{"id":8765,"date":"2014-01-08T13:39:40","date_gmt":"2014-01-08T13:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firedbydesign.com\/?p=8765"},"modified":"2021-06-02T19:49:28","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T18:49:28","slug":"milk-destroys-parliament-creates-new-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firedbydesign.com\/?p=8765","title":{"rendered":"Milk destroys parliament and creates new life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Milk has revealed the work behind its dramatic explosion sequences for the BBC\u2019s Sherlock and three stereoscopic 3D CG creatures in Sky\u2019s David Attenborough\u2019s Natural History Museum Alive 3D.<\/p>\n

Sky\u2019s 90-minute David Attenborough\u2019s Natural History Museum Alive 3D was a New Year\u2019s Day TV special, while the BBC\u2019s hotly anticipated third series of Sherlock (60 minutes x 3) debuted on BBC One, also on New Year\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

For Sherlock, Milk collaborated with Hartswood Films to create 29 visual effects shots to support the dramatic storyline in which Sherlock returns to London after two years presumed dead. Milk\u2019s work includes a large-scale CG explosion of the Houses of Parliament at night time, and another which engulfs a London tube train carriage – both bringing to life Sherlock\u2019s visualisations in his \u2018Mind Palace\u2019.<\/p>\n

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In order to create maximum impact Milk created the explosion of the Houses of Parliament in slow motion, revealing full detail. An accurate model of Parliament was built in Maya and pre-fractured. Explosive forces were selectively applied to imply structural collapse from deep below the building and then fire and gas explosive elements added afterwards. Milk also replaced the live action water in the Thames entirely in CG in order to create a secondary aftershock ripple in the water.<\/p>\n

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For David Attenborough\u2019s Natural History Museum Alive 3D, Milk worked with Colossus Productions to create and animate a \u2018Glossotherium\u2019 (a large sloth-like creature); a \u2018Gigantopithecus\u2019 (a big Ape or Yeti\u2013like creature), and a \u2018Baby Sauropod\u2019 dinosaur.<\/p>\n

Milk worked closely with Colossus Productions and Natural History Museum archeologists to develop concepts for the three creatures, in particular for the \u2018Gigantopithecus\u2019. With only a tooth and part of the jawbone that remain for this creature for reference, Milk worked with a brief to come up with its look. Milk then built, textured, animated and composited the creatures in stereoscopic 3D at 4K resolution.<\/p>\n

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According to the VFX facility, one of the key challenges was ensuring the creatures were as scientifically correct as possible. As part of the R&D process the Milk team went behind the scenes at a zoo so that its team of animators could gather footage and experience seeing a Gorilla that is able to walk upright\/bipedal, in order to animate the Gigantopithecus accurately.<\/p>\n

Milk created the fur for the \u2018Glossotherium\u2019 and the \u2018Gigantopithecus\u2019 using its bespoke muscle and rigging system together with their fur pipeline \u2013 which was developed for the team\u2019s work on the BBC\u2019s Ice Age Giants earlier this year. This incorporates \u2018Yeti\u2019, a fur system used to create and groom the hair.<\/p>\n

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