SyFlex in "Renaissance"

Benjamin: We used SyFlex in 180 out of the 263 sequences in the film. There are 42 characters and about 800 cloth shots! We modeled about 20 different garments and props; long hooded coats, suits, mortuary bag, shirts, hair, bags, ropes and all types of pants. We used SyFlex in a range of animations: contact with the floor (in the case of karate movements, rolling on the floor!), interactions between different characters (for example, taking off a coat and putting it on somebody else), plus some atmospheric effects like wind, and special effects like the hair animation of the hologram girl in the teaser, for which the director wanted an under-water effect.

Benjamin: We worked with SyFlex because it is very flexible to use and very stable. It also integrates seamlessly with our 3D animation pipeline. We can use it for all sorts of effects, not only cloth. We especially liked the cache and blending functionalities!

Benjamin: We first modeled the cloth using panels and tested the simulation by applying the cloth on some basic animation generated from motion capture. Those tests, were used for the director to validate the design and the dynamics of the cloth items. Based on the testing process, we defined presets and evaluated the total simulation time needed for the 42 characters and 800 shots. Once each animation was validated, we automated each sequence. Then all the simulation was done in a "sequence shot" (without any cuts). This allowed us to get a perfect continuity of the cloth animations between the cuts.

As you can see in our "making of" videos (available in the movie's official site: http://www.renaissance-lefilm.com/accueil.htm), we motion captured the actor wearing a real coat, allowing him to play his part naturally, wearing a real garment. This made it possible for us to tune the interactions between the actor and the cloth, for example, when he puts his hand in the pocket, or put on his hood...

Benjamin: All the shots with interactions (like with other characters, clothes, zippers) required a very specific attention. There were many complex shots, but I think that Karas' coat was the most complex setup, because of its strong presence in the movie, and because of the many animation requierments: with or without the hood, putting on the hood, putting his hands in the pockets... We had to create specific setups for the hood, for the coat itself that has to be animated in different ways depending on the shots, and the desired effects, and for the secondary setup of the pockets, which had to interact with the coat itself.

Benjamin: I used SyFlex for different kind of situations, like the loincloths of the robots in the teaser for Robota, realized at Attitude Studios. We are also using it for other test projects, but I can't give you more details about this for the moment.