'GHOST WHISPERER' CHALLENGES EDEN FX
In the episode, series star Jennifer Love Hewitt becomes a digital "avatar" character, who enters into an entirely virtual "social networking" type environment inside a computer. Hewitt's character must hunt down a predator who is targeting young girls on the Web.
The CG world included a major urban exterior environment with street scenes, as well as an arcade. The work was composited against live action, shot against an enormous greenscreen on Stage 20 at Universal Studios. The 30-foot high by 150-foot long greenscreen allowed the show's production team to shoot up to 260-degrees.
Episode director Steve Robman notes the huge amount of greenscreen work required in this episode, and the very large physical areas of greenscreen they were trying to create. "We had to map out, in advance, where the ends of buildings were going to be, and doorways and benches, so that when we shot against the greenscreen, and those things weren't inside our viewfinder, they would work out correctly, when the CG images were transplanted on top of it."
Eden FX's John Gross says the studio used Digital Fusion, After Effects and LightWave for the 3D work. "The producers had referenced such futuristic-looking worlds as those from the films' Blade Runner and Metropolis," he recalls, "so we melded the feel of those films into our creative process as well."
An example of their work is available on the Web: www.youtube.com/user/cbsghostwhisperer?ob=4.