Collaborators: Rithvik Poddutur-3D Visual Effects
Our capstone project is driven by the research on the relationship between natural disasters, environmental change, and the rise of human civilization. We aim to explore a historical epic that echoes themes of chaos, destruction, revival, and rebirth, drawing upon the flood myth and its connection to the rise of human civilization. Our film begins in a barren world with the ruins of a lost civilization, where a stone tablet foretells destruction and renewal. The monument, situated in a desert with a massive ice wall on the horizon, serves as a pivotal symbol. A solar flare from the sun strikes the ice wall, shattering it and causing a catastrophic flood, mirroring flood myths like Noah’s Ark, Mahabharata and Epic of Gilgamesh. As the floodwaters recede, a transformed landscape emerges, embodying the resurgence of life. A seed, released from the tablet, grows into a tree that symbolizes the renewal of nature, and the landscape slowly turns from desert to vibrant forest. The film concludes with a statue coming to life, revealing it to be a survivor who carries the knowledge of his civilization to restore new lands, embodying the hope of future rebirth.
On the technical side of production, this capstone project presents an opportunity to integrate various emerging technologies into the filmmaking process. Starting with the animatic, we utilized generative AI tools such as Adobe Firefly, MidJourney, and Runway to assist in shot visualization and lighting during the early stages. For production, we are currently developingthe environment using SideFX Houdini, leveraging procedural tools for content generation and world-building. This software serves as the driving force for everything from fine details like seedlings to large-scale visual effects, including the flooding sequence. In addition to procedural techniques, we are incorporating 3D camera projection and matte painting to enhancelarge-scale environments and extend scenes on top of the 3D render. With the advancements in generative fill tools like Adobe Photoshop, 2D painting has become more efficient, making this workflow more accessible for multiple iterations. Beyond environment work, we collaborated closely with motion capture technology to extract accurate character animations, which will beessential for storytelling and simulations in the film.
Techniques: 3D Digital Landscape, Visual Effects, Environment Design,procedural content generation, generative arts.
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