ECHOES

§ Project Description

For our Master’s degree, we need to create two multimedia projects, one of which is this one. The project, titled Echoes, explores realistic everyday scenarios that are gradually disrupted by an effect distorting the surrounding environment. This effect serves as a symbol of the destruction caused by war.

Each scenario represents an essential aspect of human life that is lost in war—such as education, community, art, and safety. In the final moments of the short film, it is revealed that this distortion was merely the foreshadowing of a missile heading straight for a civilian building. The last shot then captures the full extent of the devastation.

The initial idea for the project was that everyone had assigned a few shots so that they could work on a varied project and get a look into everything or deepen their workflow.

§ Concept

Our goal was to create a music video that would both enhance our own expertise and provide new experiences with different styles and tools. The final product aims to feature a music video with varied pacing. The verse is intended to be slow and calm, while the bridge acts as a build-up to the drop, offering an opportunity to convey the intended message in various styles and to transition between them. Throughout the creative process, we aimed to improve our technical and creative skills on multiple levels.

§ Process

The project began with storyboarding and choreography to synchronize the narrative with the song’s emotional rhythm. We used Optitrack’s motion capture system to record expressive performances, which were then imported into Houdini for animation refinement. Textures were designed in Substance Painter and Photoshop. Finally, the video was rendered with Houdini’s KarmaX renderer, followed by color grading to unify the tone and enhance the storytelling. All elements, environments, and effects were composited and blended together using After Effects and Nuke.

§ Learnings

Project Management

○ Stick to your goals
○ Don`t overscope

Houdini

○ KineFX CleanUp & Retargetting
○ Working with USD
○ Rendering with KarmaX

§ Music