Film Stills: VFX Making Of

Following months of previsualization in 2009, frames were rendered and the protagonist painted in to form this storyboard presentation.
   
The storyboard presentation proved instrumental in securing Keir Dullea's participation and also served as a script equivalent for legal and guild inquiries.
   
     
  
   
Filmed with the RED Camera, footage was output via REDCine-X. The 4K resolution proved especially useful, allowing shots to be pushed in further or overscanned in post. This also accomodated the extension of the final shot's dolly pullback with a digital zoom.
  
The digital set and Cocoon models were further refined from previsualization throughout 2010. They ultimately totaled 5.5 million polygons.
     
  
Modeling was handled in Modo and then brought into 3DS Max for animation, surfacing & rendering.
  
Shots were rendered with linear workflow to multi-channel EXR's, some in excess of 100 channels, using the V-Ray renderer.
  
Render times at 1080HD ranged from approximately 20 to 100 minutes per frame on the primary development system; the well built 3DBOXX 8520, featuring dual six core Xeon processors, 12GB RAM and a 1TB RAID 0 dedicated to the project's data files alone.
     
  
This 20 second opening shot was rendered over the course of several weeks, aided by render time on BOXX nodes at studio ImagesFX. Final rendering for the entire film took place over three months part-time.
   
The clean environment and artificial uplight posed a challenge in creating a realistic setting. To compensate for this, passes featuring subtle dirt and marks were painted in with custom brushes.
   
Wear was also incorporated into the plexi floor as indicated by this scuff & scratch pass. V-Ray light material applied to plexi tiles and hidden from camera lit the scene. The scratch pass was then combined with a primary & reflection pass and composited over the room's sub-structure.
     
  
Subtle nuances were also painted in at the geometry level. Here, wrinkles were sculpted using Mudbox. The original Immersive Cocoon, modeled in Maya using NURBS, was translated to polygons and remodeled in Modo.
   
Extra attention was given to producing nuanced shader variations and gradation. As evidenced in this custom v-ray shader of painted wood.
  
Unable to attain the desired initial shot with a steadicam, the hand-held camera initially simulated via mouse capture in previz was redone using Craft Animation Tools. This required Dullea be billboarded into the scene. Psuedo geometry was subsequently constructed to produce a more three dimensional billboard shown to the right.
     
  
Primary composites were implemented in Nuke, where Keir Dullea was integrated and 3D renders enhanced.
   
Additional compositing was done in After Effects, including final output to Premiere for editing.
   
The Immersive Cocoon logo was to also serve as an abstract, pulsating Cocoon entry button. Ultimately cut, along with all motion graphics, it was created using Trapcode Particular.