Saw this over at Wired today. A break down of the computing power required to render all the frames of CG effects in the Lord of the Rings finale. This is the kind of computing power I want! Some highlights:
HUMANPOWER
IT staff: 35
Visual f/x staff: 420
HARDWARE
Equipment rooms: 5
Desktop computers: 600
Servers in renderwall: 1,600
Processors (total): 3,200
Speed of network: 10 gigabits (100 times faster than most)
Temperature of equipment rooms: 76 degrees Fahrenheit
Weight of air conditioners needed to maintain that temperature: 1/2 ton
STORAGE
Disk: 60 terabytes
Near online: 72 terabytes
Digital backup tape: 0.5 petabyte (equal to 50,000 DVDs)
OUTPUT
Number of f/x shots: 1,400
Minimum number of frames per shot: 240
Average time to render one frame: 2 hours
Longest time: 2 days
Total screen time of f/x shots: 2 hours
Total length of film: Rumored to be 3.5 hours
Production time: 9 months
Hmmmm. This is a tough one (sort of). I was a huge fan of the first movie with its emphasis on philosophies and a fresh look on how we define "reality". The second movie followed on a similar vein, albeit with a bit more funkiness. Revolutions is something completely different - its an action movie that ends a love story and cleans up a few questions from the first two installments. A new-age philosophy love-in it is not.
***/5
Went to see Tarantino's new flick Kill Bill yesterday. After finishing Shogun I was excited to watch this movie, what with the swords and the kung fu, etc. I was not disappointed in the least. The action was simply amazing, and the film is definitely son of Quentin. There wasn't a point in th movie where someone wasn't snickering a little - not because the movie was funny - but because of the presentation of the material.
I don't want to give away too many nitty gritties, but audio and visual cues are reused to set the mood for every face off and show down - all to great effect. The choreography is astounding, and the dialogue - despite reports to the contrary - is quite strong. All in all this movie rocks.
****/5
