portfolio - visual effects
Building The Mosaic Sanctuary
We are in the process of developing an independent, 30-minute long program for airing on the History Channel, Discovery Channel, or other similar cable outlet that probes the questions of just what the physcial dimensions might have been and the construction methods used to build the ancient and now lost portable tabernacle or sanctuary of the Hebrews as described and built by Moses in the Biblcal book of Exodus.
To date, we have a finished screenplay and this 2-minute title open. With the exception of a 10 second video segment, the entire open for "Building the Mosaic Sanctuary" is 100% 3D animation.
The snapshots below are from key moments in the open, but you can view the whole thing as a Windows Media Video file. [ BuildingTheMosaicSanctuary.wmv - 12 MB ]
In the opening scene, we swiftly fly over photorealistic desert terrain created entirely in 3D through the use of one highly subdivided mesh and two lower polygon count meshes for the background. These flat meshes were procedurally sculpted with mathematical textures to simulate the mountainous topography of the Sinai Peninsula.
Procedural bump textures fill in fine detail along with X-card scrubbery, fog to create aerial perspective, and warm, dramatic, low angle lighting.
Procedural color and diffuse textures create rock stratification while a customized lens flare creates a setting desert sun.
1.5 tons of gold is represented by various ornamental jewelry given to the departing Hebrews by the Egyptians. Rings, chartoosi, idols, and sheet collars are amoung the many items modeled then massively and randomly cloned into a pile.
5.5 tons of silver ingots, vases, bracelets, rings, and coins are amoung the many items modeled and massively and randomly cloned into a pile.
4 tons of brass mirrors, cookware, ingots, bracelets, rings, and coins are amoung the items modeled and massively and randomly cloned into a pile.
5,000 board-feet of lumber milled from the acacia tree is represented in this pile.
18,000 square yards of fabric and animal skins plus thousands of feet of expensively dyed yarn is represented in this pile.
A turntable view of the completed wilderness sanctuary, wash basin, and altar enclosed by a 7 foot high fence of linen fabric around 512 feet in length (170 feet by 85 feet).
Inside the first compartment of the sanctuary is seen the recognizable 7-branched lamp stand, beaten out of 110 pounds of solid gold and topped by 7 gold oil lamps. This lamp stand is about 3.5 feet tall with branches that are around 1" in diameter and ornamental almond blossoms.
Inside the second compartment is seen the famous Ark of the Covenant with the "shekinah glory" or the visible presence of God hovering between two angelic cherubim. Since there are no ancient depictions of what this piece of furniture looked like, it is depicted here based on ametuer archeologist Ron Wyatt's description of the Ark, its alleged discoverer.
The open shows many of the articles of "furniture" of the sanctuary being rapidly assembled together from their individual parts... boards, planks, metal parts, carrying poles, brass or gold overlays, etc.
One of those items is this Altar of Burnt Offering, made of acacia wood and covered with thin brass plating.
A closeup view of the 17 foot high sanctuary showing the outer covering of "sea cow" skins protecting the underlying layers of black goat-hair and the inner intricately embroidered layer of linen.
The climatic revealing of the program's title by an Adobe After Effects generated lightening bolt and Lightwave generated particle sparks.
The final program title before fading to black showing a fictious 3D depiction of Mt. Sinai in the background.
The Second Coming (for 'A Key Encounter,' Key West, FL)
Quicktime VR 360 degree Panorama
chrusion | FX. was called upon to revise and enhance the climatic ending animation depicting the Second Coming of Christ in a unique 30-minute planetarium program titled "The Ultimate Encounter" at A Key Encounter, a non-profit ministry located in downtown Key West, FL.
This 2-minute animation combines 3D and 2D animated elements in a very unique format... a 180 degree fish-eye lens view of the sky and horizon. The circular edge of the "warped" image becomes the horizon when projected onto the planetarium's 20-foot dome.
This Quicktime VR panoramic movie just doesn't do the animation justice,
because you're only seeing a single image from the movie as you drag your mouse around on
it. So, we're providing a Quicktime movie of the full 2 minute long animation, albeit in
a far smaller size than the original 1024 x 1024 native image resolution of the digital
planetarium projector.
[ AKE_2ndComing.mov - 22 MB ]
Space: 1999 Eagle Transport - View 1
A highly detailed model of an Eagle Transport ship, as seen in the popular 1976/77 sci-fi TV series, SPACE: 1999.
Space: 1999 Eagle Transport - View 2
Space: 1999 Moonbase Alpha Launch Pad - View 1
A Moonbase Alpha launch pad and moonscape.
Space: 1999 Moonbase Alpha Launch Pad - View 2
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Babylon 5 Jumpgate
A clone model of a Centari-class JumpGate Generator from the TV series Babylon 5.
Babylon 5 Jumpgate
A clone model of a Centari-class JumpGate Generator from the TV series Babylon 5. silhouetted against a custom created nebula and without the hyperspace entry vortex.
The Babylon 5 Spacestation
A cloned model of the space station Babylon 5 from the TV series Babylon 5.
Babylon 6 - View 1
A conceptual model of what the space station in the sci-fi TV series Babylon 5 might have looked like if it were designed by the show's Minbari and Vorlon races.
Atomic Bomb - A Personal Project
This atomic bomb was modeled and rendered using only object meshes, rather than volumetric particle effects, with the help of Darkling Simulation's DarkTree Textures.
Wormhole
A Star Trek: Deep Space Nine inspired Wormhole.