Project Overview

A film production company from Los Angeles approached Pixels2Pixels Studio to create a realistic large-scale crowd simulation for a movie scene depicting a massive protest in front of a monument. The scene required thousands of digital characters, moving dynamically and reacting realistically, while integrating seamlessly with real drone footage.

In addition to the crowd simulation, we also added smoke, smoke bombs, and atmospheric effects, ensuring that the scene felt intense, immersive, and cinematic. The final shot was delivered in multiple passes, allowing for maximum flexibility in compositing and final adjustments.

Our Approach

Advanced Crowd Simulation in Golaem Crowd & Maya

• Designed and simulated thousands of digital protestors using Golaem Crowd in Autodesk Maya.
• Implemented realistic movement behaviors, procedural animations, and character variations to create a diverse, lifelike crowd.
• Applied different motion cycles (running, shouting, waving signs, reacting to smoke bombs) for realistic crowd dynamics.

Seamless Integration with Live-Action Drone Footage

• Carefully matched camera perspectives to align CG elements with real-world drone footage.
• Tracked and composited the CG crowd into the live-action scene, ensuring natural depth and scale.

Smoke & Atmospheric VFX Enhancements

• Created realistic smoke and smoke bomb explosions, using fluid dynamics simulations for a chaotic, organic feel.
• Integrated volumetric smoke effects, adding depth and realism to the shot.

Rendering & Multi-Pass Compositing

• Rendered the crowd, environment, and smoke effects in separate passes using Redshift, allowing for high control in post-production.
• Used Nuke and After Effects to composite the elements together, color-match everything to the original footage, and finalize the scene.

Results & Impact

• Successfully delivered a high-quality, large-scale crowd simulation, seamlessly integrating with live-action drone footage.
• Created an intense, realistic protest scene, featuring thousands of unique digital characters interacting dynamically.
• The atmospheric smoke effects and cinematic compositing added depth, tension, and realism to the scene.

The LA-based production company praised our precision, speed, and attention to detail, reinforcing our expertise in large-scale VFX shots for film production.

By combining cutting-edge crowd simulation, advanced rendering techniques, and high-end compositing, Pixels2Pixels Studio delivered a cinematic, Hollywood-level VFX shot, proving our ability to handle complex visual effects sequences for large-scale film projects.