One interesting new transformer revealed as a Decepticon in the new Transformers 2 movie is the “MicroCon”, thousands of plague-infected ball bearings that reassemble into a new transformer. The work was done by Digital Domain
, and they discuss it over at millimeter.
“Our 3D background was created in Nuke,” says DD CG Supervisor Paul Palop (referring to the software developed at Digital Domain and now sold by The Foundry). Because thousands of ball bearings were so close to the floor in this shot, Palop’s team had to pay additional attention to the way the 3D CG floor was constructed and rendered. For that, DD used Autodesk Maya and Pixar RenderMan.
