Autodesk at the Movies – Iron Man 3

Autodesk Inc., widely known as a front-runner in 3D software, has held a key role in the making of iconic movies such as Iron Man for past two decades. Iron Man 1 and Iron Man 2 utilized Autodesk Maya and Autodesk Flame showcasing spectacular work of art with the latest technology, combining special effects and live-action recording. Thus, it is not so surprising that Iron Man 3 is Hollywood’s most anticipated movie of 2013.

Iron Man 3 had extensive pre-visualization created with Autodesk Maya and Autodesk MotionBuilder by US-based studio – The Third Floor. Peter Jackson's Weta Digital in New Zealand, best known for The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series, were the lead visual effects house on Iron Man 3. While Fuel FX in Australia, part of the Animal Logic Group, contributed to the phenomenal effects in Iron Man 3.

• Autodesk® Maya® 3D animation software offers a comprehensive creative feature set for 3D computer animation, modeling, simulation, rendering, and compositing on a highly extensible production platform. Maya now has next-generation display technology, accelerated modeling workflows, and new tools for handling complex data.

• Autodesk® MotionBuilder® is a 3D character animation software for virtual production enabling artists to more efficiently manipulate and refine data with greater reliability. Capture, edit, and play back complex character animation in a highly responsive, interactive environment, and work with a display optimized for both animators and directors.

Playing A Role in Iron Man of the Past and Present 
In 2011, ILM created "Iron Man 2” which had 527 visual effects shots. ILM created the film's remarkable Iron Man suits and spectacular action sequences with the help of Maya and Flame. Commenting on the success of Iron Man 2, Marc Chu, ILM animation director said, "Maya played an invaluable role in providing our artists the tool to create the animation for 'Iron Man 2’. Animators that were new to ILM were able to jump straight into shot production with very little training time and thanks to Maya's opened ended platform we were able to customize and create new tools that were vital in bringing both Iron Man and War Machine to life.”

“Iron Man 2” Pre-visualization Supervisor Nicholas Markel of The Third Floor said, “Ideally, previs empowers filmmakers — from director, production designer, cinematographer, visual effects supervisor, editor, and art director — with more creative freedom. Maya is the backbone of our previs pipeline, with Motion Builder as a perfect complement for virtual moviemaking. Using Autodesk FBX technology, we were able to transfer assets between Maya and Motion Builder. This provided flexibility for the filmmakers to manage both their vision and budget, ultimately creating the best film possible.”

Autodesk at the Academy Awards
For 18 consecutive years, every film nominated for the Best Visual Effects Academy Award was shaped with Autodesk digital filmmaking tools. This year's Academy Award nominees continued to push digital imagery to new heights—from intricate and complex computer-generated characters to pyrotechnical marvels to invisible effects so realistic they deceive the eye.

Thanks to Autodesk, Iron Man was nominated for Achievement in Visual Effects at the Academy Awards through these companies:

 Academy Award Nominee – Industrial Light & Magic brought the superhero character and his nemesis to life using Maya for animating and modeling the CG suits, as well as Inferno visual effects software as part of its SABRE system for compositing over 400 shots.
 Pixel Liberation Front worked on the film for 19 months, relying on Maya to create reference models for extensive previsualization.
 The Orphanage developed the thruster look and an exploding mountainside using 3ds Max and used Maya for the Gulmira, Missile Test and Stark Jet sequences.

This year, a record-setting 21 animated films were eligible for nomination in the Best Animated Feature category. The five nominees all used Autodesk Maya 3D animation and visual effects software. The nominees include two 3D animated features “Brave” and “Wreck-It Ralph” and three stop-motion movies: “Frankenweenie,” “ParaNorman,” and “The Pirates! Band of Misfits.” Autodesk is honored that these filmmakers utilized Autodesk digital technology from planning and pre-visualization right down to final grade.

Autodesk software also played a role in the creation of a number of other movies nominated this year including “Amour,” “Argo,” “Buzkashi Boys,” “Flight,” “Les Misérables,” “Lincoln,” “Paperman,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Skyfall,” “Ted” and “Zero Dark Thirty.”

To watch trailers and breakdown reels from many of these nominees, please visit the Autodesk YouTube channel Academy Award playlist.