Celestial
UCF Character Animation Team, Class of 2014
About the Film
Celestial is a 12 person group animated 3D short film, created by the 2014 Character Animation Class at the University of Central Florida. It is a two year project, where we learned about the entire production pipeline from start to finish. The entire story was created and developed by the students working alongside each other everyday. It is known for its beautiful and extensive alien environments, special effects heavy scenes, and pioneered in the vast world of space. We wanted the style to be completely alien but still have realistic elements from earth, so the audience can have something to relate to. The film had its debut in April 2014 at the University of Central Florida Center for Emerging Media. Celestial, along with other UCF animated short films, are constantly submitted to film festivals around the world.
Conspectus
Celestial is about a satellite named Titan, who discovers a celestial being named Gan, who is bound to a nebula. The story starts out with Gan watching a beautiful star form right in front of his eyes. He then tries to recreate the star out of crystals that are home to his nebula. However, Gan is only capable of making planets. When he realizes it looks nothing like the star, he discards it out to space, where the planet develops, and Titan is launched from it. Gan then tries again and again to make the star by applying different techniques every time. However, he is constantly destroying the planets in the process. Titan ventures into the nebula one day documenting space debris as he travels, and sees a planet Gan has made, and dives in to explore it. However, Gan doesn't realize he is in there, and energizes the planet. This destroys it, and Gan strikes Titan with lightning without knowing. But before Titans battery dies from the accident, he is able to show Gan holograms of all of the life and beauty that resides on the planet. The video of Gans unintentional destruction of it all is what makes Gan realize the fact that, if you open your eyes, beauty can be seen all around you. Even in the smallest of places.
Watch Celestial Here
Involvement
During the production of this film, I was given the title of Production Manager and Lead Animator. Along with those titles, I rigged one of the main characters of the film. I was educated in all aspects of the production process such as, story development, character design, storyboarding, traditional 2d animation, modeling, uv mapping, texturing, rigging, animation, effects, compositing, and editing. I accomplished these aspects in programs such as, Maya, Mudbox, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Nuke, Premiere, and After Effects.
Celestial has been accepted into the following film festivals.
Central Florida Film Festival
California International Animation Festival