Jun 20, 2017

Director Neill Blomkamp goes inside "Rakka," Oates Studio's first experimental short film.

When director Neill Blomkamp recently teased a series of experimental short films online, word spread quickly. The shorts are from the director's new Vancouver-based studio, Oats Studios, where visual effects and animation play a major role.

Of course, before he directed "District 9," "Elysium," and "Chappie," Blomkamp made his name with dystopian films like "Alive in Joburg." These are still very much appreciated, which is why the prospect of more independent projects like these has become such a hot topic.

Oats Studios' first effort, "Rakka," a 20-minute science fiction short about lizard-like aliens who invade Earth and begin experimenting on humans (which happens to feature actress Sigourney Weaver), was released. Oates visual effects supervisor Chris Harvey, who worked with Blomkamp on "Chappie," gave Cartoon Brew a look at the making of this short and the experimental studio.

Harvey describes Rakka as "a picture that takes you into a world," introducing the characters and what is happening, but only skimming the surface of a larger story. That story is the arrival of an alien civilization called the Krum, which partially takes over a city and uses humans as test subjects. This short story also focuses on resistance against the lizard invaders.

As a new independent studio, Oates was under budgetary pressure to produce "Falling Flowers" and other upcoming shorts. However, Harvey notes that such constraints actually led to the need for more careful planning. He said, "In a way, I think big-budget feature films can suffer from not having to worry enough about money or worrying the wrong way, to be honest.

"There's no such thing as a bad weather day," Harvey added, noting that "Falling Flowers" was shot in just five days. He added, "For example, the scene where we chase the aliens was shot over two days, and on both of those days the weather was completely different. One day it rained and the other day it was sunny. We moved pretty fast, blowing up trucks and shooting with a high-speed phantom camera. Neil shoots fast, but this was a whole other level."

Shot in South Africa, there were quite a few visual effects shots, but they largely followed the typical process of obtaining plates, measuring and scanning the set, etc. 'We relied a lot on photogrammetry,' says Harvey. 'It's a big part of our process in terms of set surveying.'

Although the aliens in "Falling Flowers" are entirely digital, a practical head designed by renowned creature effects supervisor Alec Gillis of Amalgamated Dynamics (ADI) was used on set for reference (Gillis also made a cameo in the final film (Gillis also made a cameo appearance in the final film.) In addition, costume parts were used for the arms, and Blomkamp's brother Mike wore practical trousers in one scene; as in Blomkamp's other films with CG robots, the actors wore gray tracking suits as alien stand-ins.

The final digital creature design was done by Oates creature modeler Ian Spriggs, who drew from a variety of sources, from turtles to alligators. One of the distinctive elements of the aliens is their black liquid nanotechnology, which Oates calls "swax. 'They have billions of gallons of this black technology, which is the basis for everything. It is their vehicles, their buildings, their structures, the armor they wear, their weapons, their thought control. Whatever they need it to be, they shape it and execute it."

Effects artist Alex Lombardi developed a fluid simulation in Houdini to handle the moving black liquid and flare it up and down. It was deformed by tools created by Lombardi and pipeline/rigger technical director Eric Leger and combined into the final animated character. The same liquid is also seen in more spectacular landscapes, covering entire buildings and landscapes.

Another distinctive staging of "Falling Flowers" is the alien augmentation of the character Amir, with various cybernetics added to his head, including a black liquid. A prosthetic head cap and practical metal pieces were used to film the actor. It was not intended to be more than such practical additions until an artist at Oates suggested adding moving objects similar to the swax the studio was working on elsewhere.

"Neil said, 'That's a great idea. Neil said, 'That's a great idea. ' But we have a lot of new shots to do, and we have to do the head track. Neil liked your idea, and we're going to put it in the film.

"It comes down to what Neil is doing here, which is asking for honest feedback," Harvey added. He doesn't want to just say, "Yeah, that's cool, Neil." He wants to know if you really like it, what you didn't like about it, what didn't work.

In Blomkamp's signature style, "Falling Flowers," of course, is designed to show Oates's ability. According to Harvey, it is a work that deliberately deviates from the typical studio system. Everything is independent, so we are not tied to anyone but ourselves in terms of creativity. We are responsible to each other and to ourselves, not to third parties. That changes the way we think about everything". [Being under one roof in Vancouver also provides what Oates' filmmakers consider a "clear creative path" away from what might traditionally be a long line of directors and producers to directors. 'Neil is here, so you can ask him. 'We go to people's desks and we talk to them. Not only do we interact with Neil, but we interact with all the departments."

The Oates Studio facility has a mix of concept artists, design artists, production staff, and practical and digital effects teams. Not all of the experimental projects presented on an ongoing basis are as effects-heavy as "Falling Flowers"; some are around 20 minutes long, while others are very short, just a hint of an idea.

Ultimately, the studio's goal is to test whether audiences like the idea and whether it can be developed further. Blomkamp has stated that he would like to turn the short into a feature film, an intention that Harvey supports. He said, "The ultimate goal is to publish as many stories as possible as shorts, probably most of them for free. Then, for every few shorts we make, we'll pick the one that resonates most with us and our audiences and say, 'Let's make a feature film and put it in theaters.'"

The goal of the project is to "make a film that is as good as we can make it."

Since the goal is to get audiences to see these short films, Oates is not too concerned with the details, although he does aim to make high-quality films. "We like to ask, 'Do we always have to do the last five percent?'" says Harvey. In a feature film, "we iterate forever on the last five percent. Because that's what is required of us. After all, with a good story, most of the audience is willing to do 95 percent. "

In staffing the visual effects side of "Oates," Harvey turned to people he had worked with before, who had a high skill level and were able to take on multiple roles in a small facility. The visual effects supervisor said, "A lot of artists came to me and said, 'You totally ruined us.'

In fact, it was so much fun that Oates instituted something called "Creative Fridays," borrowed from a Silicon Valley tech company. Artists could work Monday through Thursday and then spend Friday working on whatever they wanted. The result, Harvey says, is increased productivity. 4]

"Everyone here seems to get the vibe that we're trying to do something different, something fresh and new, not only in the content, but also in the process behind the content creation.