NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Under the direction of Creative Director/VFX Supervisor John Bair and Executive Producer Vivian Connolly, the Phosphene visual effects team completed effects work and adapted the 20th Century Fox logo for “The Fault in Our Stars.”
The romantic comedy-drama stars Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Nat Wolff, and Willem Dafoe.
It is directed by Josh Boone (“Stuck in Love”), from a screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber based on John Green’s number-one bestselling novel of the same name.
“The Fault in Our Stars” centers on Hazel and Gus – two extraordinary teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them and us on an unforgettable journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous, given that they met and fell in love at a cancer support group. “The Fault in Our Stars” explores the funny, thrilling and tragic business of being alive and in love.
At several key points in the film Hazel lies in the grass and stares up at the starry night sky, created by Phosphene. The very first time we see the night sky is during the 20th Century Fox logo animation. Phosphene was assigned the task of tying the iconic logo with the theme of the film. "We came to Phosphene with the idea of incorporating the starry sky motif into the Fox logo. Phosphene did an amazing job of bringing the night sky to life in a way that really helps launch the story,” explained Josh Boone.
Phosphene’s primary visual effects work included the compositing of a prosthetic leg and stump for Gus. "From my first meeting with Josh, he and I talked about how real and naturalistic we wanted Gus’s leg to look. Phosphene was my first call. We decided early on to stay away from CG and to use the combination of an amputee double and a 2D approach. Phosphene seamlessly integrated the prosthetic leg and sold the illusion that Gus had lost his leg to cancer,” stated VFX Supervisor Jake Braver.
Phosphene’s Lead Digital Artist Aaron Raff explained their process. “In order to replace the leg, we used camera projections and proxy geometry in NukeX to project the shape and textures of an amputee body double's leg into the plate of Gus’s limb. Using this method, we were able to show Gus's amputation in shots with dynamic camera moves, as well as in shots where the actor moved freely, shifting his position.”
Phosphene utilized NukeX and PCs running Windows 7 64 bit in the execution of this project.
Technicolor-PostWorks (Los Angeles, CA) was responsible for the digital intermediate and lab processing.