Lightyear Title Design

Even with such a dark and moody sequence, we still wanted the objects within the sequence to pop off the background. We spent time working on rim lighting. Each of the 30 shots in this sequence has unique lighting to ensure that each of the details in the geometry were being highlighted. If one shot has the same object as an earlier shot, each shot was lit specifically for the camera to bring out the details in the model and the textures.

To support the realism of this sequence, our team researched different materials in the real world and how wear-and-tear affects them. We studied how paint chips off of metal based on several factors, such as color, thickness, and even temperature of the environment. We researched how scratches can appear on plastic, and how different objects make different scratches. We also studied how buttons are illuminated from internal lights and how the illumination is impacted by color, brightness, and the material that the button is made from.

With everything we create, we always like to base our designs in real world technology and findings. To develop our laser effect, we began by researching different types of lasers and how they operated. Some of these lasers included practical lasers, such as ones that are built to remove rust or make labels. We studied how the different types of lasers moved, reacted to light, and what effects they had on the surfaces they touched.

We crafted a list of questions to help us classify and detail each type of laser. Are these lasers just a light on a surface? Is the laser burning something off of the surface, and is that resulting in smoke and floating particles? Is the laser in a clear space so it appears as a perfect, straight light, or is it in a foggy room so it’s illuminating smoke around it? We collected these references and began crafting our laser effects.

We developed motion tests and reaction tests to land on several variations and options of lasers. We then tested each variation with smoke, heat, light, and calibration effects. Based on our extensive research, we discovered that a distinct level of detail was added when we included a cooling effect on the names that were burned in from the laser. This cooling effect added elevated dimension, color, and movement to their respective frames, while also expanding on themes of realism.

The effect was then moved into Cinema 4D, where the first 3 passes of the name animation were projected onto the model’s surface, such as the shoulder or arm of the suit. This meant that we didn’t have to UV specific parts of the suit and we could ensure that the names couldn’t get distorted as they wrapped around the curves of the object.

Then, we would generate our laser, which consisted of 4 different lights that were projecting in. The first had a smoke texture, the second had a volumetric light, the third was just the edges of the light, and the fourth one used the leading edge of the name animation, which is how we got the lines of the name into the laser itself. All of these lights got combined together to produce the laser effect. Finally, we take those different passes and combine everything together in composite.

Once we landed on that perfect moment, we began building out our materials, lighting and rendering. Most of the materials we built procedurally. For example, we would create one green metal material that would apply to all of the green metal in the sequence, so we would not have to hand paint every individual metal piece. For specific features and objects that were more important or notable in the sequence, we would build a specific texture for them.

We wanted this sequence to feel like it was one consistent camera movement, seamlessly transitioning from one moment to the next. We focused heavily on refining these movements and the in-and-out movement of those motions to make everything feel smooth and natural. For this, we really dug into the animation aspect with the Pixar team. We collaborated on making sure the animation was perfect, studying every possible movement, pacing, and transition. We were also provided with an early version of Michael Giacchino’s score for this sequence, and we used that as a reference for timing and pacing of the camera movements.

Once we approved of the camera animation, textures and lighting, we rendered the shot. For shots that involved the laser effect, more technical planning was involved to ensure the lights of the laser lined up with the textures.

Once we had everything rendered, the project got brought into Adobe After Effects for the composite. We got a majority of our look out of the render so we had very little composite work to do. Because we were building this sequence in stereo, we wanted to ensure this was consistent in our 3D renders so that the left and right eyes matched.

In the composite phase, we added lens flares, glows and did a color pass to guarantee our colors were rich, vibrant and in line with the film. We also did this to confirm that our colors were working for an HDR color range, since this film was eventually going to be on the Disney+ streaming service. Our color work was to make sure that we were working within our 32 bit float values. The final edit was then rendered. This entire process took place using Cinema 4D, Redshift, and Adobe After Effects.