Building an Empire

摘要

Rome wasn't built in a day. It took approximately six months. At least, that's how long it took Stargate Digital to create a photorealistic 3D version of the ancient city used in a dramatic 35-second sweeping shot for the two-part miniseries Spartacus, airing mid-month on the USA Network. The television production, like the 1960 motion picture starring Kirk Douglas, is based on Howard Fast's novel of the same name. And like the original movie, the miniseries follows Fast's story line about the real-life hero Spartacus, an imprisoned gladiator who led a slave revolt against the powerful army of the growing Roman Empire. Filmed in Bulgaria and directed by Robert Dornhelm, the four-hour production contains more than 100 visual effects shots created by Stargate to achieve a period look. The artists formed armies of digital people, constructed numerous buildings, created a wide range of backgrounds and foregrounds, and crafted a plethora of props and weaponry, all of which were composited into live-action scenes. Some of these effects are 3D, others 2D. Some contain CGI, others composited filmed imagery. Some scenes are totally synthetic, while others contain only a few digital enhancements.