HP technology brings DreamWorks' green ogre to life in 'Shrek 4'

The power of HP technology and the creativity of DreamWorks Animations come together again in the studios to recreate the last chapter of the ogre's adventures in Shrek 4. This latest installment, released in 3D format, has been made possible thanks to HP Z800 workstations, HP ProLiant blade servers, HP Halo telepresence solutions, HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array and HP StorageWorks X9000 Network Storage Systems storage solutions, and HP DreamColor displays.

Never before had the public seen something so spectacular, an entire army of green ogres, hundreds of dancing witches and the original characters that have accompanied Shrek on every adventure... all in 3D format! HP technology has made it possible to bring the movie to movie screens with stunning three-dimensional images, thanks to HP Z800 Workstations, HP ProLiant Blade Servers, HP Halo Telepresence Solutions, HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array and HP StorageWorks X9000 Network Storage Systems, and HP DreamColor Displays.

Ed Leonard, Chief Technology Officer of DreamWorks Animations, assures that "at DreamWorks Animations we are able to recreate two to three films in 3-D a year, and our goal is to ensure that the public enjoys a premium experience in each of these new films. To do this, HP helps us achieve this goal, and to provide filmmakers and producers with the best tools and products, so that their work is enhanced thanks to technology... and not limited by it."

Kobi Elbaz, Director of the Client Solution Business Unit of HP PSG EMEA, has assured for his part that HP is committed to continuously investing in research and development, in order to offer clients like DreamWorks innovations capable of breaking creative horizons and entering the new generation of cinema.

HP Z800, power squared

To get the most out of their capabilities and imagination, the creatives at DreamWorks Animations used HP's powerful Z800 workstations to design every detail of the film, from the characters to the lighting. According to DreamWorks Animations, the Z800 is up to 50% faster than its predecessor.

DreamWorks Animations ha contado con la granja de servidores más grande y potente jamás utilizada en un estudio de producción de una película de animación. Shrek 4 necesitó cerca de 76 terabytes de datos y más de 46 millones de horas de render, que contrastan con los 6 TB de datos y 5 millones de horas de render que se utilizaron en 2001 para la primera entrega de Shrek.”

Además de los adelantos tecnológicos para la iluminación de escenas, también los personajes han mejorado enormemente gracias a efectos y herramientas muy avanzadas en el tratamiento de sus cabellos. En Shrek, "the character's hair was very short, designed as a solid mass and in the form of many strands, to create the best possible effect; and Fiona's hair was a long braid, without great movements. Thanks to the great advances applied in Shrek 4, the creatives have had complete freedom and enough technological capacity to animate the hair, and this definitely helps to shape the character of the characters. That's why Fiona now sports wild hair, which moves in the wind to accentuate her new role as a brave warrior.

Using the latest animation tools based on HP technology, they have made Shrek 4 becomes the best example of how new technologies can be applied for the development of this type of projects.

Shrek Curiosities 4

• Fiona's radical haircut change took almost nine months of work from digital creatives.
• Shrek is 2.14 meters tall, has 22 teeth and his hand is 34.3 centimeters long from the base of the palm to his middle finger. If he were wearing shoes, they would be size 57 (39.3 cm), similar to what Shaquille O'Neal wears.
• Rumpel wears up to four different wigs throughout the film: the negotiation wig, the speech wig, the anger wig, and the victory wig.
• El pie de Rumpel mide 15,8 centímetros, más o menos como el pie de un niño de 2 años.
• La batalla entre ogros y brujas fue creada usando tecnología de captura de movimientos. Tres profesionales con más de 22 años de experiencia en artes marciales, entre ellos un instructor de Aikido y un campeón de Estados Unidos de Wushu, diseñaron esta secuencia para los actores.
• Se escribieron, grabaron y dibujaron los storyboards de 65 secuencias en el transcurso de la grabación. La película final tiene 32 secuencias.
• El equipo de la película ha creado 74.016 versiones diferente de ogro, de las cuales, sólo 51 fueron utilizadas repetidamente en las tomas en las que aparece un ogro.
• Spread across the dance floor and balconies, up to 430 witches attend the moment Shrek is taken to meet Rumpel.
• The ogres with too-short kilts were made to wear modern underwear when they danced to Piper's song.
• The dancing ogres sequence with Pied Piper was actually a video of a 12-member professional dance group. Its choreographer was Michel Rooney, son of Mickey Rooney.
• Fiona's room in her old castle has 449,166 small particles floating in the air.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7__TG7swg0[/youtube]