Week One

Priorities

The team’s first priority is the narrative. We understand that the story we sell is what garners the consumer’s attention. Ultimately, this is what sells the product. Without further ado, here is the product!

The BVLGARI snake ring rebranded as “Carat.” Soi’s idea to use the unit of weight for precious stones as the name of our proxy brand is ingenious.

At the end of this month, the Year of the Snake will start. Our commercial will chronicle the start of the new year by following the snake ring’s journey into the limelight. Here are the current storyboards I created:

‘Carat’ Storyboards, Pass No. 2

Considerations

The approach to firstly establish the story did bring its speed-bumps. Oftentimes we had to reevaluate our projected workload. In our early conversations, the FX team (Yilin and Soi) was projected to have the most work. Once the team solidified the narrative, we were able to choose the most important shots/FX.

Because Veronica is interested in live-action compositing, and I will be incorporating at least one matte painting, the team has decided to integrate CG elements into live actions shots. Others will be fully 3D.

Shots 2, 4, and 5 have matte paintings in the background. The cuts between shots should be less jarring if the elements from each shot are reflected in the matte painting from the last.

Shoutout to Veronica with her excellent leadership inclinations. Early on, the team had decided that there would not be an official leader. Rather, we have our drivers. I am looking forward to seeing her driving mindset/capabilities progress as the team settles in.

Here is to week two! Thank you mentors for taking the time to invest in the future of Team Carat and all of the SCADxHarbor team.

Ring model provided by 3dexport.com and created by CADJewelry. Accessed January 10th.

It was a delight to use my concepting and 2D rendering skills to synthesize the team’s idea. A few years ago, I had aspired to be a concept artist. Something tells me that dream is returning. During this process, I took inspiration from my illustrative heroes Sam Hudecki, Dave McKean, Ridley Scott, George Hull, and others. Next time I storyboard, I will focus on lighting.

The FX team has five shots: Disintegration (Shot 2), Ring dropping and rolling (Shot 3), Material/texture morphing (Shot 4), leaf collision FX (Shot 5), and abstract particle effects (Shot 6).

Yilin and Soi’s excellent reference and ideation can be found at their blogs: https://yilinzblogs560w1-harbor.cargo.site and https://nuyhos73.wixsite.com/sohyunpark/scadxharborpicture

Previsualization named from top to bottom. Shot 2, created by Soi. Shot 4, created by Yilin. Shot 6, created by Mia.