SKIES OF SYNNAX

IMPORTANT LOOKING PIRATES WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR PRODUCING THE HOMELAND OF GAAL DORNICK, WHICH HAS BEEN DECIMATED BY RISING SEA LEVELS…

Early on in production, a Foundation art bible consisting of mood boards and concepts was provided to Important Looking Pirates. “It gave us a good understanding of the visual intentions of the show,” states Nicolas Hernandez, VFX supervisor, ILP. “We were fortunate to have the opportunity to design most of the shots we worked on and we tried to stay true to the identity of the show.” The primary task was showing Synnax both from outer space and the surface. “It was a pretty complex task and we decided to go for an extensive 3D setup instead of doing DMP or just a sky replacement.” “As the planet is solely made of water, we realised that the reflection from the environment would be important,” notes Hernandez. “Also, the landscape was seen under different lighting scenarios such as night, sunset, daylight, and overcast. The ring, clouds, atmosphere, pocket of vapour, background nebula, and starfield were 3D elements; this modular approach gave us the ability to manipulate the look of the sky easily. We tried to find the perfect balance of a unique look while also staying grounded to reality and subtle.” The main technical challenge was a couple of shots filmed in a tank with real water. “We had to find the best workflows to mimic and blend real water and CG water. And each shot had specific problems,” remarks Hernandez. “Sometimes for takes with a little bit more wind, the real water started to look artificial due to the rippling against the edge of the tank; this meant we often had to replace the whole ocean. Being able to maintain continuity of the waves’ scale and speed plus light direction was tricky.”