The Threat Emerging from the Ocean
The second season of The Rig, Amazon Prime Video's suspense series, features the crew of an oil rig in the North Sea facing a mysterious microbial life form known as The Ancestor. To bring this threat to life, Vine FX studio developed a complex underwater environment with a surprising level of detail.
A Bioluminescent Ecosystem Generated by Procedural Simulations
One of the biggest challenges of the production was creating an extensive underwater forest composed of mycelial structures extending 400 meters across the seabed. Vine FX generated 115 shots to represent this ecosystem, combining conceptual illustrations with procedural simulations that allowed for organic and realistic growth of each element.
The team designed several tree models that were distributed in the scene without visible repetitions. The bioluminescence of the environment was achieved by internally illuminating the trunks using mesh lights in Solaris, within the Houdini software, giving the forest a unique appearance.
The Importance of Lighting and Floating Particles
To enhance the sense of immersion, Vine FX combined computer-generated effects with live-action footage, creating a digital ocean that seamlessly blends with the filming.
The use of light was key to defining the scale of the scene.
The strategic placement of floating particles allowed for generating a perception of depth and enveloping atmosphere. With this resource, the aim was to represent an environment that, despite being vast, conveyed a sense of claustrophobia to the characters.
The compositing artists ensured the integration of the bioluminescent trees with the real action scenes, reflecting the light on the protagonists' diving suits to increase realism.
Optimization with a New Production Technology
To improve the project's efficiency, Vine FX implemented a workflow based on Universal Scene Description (USD), a technology that facilitates the management of complex scenes and allows for the reuse of environments without the need to render each shot from scratch.
This optimized system allowed for greater control over the visual effects and total coherence in the underwater shots. Thanks to this innovation, The Rig was able to offer an immersive and realistic visual experience.