Our opening sequence for Blackstone: Leftover Edit

Every now and then, the animators at Jumbla come up with so many good shots that we don’t have room to fit them into the one video. This video game cinematic, for Odyssey’s Blackstone, is one such an example.

We couldn’t just leave them on the cutting-room floor though. So, like the special features you’d find on a DVD, we’ve compiled this sequence of too-good-not-to-share extras.

The original brief was all about depicting ‘strong’ and ‘sleek’ - words more commonly used to describe high-end cars. Therefore, we decided to explore these terms as vividly as possibly by literally conceptualising the birth of a futuristic sports car out of a plant of black onyx.

Meeting the brief with individual interpretation

Commenting on the original Blackstone brief, our Jumbla’s Creative Director Oz Smith said: “We proposed having a car be born out of a rough array of black crystal in a strange alien landscape, to reveal a smooth curvaceous black car.

There’s something fluid and delicate about the surfaces of cars. I think the motif of onyx enabled us to draw out both those contrasting properties: shiny, yet solid.”

The Blackstone B-roll offers a tantalising glimpse of the onyx-born car, which is extremely sleek in appearance as it tears through a dark and mysterious world.

The loose and abstract narrative allowed our animators to have some fun with their stylistic interpretations of the vehicle and its environment, all of which feature strong black and white contrasts.

Despite a two-tone palette, Jumbla’s Creative Director Callan Woolcock said there was plenty of room for exploration with form and texture instead.

“It’s impressive how visually decadent our animators were able to make it, without even being tempted to use colour.”

Creating a brave new world with stunning results

The assets were primarily created in Cinema 4D with compositing in After Effects. Our designers made heavy use of Octane Renderer, enabling them to better achieve the subtle atmospheric nuances they strove for.

Their vision came to life in the form of kaleidoscopes, shattering glass and smoky atmospheres, all interacting and conflicting with each other. 

Odyssey actively encouraged Jumbla to work without limitations, suggesting our animators should use their creativity to push forward and further each time.