The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is broken down by VFX artists. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 epic fantasy drama about a man named Benjamin Button who is born in the physical state of an elderly man and ages backwards. The film is directed by David Fincher and features a leading cast including Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond, and Elias Koteas. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was nominated for multiple Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Directing.
Now, the Corridor Crew offers up their assessment of the VFX in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The group sang the praises of Fincher’s film, calling it “the first film to have a photo-real human face.” All three of them were stunned with multiple aspects of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, including how a hand touches a face, and more. The team went on to explain how they thought The Curious Case of Benjamin Button‘s effects were achieved, explaining the lighting and compositing that went into it. Check out the full quotes from the Corridor Crew below:
Benjamin Button, in my opinion, is the first film to have a photo-real human face.
So wait, out of context, you would think this man is real old man baby?
Out of context, I might think he’s wearing a mask maybe.
What? That looks so good! Yeah, that looks perfect. It still holds up, it’s flawless. The beard scruff, I feel like I can cut my hand on his beard. And like dude, the lighting.
Literally, that hand touching the face. Awww, shoot.
So we were just talking about how, when you get it all in the render with light simulation, it can look really photo real. And I think we’re seeing that with his old man head here. Because it looks amazing.
We go later in the film, and we start de-aging Brad Pitt. We’re enterting the realm of compositing now. I mean there’s a little like “huh, what?”
They got him in shadow. I mean they’re trying to hide what may not be working, right.
What do I mean by compositing for deaging? I mean, you film Niko Pueringer in real life, going wah wah wah wah, and I’m like alright, make me younger. They track a 3D model to my head, so that you can then get the video data of me, so that you can then go into your program like photoshop, to paint out wrinkles, and things like that off the video, which you basically tone down to a texture applied to a 3D model.
Yeah, this is all the compositing work going in, tracking, and removing wrinkles. Not just wrinkles, but shadows, so as to change the form of the face. Like the cheekbones here, they’re going to actually make it all brighter, because whether or not they actually change dimensionality doesn’t really matter. It’s your eye’s cue a dark spot is giving things volume, so you just track in white splotches onto the face. And you got deaging.
It is very clever. How do they keep that consistent? That’s pure craftsmanship right there. Like, that’s going in and being a true artist.
What The Corridor Crew’s Analysis Says About Benjamin Button
Benjamin Button Was A Visual Marvel At The Time
One of the more fascinating elements of the Corridor Crew’s breakdown of the acclaimed The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the explanation of de-aging. The group explained that this process begins by filming someone’s movement and then applying a 3D model to their face or body. This model is then put into a “program like photoshop” which would “paint out wrinkles,” and change other textures to make the person in question appear younger. Such technology, combined with opportune lighting, was employed for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Given the Corridor Crew’s praise, it is no surprise that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. If the Corridor Crew is impressed by the photorealistic face, this says a lot as to just how impressive the effect is. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was visually ahead of its time, but according to this analysis, it has also stood the test of time.
In addition to Best Visual Effects,
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
also won Oscars for Best Makeup and Best Art Direction.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’s Technology Is More Ubiquitous Now
De-Aging Is Used In Many Films
While The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was far ahead of its time, the use of de-aging technology is far more standard practice now. De-aging technology is employed in several major films, including Martin Scorsese’s film The Irishman. While it was impressive in the time of Benjamin Button, the uncanniness of some de-aging is often pointed out now. I do agree with this assessment in films like The Irishman, where there is not the same kind of age-related emphasis as Benjamin Button. Still, it is fascinating to reflect upon how Benjamin Button changed the game visually.
Source: Corridor Crew
