ILM: What was the year 2014 like for them?

The year 2014 saw some big releases that would have been nothing without visual effects as its backbone. All the big studios had a few film release that did well. One such studio was ILM, Industrial Light & Magic.  ILM had a good run last year with six releases, 3 of which were contenders for the Oscars and 1 listed among the final nominees. Among these were some of the best films of 2014, showcasing the exceptional work ILM has put into them. Let’s look at these ILM movies and the work that ILM has put into them!

But before that lets take a look at the studios beginning and what it stands for today. ILM movies began as a division of Lucasfilms when George Lucas began producing Star Wars. In the 1980’s, IM dominated the market and had many production houses send across CGI work to them. It is also the founding company of the Pixar studio. Today, ILM is still among the biggest and most respected players in the visual effects industry.

2014: ILM releases

Noah

As a movie, Noah strayed away from the usual beaten path that most have adopted in presenting the story. Considering the different storyline approaches, IILM’s work with this movie was apt and stunning! Many bits of the film are exceptional, but the truly remarkable bit of execution was the stop framework they did on the evolution of the world. A few have attempted this before, but they have yet to do such a masterful job at it. The simplest way to do this is to allow the entire sequence to look like a rush of images, but that was not what they did. The artists produced a spectacular ark that made it easy for us to follow the evolutionary process. Noah is undoubtedly one of the best films of 2014.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

For this movie, they deserve more than a round of applause. They were a few bits like the HUD system and its interface on the windscreen during the Winter Soldiers attack and more but the cherry on the cake were the Helicarriers. Who would have thought it would have been possible to would even be possible to make them bigger and better? But nothing is impossible for ILM. The modellers did a marvellous job with the helicarriers with the building, rigging, and simulations with the rigid bodies, especially with live-action sequences that they were involved in. This film truly stands out among the best films of 2014.

Transformers: The Age of Extinction

ILM has been making the transformer movies since the first in the series and they have been received well till this last part. With the story line and the movie not being well received by the masses, everybody was unanimous in saying that the only good part in the movie was the visual effects. The credit to that goes entirely to the ILM team. The addition of the Dinobots and the hypno transforming new age transformers was as good as it can get!

Lucy

Luke Bensson wanted to be surprised and is what he said to the ILM movies VFX supervisor of the movie Richard Bluff. In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, Richard said, “He wanted to be surprised by the work. He wanted to come in and inspire us by the story and the possibility of what we could do. He gave us guidelines, but for the most part, he wanted to remain an audience member. He would ask us to resist the temptation to show things early, until it was at the stage that it was really compelling.” Luke had guidelines for them but for most part, he played the role of the audience. The team did a great job with the visuals overall but the scene where the drug unlocks the full capability of the Scarlett’s character and the strange visuals that accompanied it, were by far the best films of 2014!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

These characters are legendary. Most of us have grown up reading their comics and watching the cartoons. But the movie and the special effects in it was worth the wait! Especially since the characters looked so realistic! What is the secret behind it? Here is the answer straight from the production notes at cbslocal, “Preparations got underway months before filming — as Alan Ritchson (Raphael), Pete Ploszek (Leonardo), Noel Fisher (Michelangelo), Jeremy Howard (Donatello) and Danny Woodburn (Master Splinter) each underwent complex facial and full-body scans that led to the tailoring of their custom made helmets and mo-cap (motion-capture) suits. Later, on set, the four Turtle actors and Woodburn each went through a daily two-hour long session of applying white facial powder and VFX dots to help further track their expressions. Before the cameras rolled, the four turtle actors would then strap on not only their helmets but a lightweight turtle shell, which added to the realistic physical motion and weight distribution.”

This dedication to realism made this film one of the best films of 2014, solidifying its place among the ILM movies that pushed the boundaries of visual effects.

The year 2014 was definitely a great hit for them and with Star Wars: part VIII coming out in 2015, it only seems like 2015 will be better for them!

Anoop Chaphekar

Last updated: December 18, 2024

A Fine Arts Graduate, Anoop brings 20+ yrs experience in the VFX and Animation industry. He brings his expertise in Animation-VFX for Television Commercials to Visual Effects for feature films, TV and Web series.