Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Using CINEMA 4D and BodyPaint 3D the team reviewed sequences that at times had roughly 50-75 matte painting shots in order to evaluate color keys and placement in 3D space. The "Burger Rain" sequence in particular, in which CG burgers fall out of the sky, necessitated creating three 360° sky environment maps (env. maps) that were UV-mapped in CINEMA 4D to accurately place the sequence color key for lighting and reflection purposes.

Because the color of the sky changes from a grey to peach/pink/bubble gum purple to turquoise with pink clouds, often two or more maps were needed, depending on the sequence. In addition, the 360° skies were then broken up into an array of several separate connecting camera projections using CINEMA 4D’s ProjectionMan matte painting system to simplify and streamline the workflow for further development and for rendering for final shots.

“Once the env maps were approved, we further developed them as matte paintings for the entire sequence. Not only did we paint three different skies, but we also extended the FX cloud, animated them and then projected those rendered frames onto geometry that matched it to the FX Clouds in 3D space for stereo,” commented Dave Bleich, matte paint lead, Sony Pictures Imageworks. “Thankfully we had CINEMA 4D to help us get through a challenging sequence that required a lot of planning and much needed flexibility. CINEMA 4D is a ‘must have’ app in the matte painter’s toolkit.” Nori Kaneko, texture lead at Sony Pictures Imageworks on Cloudy added, “BodyPaint 3D was used throughout the film to texture every sequence, each of them equally complex, ranging from the tasty-looking foods to the weathered environments. The software enhances our workflow and lets us work without limitation.”

More Information:
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/cloudywithachanceofmeatballs/