Digital Dimension's Explosive FX in Live Free or Die Hard

[Tommy]

Digital Dimension has completed nearly 200 visual effects shots—including a number of the movie’s most action-packed sequences—for Twentieth Century-Fox release Live Free or Die Hard. Directed by Len Wiseman, the film is the fourth installment of the Die Hard franchise starring Bruce Willis as tough cop John McClane. Digital Dimension was awarded standout sequences such as the spectacular destruction of a helicopter by a police car in mid-air and an elaborate car crash in a darkened tunnel, as well as a wave of blackouts, fender-benders and evacuations of government buildings. Live Free or Die Hard hit theaters on June 27, 2007.

“With each sequel in the Die Hard series, the filmmakers have upped the ante on the action, so we needed the absolute best visual effects teams for Live Free or Die Hard,” said Patrick McClung, Visual Effects Supervisor on Live Free or Die Hard. “We chose Digital Dimension because of its reputation offering boutique VFX attention while rivaling the work delivered by the huge studios.”

In Live Free or Die Hard, McClane (Willis) is called in to action when a group of cyber-terrorists led by Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) take over the computer grid supporting the entire country’s infrastructure including the economic, governmental and other computer systems running the country. When McClane foils their plans, McClane’s daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is kidnapped. With help from a young hacker named Matt Farrell (Justin Long), McClane must use hits wits and brawn to save the country and the people he loves from disaster, yet again.

Digital Dimension’s 2D and 3D teams worked on several pivotal action scenes, including two signature shots featured prominently in the film’s trailer. One involved McClane and Farrell narrowly avoiding being crushed when a car bounces off two other vehicles just over their heads. Digital Dimension composited the actors into footage of a practical car crash, adding CG glass and interactive lighting for added realism. In another, McClane launches his cop car up a ramp to destroy a helicopter. The shot involved combining plates of a stunt man jumping out of a helicopter with McClane’s cop car plowing through the chopper, and creating CG rotor blades and a tail rotor that both split into a thousand pieces upon impact with the police car.

Other scenes on which Digital Dimension worked included building a 250-foot digital tunnel extension in Autodesk’s 3ds Max to make an underpass look like a mile-long freeway during a harrowing car chase and crash, adding CG rubble to a pivotal explosion. The company also used the artificial intelligence-driven Massive software to create 1000 digital people to match groups of extras that appear in live action shots spilling out from the U.S. Capitol Building and Treasury. Digital Dimension also did extensive rig and stuntman removal and added CG cars, smoke effects and Washington DC-style background plates to the movie, which was partially shot in Los Angeles.

Said Daniel Lombardo, Executive Producer at Digital Dimension: “Our company has earned a reputation for not only creating quality visual effects, but also being flexible in the face of changing production requirements and delivery schedule. On Live Free or Die Hard our goal was to support Len Wiseman’s vision of the classic action film style, by creating visual effects shots that integrate seamlessly with the live action stunts. In the end, the Director, VFX Supervisor and studio were very pleased with the results, as were we.”

The company used a software toolkit including Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya and Massive Software’s Massive.

Digital Dimension’s work on Live Free or Die Hard comes fresh off the heels of VFX work on HBO’s Bury Me at Wounded Knee and the blockbuster summer hit Blades of Glory. Other recently completed films at Digital Dimension include Norbit, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Pursuit of Happyness and Epic Movie.

About Digital Dimension
Digital Dimension is an award-winning visual effects studio with locations in Burbank, Calif., and Montreal, Canada. The company was founded in 1997 and specializes in 3D animation, motion graphics and visual effects for film, television and interactive media. Digital Dimension has garnered three Visual Effects Society Awards and six Emmy Awards. For more information about the company please visit http://www.digitaldimension.com.


Digital Dimension Project Credits: Live Free or Die Hard

CEO—Benoit Girard
Executive Producer—Daniel Lombardo
VFX Producer—Chris Del Conte
VFX Production Manager—Joseph Bell

Composite Supervisor—Erik Bruhwiler
2D Coordinating Supervisor—Tammy Sutton
Lead Compositor—Ryan Smolarek
Compositor—Tommy Tran
Compositor—Tatjana Bozinovski
Compositor— Ken Stranahan
Compositor— Martin Hilke
Compositor— Wing Kwok
Compositor—Rony Soussan
Compositor—Brian Smallwood
Roto/Paint —.Anthony Kramer
Roto/Paint—Jason Bond
Roto/Paint —Justin Jones
Roto/paint—Todd Carson
Roto/Paint—George Gervan Jr.
Roto/Paint—Richard Gervan
Roto/Paint—Dan Walker
Roto/Paint—Chad Ridgeway

Lead CG Supervisor —Andrew Roberts
3D Artist—Justin Mitchell
3D Artist—Phi Tran
3D Artist —Tong Tran
3D Artist —Brian Demetz
3D Artist —Matthew Lee
3D Artist —Steven Hensley
3D Artist—David Espinoza
3D Artist —Val Kharitonashvili

VFX Coordinator—Sarah Mihalec
VFX Production Assistant—Landon Medeiros
Production Intern—Molly Pabian
Production Accountant—Tracey Roulhac

Pipeline Architect—Sean Looper
Systems Administrator—John Brake
Systems Infrastructure—Guillermo Pussetto
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Related Links:
Live Free or Die Hard website

Digital Dimension

[TonyRyan]

Way to go Digital Dimension! The phrase “non-stop action” certainly applies here!

At every turn, McClane and Matt are attacked by Gabriel's well-armed goons, precipitating numerous action scenes that are ludicrous on the face of things . I like when McClane successfully battles a marauding helicopter with a fire hydrant, then a vaulting car, and later rides the wing of a spinning fighter jet.

TonyRyan

[GladysReeves]

hi,the article written by Tommy was so interesting for me, I would like to see some behind the scenes ,Special FX pics or videos of Live Free or Die Hard.please help me.thanks a lot.

Gladys

[sathish]

Here are some pics from the set of Live Free or Die Hard.

Bluescreens have been used.It seems that in the scene filmed here, McClane is being attacked on a bridge by terrorists flying the F-22 visible in the second picture. Enjoy!!!

[divyaram2004]

Hi

It was a good action movie. It wasn't a great action film because its storyline was not that good (even for an "action movie") and its bad guys were pretty lame, but overall the scenes featuring action were a'plenty, the film's pace and special FX were spot-on!


divyaram,Bangalore

[donaldpeter58]

Digital Dimension’s 2D and 3D teams worked on several pivotal action scenes, including two signature shots featured prominently in the film’s trailer. One involved McClane and Farrell narrowly avoiding being crushed when a car bounces off two other vehicles just over their heads. Digital Dimension composited the actors into footage of a practical car crash, adding CG glass and interactive lighting for added realism. In another, McClane launches his cop car up a ramp to destroy a helicopter. The shot involved combining plates of a stunt man jumping out of a helicopter with McClane’s cop car plowing through the chopper, and creating CG rotor blades and a tail rotor that both split into a thousand pieces upon impact with the police car.