The Ghoul Project

Rookie Awards 2023 | Film of the Year - Winner

Rookie Awards 2023 | Rookie of the Year - Finalist

by LukasLoeffler, bm4rio, lukaskapp, maxpollmann, and tillsandertitgemeyer on 14 May 2023 for Rookie Awards 2023

"The Ghoul Project" is the VFX breakdown for the film "A Calling. From the Desert. To the Sea". The project was awarded the 21st VES Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a student project.

34 2392 1

Round of applause for our sponsors

The Ghoul Project

by tillsandertitgemeyer

Please enable JavaScript to accurately view projects and entries.

THE GHOUL PROJECT

INTRODUCTION

In the short film "A Calling. From the desert. To the sea" is about a compelling story about an intelligent creature set in a desert environment. From beginning on we evaluated our production resources and team size to determine a realistic VFX scope. At the end we ended up with eight creature shots. Seven required seamless integration of a CG creature into live-action footage. Additionally, we worked on 11 matte painting- and various cleanup shots.

CREATURE PROCESS

While creating the creature for our short film, we explored published creatures and researched desert animals to establish a desired aesthetic. During the concept phase, we combined elements from different animals and quickly generated a variety of sketches. Director Murad Abu Eisheh provided feedback, focusing on silhouettes and shapes, which helped us to narrow the selection down to two designs. We further developed and refined these chosen concepts, exploring details and iterations.

After realizing that we weren’t happy with the previous concept, we developed a new concept, focusing particularly on the head of the creature. Adjustments were made to the 3D model to align with the new concept. Textures were reapplied to the updated model, and careful attention was given to the creation of hair.
Closeups were examined to ensure texture resolution and photorealism. Various lighting scenes were explored using HDRIs from the shoot, with specific emphasis on closeups of the head and different parts of the body. These steps aimed to refine the visual details and overall appearance of the creature.

Rigging & Animation

During the concept phase, we started rigging to research locomotion. We created a flexible modular rigging tool scripted in Python, allowing easy adjustments and rebuilds. The rig consisted of separate modules for arms, legs, and spine, enabling updates to affect the entire rig. We used a template approach for control shapes and connected all modules, resulting in a complex rig in Maya. The rig included standard features like FK/IK, space switches, and soft IK, with a switch to toggle between biped and quadruped modes. Anatomical considerations were made, such as sliding patella, scapula movement, and ribcage extension for breathing. For the face rig, we used a FACS-based blendshape system and employed a joint-based ribbon system for the mouth. A fleshy eye system with shrinkwrap-based eyelid attachment was implemented, preserving mesh deformation with an added blendshape.

Lighting & Compositing

Alongside the creature shots, we worked on several matte painting shots for the film. Extensive on-set photography provided references for the director's vision. As the Azraq desert lacked suitable mountains, we provided the desired mountain range. City backgrounds were added to some shots, even though we only filmed in the desert.
Achieving the desired look for the creature in the flat landscape required experimentation and balancing its appearance. We conducted an asset shoot, including additional hair and using a 3D-printed skull with industrial slime to support our CG drool simulation.