Faultline
Faultline
Faultline
Software: Substance Painter, PureRef, DJV, Zbrush, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator,
Blender, After Effects, Unreal Engine and, Procreate.
Software: Substance Painter, PureRef, DJV, Zbrush, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator,
Blender, After Effects, Unreal Engine and, Procreate.
Year
2025
Topic
Climate Crisis
Deliverables
Short VFX Film
Behind the Scenes
Type
Hyperrealisim
Story telling
3d Production
Foley Design
Film Design
VFX
Simulation
Compositing
Year
2025
Topic
Misdiagnosis of Endometriosis
Deliverables
First person narrative
Project Walkthrough
Type
Hyperrealisim
Story Telling
3d Production
3d Animation
2D Animation
Sound Design
Software: Substance Painter, PureRef, DJV, Zbrush, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, Blender, After Effects, Unreal Engine, Procreate
New Zealanders are broadly aware of and concerned about climate change; However, this awareness does not always translate into action due to barriers like cost pressures and unclear guidance on effective steps. Hence, while the majority anticipate more frequent extreme flooding due to sea-level rise, less than half are expecting to make a significant personal contribution.
Faultline is a short VFX film employing a multiperspective montage aiming to make people reflect and move from being passive to taking action. The target audience consists of 25-35 year-olds with higher disposable income, who recognise the reality of climate change but remain passive bystanders.
Faultline represents this division between the bystanders and the climate crisis effect.
New Zealanders are broadly aware of and concerned about climate change; However, this awareness does not always translate into action due to barriers like cost pressures and unclear guidance on effective steps. Hence, while the majority anticipate more frequent extreme flooding due to sea-level rise, less than half are expecting to make a significant personal contribution.
Faultline is a short VFX film employing a multiperspective montage aiming to make people reflect and move from being passive to taking action. The target audience consists of 25-35 year-olds with higher disposable income, who recognise the reality of climate change but remain passive bystanders.
Faultline represents this division between the bystanders and the climate crisis effect.
Project Storyline.
The storyline encapsulates a macaw getting triggered by the distant logging echoes through the forest, becoming alert as it pecks at the screen, desperately trying to catch the viewer's attention. It then reveals the consequences of our inaction, showing animals suffering in silence. This extends to humans, as floods impact farmers, the elderly, families and children symbolising the vulnerability of future generations. Ending with a series of actions the viewer can take with the link to a website with more information. It follows the long cycle of deforestation affecting animals, leading to an increase in greenhouse gases. Causing changes in extreme weather affecting many around the world.
Project Storyline.
The storyline encapsulates a macaw getting triggered by the distant logging echoes through the forest, becoming alert as it pecks at the screen, desperately trying to catch the viewer's attention. It then reveals the consequences of our inaction, showing animals suffering in silence. This extends to humans, as floods impact farmers, the elderly, families and children symbolising the vulnerability of future generations. Ending with a series of actions the viewer can take with the link to a website with more information. It follows the long cycle of deforestation affecting animals, leading to an increase in greenhouse gases. Causing changes in extreme weather affecting many around the world.
Year
2025
Client
Misdiagnosis of Endometriosis
Deliverables
First person narrative
Project Walkthrough
Type
Hyperrealisim
Data Visulisation
3d Production
3d Animation
2D Animation
Sound Design
New Zealanders are broadly aware of and concerned about climate change; However, this awareness does not always translate into action due to barriers like cost pressures and unclear guidance on effective steps. Hence, while the majority anticipate more frequent extreme flooding due to sea-level rise, less than half are expecting to make a significant personal contribution.
Faultline is a short VFX film employing a multiperspective montage aiming to make people reflect and move from being passive to taking action. The target audience consists of 25-35 year-olds with higher disposable income, who recognise the reality of climate change but remain passive bystanders.
Faultline represents this division between the bystanders and the climate crisis effect.
Although I had initially planned to explore Unreal Engine, I decided to first test how far I could push environment creation within Blender. My first experiment involved building rock assets and applying textures, creating a waterfall, adding compositing and lighting, and incorporating premade plants to bring the scene together.
Although I had initially planned to explore Unreal Engine, I decided to first test how far I could push environment creation within Blender. My first experiment involved building rock assets and applying textures, creating a waterfall, adding compositing and lighting, and incorporating premade plants to bring the scene together.
Due to time constraints, I focused on creating one original Polar Bear to fully understand the process, and for the Parrot and Orangutan I used AI as a base model and refining it myself. To achieve the best results, I learned ZBrush .
I began by modeling a 3D parrot and experimenting with feathers and fur in Blender. Achieving realism proved challenging: the fur kept disappearing, the angles felt off, and the overall look ended up resembling a soft toy. This experience motivated me to dive deeper into the 3D production pipeline.
I continued with retopology, UV unwrapping, and rigging to prepare the character for grooming. For the fur, I explored a new approach by splitting it into separate sections to achieve a more natural look. I refined the results using particle edit tools adjusting combing, clumping, and trimming settings to enhance realism.
Controlling hair particles around the face proved challenging, as the dense particle systems often caused crashes. Creating vertex groups for specific areas helped manage the complexity, though handling finer hairs around facial features remained difficult.
I began by modeling a 3D parrot and experimenting with feathers and fur in Blender. Achieving realism proved challenging: the fur kept disappearing, the angles felt off, and the overall look ended up resembling a soft toy. This experience motivated me to dive deeper into the 3D production pipeline.
Due to time constraints, I focused on creating one original Polar Bear to fully understand the process, and for the Parrot and Orangutan I used AI as a base model and refining it myself. To achieve the best results, I learned ZBrush .
A combination of practice led and design thinking methodologies were used to align industry approaches and also maintaining a focus on research. In-depth research was conducted to get a deep understanding of the audience and their needs. The project utilises hyperrealism to make the consequences feel unavoidable and to create a stronger emotional connection; the animals break the fourth wall as they interact with the camera and confront the audience. The camera is a metaphor for the audience's view as a silent observer who watches but does not intervene. This symbolises people's tendency to observe climate crisis as a detached witness.
The animation I found reference footage of orangutans climbing, polar bears walking, and parrots talking. Each sequence began with rough keyframe blocking, followed by refinement.
The Unreal Engine phase began with experimenting in a premade environment to test scene composition. As this was my first introduction to Unreal Engine, the process initially felt overwhelming due to frequent technical issues and the complexity of the interface. Using premade environments as a base, I added elements such as fog, birds, leaves, and fire to enhance each scene, with some guidance during the early learning stages. Through gradual experimentation, I developed a stronger understanding of environmental setup, camera positioning, and post-processing within Unreal Engine.
Due to time constraints, I focused on creating one original Polar Bear to fully understand the process, and for the Parrot and Orangutan I used AI as a base model and refining it myself. To achieve the best results, I learned ZBrush .
Renders from Blender and Unreal Engine were composited in After Effects, where I applied chromatic aberration, light overlays, fog, and particle effects. Colour grading ensured visual consistency, while ambient sparks and effects from Unreal Engine added realism. Additional motion was created using puppet pins and expression-based camera vibrations.
I continued with retopology, UV unwrapping, and rigging to prepare the character for grooming. For the fur, I explored a new approach by splitting it into separate sections to achieve a more natural look. I refined the results using particle edit tools adjusting combing, clumping, and trimming settings to enhance realism.
Controlling hair particles around the face proved challenging, as the dense particle systems often caused crashes. Creating vertex groups for specific areas helped manage the complexity, though handling finer hairs around facial features remained difficult.
Although I had initially planned to explore Unreal Engine, I decided to first test how far I could push environment creation within Blender. My first experiment involved building rock assets and applying textures, creating a waterfall, adding compositing and lighting, and incorporating premade plants to bring the scene together.
A combination of practice led and design thinking methodologies were used to align industry approaches and also maintaining a focus on research. In-depth research was conducted to get a deep understanding of the audience and their needs. The project utilises hyperrealism to make the consequences feel unavoidable and to create a stronger emotional connection; the animals break the fourth wall as they interact with the camera and confront the audience. The camera is a metaphor for the audience's view as a silent observer who watches but does not intervene. This symbolises people's tendency to observe climate crisis as a detached witness.
The animation I found reference footage of orangutans climbing, polar bears walking, and parrots talking. Each sequence began with rough keyframe blocking, followed by refinement.
The Unreal Engine phase began with experimenting in a premade environment to test scene composition. As this was my first introduction to Unreal Engine, the process initially felt overwhelming due to frequent technical issues and the complexity of the interface. Using premade environments as a base, I added elements such as fog, birds, leaves, and fire to enhance each scene, with some guidance during the early learning stages. Through gradual experimentation, I developed a stronger understanding of environmental setup, camera positioning, and post-processing within Unreal Engine.
The Unreal Engine phase began with experimenting in a premade environment to test scene composition. As this was my first introduction to Unreal Engine, the process initially felt overwhelming due to frequent technical issues and the complexity of the interface. Using premade environments as a base, I added elements such as fog, birds, leaves, and fire to enhance each scene, with some guidance during the early learning stages. Through gradual experimentation, I developed a stronger understanding of environmental setup, camera positioning, and post-processing within Unreal Engine.
A combination of practice led and design thinking methodologies were used to align industry approaches and also maintaining a focus on research. In-depth research was conducted to get a deep understanding of the audience and their needs. The project utilises hyperrealism to make the consequences feel unavoidable and to create a stronger emotional connection; the animals break the fourth wall as they interact with the camera and confront the audience. The camera is a metaphor for the audience's view as a silent observer who watches but does not intervene. This symbolises people's tendency to observe climate crisis as a detached witness.
The animation I found reference footage of orangutans climbing, polar bears walking, and parrots talking. Each sequence began with rough keyframe blocking, followed by refinement.
I continued with retopology, UV unwrapping, and rigging to prepare the character for grooming. For the fur, I explored a new approach by splitting it into separate sections to achieve a more natural look. I refined the results using particle edit tools adjusting combing, clumping, and trimming settings to enhance realism.
Controlling hair particles around the face proved challenging, as the dense particle systems often caused crashes. Creating vertex groups for specific areas helped manage the complexity, though handling finer hairs around facial features remained difficult.
Renders from Blender and Unreal Engine were composited in After Effects, where I applied chromatic aberration, light overlays, fog, and particle effects. Colour grading ensured visual consistency, while ambient sparks and effects from Unreal Engine added realism. Additional motion was created using puppet pins and expression-based camera vibrations.
Through film analysis, I learned how SFX and the interplay of sound and silence enhance emotional impact using elements like risers, drones, and braams. I mixed multiple audio clips to match the tone of each section, strengthening the overall narrative experience.
Ultimately, Faultline aims to inspire people to take action against climate change, emphasising that every small, individual effort can protect the planet for future generations. It amplifies the drowned-out voices of humans and wildlife withstanding the climate crisis, disrupts the bystander effect through strong emotional engagement, and leads to meaningful actions. This project provided an opportunity to explore emotional storytelling, master cinematic sound design, and gain experience with the full 3D pipeline using tools such as ZBrush, Blender, Unreal Engine, Substance Painter, Procreate, and the Adobe Suite.
Through film analysis, I learned how SFX and the interplay of sound and silence enhance emotional impact using elements like risers, drones, and braams. I mixed multiple audio clips to match the tone of each section, strengthening the overall narrative experience.
Ultimately, Faultline aims to inspire people to take action against climate change, emphasising that every small, individual effort can protect the planet for future generations. It amplifies the drowned-out voices of humans and wildlife withstanding the climate crisis, disrupts the bystander effect through strong emotional engagement, and leads to meaningful actions. This project provided an opportunity to explore emotional storytelling, master cinematic sound design, and gain experience with the full 3D pipeline using tools such as ZBrush, Blender, Unreal Engine, Substance Painter, Procreate, and the Adobe Suite.
Renders from Blender and Unreal Engine were composited in After Effects, where I applied chromatic aberration, light overlays, fog, and particle effects. Colour grading ensured visual consistency, while ambient sparks and effects from Unreal Engine added realism. Additional motion was created using puppet pins and expression-based camera vibrations.
I began by modeling a 3D parrot and experimenting with feathers and fur in Blender. Achieving realism proved challenging: the fur kept disappearing, the angles felt off, and the overall look ended up resembling a soft toy. This experience motivated me to dive deeper into the 3D production pipeline.
Project Storyline.
The storyline encapsulates a macaw getting triggered by the distant logging echoes through the forest, becoming alert as it pecks at the screen, desperately trying to catch the viewer's attention. It then reveals the consequences of our inaction, showing animals suffering in silence. This extends to humans, as floods impact farmers, the elderly, families and children symbolising the vulnerability of future generations. Ending with a series of actions the viewer can take with the link to a website with more information. It follows the long cycle of deforestation affecting animals, leading to an increase in greenhouse gases. Causing changes in extreme weather affecting many around the world.