CASE STUDY
SANCTORUM
Brief
Completed around 17 shots for the film Sanctorum. Around 7 teammates were brought in over 11 months, covering seamless integration, animation and lighting.
Format: Feature Film
Director: Joshua Gil
Release: 2019
> SANCTORUM TRAILER
In a small village on the edge of the war between the military and the cartels, a little boy escapes to the forest to plead to the gods of nature for his disappeared mother’s safe return.
One of the biggest challenges was the lightning bolts that swiveled with the clouds. Creating the 80-second storm was possible in less than 3 months with the help of 4 teammates.
Tech
Different concept arts led to the final version of the shot. A mix of techniques was used: matte painting projected onto geometry for the background and vegetation, plus detailed digital compositing for the chaotic look of this supernatural storm.
The
Storm
One of the biggest obstacles was the lightning and the spinning motion of the clouds. Various tests were done for the bolts, from presets to stock, and finally high-resolution images were animated individually. Light interaction was then applied so it would illuminate the environment as lightning would in real life. For the clouds, layers were projected onto cylinders so they could rotate and hold volume. The final shot lasts about 1 minute 20 seconds. It took around 12 weeks, with four artists collaborating on the shot.