{240}{288}Whoa. Who allowed them access?
{290}{335}Colonel O'Neill did, sir.
{337}{448}- Great! Why wasn't l told about this?|- l believe a memo was sent, sir.
{480}{517}Oh.
{519}{620}Hello. l'm Dr Fraiser.|This is General Hammond. Welcome.
{622}{669}Pleased to meet you.
{671}{728}We understand|that you have permission...
{730}{830}..to view some highly classified|information regarding the Stargate.
{832}{888}This isn't normal operating procedure.
{890}{957}Usually we'd go through|government red tape...
{959}{1039}..before you'd even get within|100 miles of the SGC.
{1041}{1153}With all due respect, sir, l wouldn't worry.|l mean, they look harmless.
{1179}{1229}Right this way.
{1381}{1463}OK. Here you go.|We'll check back with you a bit later.
{1529}{1591}Now, this is highly classified material.
{1593}{1662}Yes, so please be sure|not to touch anything.
{1709}{1744}Sir.
{4007}{4068}l'm the visual effects producer.
{4070}{4229}This is a breakdown of how we do visual|effects shots from ''Deadman's Switch''.
{4231}{4342}We needed to put this spaceship|behind the green of the trees on the set -
{4344}{4395}this is the original plate.
{4397}{4483}But this was a cliff that was|about 35 or 40 feet high,...
{4485}{4586}..and we had to balance this blue screen|over the edge of a cliff.
{4588}{4757}This is an element that we then shot on|our stage of the interior of the cargo ship.
{4759}{4889}The orange tracking balls actually track|the camera as it lowers down on the set,...
{4891}{4939}..but then we apply that to the model.
{4941}{5056}You can see here there's a wire frame and|what's called a low-res polygon render,...
{5058}{5135}..and then our closer|final render of the ship.
{5137}{5226}And now this is the shot|cut into the sequence.
{5228}{5362}You'll see if you look closely at the ship -|as it rises you can look in the windows...
{5364}{5405}You'll see the guy looking at us.
{5407}{5500}More importantly, you see the perspective|shifting on the inside of the ship.
{5502}{5613}And that's real.|Everything around it is CG.
{5615}{5725}So we actually blend the real set in|with the CG spaceship.
{5760}{5861}ln this shot we had to create a CG snake|that gets snapped in half.
{5863}{5973}We hung a prosthetic piece|that our alien man could grab,...
{5975}{6061}..and then we painted it out.
{6063}{6186}And then this is the CG element.|The black part is where the hands go.
{6188}{6307}And then we put it into the shot|and timed it all with the grab,...
{6309}{6371}..so it's something real|and something fake.
{6598}{6758}This was tricky. We needed the sense of|speed - being fast, superhero creatures.
{6760}{6865}Actually, they're not creatures. They're|our heroes with superhero powers.
{6867}{6989}That was the background plate for one|side of the shot. ln fact we shot two sides.
{6991}{7051}We shot two cameras, did all the action,...
{7053}{7145}..then we had stand-ins of our lead|characters run through the set...
{7147}{7284}..and mime where they were|hitting the Jaffa guards.
{7286}{7373}Then we had to tile the two plates|together, cos we wanted to do a pan.
{7375}{7509}So that's a clean plate where we painted|out all the various actors and extras...
{7511}{7600}..and rigging and all of that stuff|to create the pan.
{7602}{7672}This is a CG Stargate,|and also the puddle element.
{7674}{7778}We always render those flat|and then put them in two-dimensionally...
{7780}{7893}..to fit the perspective of the shot -|it gives us a lot more control.
{7895}{7934}That's your streak element,...
{7936}{8078}..and a time-warp on the actors running|from the gate and streaking through.
{8080}{8183}One of the tricks to the streak was|using previous frames of the actors...
{8185}{8260}..and leaving them|on the screen long enough...
{8271}{8408}..so that it feels like that streak is coming|from the actors - and that's the final shot.
{8524}{8633}One of the tricks that we need to rely on|sometimes is stock footage.
{8635}{8698}This is a stock-footage|photograph of Moscow.
{8700}{8782}We couldn't fly to Moscow|and shoot some plates of people,...
{8784}{8896}..so what we did is we took a stock photo,|painted out the people in the photo...
{8898}{8965}..and then added some of our own people.
{8967}{9053}All of these people actually work|in the visual effects department.
{9055}{9122}That's Shannon Gurney,|one of our coordinators,...
{9124}{9224}..and an undefined person -|l'm not sure who it is.
{9226}{9366}And Michelle Comens and Ted,|who's one of our camera assistants.
{9368}{9439}And they're on green screen,|so we shrink them down...
{9441}{9521}..and put them into that stock photograph.
{9523}{9608}Now we have movement in the frame|that we didn't have before,...
{9610}{9691}..and suddenly it's starting|to feel like it's coming alive.
{9693}{9748}You have what looks like a frame...
{9750}{9846}..that might have run through|a motion-picture camera at some point.
{9848}{9904}And then we had a bunch of elements.
{9906}{9958}These were timing explosions,...
{9960}{10080}..stock footage again of explosions|that were ''temped'' in...
{10082}{10179}..so that we could get our timing|of what happens at what point.
{10191}{10313}And then, with a lot of fine-tuning|and a lot of CG additions,...
{10315}{10368}..and a big white flash at the end,...
{10370}{10475}..you have a shot of Moscow blowing up|''on the economical'', we like to say.
{10839}{10979}This is a foreground plate we just shot|from our first episode, ''Enemies''.
{10999}{11091}This shows a practical set|that's been built...
{11093}{11182}..for the engine room|of Goa'uld mother ship.
{11184}{11290}We have two plates here.|We shot two tiled up, top and bottom.
{11292}{11409}This is gonna be a set extension,|where l virtually extend the set in 3-D.
{11411}{11493}We'll bring this into Photoshop,|which l have open now.
{11495}{11636}And what we'll be doing is timing these|so that we can do a virtual camera move.
{11638}{11701}Now l can start|to manipulate the images...
{11703}{11809}..and remove the distortion|inherent in the tilted-up camera angle.
{11811}{11960}As l go l can start placing these elements,|removing the green.
{11962}{12054}l'm also blocking out|roughly in Photoshop...
{12056}{12128}..some of the other elements|l need to create.
{12137}{12252}So we'll have a walkway going off,|and there'll be a central area in here.
{12254}{12371}And this large blue blob is gonna be|the big granddaddy bug.
{12373}{12499}And what we'll do eventually -|this shows the area of the camera -
{12501}{12660}is we will start high up here and slowly|pan to reveal the whole extent of the bug.
{12662}{12712}Oh, crap.
{12799}{12852}What the heII is that?
{13000}{13074}That... is a big bug.
{13281}{13333}We started out by doing the kawoosh...
{13335}{13434}..by using a giant water tank,|putting a camera under it.
{13436}{13486}They used several different methods.
{13488}{13603}At one point they put a small jet engine|into the water and turned it on.
{13642}{13784}And it went whoosh, and that was|composited into the Stargate.
{13796}{13901}They also dropped things in there|to get different versions of it.
{13903}{13954}But we couldn't keep doing that...
{13956}{14088}..because that was a very expensive,|costly, pain-in-the-behind process to do.
{14140}{14194}You're going to step through... that.
{14196}{14280}Fortunately, the wizards|of our digital domain...
{14282}{14425}..figured out a way to duplicate that effect|digitally in a 3-D environment,...
{14427}{14511}..so that we could digitally move|the camera around the kawoosh...
{14513}{14584}..and have it going where we want.
{14849}{14952}Over the course of Stargate,|software has been developed...
{14959}{15082}..by visual effects people to accommodate|tracking points now on the set...
{15084}{15270}..so we don't have to use motion control -|they create that with our live-action shot.
{15272}{15421}So that's been a huge breakthrough,|and has taken the handcuffs off us...
{15423}{15486}..and enabled us to do great shots.
{15488}{15605}That and also having matte artists|who are very detailed in their work...
{15607}{15714}..and create the depth, the|three-dimensional depth that we need...
{15716}{15808}..to present a world out there|in space that's believable.
{15826}{15864}It's beautifuI.
{15866}{15967}l was looking at some visual effects|for a show we did called ''Nemesis''...
{15969}{16046}..where Thor's ship|crashes into the ocean.
{16048}{16159}The subsequent shot had parts of|that ship floating in the water...
{16161}{16208}..and the whole shot was CG.
{16210}{16325}Our visual effects supervisor at the time,|James Tichenor, said to me:
{16327}{16390}''lf you ever want to do a water show...''
{16393}{16506}And l said ''Funny you should say that''|and l pulled out this outline...
{16508}{16590}..and l showed it to him,|and he said ''We could do that.''
{16747}{16828}The seventh address|we successfuIIy diaIIed...
{16830}{16919}..Ied to a Stargate|entireIy submerged under water.
{16931}{16981}That doesn't seem possibIe.
{16983}{17133}ln this shot we used the camera to mimic|the motion of the sub as it passed by.
{17135}{17288}So what we actually did is we pushed|the camera past our cast on set...
{17290}{17419}..and then created a CG shell,|the shell of the sub, to go around them.
{17421}{17542}You'll see in this next example|the various stages of how that was done.
{17544}{17662}Using the camera in this way|is an innovative way of creating motion...
{17664}{17733}..out of a set that is basically static,...
{17735}{17795}..so that we don't have to|push a big set around.
{17797}{17895}One of the things we also had to do|was add a lot of motion blur in...
{17897}{18022}..as the ship passes by to try and simulate|some of the diffusion through the dome,...
{18024}{18075}..which was actually a CG dome,...
{18077}{18171}..and then obviously|the virtual world all around it.
{18191}{18241}So Iet's have that Iook around.
{18319}{18437}You can see here also in the background|there's a lot of virtual world there.
{18439}{18528}lt's an amazing build -|basically a 180-degree view.
{18530}{18600}And just peeping through the holes...
{18602}{18747}Because that set was open in the plate,|we got to see a view of the actors...
{18749}{18865}..and could position the ports|in the side of the ship perfectly.
{18867}{18950}- Wow!|- It is quite beautifuI.
{19154}{19265}When we were doing the episode|''Serpent's Lair'', l had killed...
{19267}{19332}..the character of Klorel.
{19359}{19472}Because of the time-lag and how long|it takes to produce a television show,...
{19474}{19561}..part one of that episode,|''Serpent's Grasp'', had just aired.
{19563}{19676}We saw from fan reaction to the character|how much they loved seeing him back...
{19678}{19751}..and looked forward to|future stories about him.
{19753}{19846}Jonathan had directed the episode,|l'd written it, and we'd killed him.
{19848}{19896}Don't!
{19993}{20063}So Jonathan came up with this great idea.
{20065}{20199}He said ''l have a shot of Apophis being|ringed away, and we have one of Klorel.''
{20201}{20267}''So, instead of dying,|we just cut the scene.''
{20269}{20364}And when Apophis escapes,|we cut and pasted Klorel...
{20366}{20451}..and stuck him beside Apophis,|and he escaped too.
{20453}{20568}That wasn't the way it was written or even|shot, but that's the way it was edited.
{20570}{20622}That was also a visual effect, of course.
{20624}{20730}But that's a case of the postproduction|process changing the story.
{20910}{20987}The hardest scenes to shoot,|at least for the actors,...
{20989}{21065}..are scenes that involve|blue or green screens,...
{21067}{21163}..because so often they're acting|with something that isn't there.
{21165}{21266}We did one episode at the end of|the third season, called ''Nemesis'',...
{21268}{21363}..where there were thousands of|little mechanical bugs coming after them.
{21365}{21426}Let's go, Carter!
{21436}{21509}Those bugs were computer generated.|They weren't there.
{21511}{21609}The actors and the camera crew|had to imagine where they were...
{21611}{21704}..and frame everything that way -|they had to behave towards nothing.
{21769}{21865}We did this shot|where the four of us are lined up,...
{21867}{21959}..watching this crystal cave|cave in on itself.
{21961}{22053}Of course it's not really happening,|so they described the effect to us.
{22055}{22100}Then we say ''lt's phenomenal!''
{22102}{22193}- CheI nok.|- Direct transIation: very cooI.
{22195}{22272}''You're not gonna believe it|when it caves in!''
{22280}{22355}''We wanna see some of that|in your faces.''
{22357}{22427}l was the only one who took it to heart,...
{22429}{22482}..because they panned down the line...
{22484}{22572}Christopher at that point|was still a very stoic Teal'c,...
{22574}{22617}..and Michael was going...
{22619}{22669}..and Rick was doing this.
{22671}{22705}And l was...
{22721}{22795}And l looked like Cindy Brady.
{22797}{22879}That episode...|l won't go into The Brady Bunch, but...
{22881}{22948}..l looked like Bambi in headlights.
{22950}{23036}When we saw the final cut,|l was like ''Damn, you guys didn't react!''
{23038}{23132}''l look like an idiot.''|They were like ''Yeah, sister.''
{23164}{23276}Those kind of things... l've now learned|to not listen so much to directors...
{23278}{23362}..when they tell me what's happening|on the blue screen.
{23580}{23672}OK. Time to wrap it up.|SG-1 is preparing for another big mission.
{23674}{23758}Yes, and we can't have any|unescorted civilians on base,...
{23760}{23880}- ..so you'll have to log on another time.|- With the proper clearance.
{23882}{23962}Next time,|a little advance warning would be nice.
{23964}{24014}Right, sir.