Copyright Blue Sky Studios.
Lava splashes for "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" employed the same splash technique used in previous films. However, the splashes were now created to appear more viscous; utilizing fewer, larger particles than would have been used for water splashes. Whereas in past films dynamic simulation was always applied, some splashes here are composed entirely of spheres driven by expressions. Considerable work was performed in materials to give the particles the appearance of lava, and there was a good deal of back-and-forth between the departments while the shots were being executed.
The clip begins with final frames. The 2 large splashes and the following downshot were executed by Chris Chapman. The 2 geyser shots were executed by Elvira Pinkhas. Following the final frames are test renders of the shots in progress.
