For season 2 of the Sky One show, A Discovery of Witches, our team developed the intricate ‘scrying’ magic using layers of simulated FX smoke.
In this special step-by-step explanation for befores & afters, Lead FX TD Graham Collier explains how the magic sims were achieved in Houdini.
May is National Storytelling Month, and we never underestimate the power of a good story.
For our latest trailer for Unknown Worlds Entertainment, Subnautica: Below Zero, we crafted a short film about the mundane daily grind becoming increasingly dangerous as our hero character finds himself fighting for survival on Planet 4546B. To date, the trailer has reached over 2.8 million views on the official YouTube channel, earning huge acclaim with the legion of fans of the game.
But what is it about the trailer that works so well? REALTIME’s Art Director / Director of the trailer Stu Bailey, puts it succinctly: “We latched onto small details as being relatable. So, sipping on a hot coffee before the daily grind begins, with the steaming aroma wafting up your nostrils, or beating down into the icy ground as warm breath vapours escape through your mask. It all adds to the viewer experience, and it matters a lot!”
When a game gets storytelling right, no one can resist it’s appeal. Video games also have a unique advantage in that you’re not only viewing a story, but also participating in it. Whether they be roller-coaster journeys or winding paths of discovery, let’s explore how video games tell their own stories.
Video games have always drawn inspiration from the world of film. Hideo Kojima has talked at length about his love of Taxi Driver and how Solid Snake was inspired by Robert De Niro’s character in The Deer Hunter. Video games are just another medium we can use to take players through a twisting narrative – a heart-thumping action set piece from Uncharted or a tender moment from Telltale’s The Walking Dead.
Naughty Dog has long been a special feather in Sony’s wing, and The Last of Us Part II may well have been their magnum opus. This standout from 2020 elicited fierce and deep emotions as it weaved a dark tale of the fruitless outcomes of a dogged pursuit of revenge.
And Neil Druckmann, the game’s director, wanted to draw out this response: “The whole thing was constructed in such a way as to say, in the beginning of the game, we’re going to make you feel such intense hate that you can’t wait to find these people and make them pay.”
“So the exploration with this game is how can we start with that state and then make you reflect on it? And then maybe, maybe… if something happens in the world outside of the game, there’s some of that is left over so you at least pause and say, OK, what is it like to be in this other perspective?”
It was a deeply personal story for many, highly lauded by critics, but leaving some conflicted with the nuance of the ending. What video games can do that you don’t see in other mediums is put you in that perspective, in a position to reflect. In EA’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, we pondered responsibility and fate, in a game where nature and oppressive industrialisation juxtaposed one another.
2K’s Bioshock and Spec Ops: The Line asked us if we’re really in control of ourselves, twisting the player’s position on its head. The Stanley Parable, the video game equivalent of an M.C. Escher painting, played with our expectations even just walking down a corridor. Linear games guide you and take you on an experience like no other.
But video games thrive when we drive the narrative. When where we go and who we talk to is in our hands. You might think that a game where you can go wherever and do whatever would be directionless, with the story taking a back seat. But it just presents an opportunity to tell a story in a different way.
For Bethesda’s big open-world ventures, such as Skyrim and the Fallout series, it’s less about drawing out this narrative, but creating something each player will find unique.
In an interview with Time, Todd Howard said: “I think it’s up to us to make all of those avenues meaningful for what they are.”
“I think there’s always going to be this huge percentage that the majority of our players never see, but when they talk to somebody about it, that moment of sharing their experiences, they end up different and that’s a really good thing.”
Creative director behind Watch Dogs: Legion, Clint Hocking, put it well: “It’s our responsibility to look at the things that are happening in the world around us and have something to say about that, to create something that’s meaningful, that people can look at and engage with, and it speaks to the world that they live in.”
Open world games still have something to say; a story to tell. But how they go about it is different, but no less engrossing. Then there are games with no apparent story but dripping with lore. FromSoftware’s games, such as the PS4 exclusive Bloodborne, relish in creating a world where you have to work to uncover the mystery.
As The Guardian puts it, the world is “leaden with dread and portent” and “uniquely inhospitable”, and therein lies its appeal. Drawing from gothic and cosmic horror, if you want to know exactly what is behind the terror, you have to look for it yourself. It’s a completely player-driven exploration.
Stories will always be important to humanity. It’s how we connect with one another, passing lessons through the generations. Video games are now part of that and can deliver compelling narratives on par with literature and film. With so many creative people behind the scenes, we’ve only just begun to tap what we can achieve with storytelling in video games.
At REALTIME, storytelling is at the heart of what we do. If you want to discuss your next project, get in touch with me at [email protected].
The #RaiseTheGame pledge, an initiative from UKIE, is a collaborative and high-impact commitment to improve equality, diversity and inclusion in the games industry — creating cultures where everyone belongs, voices are heard and ideas can thrive.
We are proud to announce that we are supporting the #Raisethegame initiative by pledging to create change within our own organisation.
Companies signing up to the pledge work towards:
REALTIME joins developers, publishers and other companies associated to the video games industry who have also signed-up to the pledge, including Xbox, Mediatonic, Rare and EA.
Says Tony Prosser, Managing Director of REALTIME, “We wholeheartedly support the principle of equal opportunities and nurturing a diverse and inclusive environment within our business. Signing up to Ukie’s #Raisethegame pledge is a hugely exciting step for REALTIME; diversity in our workforce ensures diversity, innovation and resilience in our work, which is a vital to our company culture.”
Welcome back to part 2 of our series on the VFX work behind BBC America’s latest Terry Pratchett adaptation – ‘The Watch’. In part 1, we covered the initial design process behind the two dragons at the heart of the story. There’s Goodboy, the hand-held dragon with the power of a flamethrower. Then there’s the Noble Dragon, the terrifying, smoky city-razer causing chaos.
In part 2, we’re going to talk about the pre- and post-visualisation work that went into creating the two unique dragons. So, without further ado, let’s jump in!
Pre-vis
Previously, we talked about creating a unique look for the Noble Dragon; something audiences had never seen before in a dragon. We decided on a smoky, ethereal design that created an air of mystery and unknown terror about the creature.
Once we had a model, we went on to create tests to show how the FX would look and behave on a basic flying version of the model. The brief we received from director Craig Viveiros was that it should look like plane trailing contrails. He wanted the dragon to have a sinister visual impact and pose a serious threat to the characters.
We used a basic model of a dragon for our test, with a very simple rig. We draped it in smoke to give an idea of what it would look like in the final series, and the test scene was a simple animation block-out with the dragon breathing fire. This previs ensured that the director and execs could all agree how the dragon would behave and look when it flew, ahead of starting work on shots.
Once we had a test everyone was happy with, we created a fully rigged model of the Noble Dragon model sculpt we had created, which we then put through various flight cycles to show how it moved in the sky. This was part of our team’s internal process for developing the animation for the Noble Dragon.
Post-vis
Principle photography took place in South Africa, creating the live action plates we needed to incorporate our dragons. The art department created a full-size replica of Goodboy for actress Lara Rossi (Lady Sybil) to hold in shot. He was then replaced in post-production by the CG Goodboy. This was partially to help with her performance, but we also hoped that in wide shots we could use that rather than the CGI model, to reduce costs.
Post-vis was done of all the key CG sequences using a mixture of filmed plates and full CG environments. This allowed for a continuing creative dialogue with the showrunner, director, and producer, as well as Lola VFX who were in charge of creating the cityscapes.
Alongside this, the look dev of the Noble Dragon was started. There were a number of issues with a huge creature who is made of smoke, fire, and lightning that had to be solved. Legibility being the most important. As she had to work in both day- and night-time situations, a flexible tool set of passes was created to suit all conditions. It allowed for independent control over her eyes, smoky body, internal lightning, fiery throat and belly, as well as a skeletal pass to add definition to her skull and chest for the closer shots.
By doing this, we accomplished what we needed to; we made this dragon distinctly different from anything that’s come before. It takes what people think when they hear the word dragon and turns it on its head.
The same can be said for Goodboy, who presented his own, if somewhat smaller, challenges. While the Noble dragon was all about the big picture, Goodboy is all about detail. From the scarring on his face to the texture of his wings, fine, nuanced animation allowed this character to transition from cute to deadly, beginner to proficient flyer.
In the end, both dragons came away looking different to anything we’ve seen before. And we think both dragons are a great addition to the series . This was a great project for us to flex our creative muscles and deliver something the client could be proud of.
REALTIME’s team of highly creative individuals can take your project to the next level with fantastic ideas and visuals. If you want to find out more, get in touch with me at [email protected].
In early 2021, BBC America aired the fantastical new Terry Pratchett adaptation – ‘The Watch’. A fantastical world as rich as Terry Pratchett’s Discworld required some innovative VFX work to bring this adaptation to life, especially the dangerous Noble Dragon that threatens its world and the cute, but fiery, pocket-size dragon Goodboy.
REALTIME was a key creative partner on the series, creating a range of 2D and 3D VFX, including for the two very different dragons. Uniquely anarchic and thrillingly entertaining, the character-driven drama follows several of Terry Pratchett’s best-loved creations on a riotous and emotional odyssey.
But how did we approach such a task? In part one, we’re going to run through the initial stages as we worked to meet this unique brief. Let’s run through our VFX journey…
This project presented two specific challenges: creating the smaller Goodboy, a dragon who fits in the palm of your hand, and at the other extreme, the colossal Noble Dragon, a creature the size of a jumbo jet, with enough firepower to destroy a city.
From the brief, we had to create something never seen before. With two distinctly different creatures to create, we started with the concept art. It’s at this stage we began to sketch out the look of the dragons, building an idea of how to bring them to life in 3D. In an age of Game of Thrones and other high fantasy, dragons have become part of the zeitgeist. Our goal was to make something brand new that gave the series two unique dragons of its own.
The production team had originally wanted to use a real gecko to ‘act’ the part of Goodboy. The wings and fire breath would just be added in post-production. In practice, this was a very challenging task to accomplish on set, as we saw when we suggested production do a camera test early on. It proved too difficult to work with a real lizard. This meant Goodboy needed to be a full CGI creature, but also work with the budget limitations of the series.
We still wanted to have the feel of a real-life lizard, so drew inspiration from the armadillo lizard. As we would be getting much more up close and personal with this creature, we had to focus on bringing life to it, capturing his personality and character. We visualised a rescue puppy to help us understand the kind of emotional response we wanted Goodboy to elicit from viewers, adding details like his broken wings and scars.
Goodboy might well be the cutest character in the series – just watch him sing – but he also has a dangerous side as a hand-held flamethrower. There’s a lot of personality to Goodboy that had to be brought out through the VFX work. He needed a cheeky personality with an expressive face, but we had to be mindful of budgetary considerations when designing his body and rigging his face.
In the grand finale of the series, Goodboy takes centre stage to stop the rampage of the Noble Dragon. Without spoiling it for you, it proved a great opportunity to bring some of Goodboy’s personality to the forefront and finish the series with a bit of Pratchett-esque tongue-in-cheek wit. He is quite a young and inexperienced dragon, and we played this up in his attempt to fly. He launches off with a running jump, but his flight is very bumpy as he has to learn as he goes.
For the Noble Dragon, with its awe-inspiring size, we needed a different approach. To make it feel different to the dragons featured in other popular fantasy series and films, we wanted to give it an ethereal, smoky quality. This meant it would need to go through multiple stages and be highly FX-driven.
When we designed the Noble Dragon, even though its scales wouldn’t be seen by the audience, we still rendered a version with them because we need to know how it looks and operates.
But we’ll talk about the Noble Dragon in more detail in part 2 when we dive into the pre- and post-vis processes. This is where the two dragons really came to life. Stay tuned for part 2!
REALTIME has a team of highly creative individuals who can elevate your project with fantastic ideas and visuals. If you would like to find out more, get in touch with me at [email protected].