Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine 2014 | Page 43

the test — and the next 10 hours would
undoubtedly produce this set’s most
exciting production yet. 
A MOMENTOUS OCCASION
The small but nimble team of producers,
directors, writers, grips and technicians,
along with a professional stunt driver,
watch as a modern motoring legend’s
fourth generation is rolled out of its
shipping crate and onto the set. The
excitement is more than tangible.
For car enthusiasts, the Subaru WRX
STI’s latest version marks a momentous
occasion. Each successive generation has
brought more real-world performance to
the table through high-output versions of
the inestimable SUBARU BOXER engine,
the expertly tuned Subaru symmetrical
full-time AWD and rally-honed
independent suspension system.
For the film crew, it also represents
a different kind of excitement: the star
of the show has arrived. Buffed and
polished, it’s ready to be immortalized.
The Subaru WRX STI claims pure
unmitigated performance – and this

night would put that claim to the test.
BIG BLOCK IN SANTA MONICA
To announce this special car’s arrival on
our shores, Subaru Canada has enlisted
the services of Santa Monica’s Big Block,
an award-winning digital production
studio specializing in automotive content.
The company’s principals have earned
rave reviews for their creativity and cool
factor — and for wringing every last drop
of performance from their subjects.
Their work is characterized as being
artful, dynamic and technically astounding
— they love to leave their viewers asking
questions sounding something like: “How
is that even possible?”
A key component of the Big Block
production process, Drive-A-Tron
is a one-of-a-kind driving simulator,
replicating any specific make
and model’s driving and handling
characteristics by using complex physicsbased simulations. It allows the studio to
accurately and precisely represent the
way in which a car will drive and interact
with the world around it.

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Engineered to take into account
specific vehicles’ physical properties,
such as chassis stiffness, engine,
drivetrain and suspension characteristics,
Drive-A-Tron’s level of detail is
impressive. It rivals professional race
teams most advanced driving simulators
— the system is so accurate, it can
recreate tires’ dynamic deformations
over irregular surfaces.
Developed in-house from the ground
up, the software uses custom code, an
approach other production companies
can’t lay claim to; this gives Big Block a
decided advantage when projects require
the most impressive visuals possible.
Picture this: A client visits the Santa
Monica Big Block studio one morning
to sign off on a stunt driving simulation.
Drive-A-Tron, already pre-loaded with
vehicle images and specs, allows the
virtual stunt driver to tackle all the takes
in real time, with the client actively
involved, and the director viewing the
visual impact of different entry angles,
brake pressures and camera movements.
Virtual cars seamlessly interact