Hosuk Chang
Great Beyond
Creating this minimalistic environment for the "Great Beyond" was ironically quite challenging. The goal was to depict an afterlife space that felt unique, deliberately avoiding the look of a typical starfield. It needed an otherworldly quality, distinct from any real location.
While various particle animation methods were tested, a relatively simple movement pattern was chosen. The core difficulty lay in making this sparse design visually engaging without appearing merely empty.
To ensure the particles didn't read as distant stars, a subtle parallax effect was introduced. This effect depended on both the particle's distance from the camera and its proximity to the central light source, causing closer particles to shift more noticeably. Additionally, the particle density was carefully controlled, increasing smoothly as one approached the bright light.
This density gradient served a crucial narrative purpose: conveying directionality and a sense of danger, even when the light source itself wasn't visible. This visual cue helped the audience understand the environment's perilous nature and guided the main character, Joe, instinctively away from the light.
To further heighten the feeling of danger near the light, the particles not only became denser but also increased in speed. This presented a technical challenge, as higher speeds typically reduce particle density. To compensate, the rate at which new particles were generated near the light had to be significantly increased.
Fine-tuning the composition for each shot involved adjusting both the size of the light source and the overall particle density. Despite its apparent simplicity, the resulting environment possesses a unique visual character and effectively fulfills its narrative role.