Eye candy: the 2016 SpeedTree VFX showreel
Vegetation tools don’t enjoy the same public profile as the likes of Maya or Nuke, but they’re used on some of the most spectacular shots in movies – as SpeedTree’s 2016 VFX showreel proves.
Fictional forests created with IDV’s Sci-Tech Academy Award-winning software range from Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Takodana to Jurassic World’s Costa Rica and the India of The Jungle Book.
There are also some old favourites – the work on display from ILM, SpeedTree’s best-known user, goes right back to Avatar – and a chance to see the virtual trees in motion.
In some cases, that means trees growing; but in others, they’re sinking into chasms – and at a couple of points, flying at the camera on fire. All in all, this isn’t a bad way to kill two minutes of your lunch break.