“Tales of Cantara Cabin” is a six-episode online series that explores multiple genres and different stories, all set in the same cabin.
For this project, I used tools such as Nuke, Adobe After Effects, and Photoshop, employing my matte painting, color correction, chroma keying, and compositing knowledge to bring digital sets to life.
The creator of the series and director of the episode I participated in, Angus Weeb Ware, is a producer and director from Melbourne, Australia. For the first episode, he contacted me to join as a Freelance VFX Artist for that very task. In addition to matte painting, I seamlessly integrated CGI elements into the scenes, contributing to the sci-fi aesthetic that characterizes this episode.
I completed a total of six shots.
The series is set to premiere in on December 22, 2024 at ACMI Cinemas in Melbourne. If you are in the area you can book your tickets on either of the links below.
more information
Behind the Scenes
In the first batch of scenes I worked on, I had to transform a scene filmed in Australia into a snowy mountain environment.
Angus provided images of snowy mountains, which I stitched together to form the setting. I then added falling snow effects and performed color correction to create a cohesive scene.
To incorporate the actors into the scene, I used chroma key and color correction, and finally implemented a CGI object provided by Angus and his team.
In another shot, I had to implement lights passing in front of one of the actors. I performed rotoscoping work and created a transparency matte for the light. Then, I animated a light sphere passing across the screen, achieving a realistic effect. In the same shot, I composited the image of the light sphere traveling through the sky and reflecting in the character’s eyes.
The most complex shot was one where the character travels and becomes part of space itself, forming a spiral. I used After Effects for this shot, as it allowed me to make quick changes and facilitated smooth communication with the client. Through a montage of space images, deformers, and effects, I achieved the result desired by the director.
In retrospect, this was a great project to work on as a freelancer, and I am very happy with the results. I look forward to new challenges in future projects.
Once the shortfilm releases publicly I will share a reel with the work I did for the film.