Spatial Shot
Expressing creativity through a space shot
Introduction
For the references, we wanted to create an original concept. A shot entirely crafted by us and our imagination. The artistic direction that influenced us the most and brought the most madness to space was: Guardians of the Galaxy. Let's create a shot where physics might not necessarily be strictly adhered to but where we play with creativity ! Star Wars or Gravity (2013) shots didn't interest us all that much. They're shots that are quite physical, where creativity and imagination are somewhat hindered by the very real and scientific aspects.
We've settled on the idea of a villainous spaceship returning to its base (in the form of a metallic nest) after a battle.
Pre Production
References
We started with a bird-like model (transformer-type spaceship). You might say that birds can't fly in space? Indeed, but it's an important artistic and aesthetic choice for our animation. It adds dynamism. Never has a bird been created as a spaceship. We aimed for something original ! For the station, we worked with models of old reactors that we reworked.
For the look development, we aimed for realistic textures and shading.
Here are the concept arts we've selected to start our production. The dominant color is green, which is a rather risky and bold choice, but we want to give identity to our image. It's a villainous spaceship returning to its base. The green emphasizes the discomfort and an unhealthy environment.
Production
Modeling / Lookdev
The station (the nest): Designing the nest was quite challenging. Finding something both interesting and aggressive yet visually appealing was not straightforward.
The Space Ship : For the spacecraft, we chose to create a rather complex bird in terms of modeling. The bird is not very common for a spacecraft, which is why we opted for this shape. A work of art seen at the Lumiere Festival (2021) inspired us greatly for the spacecraft's design.
Lumiere Festival (2021) Phenix Julien Menzel
Here is the modeling turn and the lookdev turn (macbeth by Cave Academy) :
We used a focal length of 100 for rendering the shot because space shots are often captured with a telephoto lens, allowing for long-distance visibility.
Rig
During the rig creation process, we took time to find solutions that would be most optimal in making the spaceship highly dynamic in terms of the movements of its parts. We aimed to find a quick way to animate the spaceship while incorporating a multitude of movements in its various mechanical components.
en attente de video rig sur vimeo
Each part of the wings has its own joint to exert maximum control over the wing movement. There are over 60 controllers to precisely adjust the positions of each part in the spaceship. Additionally, it features systems that automatically generate wind and disturbances within the wings.
Lighting
We had to create our own High Dynamic Range Image (HDRI) to achieve the nebula environment we desired. We used Photoshop to create this HDRI. We found several beautiful photos of nebulae, retouched some of them, and created our 3D environment.
Dome Light Renderman
For the overall lighting, we used a lighting setup to create a flare behind the planet on the left, achieving a backlit effect. The nest and the spacecraft would stand out with a rim light from the background, adding an epic touch to the scene.
Key/Rim Light
Fill Light
Since we had the light sources from the nebulae, we were able to fill in the shadows as we pleased with different colors and intensities for a more artistic lighting (in real life, nebulae do not emit light, but here, we take artistic liberties to create beautiful images). This allowed us to enhance the hard lighting produced by the flare.
Key Light
Pratical Light
Fill Light
Animation
​To animate the spaceship, we had to create a motion path system. We guided the spaceship along a path that allowed us precise control over its orientation and position, ensuring a smooth motion in the animation. Then, we adjusted all the other controllers to achieve the desired movement.
The most challenging part was creating the camera movement to naturally follow the spaceship's motion. Since the camera's focal length was set at 100, even the slightest camera movements were quite noticeable. Achieving precision in the camera animation was crucial to avoid any imperfections. To assist us, we utilized a point tracking system, AIM system. We ensured the camera always tracked the spaceship, then added an animation layer on top to achieve the exact movement we wanted.
We decided to give our animation a distinct bird-like appearance to avoid something flat and infuse a dynamic quality into the animation. Adding a touch of majesty, we aim to bring an animalistic aspect to the animation.
Post Production
Nuke
The post-production in Nuke was quite lengthy and intensive. The background had to be created in 2D. The HDRI allowed us to capture interesting light variations that could match our future environment. Therefore, we created three folders: one for the background, a pre-comp (background and Renderman output compiler) and another comp with the entire setup up to the final output.
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Background :
The workflow involved taking the images that we used to create the dome light and projecting them onto cards, replicating the composition of a space filled with nebulae and sky. We built the environment with stars and several types of nebulae to bring diversity, while staying within the green and orange-red tones, complementary colors.
Final Compositing :
The final compositing was quite involved, addressing each detail such as the arrival of the spacecraft, lighting, background, etc. Finding the right mood and using beautiful and original images made the process challenging.
Node Graph Nuke
Final Result :
Credits
Margot BRUN, Romain Paillet and Frederic Dewit.
Sotfwares : Maya, Photoshop, Substance Painter, Mari Foundry, Houdini, Renderman, Nuke
Special thanks Perceval Shoop.