Md. office makes big impression on film
Md. office makes big impression on film
Workers in Frederick help when Hollywood re-creates New YorkBy ALEXANDER C. BALDINGER, The Frederick (Md.) News-Post
Posted Thursday, August 24, 2006
This image from EarthData shows the World Trade Center before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mapping like this was used in Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center." Courtesy of EarthData 08/24/2006
When Paramount Pictures needed help re-creating the skyline of lower Manhattan for Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," it called EarthData International's Frederick, Md., office.
EarthData, a mapping company that has created detailed models of some of the country's largest cities, supplied the film's visual effects team with 3-D renderings of the towers, which were created by combining architectural blueprints with aerial laser terrain models taken during the days following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Special effects helped re-create the towers' collapse for the movie.
"Whenever there are shots that seem to be taken from the helicopter flying over the buildings, when you have moving shots like that when you can see the tops of the buildings, that's when the models were used," said Louis Demargne, director of marketing for EarthData.
EarthData was instrumental to the film's planning as well. While writing the script, Paramount used the company's detailed 3-D model of New York to plan shooting angles and logistics for certain scenes.
"We actually have a database where each building in Manhattan and New York City is modeled. ... It's like an architect's or an engineer's drawing, but it's in 3-D," Demargne said.
Capturing the scope of the disaster was crucial to the makers of the film. Directed by Stone, it tells the story of Port Authority officers who risked their lives to save others on the day of the attacks.
"The level of detail and the completeness of the laser, image, and 3-D data made it possible for us to accurately portray the scene confronting the police and rescue workers," said John Scheele, visual effects supervisor for Paramount.
In the days following 9/11, EarthData was involved in capturing the scope of the devastation using lasers and thermal sensors. The profiles the company rendered showed the rubble of the fallen towers and any shifts in the surrounding buildings.
"We used aircraft to fly over the area, capture the photography ... and actually process that data so it [was] in a form that the first responders could use," Demargne said. "They needed to know where some of the fires were still smoldering."
The company's familiarity with the disaster made it particularly well-suited to assist with a Hollywood production.
"The data used in this movie was originally created for rescue and recovery operations ... all of which required very precise and detailed information," said Bryan Logan, CEO of EarthData.
Hollywood has called on EarthData for geographic imaging before. The company's 3-D models have also been used in Sony Picture Imageworks' "Spider-Man," and 20th Century Fox's "The Day After Tomorrow."
Workers in Frederick help when Hollywood re-creates New YorkBy ALEXANDER C. BALDINGER, The Frederick (Md.) News-Post
Posted Thursday, August 24, 2006
This image from EarthData shows the World Trade Center before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mapping like this was used in Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center." Courtesy of EarthData 08/24/2006
When Paramount Pictures needed help re-creating the skyline of lower Manhattan for Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," it called EarthData International's Frederick, Md., office.
EarthData, a mapping company that has created detailed models of some of the country's largest cities, supplied the film's visual effects team with 3-D renderings of the towers, which were created by combining architectural blueprints with aerial laser terrain models taken during the days following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Special effects helped re-create the towers' collapse for the movie.
"Whenever there are shots that seem to be taken from the helicopter flying over the buildings, when you have moving shots like that when you can see the tops of the buildings, that's when the models were used," said Louis Demargne, director of marketing for EarthData.
EarthData was instrumental to the film's planning as well. While writing the script, Paramount used the company's detailed 3-D model of New York to plan shooting angles and logistics for certain scenes.
"We actually have a database where each building in Manhattan and New York City is modeled. ... It's like an architect's or an engineer's drawing, but it's in 3-D," Demargne said.
Capturing the scope of the disaster was crucial to the makers of the film. Directed by Stone, it tells the story of Port Authority officers who risked their lives to save others on the day of the attacks.
"The level of detail and the completeness of the laser, image, and 3-D data made it possible for us to accurately portray the scene confronting the police and rescue workers," said John Scheele, visual effects supervisor for Paramount.
In the days following 9/11, EarthData was involved in capturing the scope of the devastation using lasers and thermal sensors. The profiles the company rendered showed the rubble of the fallen towers and any shifts in the surrounding buildings.
"We used aircraft to fly over the area, capture the photography ... and actually process that data so it [was] in a form that the first responders could use," Demargne said. "They needed to know where some of the fires were still smoldering."
The company's familiarity with the disaster made it particularly well-suited to assist with a Hollywood production.
"The data used in this movie was originally created for rescue and recovery operations ... all of which required very precise and detailed information," said Bryan Logan, CEO of EarthData.
Hollywood has called on EarthData for geographic imaging before. The company's 3-D models have also been used in Sony Picture Imageworks' "Spider-Man," and 20th Century Fox's "The Day After Tomorrow."
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