Research & Initial Ideas
- Mikey Owen
- Nov 29, 2022
- 6 min read
Now I've established the tasks of the assignment; it's time to begin work on the pre-production stage.
I'd like to use this post to compile some research images I've located online, highlighting where I can take inspiration from them and apply their aspects to my final scene. I'd also like to them start brainstorming some initial ideas for my cinematic using the reference material as a foundation.
Temple Interior
Though the brief only requires a single shot of a temple entrance to fulfill the criteria, I'd like to include additional shots as well showing the interior. For my first Data Capture assignment I managed to compile 16 different scans, all of which I'm very proud of, and I feel it would be a shame to restrict the meshes I use to only those which would work for an exterior scene.
To that end, I'd like to begin my research section with some images I've compiled of interior shots from ancient temples around the globe. I've compiled the reference images into the below gallery:
I've tried to compile a wide range of temple interiors from around the globe. You may notice Egyptian architecture, as well as Indian and Cambodian. I have yet to select the region where my temple will be situated, so I want to keep all options open at this stage, whilst also ensuring I have reference material available regardless of my final choice.
These are some wonderful reference images as they already have me imagining some great scenes for my final cinematic! I particularly like the rays of light shining down from above in the 3rd, 6th & 9th images, as well as the rubble buildup and slow reclamation of the walls by nature visible in some of them.
Temple Exterior
Now I need to turn my attention to the exterior of the temple. The brief states that we need to have a shot of an entrance to a temple-like structure, so as I did with the exterior, I wanted to compile a gallery of reference images from temples around the globe.
The brief also makes a point of specifically stating "a fictitious rock face/cave entrance temple like structure", so I've tried to narrow my search to only temple entrances situated within rock faces. Please see the gallery below to observe my findings:
You'll once again note the wide regional variety of the research material. I once again chose to focus on Egyptian, middle eastern, Cambodian and Indian as a base, not only because these are the most obvious choices for ancient architecture, but also to see how their design translates from interior to exterior.
I'll be honest, while this is a great selection of reference material, I'm not really sure about the general aesthetic of the images. I do like the grand scale of the carvings, but I visualize my temple entrance as being something far more subtle. This does still mean I can take small details from these as inspiration, such as the vast detail on the carvings, but I may have to explore additional avenues for research to try and nail down the look I want.
Unreal Engine Temples
With what I've stated above in mind; I wanted to explore what other CGI artists had created within Unreal Engine over the years to see if this could provide any additional inspiration.
While I have a years worth of experience under my belt with Unreal Engine, the multitude of it's facilities are still alien to me. It's my hope that by researching what others with more experience have created, I'll get more of a firm grasp on what's possible within the Engine. This way I'll obtain a greater understanding of the limits of the software, and also have a visual reference point to work towards when creating my final scene.
I've therefore compiled a gallery below of temples created by other artists within Unreal Engine, ranging from UE3 up to UE5:
These images are exactly what I was looking for in terms of reference material! The entrances in particular in the 5th and 7th picture are precisely what I pictured when I was imagining my temple entrance. I have a scan, which you may recall from the previous assignment of a cave entrance in a rock face, which I believe would be ideal for replicating this look. Additionally, I really like the build up of pillars and the staircase in the 7th image as well for fleshing out the entrance and making it look more temple-like.
In terms of interiors as well, I think the light breaking through the gap in the ceiling in the 2nd image creates wonderful composition! This is absolutely something I was also apply to my own scene. Lastly, I really appreciate the decorative nature of the 3rd, 9th & 10th images. I would like to fill my temple with artifacts and eye catching murals, so will take inspiration from these shots for doing so!
Initial Idea
Now that I have some research under my belt and a slew of reference images to take inspiration from, it's time to start brainstorming a theme for my temple.
I recently took a trip to the Forrest of Dean on the Welsh border with my Girlfriend, where we visited King Arthur's Cave. I'll be honest, I was fairly disappointed with the actual cave. It was relatively shallow, with nothing to really set it apart from any run-of-the-mill cave. I know I may have been expecting a bit much, but I did think at the time about how I wished it had been some grand 'sword in the stone' style environment. A rock in the middle of a small lake, with light shining in through the ceiling etc. With the rock housing the sword Excalibur once upon a time.
I've included an image of King Arthur's Cave below for your reference:
I do also love how the cave is situated in an old English woodland, and feel this would also be a perfect location to place my photogrammetry assets (given they originate from this country also). An issue I may face by trying to construct a temple in a foreign region using rock local to the south coast of Britain would be a mismatch of stone types, potentially breaking any immersion.
It's for these reasons I've discussed above that I've narrowed down the following bullet points to build my final scene around:
Temple will be located in a distinctly 'English' medieval forrest.
Narrative will have a 'King Arthur' theme, with a sword in a stone in the center of the interior.
Interior will feature a light shining through a gap in the ceiling to provide dynamic lighting.
Entrance will be relatively unassuming. A simple entrance with pillars and maybe a small staircase leading up to it.
I feel these points should be enough to begin creating a storyboard and previs for the scene, but given that I now have a mythical narrative as a base, I'll need to conduct some additional research.
Research of Swords
As I now intend to focus my narrative on a sword embedded within a stone, it's important that I research the design of some medieval swords to take influence from in order to create my own.
I've therefore compiled a gallery of reference images below in the same way I've constructed for the temple research earlier in this post:
I think the general shape of the sword's blade is pretty apparent from these images above, it's mainly the complexity and details on the hilt that I'm interested in (given that the sword will be embedded in stone, the hilt will really be all you can see).
I really love the simple yet ornate design of the second image, and simultaneously love the complexity of the design in the 7th photo! I'm hoping that perhaps combining the two will lead me to a perfect concept that I can use! Either way, I believe these images should be more than sufficient to create a design for my Excalibur.
Sword Concept
I'd rather not spend too much time on the sword, as the photogrammetry assets are going to be the star of the scene. Because of this, I've decided to only produce a single concept using a method called photo-bashing (exactly as it sounds, bashing together parts of different photos into a unique design) to create my Excalibur.
I therefore took different elements of my research images into Photoshop, cutting and manipulating the parts I liked of each, then combining them all together into the design you see below:
I'm actually really pleased with how this concept came out! I think I've done well to obtain the complex, ornate hilt I desired. Even though the majority of the blade will be embedded within stone, I feel the design of the hilt will still help the asset to stand out enough so people immediately connect with the theme of the narrative. I've decided that this is the design I will proceed with when creating the final asset.
With my research completed, narrative theme decided and sword concept created; it's now time to move onto the next stage of pre-production!
In the next post I'll be going over my assignment 1 assets to prepare them for this cinematic. Reviewing what I have available and starting to concept some early ideas on how they can be placed within the scene.
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