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Groundbreaking visual effects relies on integrated HD workflow.

diFilm Pixel Works has created a fantastic visual journey through visual effects.

"Normally, effects like this would require a lot of CG artists to crank out a lot of FX elements, but I managed to set it up so as a compositor, I generated almost everything, from matte painting, CG characters, 2D and 3D, greenscreen footage and particles system, which made it a lot faster and more change-friendly to shoot in HD." Keeping the storyline on track creatively and culturally was a collaborative process, says James, director and producer of diFilm Pixel Works.

Although the subject matter of the video production is entirely new and the shoot was challenging, what is perhaps even more groundbreaking is the behind-the-scenes story of the technology employed for editing and postproduction. James bypassed the traditional, high-pressure workflow, which involves either purchasing hundreds of thousands of dollars in gear or renting an editing bay at hundreds of dollars per hour. He also found a way to forgo the tremendous cost of owning multiple terabytes of storage normally required to edit uncompressed HD footage.

"HD gives us the quality we need, plus one-stop shopping for creatively experimenting and finishing editing, titles, color correction, and effects on our own," says James.

"Raw footage from the shoot were then put into an edit timeline to pitch music ideas and get a sense of the timing," explains James.

"At this stage I started planning what parts of the project would be 3D, 2D, or matte painting, and started to work out what sort of camera moves and transitions the animation would have."

James explains the creative process in more detail:

"With a solid track in place for timing, I began mapping out the journey through our fantasy world with a single 3D camera and simple matte painting that acted as placeholders for the characters and the environment."

Production from concept to final delivery spanned about two months. "I had a great team shooting on this film, and most of us wore a lot of hats throughout the project," reveals James.
One of the most dynamic portions of the film involves a virtual environment and CG buildings, and James discusses how this effect was achieved.

"Some of background was matte painted in Photoshop. The particles of snow and flying birds in some of the scenes themselves are very simple and straightforward. The wings of the birds were programmed with maths expression using sine and cosine functions, and the snow effects obey some physics law."

And James reveals that the stunning CG buiding effects seen in the final sequence were created using a combination of 3D and HDRI rendering.

Color correction, additional lighting and environmental effects were added in. "The mood of the scenes defined the color palette," says James, who adds that Adobe system was chosen for compositing, 2D animation and effects because "its intuitive interface and wide range of capabilities make it a perfect tool when teamed up with a 3D program."

He continues: "I was able to use the same 3D camera from my tracked scenes exported to composite 2D objects and effects in a 3D space convincingly."