BATTLEFIELD 2042
GOODBYE KANSAS, cinematic design 2021
ART DIRECTION | LEAD DESIGN | LEAD ANIMATION
A PROPER INTRODUCTION
A dystopian near future filled with raging natural disasters, deplenished resources, defunct nations, and two superpowers on the brink of global war. What unfortunate series of events led us to this?
We were tasked with the introduction to this world: to create a film that acquaints us with 2042, to provide context for our arrival here, and to leave one eager for immersion into the story.
This case study is broken up in 4 parts. Why? We made a stupefying amount of artwork for this project, a lot of which didn't make it into the cut. Part 1 (this page) focuses on the final film and the artwork that directly went into this edit. Parts 2-4 follow the design journey that led us here and includes the art direction evolution, network breakdown and an indepth look at the maps and user interface elements.
00 . Contents
Content
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CONTENT
01.1 The Overview Effect
The sun breaks the horizon and spills over the surface of the planet. The earth is so peaceful, hopeful, awe inspiring. A satellite drifts into view and with it come the sounds of news broadcasts painting a different picture. A world where record breaking weather is the new normal. The satellite’s eye watches over the surface of the planet. We peer into it and enter The Network.
A mixture of 3D renders, digital matte painting and licensed NASA footage was comped together to create our opening planetary sequence.
ENTER THE NETWORK
We warp through the lens of the satellite and enter the Network: a glitchy, voxel-based labyrinth of information, like seeing inside the neural network of a surveillance AI. It collects all forms of data relevant to the global crisis, organizing it into a linear timeline.
The Network is a massive three dimensional grid with 2D and 3D content organized and scattered throughout its planes. The structure and camera moves were created in Cinema 4D, composited and animated in After Effects.
THE BALTIC FIRES
A major storypoint in the history leading up to 2042. The Baltic Fires ravaged Eastern Europe, blackening the skies and causing massive evacuations across several countries.
We needed a way to quickly contextualize the scale of these events; something video footage couldn’t do. We developed a series of maps, the first one being the Baltic Fires, that visualize the enormity of the climate crisis we are experiencing. A mixture of 3D geography and animated UI show the spread of the conflagration.
01.2 THE WORLD HAS CHANGED
The magnitude of this climate change is visible from space. It is something both beautiful and terrifying to behold. While the fires are burning Europe, storm surges drown other parts of the world.
The juxtaposition of network visualization of the fires with a more realistic image felt powerful. Using high resolution earth textures, real climate change predictions, 3D renders, Houdini sims, and some DMP wizardry, we created these lovely dark depictions of the devastation.
Credits
MICHAEL RIGLEY: ART DIRECTION + DESIGN, 2021
CREDITS | PRODUCTION
Client: Electronic Arts | DICE Stockholm | Criterion London
Production: Goodbye Kansas
Executive Producer: Anton Söderhäll
Producer: La-Rå Hinckeldeyn
Score: Hildur Guðnadóttir & Sam Slater
Sound Design: UHORT
Credits: GBK Graphics Team
CREDITS | MOTION GRAPHICS
Director: Will Adams
Art Director | Lead Design: Michael Rigley
Producer: La-Rå Hinckeldeyn
Lead UI Design: Steven Bussey
3D Animation: Michael Rigley, Will Adams
2D Animation: Michael Rigley, Guilherme Ferreirinha, Marcus Melin
UI Animation: Steven Bussey
Lead Glitch Animation: Guilherme Ferreirinha
Thank You
Ending title | Ending title
MFR CREATIVE STUDIO | 2022 | CINEMATIC DESIGN | P3
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