Ali Mapar and the GUARDIANS 2 Cave-Crashing-Gamora-Chasing Effects
Ali Mapar FX Reel 2017 : Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Justice League Unite fx breakdown from cebas Visual Technology Inc. on Vimeo.
Firstly, Thank-you Ali and to ScanlineVFX, Vancouver as well. Welcome to cebas Insights Interview. Now, you are a bit more ‘hidden’ than some VFX artists, and prefer to stay behind-the-scenes (...like many vfx artists) - is this true of most effects artists? Would a bit more limelight be helpful?
Ali Mapar: Thank you for having me. I’m not trying to be hidden and I’m not sure about the “limelight”. I know that I haven’t been active in the community as much as I like and hopefully this would be my first step to be more active.
Let’s start with,... the vfx community and followers of cebas channel would love to know more about you and your VFX work - do fill everyone with some interesting history of how you came to be a VFX artist? Some of the ups and downs of VFX career-building, and some memorable anecdotes or of people in the industry or education that has helped you along the way.
Ali: I started CG by Learning 3d studio Max 3.1 probably around year 2000 or so. But at that time it was only a hobby for me and I was too young to look at it as a job. But even then I had this passion about FX and was more focused on doing 'fire' and 'particle' effects. I started my first job in CG industry about 10 years ago in Iran and I was very lucky to have one of my most supportive employers in my first CG job. At that time, there were not many places or courses for learning CG and none for effects. So I had to learn everything by myself from tutorials. CG was a very young market in Iran at that time and FX was almost non-existent. But I tried to learn FX and talked with people in the industry about it and did as many projects as a FX artist, whenever I could find an opportunity.
I think cebas very first knowledge of your work was when you did a simple ‘Sand particles’ effects for Client : Al Zahra VFX, Entekhab TV commercial in 2015 (Vimeo/AliMapar), which cebas at once featured on our youtube.com/cebasVT - how did you come to do this project and why did you choose thinkingParticles?
Ali: I was very fortunate to be always working with the best and Al Zahra VFX was (and I’m pretty sure it still is..) one of the best VFX studios in Iran. They had a clear understanding about what they wanted. I did some tests using PFlow first but it was too heavy and slow and it was hard to control the particles the way we wanted it. That’s why I switched to TP. After switching to TP I had much more control on the effect and how I wanted particles to move. I could do iterations much faster and be picky in order to get the best results.
Were you at that point when you were with Al Zahra VFX, actually living in another country? When did you arrive to Canada? How do you feel being a FX artist in Vancouver?
Ali: I arrived to Canada in February 2016. Being a FX artist in Vancouver is great. Vancouver is one of the best cities for CG in the world.
Now, you have done some really amazing project(s) - I mean compare to the small commercials you use to do -- how does it feel in the beginning when you were asked to do Hollywood big movies ? How does it feel now?
Note: Ali Mapar is with ScanlineVFX, Vancouver and has had the opportunity to do some amazing stuff as a part of the ScanlineVFX FX crew :
2018 Tomb Raider (visual effects artist) (post-production)
2018 The Meg (fx artist: ScanlineVFX) (completed)
2017 Justice League (visual effects artist)
2017 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (visual effects artist)
2016 Independence Day: Resurgence (visual effects artist)
Ali: The first time that I got the offer from ScanlineVFX, it was like a dream come true. I tried my whole carrier to do FX and now going to work for one of the best VFX studios in the world and be able to work on Hollywood movies was unbelievable. Now, Being able to work with so many talented people every day and overcoming challenges on daily basis is a blast. I wish I could say it gets repetitive but no, it never gets old, specially the part when you see your name on the big screen.
In Guardians of the Galaxy 2 : sparks were literally flying between the two sisters: Gamora and Nebula - with Nebula’s piloting her spaceship to ram Gamora, shooting at her and all Hell breaking loose with lots of friction, sparks, fragmentation and breakage. You did the scene with thinkingParticles - was it hard fun ? And from concept to doing the setup, and wiring to perfection ?
Well, to be honest it was a really fun shot to do. All the craziness that happened in this shot and the next shot after that gave me more freedom to add interesting moments in these shots. Using TP in 3ds Max Environment was also very helpful. For example in the ship destruction shot; where it loses the parts and wings due to impacts I simulated the base in TP and added some detail in max later to the results. This ability to go back and forth in Max and TP is very helpful in this hero shots.
Ali, which thinkingParticles operator did you find most useful so far? And how do you normally ‘think’ things or 'particles' out and find the visual logic of what to wire with what on the dynamic setup?
I cannot say which operator I find the most useful, each has a unique case for use. I normally have a general idea about what I want to do. I just start from the beginning and work my way through to the end. It’s almost like the setup builds itself out and I just put the nodes there step by step and connect the wires. After the first build, it’s time to test the system and that’s when the real fun begins; When you want to change the system to do specifically what you want it to do and add the artistic touches to it.
And then the big blue blob in Guardians that destroyed DQ - could you describe the thinkingParticles effects?
Actually, destroying structures in TP is really fun for me. I find managing different types of material (like wood, concrete, metal, glass, etc...) using TP groups make it so easy and a good, strong setup. I like using the different types of joints depending on materials gives the artist so much freedom.
Ali, coming to Justice League (2017), can you show some more tP breakdowns for readers? And tell us some juicy stuff about those visual effects you did ?
Every project is different and requires different effects and different approaches. One of the shots that was very fun and challenging in this show was where Superman tries to punch Flash and his punch hits the plinth behind Flash. The slow motion shot has its own challenges. You need a very stable simulation and solver in order to hold under all the details that is visible in slow motion shots. But when you have it, adding details in this kinds of shots can be really fun.
Now, Ali, we know you are working on two upcoming big budget movies that are FX-heavy: Tomb Raider and The Meg - we know you cannot release anything of course, could you give us an overview of the visual effects that you may be involve in?
In Tomb Raider one of the effects that I did were tree simulations using TP, where Lara Croft falls down with the parachute (after the scary breaking aircraft scene) and she hits the trees. I guess when you realize how to breakdown an effect, there is no end on what you can do with the tools you have.
Finally, Ali, in your view, what is your wish for cebas software to achieve that is not currently doing for you?
Right now the best thing that I wish TP would have, is the geometry manipulation or a way to deform geometry inside TP.
What are your professional and what are your personal hopes and dreams in moving into the future in the art of visual effects and balancing life/work?
I like doing CG in general and I love FX. I love solving puzzles that you have to solve doing FX every day and I love the artistic aspect of it. I guess as long as I’m doing it, I’m already living my dream.
Thank you Ali Mapar for giving cebas all these insights into your work at ScanlineVFX and we hope to see more of you in the future. Best of Luck to your upcoming projects.
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