Space-age construction: IMAX uses a digital sequence to set the stage for its live-action space film. (user focus).

From Kazakhstan to the Kennedy Space Center to 220 miles above the Earth, the live-action 3D IMAX film Space Station takes moviegoers on the journey of a lifetime as they witness firsthand one of the greatest engineering accomplishments of our time--the in-orbit construction of the International Space Station (ISS). The stereoscopic production, which was filmed in space by astronauts and cosmonauts using IMAX 3D cameras, chronicles the true-life efforts of modern day explorers as they build and inhabit the permanent research facility in the deadly vacuum of space.

Through a photorealistic 3D sequence, viewers are also introduced to the perils and rigors that these space-age architects must prepare for during their training inside a simulator at Houston's Johnson Space Center. The two-minute digital sequence, created by DKP Effects in Toronto, provides a dramatic opening to the large-format documentary film, which was produced by IMAX Space Ltd. in conjunction with NASA. The animation depicts an astronaut maneuvering precariously outside the ISS, when suddenly his tether snaps, and he begins to drift out of reach. He then activates his jet pack "life jacket" to return safely to the ISS.

"We were charged with providing a realistic window into the training that precedes a person's launch into space," says Chad Nixon, creative director at DKP. In fact, the segment is based on an actual scenario from the real-time virtual reality training simulator. NASA provided the animators with a video of the VR experience, which the team then used as a guideline for the dramatic sequence. The objective was to make the audience believe that the digital segment was actually part of the documentary filmed on location by the astronauts--until the CG shot dissolves into a live action sequence of two astronauts inside the simulator.

Successfully accomplishing the subterfuge hinged on the authenticity of the computer-generated imagery--a task that became even more daunting because of the large-format presentation, in which the slightest glitch would stand out on the 80-by 60-foot screen. "Our animation had to be believable--from the Earth's surface to the specific fibers of the [astronaut's] spacesuit," says Nixon. This was achieved, in part, by using photographs and other reference material from NASA, which provided a guideline for creating the digital models of the ISS, astronauts, and a variety of objects inside Side Effects Software's Houdini 5.

For replicating the Extra Vehicle Activity (EVA) spacesuit, the group digitally scanned the garment and patches worn by astronauts during a specific space mission. Using Paraform surfacing software, the group then generated a smooth polygonal mesh from the point cloud data acquired during the scanning process. Next, the modelers imported the surface data into Houdini, where they set up the character's skeleton and bone structures, then animated the 600,000-polygon model using forward and inverse kinematics, taking into ...