Case Study: Field Explosion
Camera tracking with unknown settings, fractures, rigid bodies, fire and smoke simulation with physics forces.
Final Render
Focal Length Unknown — Solved
Film Back Unknown — Estimated
Solve Type Camera Track + Unknown Lens
FX Pipeline Fractures, Rigid Bodies, Fire & Smoke
Project Target & Shot Conditions
The goal of this project was to track a sequence with completely unknown camera settings — focal length, film back and sensor model were all undetermined and had to be solved from the footage itself. After solving the camera path, the footage was undistorted and a virtual environment was set up.
The field environment was roughly modelled, then fracture and rigid body simulations were created along with fire and smoke driven by physics forces, giving the illusion of an explosion impacting the ground.
Techniques: Camera Tracking (Unknown Settings), Fractures, Rigid Bodies, Fire & Smoke, Physics Forces, Compositing.
Adopted Workflow
- Dynamic Matchmove Solve: Analyzing the open outdoor field sequence to solve optical camera translation and unknown lens parameters simultaneously.
- Undistortion: Recalculating radial lens profiles to generate a linearized flat plate.
- Environment Reconstruction: Modelling primitive collision hulls of the landscape matching the spatial solved anchors.
- FX Simulation: Creating ground fracturing rigid body systems and fire/smoke particle dynamics.
- Compositing Pass: Blending CG fire, dust debris, and ground patches into the original plate using Nuke.
Production & Tech Passes
Breakdown
