Effects
Due to the intricate designs of the Transformers, even the simplest motion of turning a wrist needs 17 visible parts; each of Ironhide's guns are made of ten thousand parts Bumblebee uses a piece below his face-plate as an eyebrow, pieces in his cheeks swivel to resemble a smile, and all the characters' eyes are designed to dilate and brightenAccording to Bay, "The visual effects were so complex it took a staggering 38 hours for ILM to render just one frame of movement";] that meant ILM had to increase their processing facilities.] Each rendered piece had to look like real metal, shiny or dull. This was difficult to model because the aged and scarred robots had to transform from clean cars. Close-up shots of the robots were sped up to look "cool", but in wide shots the animation was slowed down to convincingly illustrate a sense of weight. Photographs were taken of each set. These were used as a reference for the lighting environment, which was reproduced within a computer, so the robots would look like they were convincingly moving there. Bay, who has directed numerous car commercials, understood was the key to making the robots look real; the CG models would look realistic based on how much of the environment was reflecting on their bodies.] Numerous simulations were programmed into the robots, so the animators could focus on animating the particular areas needed for a convincing performance
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English Movie Review