Lightfarm Studios & Senna Brands
CLOSER TO GOD
Get ready for one of the most legendary laps in F1 history. We are so proud to share our first original short film with the world. 'Senna: Closer To God' is a tribute to all the fans of one of the greatest sports icons in the world. Created in collaboration with Instituto Ayrton Senna, this project allowed our team to put everything we know about realism on the screen.
As our first hyper-realistic project, entirely based on real elements and people, we rely on Unreal Engine, a graphics engine, unlike traditional 3D animation software that provides a complete development environment. By rendering in real time and using motion capture with MetaHuman, we achieved our goal of creating a result as close to reality as possible.
To model the car, we visited the Ayrton Senna Institute to study closely one of his McLarens that made history. The 1988 model is considered by some to be the greatest Formula 1 car ever, winning 15 out of the 16 races it competed in. The helmet and racing suit may be the most iconic symbols representing Senna. They've become recognizable worldwide from our idol's image, symbolizing his passion, determination, and commitment.
"This project was a challenge. We had worked with realism before but never with hyper-realism. 'Closer To God' started with the idea of recreating a day in Senna's life, showcasing a hyper-realistic character with hair, body hair, eyelashes, beard, clothes, car, race, and asphalt. The challenge was to create a realistic film with a character that talks and moves using motion capture. It was laborious, and we faced many obstacles, but we proved we could achieve great production with a small team. This is just the beginning," said Vivi Adade, the project director.
Credits:
Director: Milton Menezes
Co-Directors: Vivi Adade, Gabriel Agustin
Animation Director: Gabriel Agustin
Assistant Director: Letícia Alves
Production: Mari Suzuki
CGI Coordinator: William S. Tadeu
Commercial Director: Barbara Galvão
Art Direction: Milton Menezes, Marcelo Vaz
Lookdev Supervisor: Marcelo Vaz
Co-Supervisor Lookdev: Micael Quental
Tech Director: Eris Soares
Tech Supervisor: Beatriz Yuassa
Animation Director: Gabriel Agustin
Assistant Director: Letícia Alves
Production: Mari Suzuki
CGI Coordinator: William S. Tadeu
Commercial Director: Barbara Galvão
Art Direction: Milton Menezes, Marcelo Vaz
Lookdev Supervisor: Marcelo Vaz
Co-Supervisor Lookdev: Micael Quental
Tech Director: Eris Soares
Tech Supervisor: Beatriz Yuassa
Rigging Lead: André Antunes
Realtime Rigger: Luiza Cerizza
Layout: Walter de Andrade
Grooming: Lucas Amaral
Cloth Design: Sarah "Sandorah" Prado
Animation Supervisor: Vivi Rodrigues, Jônatas Amorim
Animation Lead: Diego Hay
Tech Animation: Abruel Moreira
Animation: Ronaldo Brito, Francisco Leite
Photography Direction: Milton Menezes, Marcelo Vaz, Gabriel Agustin
Lighting: Marcelo Vaz, Milton Menezes
3D Lead: Micael Quental
3D Character Designer: Diego Maricato, Maycon Lopes, Andy Bruning
3D Modeler: Guilherme Caiaffa, Danilo Rodrigues, Rubiano Basquera, Pedro Daniel, Micael Quental, Sofy Mazaro, Ton Batista
Lookdev: Beatriz Yuassa, Elias Degasperi, Gabriel Laranjeiras
Script: Paula Andrade
Storyboard: Frederico Infurna, Amanda Aguiar
Tech Artist: Eris Soares, André Antunes, Beatriz Yuassa, Mexwendell Gomes, Micael Quental
Simulation Supervisor: André Salviato
VFX Simulator: André Salviato, Lex Silva, Matheus Malta
VFX Compositor: Nicole Cosso, Thiago Clint, Juca Caetano, Paulo Chedid
Graphic Designer: Pedro Motta, Raphael Gibara
Editor: Michel Araujo, Thiago Paladino
Realtime Pilot: Ramon Saroldi
Mocap Actor: Milton Menezes
Motion Capture: Movkpta
Original Music: James Feeler
Sound Design, Mastering and VO Editor: Otavio Bertolo
Executive Producer: Luiza Pagliarini
Sound Design: Jamute