Design company takes on 450 VFX shots that feature the hero digital cougar along with many other CG animals, in Sony’s family adventure.
The “cat’s out of the bag” when it comes to Pixomondo sharing some of the stunning digital cougars and other wild animal VFX work they produced for Sony’s family adventure, A Dog’s Way Home, released in theatres this past January. Yeah, I had to go there. Couldn’t help it. I just love them kitties, even the CG variety.
Taking on 450 of the film’s 671 VFX shots, Pixomondo produced 270 in their Vancouver studio, with the other 180 done out of their Toronto facility.
Based on the popular book of the same name, A Dog’s Way Home tells the story of Bella, a dog who is separated from her owner and sets off on a 400-mile journey to get back home. Along the way, she meets a series of new friends, including a wild cougar known as Big Kitten.
Pixomondo VFX supervisor Matthew Welford, who also served as the film’s client supervisor, started on the show in August 2017 during early pre-production, spending time on set for the duration of the shoot, providing guidance on the entire body of visual effects work as well as integrating Pixomondo-created previs to help plan and budget for how the show would proceed.
One of their biggest challenges was creating Big Kitten, a fully digital cougar whose friendship with the film’s hero, Bella, forms the emotional center of the story. Welford notes, “Charles [Martin Smith, the film’s director] wanted animals that had great weight and performance. It was also important that we felt a connection between Bella and Big Kitten. Everything had to be grounded in reality. Obviously, a story about a friendship between a wild cat and domestic dog would always require a certain amount of suspension of disbelief from viewers, but we hoped they would feel Bella’s connections with the characters throughout the movie.”
Welford and his team used images and videos of real cougars, in the wild, in zoos and in sanctuaries, scouring the internet for reference material. Martin Smith was particular in his review, liking ears from one big cat, eyes from another, hair from another still… the final Big Kitten design incorporated features from 30 different cougars.
Plate
Wireframe
Final shot
Pixomondo VFX supervisor Matthew Welford, who also served as the film’s client supervisor, started on the show in August 2017 during early pre-production, spending time on set for the duration of the shoot, providing guidance on the entire body of visual effects work as well as integrating Pixomondo-created previs to help plan and budget for how the show would proceed.
One of their biggest challenges was creating Big Kitten, a fully digital cougar whose friendship with the film’s hero, Bella, forms the emotional center of the story. Welford notes, “Charles [Martin Smith, the film’s director] wanted animals that had great weight and performance. It was also important that we felt a connection between Bella and Big Kitten. Everything had to be grounded in reality. Obviously, a story about a friendship between a wild cat and domestic dog would always require a certain amount of suspension of disbelief from viewers, but we hoped they would feel Bella’s connections with the characters throughout the movie.”
Welford and his team used images and videos of real cougars, in the wild, in zoos and in sanctuaries, scouring the internet for reference material. Martin Smith was particular in his review, liking ears from one big cat, eyes from another, hair from another still… the final Big Kitten design incorporated features from 30 different cougars.
Plate
Wireframe
Final shot