If you’ve seen the RealFlow promotional material, then you’ve no doubt seen the giant ‘liquid brain’ image used in the branding. That image was generated by Fusion CI Studios and DMG for Fonterra’s “Whole Water” commercial we’ve covered before. In fact, the commercial was instrumental in some of the features added to RealFlow5.
The brain is particularly meaningful because its creation is a tribute to the ongoing joint development efforts between Next Limit Technologies and Fusion CI Studios. Next Limit had only recently upgraded RealFlow with Python scripting capabilities at the time, so co-owner and VFX sup at Fusion, Mark Stasiuk, was able to use that to build a proprietary fluid morphing behavior with features that went beyond RealFlow’s native toolset. And, after seeing the demonstration of the fluid morphing capability in the “Whole Water” spot, Next Limit’s developers were inspired to create an improved fluid morphing tool within RealFlow 5. That brain represents a “whole” lot of action on the leading-edge of CG fluid fx!
See more information about the project after the break.
Fusion CI Studios congratulates Next Limit Technologies on its release of the eagerly anticipated fluids and body dynamics software package, RealFlow 5, and is honored that an image created by Fusion was chosen to represent the RF5 brand!
A wonderfully wet, dripping brain was created for Fonterra’s “Whole Water” commercial by Department of Motion Graphics, New Zealand and Fusion CI Studios, LA. The commercial has garnered international adulation for its technical and artistic achievement in cg fluids. The most challenging part of the spot was a continuous 650-frame shot, done in one single, complex fluid simulation, in which ‘Whole’ water magically transforms from a puddle to a brain to a bridge to bananas. It is the brain image that Next Limit chose to represent RealFlow 5.
“The glass-like brain made of water immediately caught our attention,” says Victor Gonzalez, CEO of Next Limit Technologies, “we loved the amazing morphing effects. The ‘water brain’ brings the concepts of fluid simulation and user intelligence together — the flow of the mind to create new concepts. That was what we were looking for. We thank Fusion for bringing this idea to us and for their commitment in the long run. They truly represent what the brain image means to us.”
The brain is particularly meaningful because its creation is a tribute to the ongoing joint development efforts between Next Limit Technologies and Fusion CI Studios. Next Limit had only recently upgraded RealFlow with Python scripting capabilities at the time, so co-owner and VFX sup at Fusion, Mark Stasiuk, was able to use that to build a proprietary fluid morphing behavior with features that went beyond RealFlow’s native toolset. And, after seeing the demonstration of the fluid morphing capability in the “Whole Water” spot, Next Limit’s developers were inspired to create an improved fluid morphing tool within RealFlow 5. That brain represents a “whole” lot of action on the leading-edge of CG fluid fx!
CG fluids remain among the most confounding effects to achieve truly natural looks and behaviors, and to push that even further by morphing cg fluid into specific shapes demands highly advanced skill. Stasiuk was excited about the Whole Water project as his studio had already been developing fluid morphing behavior technology, so to then add the challenge of applying that r&d to a spot where fluid is a mischievous & clever main character was exhilarating… if not daunting.
“Fluid looks most realistic and fluid-like when it’s in its natural fluid forms — droplets, puddles, streams, splashes, “explains Mark. “When you push fluid into a specific geometric shape, you’re forcing it to perform unnaturally, while still demanding it look like fluid. As the fluid transforms toward a highly detailed shape, you have to sculpt its motion so its behavior looks and performs naturally. In addition, you have to make sure only the exact quantity of fluid that will fit on the surface of the geometry is attracted to the surface. If you add too much fluid or distribute it badly, it will turn into a giant glob and you won’t see the details of the object. And once it’s on the shape, you don’t want it to look like a static ice-sculpture, so you have to develop ways of making the fluid continue to move even as a still object, creating the illusion of fluid without destroying the details of the geometry. It’s tricky.”
The Department of Motion Graphics and Fusion collaborated on designing the shots for the spot, with DMG modeling and animating, and Fusion custom coding software tools to bring the water to life, allowing its performance to be directable. “It was a very interactive process,” says Linds Redding, Creative Director at DMG, “we would decide how we wanted the water to look and behave at any given point, and Mark would go away and write a piece of code that would give us the controls we needed to achieve what we wanted.”
“DMG was an outstanding group to work with,” adds Mark. “They gave us the time and creative space we needed to make the fluids work, and had brilliant ideas on how to get the most out of the water. On top of that, their great camera work and lighting made the water look fabulous. The teamwork on this project created a startlingly distinctive and stunning piece that really speaks for itself.”
The Whole project is an icon for the times. Not only does it manifest a perfect working model in a challenging economy — two studios collaborating on a unique & complex project by combining their strengths to create outstanding results, but it has inspired artists and companies alike in pushing the technology. And this is Fusion’s MO. Specializing exclusively in fluid & dynamic effects, Fusion’s clients are typically other vfx studios who have been awarded challenging fluid/dynamic effects shots. In turn, reach out to Fusion to create the shots, rather than straining their own pipeline unnecessarily or turning out a mediocre product. Win/win – a perfect working model.
Again, congratulations to Next Limit Technologies on RealFlow5!
