The Smurfs

Summary:
Sony Pictures Animation has taken the iconic 2D comic strip and globally-recognized brand in the characters of Peyo’s Smurfs, and created a brilliant, fully-realized 3D experience - and Legend3D converted the lion’s share of the film.  Legend3D put into stereo over 1000 shots throughout more than 62 minutes, as we partnered with VFX Supervisor Rob Engle and Sony Pictures Imageworks.  We collaborated with numerous 2D VFX vendors to seamlessly convert and blend live-action and CG characters into natively-rendered 3D CG environments, and this was only one of the many tasks for which Legend3D developed a successful pipeline, ultimately becoming the “go-to” for some of the most spectacular VFX sequences in this fantasy film.  Smurfs were made for 3D, and as they enter the vibrant “human landscape” of New York City, the volume and pristine look Legend3D produced on this film serves as a testament to our commitment to stereo production of the highest quality.


Creative Analysis:
“For me, the joy of this film was in both the creative partnership that we developed with Sony Pictures Imageworks, and in the finished product.  The Imageworks team was available for and open to collaborating and strategizing on ways to streamline some of these shots, which were the first of their kind to be completed in stereo.  In terms of the quality, I think it’s some of the best stereo work that we have produced to date, as it was highly complex VFX mixed with both CG and live action set pieces - and the result is visually stunning.”  Matt Akey, Legend3D Producer


"One of the biggest challenges of 'The Smurfs' was to make sure that these small, 9-inch fictional characters would blend correctly into the large, real settings of New York City. Without the proper creative approach in 3D, the Smurfs could have instead looked 9-feet tall. The flexibility of our proprietary software allowed us to take Sony Pictures Imageworks’s CG renders of the Smurfs, put them into stereo and accurately scale the environments around them. This fine attention to 3D depth and scale transforms the film to a unique, captivating experience, and one that could not have been easily conveyed in 2D."  Colin Yu, Legend3D Stereographer


Film Credits:
Director: Raja Gosnell
3D Visual Effects Supervisor: Rob Engle
Stereoscopic Supervisor: Darren Lurie
Cast: Neil Patrick Harris, Hank Azaria, Katy Perry
Studio: Sony Pictures Animation
Release Date: July 29, 2011


Legend3D Credits:
Lead Stereoscopic Visual Effects Supervisor: Jared Sandrew
Additional Stereoscopic Visual Effects Supervisor: Tony Baldridge
Lead Stereographer: Colin Yu
Stereographers: Jill Hunt, Vince Niebla , Glenn Osgood
Producer: Matt Akey
Compositing Supervisor: Adam Ghering
Associate Compositing Supervisor - LA: Joseph Zaki
© Copyright 2011 Legend3D, Inc.