Students enter unknown territory for 3D sci-fi spectacular

Created at the Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany and directed by Daniel Brkovic and Jan-Marcel Kuehn, 'Natalis' is a stunning feat for student 3D animation.

It tells the story of the robot 'Ea', who is threatened by visions and fear of a devastating future. To avoid this, she has to decide about the life or death of the newborn baby creature, Enki.

Not only is the heart-wrenching storyline undeniably engrossing; the graphics and animation techniques showcased throughout are nothing short of stunning.

Outstanding effects

Today, it was announced that the team behind the diploma film had won an VES award for 'Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project' at last night's ceremony. We can't say we're surprised - if the teaser is this good, we can't wait to see the full-length feature.

Director Daniel Brkovic, explains the creative process. "Felix Mertikat had the original idea for Natalis. He was so great to allow us to use it as the basis for our diploma film. We had to develop a solid pipeline as well as individual workflows and plugins to realize the project. With motion capturing, facial capturing and muscle rigs we entered yet unknown territory."

Watch this! The making-of video:

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