Cinematography technique · used in 3 films
Filling the frame with computer-generated crowds, either multiplied from a few real extras or driven by software. The scale feels epic without needing thousands of people.
Examples
Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff · 1994
The wildebeest stampede was built with computer animation, using software Disney wrote for the job. It simulated hundreds of animals running through a gorge without colliding. Animating that many by hand would have been impossible. Because of that breakthrough, you really feel the physical weight of the herd.
Where to see it: Mufasa's death sequence. The stampede is so huge that the tragedy feels like a force of nature.
Peter Jackson · 2003
WETA's MASSIVE software gave each soldier, orc and horseman its own AI, so no 2 figures in the battle scenes move the same way. As a result, the Pelennor Fields battle looks like a real catastrophe.
Where to see it: The Oliphaunt charge and the cavalry engagement. You can pick out individual casualties inside a huge battle.
Ridley Scott · 2014
The film shows about 400,000 people in total. Only 30 to 40 of them crossed the sea bed with Christian Bale, and the rest were digital. More than 1,500 effects shots built up the Hebrews' ranks. Close-ups of people fleeing across the sea bed used the beach's real water.
Where to see it: The Red Sea crossing: Moses leads the Hebrews along the sea bed while the Egyptian army chases them, and the sea closes on most of the army.
Questions
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