PRODUCTION. OUR UNIVERSE
ARTISTIC FLARE In order to create visuals for various astronomical concepts, the team practically gave carte blanche to its artists, looking for cinematic depictions of scientific processes
In addition to the tried and tested practices, there were some scenes that required a different approach. Silcox explains how ‘visualising the invisible forces around us’ required innovative ways of thinking. “There’s always a struggle in creating shots of things you can’t actually see, and a lot of these have been depicted in graphics or explainer videos before,” he says. “We wanted to find new ways to show these forces in a cinematic, immersive, entertaining and scientifically accurate way.” For example, the team wanted to visualise solar winds and the earth’s magnetic field. To manage this, they engaged in conversations – ‘almost open debates’ – with artists about what these could look like based on research and information provided by the production team. “We would then let them go away and try to build an interesting narrative sequence from what could be a really cold subject, honing it down to the final shot,” Silcox continues. “By giving our artists creative freedom to deliver on the brief, we found these unique ways to show the amazing science that occurs around us every day.” Bremner says that, during shooting, sky VFX plates were captured all through twilight and sunrise at multiple exposure
For Cooter, getting close to the bear and using a crane added so much to the shots. “DOP Paul O’Callaghan chose to shoot the sequence with the Sony Venice, because its high base ISO was perfect for shooting in the low-light conditions we needed in the cave for the bear to fall asleep,” he says. “To achieve the series look, we paired the Venice with vintage Hawk anamorphic primes and a Cooke anamorphic zoom.”
and aperture levels. The crew needed to give Lux Aeterna enough latitude in the shots with connecting plates of the sky and ocean and the narrative voice-over that links the two. “With consideration to the full VFX universe sequences, transitions of different speeds and focal lengths were also shot,” he explains. “This was to make certain that the narrative pacing between our VFX world and the reef remained consistent. Both colour and distortion charts were shot and offered up in pre-production to aid future integration of VFX shots. The turtles we photographed were extremely sensitive to any artificial light and noise, and as such, much of our egg-laying sequences were shot purely in moonlight.” Extreme proximity was also required, which called for a delicate touch. “To ensure we had enough detail in moonlight, with minimal disturbance, we combined a Sony A7 III with Cooke S4 primes,” he adds. “A heavily diffused ice light and silver bounce was also gently introduced during some of these scenes.” Between the series’ stunning visuals and Freeman’s captivating narration, success for Our Universe is surely written in the stars. Our Universe can be streamed on Netflix
“We wanted to show these forces in a cinematic, immersive and scientifically accurate way”
BEAR WITNESS A crane was used to get safe close-up camera movements with a European brown bear as a subject
50. DEFINITIONMAGAZINE.COM
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