Nature is Ancient' was created in conjunction with directing trio Lynn Fox
and features intricate Adam and Eve creatures living in a fluid environment alive with microscopic life clinging on to stalks in the dark atmosphere. Both characters are made up of many translucent layers, skins and jelly-like membranes with the the internal organs still faintly visible inside. The promotion portrays the reproduction of life with the Adam character navigating the black abyss to impregnate Eve, culminating in the growth of a human foetus inside Eve. The whole scene is like looking through a microscope at life as it forms.

Lynn Fox came to Glassworks with a basic animatic and sketched models of the characters. Our 3D department then developed these characters using NURBS modelling in Alias|Wavefront Maya adding layers of texturing to achieve the complex look of the characters.

Our Research and Development team developed a plugin shader which allowed the animators to create the membrane which covers the characters. The membrane needed to be detailed and photographic in quality and off-the-shelf 3D packages weren't sophisticated enough to get the effect needed. A system was developed to create millions of soft particles that build up to form the membrane.

The only live action element to the project was a tank of water containing dust and particles, shot on digital video and lit from various angles. This was composited with the 3D elements using a combination of techniques.
The particles had to move in water as if their movement were being disturbed and distributed by the movement of the characters. This was achieved by tracking and then warping their movement using some delay to control and imitate how they would move in water.