Enemy at the Gates - Double Negative

boujou's ability to track scenes with almost no detectable detail came to the rescue in two shots featuring aerial camera work of a convoy of ships crossing the river Volga. With water filling almost the entire shot, and no fixed features or land in view, the challenge, according to 3D Effects Artist Jesper Kjolsrud was to find enough detail to track. 'Because it was decided to add effects after the shot was in the can, we had no markers in the scene, and the manual tracking software we normally use was no help. It would have been almost impossible by hand too because of the lack of detail in the scene - most of the frame was water.'

Kjolsrud fed boujou's camera data into Autodesk Maya, for the effects team to add the CG dive-bomber, tracer trails and water spouts created by the impact of the bullets. 'It was great timing for us to get hold of boujou just as we were presented with these difficult shots,' Kjolsrud continued. 'It worked superbly, and the results really knocked us out.'

Images courtesy of Double Negative, Mandalay Pictures and Pathè.