Big Films is hard at work on a film about big creatures for really big screens. The large-format film is tentatively called A Day in the Life and BiG president Daniel White expects the 3D animated, 35-minute creature feature to be completed by fall 2000.

Creature feature may be a little misleading. A Day in the Life is a very well-thought-out, scientifically accurate piece about a young sauropod (which White has dubbed Stanley). Stanley is getting to a point in his life where he is looking to explore new territory, but still remains close to the herd and his parents. The pubescent dino gets involved with a young female dinosaur who has strayed from her pack and she leads him into a series of misadventures.

‘It’s a coming-of-age story,’ says White, who is acting as director, producer and writer on the project. ‘There are a lot of different adventures that happen. We are [modeling it somewhat after] one of those Disney-esque wildlife adventure films.’

White began his career in film in 1987 at the legendary Crawley Films in Ottawa. From there he created BiG and has amassed such credits as Super Speedway, on which he served as special effects supervisor, and on the immensely popular Everest, for which he was special effects supervisor. He is currently working on the special effects and movie trailer for the Peregrine Pictures production of The Avalanche Hunter, as well as his BiG pet project – and labor of love – A Day in the Life.

White, who has spent four years thus far developing and working on A Day in the Life, says extensive research and accuracy is a must when making a large-format film.

‘We have to do a lot of research otherwise our film will be shunned – not just not fully enjoyed – shunned,’ he says. ‘That is the way it is in the large-format business. Whatever the project is, you end up immersing yourself and you become sort of an expert.’

In preparation for the project, the staff at BiG has done extensive research for the film. White, himself, has read between 35 and 40 books on the subject of dinosaurs and the period depicted in the film. A big concern for White was the atmosphere and scenery in the film, and he says part of the challenge and fun of the project has been to be as thorough as possible in researching the subject matter.

‘Half of the current market for large-format films is in museums or science centres, and therefore you cannot make a film that is [inaccurate],’ he says. ‘In our business we have to be what I would call ‘paleo-accurate.’ Every plant you see in the movie comes from a fossilized imprint of specimens true to the era and time.’

As for the depiction of the dinosaur creatures themselves, White says a combination of strategies was used achieve that ‘paleo-accuracy.’ After examining fossilized evidence of the tendons and ligaments of dinosaurs recovered over the years, White, through talking with experts and research, has decided that in his film the dinosaurs will move somewhat awkwardly, a little more like they might have moved millions of years ago.

‘Dinosaurs possibly weren’t able to move as wonderfully and smoothly as you may have seen in the Jurassic Park films,’ says White. ‘We try to be a little more true to the reality of it, and at the same time we used modern homology to come to those conclusions.’

To better understand the movements of the creatures depicted in the film, White and the team at BiG shot footage of flightless birds like emus and ostriches as models, as well as an elephant for the larger species.

For the initial modeling of the animals, BiG is using three different software packages from Softimage, sesi and Alias|Wavefront. An obstacle in making A Day in the Life, or any ambitious lf film, says White, is finding the right people.

‘The biggest challenge is learning the limitations of each artist you’re working with and honing the ability to communicate to them exactly what you want,’ he says. ‘[It’s difficult] tuning in a good team of competent animators.’

White says through working on A Day in the Life and other projects he has realized that although technology is bounding forward each day, there are still many limitations put on even the greatest digital artist.

‘We’re all looking towards a digital world where we can create living creatures that are believable,’ says White. ‘We can come up with very good-looking environments that are very easy to believe, but things fall down when it comes to the virtual actors. We’re not there yet.’

BiG has already spent approximately $1 million on A Day in the Life, and only the first six minutes of the 35-minute film have been completed. Now that the models have been made and other animated advancements have been developed, White says the remaining half-hour or so should only set BiG back another $2 million to $2.5 million.

The first six minutes are currently being touched up and will be used as a teaser clip of sorts as the film gets closer to final completion.

BiG is also responsible for another dinosaur film, the ride film Dinohunter, which can be currently seen in such specialized theatres as the one in the CN Tower in Toronto.