Q – What are you working on right now, and what are its challenges? What experiences from Tron Legacy are valuable to you now?
A – Eric Barba: I’m working on a few projects with Joe Kosinski actually. I’ve learned so much over my time on “Legacy” that all carries forward. I’m not trying to be vague, but there really is so much I learned from the experience. I like to say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Q – How did you get involved with Tron: Legacy?
A – EB: I had worked with Joe on a few commercial projects before, and we both kind of shared a mentor in David Fincher.
Q – What percent of TRON Legacy was visual effects? Would you say the movie was 90% your work?
A – EB: I would say that probably 85 percent of the film had a visual effects component.
Q – During the disc scene, was I mistaken or was some of that influenced by the arcade game Disc of Tron?
A – EB: I loved playing Disc of Tron as a teenager, but it wasn’t our inspiration.
Q – Tell us about the inspiration for the evolution of the Light Cycles.
A – EB: I think Joe has spoken about how the original Syd Mead design was an open cycle. But due to the computing power of the day, that was scraped for a simpler design. Joe wanted to bring the original idea back, and make the new light cycle an evolution of the original.
Q – Now that Tron: Legacy has been viewed by the masses, how was the reception of Jeff Bridges’ rejuvenation?
A – EB: The overall reception to Clu was good. We had all types of reactions of course, but most enjoyed the character.
Q – The facial expressions on Jeff Bridges were more realistic in the grid than in the Real-World-Sequences. Is facial animation and replacement of characters easier in fully animated exteriors?
A – EB: All of the facial expressions were driven by Jeff, and made from his facial movements. Facial animation at the photo-real level is incredibly difficult for many reasons.
Q – Do you have a favorite scene that you worked in the film?
A – EB: Yes. I think for me, the Disc Game sequence is the favorite. That sequence went through a lot of changes and complex problem solving and I was very happy with the final result of the team’s efforts.
Q – In relation to your earlier movies – for example Button – is there a fundamental change in the workflow?
A – EB: The “Button” workflow was a challenge in that it hadn’t been done before. We took everything we learned from “Button” and then strapped it on the entire Tron universe, and Stereo 3D. So, yes. The workflow got much more complicated.
Q – How do you feel about the original film?
A – EB: The original film has a very warm spot with my inner child. It will always be that way. And of course getting to meet and work with Steve Lisberger was pretty great.
Q – Did you feel a lot of pressure because of the original film?
A – EB: Yes, we felt a huge burden of living up to what all the Tron fans would want this movie to look and feel like. It was constantly on my mind. The first film made an indelible mark on me, and that was a tall order for us to live up to.
Q – Did the look of the original movie limit you in your creativity? How did you visually tie the original film and the sequel?
A – EB: I don’t think the original film limited Joe. I think Joe had a really clear vision of what he wanted to do and he embraced the evolution of the grid.
Q – Did you try to create something to be as mind-blowing as the original movie or it was all about evolution?
A – EB: Of course. It was my goal to make the film as visually stunning as possible, but only the audience can tell me if we were successful.
Q – What was the most time consuming scene when it comes to special effects?
A – EB: The shots that involved Clu were the most time consuming. If I had to pick a particular scene, it was probably the scene where Sam meets Clu. The lighting in that scene provided challenges and we spent a lot of time making all of it work.
Q – The 3D effects in the final film are seamless, how long did that take?
A – EB: Thank you so much for that nice remark. It took two and a half years from when I started till when we delivered.
Q – What are your thoughts on the uncanny valley and how it pertains to this movie?
A – EB: I have property in the Uncanny Valley. I don’t like to go there often. It’s a place that is difficult to get past, and I do wish to sell.
Q – Which movie was harder to do as far as de-aging its stars? The process seemed to work better with Button so I was wondering if that was due to the way it was captured.
A – EB: Tron was far harder. The de-aging in “Button” was not nearly as big a leap, and certainly not in 3D.
Q – What was the most rewarding part of this film for you?
A – EB: I honestly enjoyed working with so many talented artists. When you have a highly motivated team that just can’t wait to get to work in the morning that makes the whole thing fun. Then when they see the final result and are happy to have spent their time working on it, it makes it very rewarding.
Q – I loved the Tronned-up Disney ident at the beginning – whose idea was that? Also the fireworks scene after Clu captures him – were you subtly referencing Disneyland there also?
A – EB: I’m not sure who came up with the idea but we all wanted to do something fun. We weren’t trying to reference Disneyland, but we did hide something fun in the fireworks.
Q – How does 3D affect your approach to your work?
A – EB: 3D affects a lot of the up-front planning. Traditional techniques for tracking, roto and compositing were much more difficult. Then on the back end, finishing a shot in 3D means it has to work with the shots around it. And has to work on a fifty foot screen in a two hour movie. A lot of thought went into the stereo 3D on every shot.
Q – Did filming in 3D make your job any harder than it otherwise would have been?
A – EB: Filming in 3D made everything harder. The whole 3D process was new to me and my team, and the rules had not been written, nor the tools when we started. We had to make stuff up as we went.
Q – Where do you see the advantages of 3D for telling stories? Did you play with 3-D effects to enhance some visual effects?
A – EB: 3D is another tool for a filmmaker to use to help the audience feel immersed in the story. We definitely played with the 3D to help make the Grid a more immersive place.
Q – How hard was it to do these visually amazing scenes, but still keep the feel of the original film?
A – EB: The hard part was both technical and artistic. And it was very hard. If they are done correctly, then you only enjoy them. I’m glad you thought they were amazing.
Q – If you could do something over for TL. what would it be?
A – EB: As an artist, you are never really finished. You always want to work on something, finesse or change something. But the realities of making a movie mean that at some point you have to let go or it gets ripped from your clutching fingers. So there are plenty of things I would like to take another pass at.
Q – I think one of the successes of the film is its visual consistency. How did you maintain that consistency, from a visual effects point of view, given there were so many shots and a number of vendors?
A – EB: I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that. It was a great concern of mine. We worked very hard with our outsource partners to give them every tool we had to help them succeed. That’s not the norm in this business, but I so wanted the whole film to feel as one.
Q – What’s your favorite aspect of the work you do? What in particular are you the most proud of in terms of pushing the envelope of effects?
A – EB: I come from the artist side of things, so I really enjoy making great looking work. I have to wear my technical hat to push the envelope but I am surrounded by an amazing team that helps figure all the really hard stuff out. I’m most proud of our planting a flag on the other side of the Uncanny Valley.
Q – Did you feel constrained by the look and world setup by the first movie?
A – EB: I never felt constrained, but it did take me a bit to figure out what the world should look like once we had the live action plates. There was a balance in Joe’s vision that had to be worked out from art work to finished shot.
Q – Concerning the tools you used, what are the trends on the software- and work flow-side of films? Are there any tools you think will become a defacto standard in the near futures? And (given the choice) what are your preferred tools?
A – EB: We have seen Maya become the standard for 3d animation. And I think during the time Tron Legacy was in production, Nuke has become the standard for compositing.
Q – What creations in Legacy are uniquely yours?
A – EB: One of the cool parts of my job is working collaboratively with everybody. Joe was great with everybody and I would throw out ideas and show him things to see what he thought. Most of the time he did like what we brought to the table.
Q – What was the hardest thing you had to design for the film?
A – EB: The hardest thing (other than Clu) was the look and feel of the Disc Game sequence. It was a huge challenge, and I’m happy with how the team rose to the challenge.
Q – How important was the early test that was created (and shown to audiences) in realizing the final vfx and approach to the film?
A – EB: To me it was a starting point. But I told Joe that I wanted to go much further with everything and of course, he agreed. Tests don’t always have the resources you’d like, so it’s natural to know you can do much better if given the chance.
Q – Were you ever present on the set of ‘Legacy’ or were you working only after all of the shooting was done?
A – EB: I started on the film before most of the department heads or even the line producer was brought on. I was on set every day during production and probably, next to Joe, had one of the longest runs on it.
Q – What was, for you, the hardest part of the visual effects in Tron: Legacy? Clu 2 doesn’t count. 😉
A – EB: Establishing the look of the Grid. When you look at the art work, you would think it would be easy but once you get the live action and a moving camera, it’s actually a challenge to make everything work visually and still be interesting.
Q – Eric, any final thoughts on Tron Legacy as we close out this virtual roundtable?
A – EB: Thank you all for the great questions. I hope you enjoy the Blu-ray. We had a great time making the movie and we really did put our all into it.
(click for Q/A) Joseph Kosinski / Steve Preeg / Eric Barba