Blur
Studio - Warhammer 40,000 Game Cinematic
Posted 27 October 2004, Lisa Thurston
In a piece of computer animation rivaling a blockbuster feature
film in production value and dramatic storytelling, Blur Studio
has produced a CG cinematic for THQ's new game title 'Warhammer
40,000: Dawn of War'. The two-minute film, included with
the game CD, introduces players to Warhammer's dark, futuristic
fantasy universe through an intense, tactical battle between legions
of alien warriors. 'Warhammer 40,000' is a real-time strategy game
for the PC based on the tabletop war-game of the same name.
- Watch 'Warhammer: Dawn of War' Cinematic by Blur Studio
(15MB MPEG-4) on CGNetworks -
Video requires CGNetworks Membership and QuickTime 6
Blur Studio teamed with the game's developer, Relic Entertainment
to develop the storyline for the cinematic and translate
its characters and environments to cinematic format. The cinematic
opens in the midst of a raging battle on a bleak world somewhere
in the Warhammer universe. The piece centers on a contingent
of Space Marines - the heroes of Warhammer - who are under heavy
attack by enemy Orks. After a barrage of heavy weapons fire, the
two groups of warriors charge onto the field of battle and tear
into each other with ferocity worthy of Warhammer. The film climaxes
with the hero Marine planting a tattered, bullet-ridden flag on
a ridge.
The battle sequence features scores of fully rendered characters,
land and air fighting vehicles, savage weaponry and eerie other-worldly
environments, supported by a rich Dolby surround sound soundtrack. "THQ
wanted a pulse-pounding open to get Warhammer fans excited about
starting the game," explained Blur Studio creative director
Tim Miller. "It wasn't hard to come up with something that
fit that mission-the Warhammer universe is filled with drama, death,
destruction and epic combat. Our main difficulty was holding our
team back from going NUTS and trying to put everything in this
2 minute open. There's just too much cool stuff in the game and
we wanted to do it justice."
 |
 |
Warhammer is the latest and most sophisticated example of a trend
toward incorporating 'cinema' quality animation into
game cinematics. The trend has been spurred both by the ability
of current game systems to deliver high quality audio and video
and by the narrowing divide between the gaming and film worlds. "When
the fans of Warhammer saw the open they were screaming for more!" said
Miller. "Just as the game has moved from tabletop to PC, we'd
love to see the world of Warhammer translated into a full feature
film-remaining true to the visceral action of the brand."
CGNetworks will shortly be featuring the Warhammer cinematic
by Blur Studio in an interview with Tim Miller and Dave Wilson. 'Warhammer' Credits
Creative
Director |
Tim Miller |
Modeling, Lighting & Compositing
Supervisor |
Dave Wilson |
Story & Layout Supervisor |
Paul Taylor |
Animation Supervisors |
Marlon Nowe and Jeff Weisend |
FX Supervisor |
Kirby Miller |
Animation Technical Director |
Jon Jordan |
Producer |
Al Shier |
3D Team |
Heikki Anttila, Corey Butler,
Zack Cork, Daniel Ferreira, Jean-Dominque Fievet, Jeff Fowler,
Ryan Girard, Paul Hormis, Tim Jones, Ian Joyner, Seung Jae
Lee, Dan Knight, Makoto Koyama, Alex Litchinko, Allan Mackay,
Kevin Margo, Remi McGill, David Nibbelin, Ruel Pascual, Todd
Perry, Davy Sabbe, David Stinnett, Sung-Wook Su, Jason Taylor,
August Wartenberg |
Concept Artists |
Sean McNally and Chuck Wojtkiewicz |
Matte Painter |
Dylan Cole |
Mocap Supervisor |
John Bunt |
Mocap Director |
Paul Taylor |
Mocap Artists |
Richard Machowicz and Paul
Taylor |
IT Team |
Duane Powell, Paul Huang,
Barry Robison |
Music |
Rob Cairns and Tony Morales |
Sound Design & Mix |
Shoreline Studios |
Related Links
Blur Studio
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
Source: Blur Studio |
