Making Glass Cows

From solid block to glass cow with milk inside — a quick look at the process.

Digic Pictures Demo Reel 2013

Epic new reel from Digic Pictures.

Tax Free Film: Omega Watches “Co-Axial World”

Given the equation, “it’s a world made of ________”, solve for watch parts and set quality to high. Parma-based Tax Free Film creates this beautiful piece for Omega Watches.

Credits

HALO 4: Forward Unto Dawn – Title Sequence + Q&A – Polynoid

In December of last year Halo 4 came out and the world rejoiced. Along with it came a web series called Forward Unto Dawn which was a live action VFX set that brought the Halo universe to life. It opened with 5 fantastic title sequences created by Polynoid a German Design/VFX house.

From the Press Release:

Polynoid’s microfilms illustrate the intense relationship between Cortana, an artificial intelligence entity and indispensable aide to Master Chief, the long-time hero of the Halo series. Set aboard a spacecraft, the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, as it drifts towards imminent doom, Cortana must battle to awaken Master Chief from cryo-stasis before it’s too late.

“For us, Cortana was the centerpiece around which we spun our story,” said Polynoid’s Jan Bitzer. “When we started working out the scenes and shots, we did it under the premise that Cortana is the only ‘alive’ being we could play with.”

With elegantly framed shots, drifting cameras and gloomy lighting, Polynoid emphasized the soul-crushing loneliness aboard the nearly empty spacecraft. To effectively communicate the passing of time, Polynoid switched from the relative calm of zero-gravity to intense time-lapsed action.

“[The time lapse sequence] was technically the most challenging. We spent a lot of time tweaking it; always trying to improve every shot simultaneously to guarantee a consistent quality for the overall piece,” Bitzer noted.

Polynoid and Blacklist collaborated with 343 Industries every step of the way, carefully guarding production from the massive press surrounding “Halo 4.” “Polynoid are gamers, and this was a dream opportunity,” said Blacklist Executive Producer Adina Sales. “This project was a perfect fit for our team.  343 was looking for a sophisticated interpretation and they encouraged us to push the artistic lense.  Polynoid had a clear vision from the outset and we were determined to deliver in spades.  We’re very proud of the results.”

Here you can see a detailed making of that goes through their entire process from conception:

Don’t forget to check out their site page for the sequence for some stills and styleframes!

We dropped them a line to do a little Q&A with Polynoid’s Jan Bitzer and Fabian Pross.  Here’s a snippet but click ‘Full Interview’ to view the entire thing!

Fabian Pross on the FX:

We used Softimage ICE for almost all our effects work. The rampancy is actually not simulated, but a combination of procedural modeling and some keyframes.

Jan Bitzer on the Asset Development

343 Industries provided us with most of the CG assets which we had to bring together on an equal production level. Some elements where very high poly and had to be optimized, while others were simplified game assets and needed detail work.

 

Full Interview

Glassworks Amsterdam for G-Star: The Art of Raw

Collaborating with G-Star’s in-house creative team, Glassworks Amsterdam created a gorgeous odyssey through the production of denim as part of G-Star’s “Art of RAW” campaign.

Directed by Glassworks’ own Rudiger Kaltenhauser, the spot mimics macro photography, creating a hyper-real journey that brims with tactile details, despite being entirely CG.

Credits

Llamallama “A Little Christmas Miracle”

If you’re ready for a bevy of fart jokes and twisted Christmas joy, then you are ready for “A Little Christmas Miracle.” Written and directed by Llamallama, produced by Nomint.

Apotheosis – Alex Gee and Pujesh Joshi

A superb student film that combines old school graphic elements with a quality design eye and great storytelling.  Definitely a must watch.