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Stunning Visual Effects in ‘World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles’

In Columbia Pictures' sci-fi action-thriller “World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles,” the City of Angels is destroyed by unknown, alien forces… and visual effects supervisor Everett Burrell.

Preparing to do his worst, Burrell flew in a helicopter between San Diego and Los Angeles, taking digital photos of the southland – wide shots that would become the background plates for the film for Burrell to use as a tool of his trade. “Once [director] Jonathan Liebesman had chosen the shots he liked, we could add smoke, fire, and city destruction,” Burrell explains.

But making the destruction was just the beginning – Burrell and his team were also responsible for creating the destroyers. Liebesman collaborated with a team of artists to create the aliens and bring his vision to life. “While I had a very clear idea of what I wanted for the look of the aliens, the collaboration between concept artists and our post-production team ensured the aliens became far more complex and fascinating creatures than I could have ever imagined,” says the director.

“It’s always difficult to get the design down because there are endless possibilities,” says Burrell. Of course, when designing an alien, even the sky isn’t the limit: anything is possible. Where to begin? And how do you know when you’re done? “We went through a lot of different concepts with Jonathan to get the alien right – to get what he envisioned. This is mainly due to the fact that it was such a different type of thing we were going for. We wanted ours to be very different, like nothing anyone’s ever seen before. CGI allowed us to tinker with the look all through production, until he was completely satisfied.”

CGI can do a lot of things, but sometimes, an effect is best achieved with a physical prop. This was true for the alien autopsy sequence, in which the Marines see up close what the aliens are made of and figure out how they can stop them. “I come from creature effects, makeup effects,” says Burrell. “Our full-scale alien really is the best way to get the effect when it has to interact with the actors closely. The autopsy alien is about eight feet tall, with a 20-foot-long tentacle coming out of its leg.”

For the aliens’ aircraft, the design began with a happy accident. “Jonathan was playing around with the visual effects and, by mistake, there was a large ship with a separate piece broken off,” says Burrell. They liked that idea – and in the end, the UFO became a ship composed of nine smaller drones – “like a pizza cut into slices,” Burrell explains. “They’ll destroy the world in thirty minutes or less or your money back.”

Opening across the Philippines on March 16, “World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

14 Comments on Stunning Visual Effects in ‘World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles’

  1. Anonymous // March 12, 2011 at 6:46 pm //

    to moderator of starmometer – i think hindi naman kau nagmo moderate ng mga comments dito dahil tulog kau ng tulog…bat nio hinahayaan na magpost ng ganito ang alex g na to? or kasabwat din kau? so sige na po…paki delete lang po ang mga unnecessary comments dito para naman ganahan kami mag post at di na sia gayahin ng mga walang utak din na tao…thanks

  2. mas maganda pa ang tanging ina: last na to kesa dito…LOL…

  3. I like imortal superb ang kwento.
    mara clara ?????isang magic o gimik ang pagka matay kuno ni mara, hindi ko maisip kung paanong unang naglaho sa crimescene si mara samantalang kalalabas lang ni clara noong sumabog ang bomba saan dumaan si mara bakit napasabugan yung kabit ng tatay ni clara e di naman ito nakatali tapos yung nakakawad hindi manlang nagalusan tapos nagkaamnisya, napano sya at nagkaamnisya sya kung nabagok sya ehh di tusstado rin sana sya… magic gimik talaga..
    Gumising nga kayo Pilipino wake up IMORTAL is best its superb than mara clara lets prove to the world that we pilipinos are not idiots and morons IMORTAL rocks!!!#$####

  4. CANT WAIT FOR THE MOVIE!!!!

    GO SONY!!!

    Stupid poser…its world invasion article go stick your ass to your stupid stations

  5. IMORTAL vs Mara Clara // March 11, 2011 at 8:06 am //

    I like imortal superb ang kwento.
    mara clara ?????isang magic o gimik ang pagka matay kuno ni mara, hindi ko maisip kung paanong unang naglaho sa crimescene si mara samantalang kalalabas lang ni clara noong sumabog ang bomba saan dumaan si mara bakit napasabugan yung kabit ng tatay ni clara e di naman ito nakatali tapos yung nakakawad hindi manlang nagalusan tapos nagkaamnisya, napano sya at nagkaamnisya sya kung nabagok sya ehh di tusstado rin sana sya… magic gimik talaga_______

  6. A-ll the
    B-est
    S-hows

    C-omes from the
    B-rightest
    N-etwork
    😎

  7. alex g: How would you equate a Decline in Ads, Cheap Awards, Flop Movie Gross & Poor Artists' Endorsements, from a high ratings (daw!?) claimed by gozon? // March 10, 2011 at 9:04 pm //

    Cheating & Data Tampering, Desperate Publicity, Mind Conditioning, Rating Manipulations, etc.
    (w/ AGB & PEP).
    😎

  8. alex g: Did you know that gma7 was always the first channel that SIGNS-OFF the tv? Did you also know that AGB Nielsen Media Research has a pending case here & abroad? // March 10, 2011 at 9:04 pm //

    Early Signing-Off, Cost Cutting, Debt Increase & Financial Crisis.
    Words that best describes gma.
    😎

  9. alex g: What happened to the Titan Plugs of gma? It seems like a shrinking Titanic. Now, that's what you called, "KARMA". // March 10, 2011 at 9:04 pm //

    Boboserye, Hubadserye, Flopserye, Peryaserye.
    Trademark ng gma.
    😎

  10. alex g: gma, known for "Cheating & Data Tampering, Desperate Publicity, Mind Conditioning & Rating Manipulations" (w/ AGB & PEP). KARMA, "Here I come". // March 10, 2011 at 9:03 pm //

    Weakness tlga ng gma ang lumaban ng patas.
    😎

  11. alex g: Kapit-Tuko tlga si gozon sa ratings, (Panic na kasi). TALUNAN kasi sa Ads, Awards, Movies at Endorsements, tanggal pa sa KBP. // March 10, 2011 at 9:03 pm //

    “Self-Proclaim Effect”, heto ang paraan ng gma para i-promote ang sarili, aside from Rating Manipulations.
    😎

  12. alex g: "Walang kinikilingan, walang pinoproteksyonan, walang kasinungalingan, walang bahid pulitika, serbisyong totoo lang", Dahil d natutulog ang balita, BAYARAN niyo kami para gumawa ng commercials 24 oras". // March 10, 2011 at 9:03 pm //

    Dahil sa PERA, nawala tuloy prinsipiyo.
    Baka naman maliit ang sahod? (how stupid).
    😎

  13. alex g: Valentines Box Office King pala ah, ni wala nga kasabay na Filipino movie eh, 44.26M in 3 weeks lang!? (as compared to BULONG with 67.27M). May "Divine Intervention" pa raw, sabi ni mother lily (how stupid). // March 10, 2011 at 9:02 pm //

    “Napakahirap na ng buhay ngayon, kaya for a movie to make over P135 million in 3 days is a miracle. Divine intervention ito”.
    -lily monteverde (baliw).
    😎

  14. im back..

    😎

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