"Beatrice" Project Exploration

In our midterm assignment for the Foundation of Story course at SCAD, we were tasked with creating an adaption/ representation of a story we either discussed in class, or could request from the professor to work on. As a VFX artist, I wanted to use this as the opportunity to practice my layout, lighting, and compositing skills.

Story and Concept

My professor referred me to Dante's Paradiso. History and literature is a huge inspiration for my work, and I especially enjoy analyzing how humans throughout history evolved to perceive the mortality and the afterlife.

While we had not covered this story in class, I was more than willing to spend some more time reading it for this project.

During my reading, I fell in love with the representation of the character Beatrice. The spiritual guide of the main character - and even the reader in a sense. A humanized representation of a wisdom and divine love. While making my project, I knew I had to include a visualization of her.

Layout and Symbolism

I utilized a metahuman model from Unreal Engine, personalized to how Beatrice was believed to have looked (from the story itself and analysis of the story/ author).

In the second shot, which shows her full body, I utilized a few more motifs to tie into the theme and concept of the story. In her hand lies an apple, since this shot represents the moment the two met Adam, the original sinner, and the association between Adam and the apple. She is also in the fetal position, a callback to the themes of life and religious rebirth/ awakening. Figuring out how to incorporate these symbols in subtle yet coherent ways was one of the most fun and unique parts of the project.

Lighting and Compositing

With the themes of heaven and divinity, I knew that light rays, saturation, and contrast would be vital.

In both shots, her hair was composited on from free video plate assets (credited in the breakdown sheet). The flowing hair was a must from the start, since I knew the graceful movement it provided would help add onto the tranquil yet uneasy tone of the shots. It provided a bit of trouble when it came to masking, but certainly helped give experience with keying moving hair.

Overall this project not only gave me the opportunity test out some compositing and lighting skills, but it also allowed me to really dive deep into a story, and be creative with turning it into visual representation.

Thank you to Professor Kayla Walker Edin for providing an assignment with such creative freedom!