arien writes: Thought you might be interested in this recent article from the Australian Financial Review about the OS(s) used for handling the animation in LOTR.
by Katrina Nicholas With Tony Boyd
Tolkien’s weird and wonderful cast of Middle-earth creatures will be vastly enhanced in parts two and three of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy using software that runs on a free operating system.
But while the improvement in computer-generated fantasy figures may wow audiences, their production is hurting high-performance computing giant Silicon Graphics Inc.
That’s because Weta Digital, the New Zealand-based company contracted to handle the trilogy’s animation, rendering and compositing requirements, is gradually moving away from using SGI’s operating system, Irix, in favour of open-source operating system Linux. Weta Digital’s chief technical officer, Mr Jon Labrie, said last week that the company, which will soon increase artist numbers to 200 to ensure the second film is ready by October, operated about 125 SGI and 70 Linux workstations.
Those numbers would reverse within six months, he said.
Mr Labrie said now that Maya and Shake the two primary applications Weta needs to do the 3D modelling and compositing required for the films were available on Linux, it made better dollar sense to use the platform.
(Although Maya and Shake are also available on NT, Mr Labrie said Microsoft’s system did not scale very well.) Linux was better because it was easier to administer and more robust, he said.
Furthermore, as it costs three times as much to operate with SGI, Linux is a very compelling option. Infrastructure costs have been dropping rapidly.
Demonstrating the price differential, Mr Labrie said that it cost more than $NZ40,000 ($32,670) to operate a SGI workstation and just $NZ15,000 for a Linux.
Weta’s shift away from SGI has sparked an outburst from that firm’s chief executive, Mr Bob Bishop. He said, while attending last week’s world congress on information technology, that “Linux is not ready to build professional-quality, broadcast-quality animation”.
“It’s on the way, but at the moment, you cannot truly finish at a professional level, at the broadcast-quality level, animated product on Linux.
“You can get 60 to 70 per cent of the way there, but that final gap will prevent you bringing the product to market. Our Irix operating system is so loaded with real-time, low-latency features which are not available on Linux.”
Mr Bishop also said the reason Weta Digital got its films out on time was because it used the Irix operating system.
But even though operating using Linux was cheaper, Mr Labrie said budgets for the second and third Lord of the Rings films had not been reduced. The computer effects would always expand to fill the available budget, he said.
The increase in available computing power would mean audiences could expect to see richer graphics, especially in scenes involving digitally generated water and fire, Mr Labrie said.
He also said crowd simulation could be dramatically improved. The Fellowship of the Rings, the first Lord of the Rings film, for example, features battle sequences that involved about 50,000 computer-generated warriors in the background.
Those background warrior figures would be increased to 300,000 by film number three, he said.
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From: www.newyorkobserver.com
“No one knows this yet,” said Lord of the Rings screenwriter Fran Walsh. “But we need to get it out, because the fans are going to be really upset by it.”
Ms. Walsh stood in the back room of Michael’s restaurant on Feb. 22. Around her milled other members of the creative team that had produced Oscar’s most nominated movie. The film’s director and Ms. Walsh’s companion, Peter Jackson, was padding about, as were the musical composer, Howard Shore; actor Christopher Lee, who plays Saruman the White; New Line co-chairman Bob Shaye; and LOTR’s executive producer and the head of Fine Line Features, Mark Ordesky.
Ms. Walsh, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Shore each glowed with Oscar’s kiss, but seeing that Ms. Walsh was itching to spill her guts, The Transom stuck with her.
So what exactly was burning a hole in the screenwriter’s hard drive?
“Shelob is not going to be in part two,” she said.
For Tolkien neophytes, this may sound like news from a different dimension. But for pale-skinned Lord of the Rings nuts who have spent an estimated $700 million on tickets to the first film, it’s big news.
“I checked [the fan site] One Ring, and there’s a poll about what they’re most looking forward to in the second film,” Ms. Walsh said. “They all say Shelob!”
Shelob is the evil spider-like creature that plays a pivotal role at the end of The Two Towers, the second part of Tolkien’s trilogy.
“Of course Shelob is a major villain, and once Sam and Frodo get past her it’s basically one plot … we needed to add something, so we simply moved the Shelob bit to the third film,” Ms. Walsh said.
Mr. Jackson loped by with actor Matthew Modine in tow, and Ms. Walsh sighed. “I call him ‘shaggy chic’ because he has no style,” she said of her companion. “And he has the most unruly hair.”
Although Mr. Jackson is known for his propensity to go barefoot and wear the same shorts and T-shirt for days on end, he had dressed for the luncheon in a button-down shirt that strained against his prodigious gut. The diminutive director wore weathered sneakers and walked on the balls of his feet. His brown hair was long and scraggly.
Ms. Walsh said that Donatella Versace has offered to make Mr. Jackson an Oscar suit, but that his initial response was “Aaaaaaah!”
“He was screaming in terror,” she said. But Ms. Walsh added that her partner will “grudgingly acquiesce.”
“Oh, wait,” the screenwriter said. “Better not say ‘grudgingly.’ Just ‘acquiesce.’ No, no, not ‘acquiesce’–‘embrace’! He’ll embrace it!”
Mr. Jackson was going to be doing a lot of embracing in the next 12 hours. Later in the evening, the crowd was headed to a swanky dinner hosted by directors Barry Levinson and Martin Scorsese and writers William Styron and Norman Mailer. The dinner had been arranged by publicist Peggy Siegal to introduce the contingent of New Zealanders and Brits to an eclectic group of New York’s cultural cognoscenti, albeit one that could also double as the cast for an It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World remake. Guests at the dinner included actress Kyra Sedgwick, comedian Billy Crystal, essayist Stanley Crouch, director John Sayles, actress Sigourney Weaver, journalist Lally Weymouth, germ-warfare expert and anthrax target Judith Miller, writer Gay Talese, publisher Nan Talese, author Salman Rushdie, and Early Show host Bryant Gumbel.
But first there was lunch. “This is worse than the Carnegie Deli. How am I supposed to eat all this food?” said Mr. Lee when his salad was put in front of him at Michael’s.
Mr. Lee looked more like Sherlock Holmes than Saruman. He was dressed impeccably in a checked jacket, olive vest, bright green tie and mustard corduroys. A red silk handkerchief poked from his jacket pocket.
In an earlier chapter of his life, Mr. Lee had been a military sleuth, searching for Nazi war criminals as part of Britain’s Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects. “I have seen man’s inhumanity to man,” he said softly.
The actor, who said he’ll “be 80 in May–hopefully,” seemed miles from Michael’s as he described meeting Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien in an Oxford pub.
“He was a devout man, no question about that,” said Mr. Lee, who has reread The Lord of the Rings every year since its publication.
Suddenly he erupted in what sounded like gibberish.
“Ash nazg durbatulúk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulúk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!” he said, in an accent that was heavy on the rolled R’s.
Mr. Lee was merely reciting–in ancient Elvish–the inscription found on the ring that’s at the center of Tolkien’s trilogy.
“I’m not very good at these things,” said Mr. Lee of the event. “People misunderstand what I’m saying. “
–Rebecca Traister
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Original TBHL member no. 90 writes: The Danish film industry gave held their annual award show. LOTR:FOTR was named Best American Film.
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How often do we beat our own drum? We couldn’t resist this one: Proof that the film makers consult the TORN polls too. [More] Thanks to Julie for the link.
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NZMoose sends this link that shows director Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh being honoured in their own country with the Order of Merit. [More] Cute picture!
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Big news over at AICN – a report from somebody who saw the TTT preview/trailer in the making. [More]
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