Mystery Box

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Agency: Steady

Client: Immutable

Executive Producer: Devin Mefford

Creative Director: Jenya Gor

Motion Design: Ligretix

Lighting&Texturing: Ligretix
Compositing: Ligretix

Immutable contracted Steady.gg with creating a series of videos leading up to their Polygon partnership announcement. The videos were to be used on the company's socials to build up hype in the community while preserving the intrigue. Each finished clip accompanied by a daily countdown would see the mysterious cube getting cracked open day by day, symbolizing the approaching reveal.

Our idea was to create unique cards for social media, each containing a 3D scene. Thanks to this creative approach, as viewers scroll through their feed, they are captivated and drawn into our video with interest.

The information on the cards also allowed them to keep track of the countdown, further emphasizing the engaging process.

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WORKFLOW

ARTDIRECTION

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Thanks to the Midjourney neural network, we didn't have to spend time searching for references, allowing us to fully focus on the creative process of generating 3D ideas. We uploaded rough drafts of 3D renders into Midjourney and achieved an amazing result.

The choice of color palette for creating the 3D video turned out to be straightforward and intuitive. We used the branded color of the Polygon company in combination with a classic color scheme: warm orange and deep blue.

MODELING
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Usually, I start by creating the main object, but this time I was provided with a 3D model. However, it was in terrible condition, and I had to almost completely redo it. After fixing the topology, I proceeded with creating a new UV unwrap and completed the texturing process.

BLOCKING × ASSETING
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First, I create a location using primitives, arrange the composition, and create a rough animation of the main objects. Then, I apply a colored MatCap for better object perception.

After approval, I establish proper topology for each object and proceed to finalize the animation, including VFX.

Before texturing, I inspect the scene using various checkers to ensure the correctness of UV unwrapping and object topology.

LIGHTING
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The lighting stage posed a rather complex challenge, especially in a scene predominantly made of metal.

It was crucial to approach this stage with special care in order to control reflections and highlights, as an abundance of bright spots could potentially disrupt the viewer's perception. This required meticulous adjustment of parameters and lighting angles to achieve the desired effect.

Ultimately, I was pleased with how the lighting integrated into the overall atmosphere of the scene, lending depth and volume to the metallic elements.

TEXTURING
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Lately, I've been frequently working on texturing small scenes in Substance Painter. This allows me to instantly see changes in real-time, without the wait for loading, as in some other engines. Clearly, this approach greatly enhances efficiency in texturing. What are your own tricks for working with graphics? Share them!

COMPOSITING
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With experience, I've set up my Nuke setup for compositing scenes. Now, all I need to do is plug in a new sequence and adjust the sliders to achieve the desired result, whether it's motion blur, bokeh, glow, or editing any multipass as needed.