and Netflix, and launched last week on February 26, 2016.
The pagoda as designed was too large to construct as a single set piece, and was planned to be portrayed in its entirety exclusively with visual effects. One interior set, a ten-meter section of the exterior built in front of a bespoke backlot green screen, and a four-meter ground floor built on location were created by the art department for the battle sequence. To complete the full 7-story structure, the Zoic team created a CG pagoda for wider establishing shots, working carefully to maintain consistency on details with the interior and exterior partial sets. The action-packed sequence meant a variety of stunt work, which called for complex rig removals, 2D and 3D head replacements on stunt doubles, and several digital doubles complete with simmed cloth and hair. Additionally, building damage was added to visualize the destruction from the battle’s escalation. Having previously worked on a number of wire-stunt features in the past, including Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Stetson was savvy to this type of VFX challenge and worked closely with the Zoic team to deliver seamless final shots that highlighted the impressive fight choreography.
In addition to the action-packed fight sequence, Zoic also worked on a number of wide establishing shots of the pagoda environment earlier in the film, amplifying the sweeping landscapes and romantic views to immerse viewers in Yuen Wo-Ping’s vision of this chapter of Wang Dulu’s Crane-Iron series, “Iron Knight, Silver Vase.” Other key sequences that Zoic worked on included the all-digital shots of Silent Wolf and Hades Dai tumbling down the face of the pagoda amongst the debris of the collapsing roofs as well as the VFX involved with the fight between the Blind Enchantress and Yu Shu-Lien.
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Credits:
Production VFX Supervisor: Mark Stetson, VES
Production VFX Producer: Monette Dubin
Zoic Visual Effects Supervisor: Ralph Maiers
Zoic Executive Producer: Kristen Leigh Branan
Zoic Head of Production: Chris Roff
Zoic Visual Effects Producer: Christopher Elke
Visual Effects Coordinators: Ryan Kuba
Caitriona Curran
Joseph Payo
CG Supervisor: Richard Patterson
Environment Supervisor: Richard Mahon
Animation Supervisor: Chris Derochie
Lead Animator: Brian Eyre
Compositing Supervisor: Kenton Rannie
Lead Compositors: John Fukushima
Patrick Kavanaugh
Compositors: Graeme Baitz
Marco Cantaluppi
Christopher Grandel
Brian Hanable
Jared Jones
Megumi Kanazawa
Adam Kelway
Jiwoon Kim
Kristina Kudryk
Gabriel Mandala
Chad Meire
Donal Nolan
Hojin Park
Jeremy Price
Enrique Sandoval
Barry Safley
Bob Wiatr
Animators: Derek Babchishin
Robert Diaz
Neil LimSang
Suresh Padmaraj
Ken Steel
Evelyn Yoa
Animation Coordinators: Echo Liu
Marc Mason
FX Artists: Steve Au
Mike Rhone
Wayne Hollingsworth
Character TD: Michael Amasio
Riggers: Paxton Gerrish
Kert Saville
Tools TD: Mark Stewart
Lead Lighters: Allan Henderson
Richard Sur
CG Artists: Corey Bastiaans
Jon Catapia
Darren Little
Julien Stuart-Smith
Hoa Tran
James Sathre
Ernesto Marrero
Matte Painters: Ashish Dani
Ivo Horvat
MJ Sarmiento
Rafael Tchetyshov
Lead Tracking & Layout: David Windhorst
Tracking & Layout: Michael Bienz
Alan Christofferson
Robert Cvengros
Frans De Vries
Gerald Feathers
Steve Kazun
Lokesh Reddy Yamathi
Derek Stevenson
Mathew Thomas
Alexander Tirasongkran
Alexandra Vahlbruch
Kyle Yang He
Jeffrey Yang
I/O: Matthew Drake
David Gattey
Tom Malencia
About Zoic Studios
Zoic Studios is a visual effects company based in Culver City, California, Vancouver, B.C., and New York, NY, which creates computer-generated visual effects for film, television, commercials and video games.
“Visual Evolution” is their mission: to evolve the story, art, and technology of the moving image. Zoic’s accomplished artists and producers understand story, process, technique and relationships. Their team has a proven track record of success in a range of media including episodic, film, commercials and gaming. Masters in the fields of 3D, Compositing, and Production Management, their elite reputation attracts additional talent and encourages a strong work ethic. Zoic’s relationships with its clients are deep and long lasting. The company is known for results-driven excellence in all endeavors.