Editing Crowd simulation (section)

=== Virtual cinematography ===
Crowd simulations have been used widely across films as a cost-effective and realistic alternative from hiring actors and capturing shots that would otherwise be unrealistic. A significant example of its use lies in [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)]]. One of the most glaring problems for the production team in the initial stages were large-scale battles, as the author of the novels, J. R. R. Tolkien,  envisioned them to have at least 50,000 participants. Such a number was unrealistic had they decided to only attempt to hire real actors and actresses. Instead they decided to use CG to simulate these scenes through the use of the Multiple Agent Simulation System in a Virtual Environment, otherwise known as MASSIVE. The Human Logic Engine based [[Autodesk Maya|Maya]] plugin for crowd simulation, [[Miarmy]], was used for the development of these sequences. The software allowed the filmmakers to provide each character model an agent based A.I. that could utilize a library of 350 animations. Based on sight, hearing, and touch parameters generated from the simulation, agents would react uniquely to each situation. Thus each simulation of the scene was unpredictable. The final product clearly displayed the advantages to using crowd simulation software.<ref>http://people.ucalgary.ca/~far/Lectures/SENG697/PDF/tutorials/2002/Multiple_Agent_Simulation_System_in_a_Virtual_Environment.pdf Davis Guy. Multiple Agent Simulation System in a Virtual Environment.{{self-published inline|date=February 2025}}</ref>