Project description
"The Walk" is a three-minute CGI and visual-effects-based short film that follows a character as he travels through a dystopian city affected by rising sea levels. As people adjust to their new lives, they survive on boats and in cities built above the water. The plot revolves around a single main character, a musician who is making his way through the vibrant and colorful city.
Project Inspiration
The project was inspired by dynamo dreams, a recent short film released by Ian Hubert, a well-known VFX artist. He created a short film that was vibrant and well-crafted, and he was able to seamlessly incorporate real-life elements into a completely CGI environment with cameras in 3d space.
Today we have the software and technology at our disposal that can produce industry-level work on a low budget. This project was undertaken to demonstrate what can be created with limited resources while also demonstrating my technical skills and the standard of work that can be created with the right tools.
Script, Environment, and Previz
After writing the script, I did a rough block out of the environment in which the story would take place. This was just so I could have a clear visual image of what the world would be like and then finalize the camera angles. I decided to challenge myself with a few shots that were a little more technically difficult to execute.
- The 1st shot was the walk through the apartment. My plan for this shot was to have the actor walk backward on the set after reaching the end which I would later cut out and stitch in post-production and keyframe them in 3d space to give the illusion that he is in a much longer space. I blocked out the cut points to be hidden behind the walls so they would not be visible.
- The second point was where the character was seated on the boat. I wanted to add a camera rotation at this point, but I wouldn't be able to do so due to a lack of space on set. The plan was for the character to rotate on set on a chair that would later be parented to the main camera. Technically, if I rotate the camera and the image plane at the same rate as the character, they should cancel each other out and create the illusion of a camera rotation.
Green screen Setup
Before shooting, I broke down the script into different scenes. This allowed me to make the necessary changes to the script while also getting an idea of how each scene would play out. The next step was to get the set ready - this included the green screen setup as well as the lighting.
Camera settings
The camera setup came next. Because I had never worked on a green screen project before, I spent some time researching the various settings that would be best for my film. Color profiles, ISO, aperture, focal length, and so on. For this project, I decided on using the SLog2 color profile as it captures a more dynamic range of colors allowing for more control during the color correction stage. After I tested with different light settings I finalized the following setting for my film.
Lens 16 mm
Frame rate 23.98p
ISO - 1000
Aperture .F5.
Shutter speed 1/25
Quality - 4K
These produced the best results for me. The 16 mm lens provided me with a wide frame, allowing me to photograph a larger area. The ISO and aperture were set so that my subject was properly exposed and had less grain. I set my shutter speed to the lowest possible setting to reduce motion blur as much as possible. Having the proper settings was critical because it would ensure that I would not have any issues with keying or motion tracking later on.
Motion tracking and lighting
When shooting on a green screen, it was critical to have even lighting all over the screen and to keep shadows to a minimum. For this, I had to prepare a variety of lighting setups for each scene. I kept two lights behind the actor that would not be moved so that the green screen would be lit evenly. I also used two different colored lights to highlight the characters.
Character wardrobes and filming
Color correction, motion Tracking, and keying
After color correcting the footage in Premiere Pro it was now time to start tracking my shots. I brought my shots into the blender and tracked them. The tracked shots were then taken into the compositor for keying. I used blenders keying nodes to key the green screens. I had to create masks for the best result. The garbage mask removes all of the unnecessary items from the scene. The rotoscope mask was only required for a few scenes, and I created one whenever a keying issue was visible. Then I moved into masking, and created a rough rotoscope of the character's interior to prevent the keying from entering the character.
Assets preparation
Flying bot assets- The bot was a model from Sketchfab that I retextured. I also added details like dirt, dents and stickers to add realism.
Modelled the boat in blender and I used kitbashing to add the details on the boats such as chairs and light posts. I also textured the boat to add as much detail as possible using textures from texture.com.
Bringing footage and camera into the scene
The keyed footage was then brought into the scene and parented with the motion-tracked camera. I placed the character in the correct positions in the scene using the rough blockouts of the environments I created earlier.
Environment building
Using the characters' positions and camera movement, I began to build a more detailed environment. At this point, I was using texture-based modeling, which is essentially image-based asset creation.
I got my textures from textures.com and simply extruded parts of the buildings to match the texture as closely as possible. I then used the UV maps to fix and adjust any stretchings or imperfections in the model. I used this method to create the majority of my scene. To save time, I also imported a few building models from Sketchfab and Ian's Patreon for some of the close-up shots. I tried to include something interesting to see in each scene and make the space appear large and populated
Re-texturing and adding details
At this point, I also began retexturing all of my buildings. Because I had only used images to construct the buildings, the majority of them lacked details. I had to go in and add grudges and roughness to the buildings to make them look more realistic. This was accomplished with the help of the blender's nodes.
I also added some details now that the environment had been completed. The majority of the details came from Ian Hubert's Patreon. Garbage bags, boxes, and other such details are scattered throughout each scene. I made sure there a lot of graffiti on my walls to cover up empty spaces and used this an opportunity to fun little easter eggs in my scene such as the showcase logo.
Crowd Simulation
I created a particle simulation of crowds of people in the market and open areas using Ian Huberts' crowd assets. I struggled a little with these simulations, trying to place them in the correct position and doing my best to avoid any physics simulation glitches. I also had little control over where and how individual people in the crowd moved, so I had to simulate several times before I got the perfect one which I baked and saved to my scene. I created a total of six crowd simulations for various scenes in this film.
