Approached in post with a brief to provide design expertise for technology and UI concepts, and create 3D assets for the film's cityscape and street scenes, Territory worked closely with the VFX Supervisors to articulate the holographic language of this futuristic world.
Uniquely briefed to avoid flat screens, we explored concepts that envisaged a technology experience in the 3rd dimension. With an opportunity to inform the film’s visual direction, we began a rigorous R&D process that underpinned the design and development of holographic ‘products’ that don’t yet exist. From small globes to large interactive environments, clinical lab UI and 3D assets, our holographic concepts, motion tests and temp screens demonstrated how virtual objects and content could support story, performance and action, and be authentic and seamless with the world created by production and VFX teams.
An iconic story about the nature of human in a technology driven world, Ghost in the Shell presented Territory’s team with a unique opportunity to explore how holographic content could blend organic, technical, aesthetic and functional qualities.
Produced at Territory Studio
Creative Director - Andrew Popplestone
CG Supervisor - Peter Eszenyi
Producer - Gen McMahon
Lead Artists - Sam Munnings, Anthony De Connick, Yugen Blake
Concept development
Our concept development explored the relationship of form and function with design and aesthetics. We developed various creative routes for how holographic content and interaction can exist in a futuristic context; how organic qualities and behaviours could be applied to digital technology; how subtle cultural textures could contribute to story, character and form; and we researched the aesthetics of how virtual content can form, transition and occupy space.
The holo-globe, holo-conference room and the virtual Zen Garden were all concepts that were given form and substance through this concept work.
Hologlobe concepting
Briefed to create a holographic device that could function much like a personal computer, we explored how people and objects could be generated in a holographic context. With the form of a globe or spherical as a starting point, we visualized how digital content – data, images, animations, movies, memories – could dynamically generate according to need. An exciting challenge for us, we explored a range of possible expressions with varying degrees of roughness and refinement.
Below is a whole raft of work including the initial concepts created by myself and the hugely talented core team of Peter Eszenyi, Sam Munnings, Yugen Blake and Anthony De Connick.
ASANOHA CONCEPT
DIGITAL SAND CONCEPT
VOXEL CONCEPT
Hanka UI
UI for clinical lab and reception environments were needed to support the advanced world of Hanka Robotics, the film’s corporate developer of augmentative and cyber technology. Our clean and minimal code was stripped of a graphic user interface to convey the highly specialised and scientific nature of the work and brand.
Holographic Environments
Extending the premise of the hologlobe’s content and functionality to a large scale environment, we created concepts for a holographic briefing room in which a crime scene could be recreated and examined at varying levels of detail. As part of this, we explored how to generate and represent human figures in 3D. This work led to our concept for the Zen Garden sequence in which a holographic representation of both a machine and environment is generated and manipulated in real time.
Cityscape & Street Scenes
As a futuristic society in which technology is seamlessly integrated at all levels of the city, we were asked to create a vast number of holographic and 3D assets to populate the cityscape and street scenes in support of the director’s vision for a dynamic and original world. From giant hi definition solograms and building wrappers to 3D brand logos, advertising signs, character animations and traffic signs, our assets contributed to the unique look and feel of this world.
