NEW YORK, July 1 (UPI) -- "Transformers" movie robot Optimus Prime was made up of 10,108 parts that had to be rendered and painted separately, its creators say.
Optimus and numerous other robots come to life in the about-to-be-released film thanks to George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic special effects shop, the New York Daily News reported Sunday.
"The whole point of departure, designwise, was based on trying to make the car parts look absolutely real," explains ILM's Scott Farrar, the movie's visual effects supervisor. "We all know what brushed aluminum, the clear coating on a body panel, brass and steel look like, even the bluing on the exhaust pipes -- that's the measurement. It either measures up to your prior knowledge or it doesn't, and that's a pretty tough yardstick to hit."
A team of about 350 specialists working under Farrar is behind the bots being able to stand and costar alongside humans Shia Labeouf, Megan Fox and Rachel Taylor.
"It's a long, slow build -- people don't realize the number of talented artists it takes to do this type of work. Most of the robot characters had close-ups. When that happens, the amount of rendering, painting and modeling, everything, goes up," said Farrar.
Hasbro's shape-shifting, metallic warriors will morph into theaters this July 4 holiday.
