size does matter- but so does teamwork

Size Does Matter is the slogan used to promote the summer blockbuster, Godzilla. And you have to admit, there has never been a movie character on quite as grand a scale as the title character of this movie. According to various pre-release promotional teasers, the monster is taller than the Statue of Liberty, twice as long as a 747, and his eye is the size of a billboard. My math is too rusty to try to figure up exactly how large this would make the scaly superstar, but suffice it to say, we are talking about one big lizard. King Kong looks downright undersized by comparison. Creating a believable creature is always a daunting task but bringing a creature of this magnitude to the screen presents a whole array of special challenges. So, because we know that Visual Magic readers are always eager to peek behind the scenes and see how the magic is made, I was fortunate enough to be able to interview Volker Engel, the Visual Effects Supervisor for the movie.

     VMM: Mr. Engel, first off, thank you for graciously agreeing to this interview. I have been looking forward to this as I am a real admirer of your work.
     Volker: It is my pleasure.

     VMM: This was not the first time you have worked with Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich was it?
     Volker: No, no, it was my fourth film with Roland and Dean actually. I first worked with them on a movie called Moon 44. I worked with again on Universal Soldier. Of course after that I was the Visual Effect Supervisor for Independence Day, and now of course, Godzilla.

     VMM: That is a pretty impressive resume, considering you are all still comparatively young men. This is obviously a team that works well together. I take it you enjoy working with them?
     Volker: Oh yes, they are both very good to work with. Roland and I have worked together for 10 years. He is a very mellow guy. Very nice.

     VMM: Before we get into the movie, I'd like to know a little more about you and your personal background.
     Volker: I was born in Germany in 1965, in a town called Bremerhaven. I graduated in graphic design in Stuttgart in 1991. After Universal Soldier I returned to Germany and worked for two and a half years at Film Academy, where I helped set up their entire animation and effects department. I then returned to the US and brought 12 of my students with me to work on Independence Day.

     VMM: Godzilla, obviously was a big undertaking. How many people were involved, altogether in bringing this story to the screen?
     Volker: Over 600 people were involved in producing the visual effects overall.

     VMM: That is definitely a major undertaking. It must have been a real challenge coordinating everyone?
     Volker: Yes, and you have to realize, we did this without using an established Effects House, such as ILM.

     VMM: Who actually designed the monster?
     Volker: Patrick Tatopoulis was responsible for that. He and his creature shopwere responsible for the practical full-size and miniature animatronic effects.

A good example of their work would be the Babyzilla-hatching sequence. That was on-set-animatronics created by Patrick Tatopoulis Design.

     VMM: What percentage of the monster that we see onscreen was CG, as opposed to miniatures and animatronics?
     Volker: That was another thing that set this movie apart from many others. Our monster was ninety percent CG. Centropolis FX was responsible for the CG work. Karen Goulekis, the VFX Associate Producer was the real driving force in that undertaking. The challenge was to create an actual living, breathing animal. To aid in animating the beast, the CG Supervisor Steffen Wild along with Carolin Quis, created a skeleton with 500 expressions.

Even many of our sets were all or partially CG. For instance, you may remember the bridge scene at the end. None of that footage was shot on the actual bridge. We had a 300 foot set built to resemble a section of bridge. The remainder was CG and miniature.

     VMM: Which was the bigger challenge, ID4 or Godzilla?
     Volker: Godzilla has been my greatest challenge so far, primarily because we are dealing with living, breathing, organic creatures, whereas, in ID4 we were primarily working with spaceships and airplanes. Nevertheless ID4 was a serious challenge due mainly to the fact that we had only 6 weeks for preproduction to get everything underway.

     VMM: If you had to pick just one scene from Godzilla, what shot are you the proudest of?
     Volker: That is a hard question. I would have to say it is the scene that we called Fish Trap 2. This is the scene where the soldiers have dumped fish in Central Park to attract the monster. Suddenly, he steps out from between two skyscrapers, looks at the soldiers that are assembled and screams. He wants the fish and yet he knows it is a trap. There were just so many elements to integrate; the monster, the soldiers, the buildings, etc. Through all of this, lights are playing over the monster and the scene and it is raining.. At the same time, we were determined to convey the monster's rage and frustration.

     VMM: Can you tell me a little bit about what is involved in being the Visual FX Supervisor on a major motion picture? What do you do?
     Volker: Boy, that is hard to describe. First I coordinate all of the people involved in all of the FX work. That means all of the modelers, animators, miniature builders, etc. I work with all of the various FX departments trying to keep everything on track. But there are other duties that you might not think of. For instance, I was present on the set all of the time during the shooting of principal photography in New York. I sat in a chair next to the director and we discussed all of the shots.

I also supervised all of the aerial shots. I was up in a helicopter directing all of the shots from the air. I was also present on the set during all of the second unit shooting. editing was another area that I was very much involved in. In fact, a third of my day was usually spent in Editorial. I didn't do any of the actual editing but it is my job to select the best Effects shots. On a movie with this many FX shots, that is a lot of work.

We also had 9 months of miniature shooting. We were filming things like the tanks, tunnels, cityscapes, flipping cars, that sort of thing.

     VMM: It sounds like you spent a lot of time moving around.
     Volker: As a matter of fact, a lot of my time was spent driving around in a Jeep.

     VMM: What is the most important thing in creating something on this scale?
     Volker: Teamwork. That is the most important thing. We had a great team and everyone pulled together; without that it would have been impossible.

     VMM: I'm going to put you on the spot a bit Volker. Which do you enjoy more, practical FX or digital FX?
     Volker: Well, my first instinct is to say that I have more fun with practical FX. After all you get to play with miniatures and blow things up. But I also enjoy compositing. It is fun to see the different pieces of your work integrated together.

The bridge scene at the end is a good example. We had to composite our digitally animated monster with shots of our miniature bridge. To accomplish this we crashed a metal Godzilla dummy that was painted greenscreen color, through a 6 foot tall miniature bridge tower. Then we replaced the greenscreen dummy with our digital Godzilla. I have to give a lot of credit to Karen Goulekas. She was the VFX Associate Producer, but in truth, she was the driving force behind our digital work, especially in the last six months of production. She did a remarkable job.

     VMM: The monster's movements were very lifelike in the bridge scene.
     Volker: Yes and you must realize that none of the movement was motion capture. The monster was animated entirely by hand. Andy Jones was the Animation supervisor and he did a fantastic job. He personally hand animated over half of the Godzilla shots, himself.

     VMM: What would you like to see happen in the industry in the near future?
     Volker: One thing I would really like to see are more production executives who understand FX. There are too many now who don't. They want these huge, elaborate FX shots but don't want to give you time to do them properly.

     VMM: How long were you working on this project?
     Volker: Seventeen months. In the beginning we worked 6 days a week, but toward the end we were working 7 days a week.

     VMM: After investing that much time and work into a film, you must feel at least a little paternalistic toward it. Tell me, do the reviews and comments by critics affect you personally? Does it matter to you personally whether the reviews are good or bad? I have talked to some FX people who took the critic's comments very seriously and I have talked to others who said, no. Because they had no control over things like writing and editing, they didn't feel responsible for the film's reception..
     Volker: Yes, it does affect me. When you have worked on something that long and that hard, it matters to you if people like it.

     VMM: So what is it like for you, when the movie is finally finished?
     Volker: When it is done, it is like you have fallen in a deep hole. You have been working so long and so hard to finish it and you have been working so closely with all of these people day in and day out. Then suddenly it is all over and everyone goes his or her separate way. On this movie though, I was involved in the promotional process, so there was some transition.

     VMM: what is your next project?
     Volker: Actually, right now I am kind of on hold, just waiting for Roland and Dean to pick their next project.

     VMM: So you are ready to work with them again?
     Volker: Oh yes, any time.

     VMM: So what do you do when you aren't working on a film?
     Volker: I have actually just kind of been enjoying the peace. I live in Marina Del Ray, now. It reminds me a little of my hometown of Bremerhaven, which is also on the sea. It is very beautiful here. As I said, I have been involved somewhat in the promotional process. I am an avid moviegoer as well, so I have been catching up on all the latest releases. I always want to see what everyone else is doing. I am also writing my second screenplay, which involves a lot of research using the Internet.

     VMM: You say you are working on your second screenplay?
     Volker: Yes, my first screenplay is currently in development in Germany.

     VMM: Can you tell us what it is about?
     Volker: Yes, it is a thriller set on a train.

     VMM: It sounds exciting. Volker, I want to thank you for taking time to talk with me. I wish you the best of luck with your screenplays and enjoy your time off.
     Volker: It was a pleasure.

Note- Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin announced on Saturday July 4 that they were committing to do The Mark, as their next project. This is a story based on a comic book about a young man who gains superpowers when a stranger passes a strange mark onto his hand.


Darris Dobbs is a regular contributor to Visual Magic. He is a professional 3D modeler/animator/ writer and is the director of HieroglyFX Design.

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