The Third Floor played a crucial role in the creation of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, offering previs, techvis, and postvis services across all eight episodes.
Avatar Aang and signature arrow tattoo signifying an airbending master.
Under the leadership of Visualization Supervisor Shawn Hull, The Third Floor collaborated closely with Directors Michael Goi, Roseanne Liang, Jet Wilkinson and VFX Supervisor Jabbar Raisani. Hull states ”The Third Floor received environment models from the Art Department which were then prepped and optimized for use in the Unreal Engine. This allowed us to have live scouting sessions with the directors. Placing markers, characters, and cameras in locations where action would take place. The scouting information was passed to previs shot creators, rendered out in the Maya viewport, and then edited together for a first pass delivery to the directors. From there we added lighting, fx and rendered out of Unreal through The Third Floor’s Mercury pipeline.”
Hei Bai chases Aang, Sokka and Katara in the forest of the Spirit World.
With the series being shot using an LED volume, the previs work was key to the planning process for wall shots and content. Hull explains “Previs shots were translated into bird’s-eye view techvis using Unreal, informing precise camera and cast positioning within the volume for action sequences. Techvis helped the director, DP, and visual effects team visualize what the camera was viewing on the LED Volume, visual limits on where they could shoot, and distance limits on where actors and props could be placed relative to the volume environment.”
Volume placement was decided in previs and categorized by scene and location. Each volume had an alphanumeric address textured on a transparent model which was used to represent the real volume on set.
Aang soars high on his glider.
Aang displaying powerful airbending abilities.
Aang visualized in previs (above) and postvis (below) interacting with spirit guide Appa, the flying bison.
One of the most challenging sequences, the Pohai Stronghold escape, involved extensive action scenes filmed on location. Hull states “This sequence involved partial live action set builds with extensive CG background replacements. Color coding emerged as a fundamental aspect of the visualization process, demarcating scenes shot on sets versus those requiring greenscreens, ensuring clarity and efficiency throughout production.”
Fight sequence ensues on the Pohai Stronghold with Aang and the masked intruder.
