``Dante's Peak'' How was the powerful disaster scene created in an era when CG was underdeveloped? (Part 2)

Dante's Peak modeling

Digital Domain's VFX supervisor was Patrick McClung. He was the miniature supervisor for Cameron's `` Aliens '' (1986) and `` The Abyss '' (1989), and has been with Digital Domain since its founding. In fact, Cameron and I have been friends since the unknown era, and together we worked together on Roger Corman's New World Effects, including ``Seven People in Space'' (80) ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWmaUmNgWqM ). is in charge of.

McClung chose natural light in an open set for realistic lighting. To do this, a space is required where giant miniatures can be built and photographed. So VFX producer Thomas Landmer decided to rent the Air National Guard base (*4) at Van Nuys Airport, which had been in use until 1990. The entire runway, two large hangars and eight buildings were licensed for use, and between 400 and 600 staff worked there.

"Dante's Peak" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Dante's Peak, the volcano that is the main character in the movie, is a gigantic miniature with a height of 9 meters and a diameter of 34 meters at the base, and was built from stacked Styrofoam blocks. Its shape (some people criticize it for being too pointy) is modeled after Mount St. Helens before it actually collapsed. However, the altitude was changed from the original 2,950m of Mount St. Helens to approximately 4,300m to give it a more intimidating feel.

The top section could be swapped out for multiple takes, and the miniature had a number of wheels (like the casters on a dolly) attached to the bottom to make it easier to move it from the hangar to the runway. The plume was a mixture of Smoke and powder Driller's Mud (*5) that was blown up by an air cannon, and was color corrected to gray during digital compositing.

*4 This facility has been used in many movies, including `` Silent Running '' (1972), ``True Lies'', and `` Executive Decision '' (1996).

*5 Mud water material used in the driller's method of oil drilling. Bentonite, which is derived from volcanic ash, and fly ash, which is the ash from coal-fired power plants, are used. It is thought that the latter was probably used in this work.

freeway collapse

The collapse of the town's main freeway overpass was filmed with real traffic jammed on Interstate 90 and green panels erected along the synthetic border. The crumbling roads and vehicles in the distance are 1/4 scale miniatures made at Digital Domain Studio and sculpted by Grant McCune Design (*6). This scene was also shot at high speed on a green screen under McClung's supervision, and was composited into a real landscape with Smoke and flames.

In this transition shot, Arbogast and Washington took charge of setting up a set of life-sized ramps that appeared to connect to the actual road. About 10 to 12 stunt vehicles are mounted here, and the supports of the ramp are destroyed with gunpowder, creating a realistic scene without compositing. These two types of footage are skillfully edited to create a unified scene.

*6 Grant McCune, the company's representative, participated in the miniature unit for Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) at the first ILM in Los Angeles, led by John Dykstra. Later, when George Lucas moved ILM to San Francisco, Dijkstra's team remained in Los Angeles and changed the name of the studio to Apogee, where McCune also worked on Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and Firefox (1982). (McClung was helping him at this time). When Apogee went bankrupt in 1992, McCune bought the studio and all its equipment and restarted it as Grant McCune Design. But McCune died of pancreatic cancer in 2010, and his wife Catherine took over the business, but the studio closed in 2016.