Inside North Korea's Dynasty
Promo
National Geographic
2018
In a series that profiles the lives and lineage of the Kim family, we collaborated with National Geographic to create a promo that would symbolize the power and influence of the North Korean dynasty for the last three generations.
By marrying the two techniques of modeled bronze statues with light projection, we were able to build a dynamic environment that feels larger than life.
Inspired by traditional Mansudae Art Studio bronze statues found in North Korea and throughout Africa, we molded the spot around the tradition of creating idols of communist leaders. Projecting imagery onto the statues, such as the North Korean army and nuclear test footage, we piece together bits of the story and the dynasty’s ongoing impact around the world.
We began by modeling photo-real statues of Kim Il-Sung (grandfather), Kim Jong-Il (father) and Kim Jong Un (son) in ZBrush and refining all of the texturing and lighting in Redshift. Rendering in Redshift allowed us to create dense volumetric lighting and make the projections feel ultra realistic alongside dynamic animation moves in Cinema 4D. Ultimately, we rendered the statues and projections together in a single 3D pass.
Using unique framing to tease our statues, we end on a dramatic reveal that grounds the viewer before landing on the main title. By marrying the two techniques of modeled bronze statues with light projection, we were able to build an environment that feels larger than life, mixed with an archival-like addition that makes for a haunting 3D spot.
A big thanks to National Geographic for the collaborative effort throughout. We couldn’t be happier with the end result!
