Serra Lesson
Week 6 continued the development of the scene, shifting focus toward animating the spaceship movement. The process was straightforward and enjoyable, primarily involving the adjustment of ship rotations along the Cinematic Rig Rail to match the pacing and direction of the space chase. This added an extra layer of realism and energy to the previously established flight paths.
The white lines in the photo represent the different rail rig paths the ships will take, utilising the entire environment to showcase a variety of angles and animation opportunities within the wide landscape. This highlights the benefit of using Gaea, as its layered terrain adds depth and flexibility for cinematic movement and scene composition.
In parallel, improvements were made to the Niagara VFX system. While the initial snowstorm provided a good base, it lacked the dynamic quality seen in real-world references. Many of these references highlighted the importance of wind gusts in measuring the environment’s intensity.
In this reference, Over the Mountains showcases the winds and snowstorm.
To replicate this, wind effects were layered into the particle system, introducing sudden bursts and directional flow that added complexity and believability to the storm. Achieving this required using a particle system capable of generating a large volume of particles to ensure the effect was visually impactful across the expansive landscape.
The sprite size of the particles was increased so they wouldn’t get lost within the scale of the environment, maintaining visibility and presence on screen. Additionally, adjustments were made to particle velocity and shape, allowing for a more natural, gust-like movement that better matched the visual references and conveyed the chaotic energy of a wind-driven snowstorm.