Composition Breakdown
Our rendering and composite process was done within Maya and AfterEffects. We decided not to render too many passes as we had done multiple composite tests, creating the shadow and it reduced our render times. For the characters we rendered a Master Layer and Ambient Occlusion with floor shadows and a contact Ambient Occlusion (ground/bench). With fixed camera shots only the characters were rendered out, the matte paintings were then composited and slightly colour adjusted to create consistency throughout the film.
The Shadow
The shadow sequence below was created using particles in Maya and adjusting the ramp settings to produce the mix of colours. We had two sets of sequences, one that emitted from two points and grew to fill the characters shadow and another that was full and constantly moving. Masks in AfterEffects were used to restrict the sequence to the characters shadow, however the shadow would continue to flow as if it was a part of a larger space. By layering another shadow with softer edges and applying various blurs we produced a smokey, emanating shadow with character.
An example of the shadow composite by Juan Chacon
James is covering up his natural shadow - An example of the shadow composite by Isaac Swinerton
An example of the shadow composite by Juan Chacon
James is covering up his natural shadow - An example of the shadow composite by Isaac Swinerton
Water Animation
Splash animation
The above splash sequence was hand animated by Nur Erguven for the diving scene. Keeping to the style of the film we decided that a particle driven splash would not tie into the background elements. Below is the composite of the splash with out the camera movement or James.
Pool Water
The specular highlights of the wave sequences, generated in Maya was combined with ripple and wave distortion over the matte painting to bring life to the water. Composited by Nur Erguven
Colour correction and composition of James floating in the pool, the main focus was to produce an underwater look and feel. Composited by Juan Chacon
The above splash sequence was hand animated by Nur Erguven for the diving scene. Keeping to the style of the film we decided that a particle driven splash would not tie into the background elements. Below is the composite of the splash with out the camera movement or James.
Pool Water
The specular highlights of the wave sequences, generated in Maya was combined with ripple and wave distortion over the matte painting to bring life to the water. Composited by Nur Erguven
Colour correction and composition of James floating in the pool, the main focus was to produce an underwater look and feel. Composited by Juan Chacon