Generation Kill
Cinesite created all of the visual effects for HBO mini-series Generation Kill, which began airing on HBO in July 2008 and was nominated for an Emmy in July 2009 for Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Series. Visual Effects Supervisor for the production was Adam McInnes. Cinesite Effects Supervisors were Dave Sewell and Stuart Partridge and CG Supervisor was Stephane Paris.
The largest and most challenging aspect of Cinesite’s visual effects for Generation Kill was the creation of a variety of 3D photorealistic military vehicles and aircraft. These vehicles appear throughout the series; in earlier episodes they are seen on training manoeuvres and spearheading the US Invasion force in vast convoys.
In later episodes they are seen in combat on both air and land and throughout the series CGI vehicles are present in the background of shots, blending in with absolute realism to the principal photography.
Vehicle types included CG Cobras (attack helicopters), CH46 (transport helicopters), A10 (attack aircraft), unmanned aerial vehicles, humvees, light armoured vehicles and various types of tank.
For reference Cinesite work closely with Superviser Adam McInnes and Military Adviser Eric Kocher to ensure complete military accuracy. Key sources of information were real life battlefield photography from Eric combined with location stills, manufacturers information, You Tube clips and even military models.
In many sequences, military vehicles are firing upon Iraqi insurgents. Footage of Tomahawk and Hellfire missiles being fired was sourced from the internet and used both in modelling the CG missiles and creating realistic contrails trails (using Houdini and Maya). The missiles were animated with automated systems, simulating the behaviour of the different types. These systems also calculated the speed required to hit the target at a specified point.
During the series our Marine recon unit passed through several Iraqi towns which all had to be realised using digital matte painting techniques. Establishing views of towns such as Nasiriyah, Al Gharaff, Ar Rifa, Ash Shatrah and Baghdad were all created digitally. To source material of generic middle Eastern architecture for use in the elements Cinesite despatched in house location photographer Aviv Yaron to Israel for the task.
For many of the digital matte paintings showing the devastation of battle in towns, black smoke from burning oil and cars, fires glowing and artillery flashes on the horizon were added.
Camp Matilda in Kuwait was one of the pre-invasion staging posts for the US army and is the setting for Episode 1. To establish the enormity of the camp Cinesite created a large CGI panorama of tents, vehicles and troops to give the sense of an active working environment.
From the small amount of live action tents shot on location Cinesite modelled, replicated and composited hundreds more also animating CG Humvees and supply trucks to add movement. Finally, the CGI troops were created using the Massive crowd replication software, to walk, run, stand talking etc. as required
Episode 2 commences with the invasion force entering Iraq, requiring a fully digital solution to convey the scale of the military advance.
Previsualisation work on the sequences commenced early in preproduction with animated vehicle layouts, to ensure the shots conformed as accurately as possible to military convoy formations. Once approved by the production’s military adviser Eric Kocher the sequences began to take shape.
Cinesite used it’s complete selection of CG military vehicles, including 4 humvee variations, LAVs, Amtracs, M1A1 tanks and supply trucks.
The desert environment was created digitally from supplied location reference photography, whilst the superhighway road, on ramp, barriers etc were all created in CGI. To add further realism to the sequence a Houdini particle system was generated to provide ambient dust kicked up from all vehicles.
