FWS
FLOODLAND
The lovely team at Fire Without Smoke enlisted us to create an animated trailer for the upcoming release of Floodland - a society survival game set in a world destroyed by climate change.
DESIGN
With an art style already developed for the game loading pages, we were tasked with replicating the existing style and making it work in motion..
The first challenge was to design the shots and play around with lighting and mood. Our talented team did a fantastic job of quickly photo bashing and painting that gave a real sense of mood and guided the initial look phase.
HOPE
Colour was going to play an important part in the film. The game is set in a dystopian world run by factions. We used blues and greens to represent the cold and desperation felt at the start of the game, moving gradually to warmer colours which represented hope. Our initial colour board pushed this to the extreme, and we ended up with a more natural colour palette. However, we always kept to the story narrative going from cool to warm.
CHARACTERS
Creating a mature look and feel for the characters was a great challenge.
We also had to do a lot of research into clothing choices and accessories for life in a dystopian world. In the Floodland future, many objects would have been recycled or repurposed, so we found uses for old fire jackets, snorkels, life vests and made them feel part of our factions wardrobes.
Finally, the film would have felt static without movement, so our artists and team designed them in a way where we could separate elements to make them feel lived in. Scarves floating in the wind, hair swaying, jacket trims blowing, it all added to the sense of atmosphere.
BELLS AND WHISTLES
Making the trailer feel filmic was the order of the day, so we did everything we could to make our paintings live and breathe. Flocks of birds, light rays, floating debris, beautiful bokeh, and some cloth simulation work all helped bring our world to life. We also made quite a few assets in 3D so that we could add more dynamic movement to further sell the realism. These props had to be modeled and textured in the same style and then lit and composited to fit in. Finally, we also did some projection work in our 3D package to allow a greater feel of perspective on some elements. The result was shots that were elevated beyond a painting.
CREDITS
Agency - Fire Without Smoke
Client - Floodland
Direction - Dan Edgley & Charlie Batho
Producer - Anika Zinat
Production Assistant - Beth Yirtaw
Matte Paintings - Gilbert McGirr, Marta Calvo, Morgan Prost, Nicoletta Bea
3D Model/Texture - Amina Muench, Callum Harwood
Animation - Vytas Puisys
Compositing - Nick Canticus, Mattieu Landour, Michael Bond
Simulation/FX - Michael Bond