FX TROOP.(Product Information)

Musician Master P addresses his `Soljas' in an animated music video

Hip-hop artist Master P shows he's the master of his musical domain in a completely computer-generated video called "Soljas," in which the singer organizes his troops of roadies, whips them into shape, and prepares them for action--in this case, a Mardi Gras celebration.

Animators at Computer Animation Technology (CAT) in Dallas created the video's military-styled environments and characters, including a 3D replica of Master P. Using motion-capture technology, the team also produced realistic body and facial animation for the singer, as well as diverse motion for other characters in the video--from dancers to soldiers executing gun drills.

The focal point of the 3-minute video is the singer, who assumes the role of an army drillmaster/general. Also making a brief appearance in the animation are other rap artists from P's No Limit Records, such as Snoop Dogg, Mystikal, Silkk The Shocker, C-Murder, and more, who appear as fellow generals collaborating in a war room atmosphere. At Master P's request, the animators also brought back to life in digital form the singer's deceased brother, who appears alongside P on an iron balcony overlooking the festivities.

When creating the detailed digital characters, the animators used photographs of the singers as a reference while modeling their faces in NewTek's LightWave running on Pentium PCs. For further authenticity, the artists replicated the singer's jewelry, including his unique gold and diamond Rolex watch, No Limit Records neck chain, and diamond ring. They also copied P's body art. "We photographed all the rappers' tattoos and mapped them onto the character models using Photoshop and LightWave" says CAT president Trent DiGulio.

Aside from the "general" characters, the animators created platoons of parading soldiers sporting the same No Limit tattoo as the real Master P wears, and crowds of cheering fans. In one instance, the artists covered the faces of marching soldiers with gas masks to alleviate some of the modeling and rendering tasks.

For texturing the models, the artists used LightWave and, occasionally, Photoshop to apply surfaces from scanned photos. To replicate the gritty New Orleans look for the Mardi Gras scenes, the artists used photos of the Bourbon Street area taken by creative director Jim Minton. For the weaponry-Glock pistols, Uzis, ...