Transdiagen Case Study
I have worked on a video for a company that analyzes gene activity (gene expression) in cells and tissues. In this project, I used several interesting techniques that I’d like to share with the community.
During the script development stage, I started gathering references to understand which visual ideas could best convey the project’s atmosphere. I have studied effects like long exposure, fisheye, lens effects, and color work. This helped me a lot with the understanding of how they could be realized in 3D animation.
A Metaphor for Globality
The first scene needed to represent the diversity of people. I chose a city square as a metaphor—a place of chaotic movement and a large gathering of individuals. The fisheye effect enhanced the sense of scale, visually transforming the scene into a miniature globe.
Motion in Frozen Time
One of the key ideas was a camera move through a frozen moment. But how do you show motion within complete stillness? I decided to adapt the photographic long exposure technique: in real life, it stretches light and moving objects, while in 3D animation, it allowed me to create a sense of time flowing inside a frozen scene.
Adding Imperfections
CG imagery often looks too clean, and I wanted to introduce some optical artifacts to make it feel more natural. Subtle distortion, slight defocus, and soft lens flares—details that are more felt than noticed—helped bring the image to life.
Depth of the Microscopic World
In the cell growth scene, it was crucial to convey the feeling of a microscopic world while maintaining depth. I achieved this through a combination of lens focal length adjustments, barrel distortion, blur from center to edges, chromatic aberrations, and highlights. The result feels like looking through a microscope while still preserving a cinematic look.
This project was an opportunity to experiment with camera effects and explore new ways to communicate complex ideas through visuals. Hope these insights are useful to others—looking forward to your feedback!
