Responsibilities - 3D VFX & AI Exploration
Teammate - Chatrin Samanchuen (3D VFX & Compositing)
Thesis Instructors - Prof. Adam Meyers, Prof. India Lombardi-Bello
Overview
Rebirth is a photorealistic thesis film that explores the cyclical nature of creation and destruction through mythology and the elemental forces of nature. Set in a richly detailed world built using advanced 3D VFX, the story begins with a thriving civilization brought to a sudden end by a massive solar flare. The impact triggers global floods and environmental collapse, burying the world and nearly all evidence of its existence. But deep within a ruined temple, beneath a sealed stone tablet, a single seed is preserved — a hidden remnant of life waiting for the right moment.
As time passes, the Earth lies still until a second cosmic event strikes. This final cataclysm doesn't just erase what's left — it cracks open the ancient stone tablet within the temple ruins, releasing the seed from its tomb. From that fracture, life begins again. The seed takes root in the broken earth and grows into a towering tree, a symbol of rebirth emerging directly from destruction. Drawing from ancient myths and natural cycles, Rebirth is a meditation on impermanence, resilience, and the quiet power of nature to begin anew when everything else has fallen away.
Inspiration & AI Exploration
Rebirth is deeply inspired by mythological cycles of destruction and rebirth found across ancient cultures — from flood myths like those in Mesopotamian, Hindu, and Indigenous traditions, to the symbolic world tree found in Norse and Mesoamerican cosmologies. These stories, which often frame cataclysm as a necessary step toward renewal, shaped the emotional and symbolic core of the film. Combined with the speculative theories of Graham Hancock and Randall Carlson—who explore the possibility of lost advanced civilizations wiped out by sudden disasters—these influences helped ground Rebirth in a space where myth, history, and scientific curiosity intersect.
AI Storyboards from Pre-Production
Cinematic Sequence Made with Krea AI
During preproduction, AI tools like MidJourney were used extensively to generate concept art and visual ideas, helping to quickly explore the film’s look and atmosphere. In production, Krea AI was employed to create and animate myth-inspired sequences, assisting in building dreamlike, otherworldly visuals that would have been difficult and time-consuming to produce by hand. AI was not a shortcut, but a collaborator—expanding creative possibilities, speeding up workflows, and supporting the film’s unique blend of realism and mythic abstraction, all while maintaining full artistic control.
Technical Approach & Pipeline
The foundation of Rebirth’s visual effects relied heavily on Houdini, a powerful tool for creating natural phenomena. Houdini’s procedural workflow allowed for detailed simulations, making it possible to control complex environmental changes realistically. This procedural approach also provided flexibility to tweak effects throughout production without having to start from scratch, which was essential for achieving the film’s dynamic and evolving landscapes.
Terrain Only Raw Render
Houdini Viewport
Frozen Environment Built in Houdini and rendered in Redshift
Unreal Engine played a key role in assembling the large environments and handling real-time lighting and camera work. Using Unreal allowed for quick iteration on scene composition and lighting setups, enabling faster decisions on mood and atmosphere. It also gave the film a strong sense of depth and scale, immersing viewers in a vast, believable world. Real-time rendering helped speed up the workflow, especially when experimenting with different visual styles or camera movements.
Rendered using Unreal Engine 5
Once the 3D scenes and effects were ready, they were brought into Nuke for compositing. This stage involved layering all the rendered elements, including visual effects and background images, and performing color grading to unify the look. Compositing was critical for blending practical and digital elements smoothly and for adding final touches that enhanced realism. Overall, this pipeline balanced technical precision with creative freedom, enabling Rebirth to deliver both photorealistic environments and richly detailed storytelling.
