Avengers: Endgame is one of the most successful films of all-time. So it’s not surprising that a great deal of work went into the creation of the movie. The Walt Disney Company shared some insight as to how DisneyResearch|Studios and Industrial Light & Magic created one of the most challenging characters featured in the film.
- In past films, Bruce Banner and the Hulk were essentially two different characters. However, Avengers: Endgame saw the two characters merged.
- “One of the biggest challenges of Avengers: Endgame was the creation of the new Hulk. In this incarnation, Banner has reconciled with the Hulk and has become a merged character. He is the best of both worlds, with the intelligence of Banner and the brawn of Hulk,” said visual effects supervisor Dan DeLeeuw.
- Visual effects supervisor Russell Earl credited part of their challenge to actor Mark Ruffalo’s performance, saying “The wonderful performance delivered by Mark Ruffalo was subtle and nuanced. Mark has very distinct facial movements and a subtle asymmetry that make him unique. This in turn required a higher level of fidelity in our facial solves.”
- In order to bring the Hulk to life, ILM used Anyma, a technology DisneyResearch|Studios created in 2015 and continued to develop for years. The technology builds upon its predecessor, Medusa, and allowed ILM to bring the Hulk to the next level.
- “You can set up cameras that are farther away, so actors can actually move around and they can truly perform,” said principal research scientist Thabo Beeler. “It’s very flexible, because it leverages the shapes you acquire with Medusa, and through this, it builds a very specific digital puppet of the actor.” As a result, senior research scientist Derek Bradley believes Anyma is “defining the next generation of performance capture.”
- Anyma is now being integrated into other Disney production by ILM.
- “I think what’s really important to emphasize is that this requires a long-term strategy,” Markus Gross, vice president of Research, said on the integration of Anyma. “This is what DRS stands for as an institution, as an organization within the company. Our aim is to push the forefront of technological innovations in service of our film production business.”
- You can see the finished product as Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now.