Major Project 17 - City Compositing Pt.1

With the city rendered, I started work on compositing it. There aren't too many shots which contain the city but I started with the first shot we see it because it is the hero shot showing the whole thing, which lets me experiment and create the complete look that I want before doing the same on the other shots. 



One of the main issues with doing this effect was the computer power itself. The city consists of many layers with different blending modes and the shield has lots of effects to create the pulsating look to it. This really makes my computer struggle, which takes much longer for me to preview what I am doing. I'm not certain what is so badly optimised about this particular effect, but it's making it hard to work as fast as I otherwise could. 

I am happy with the look that I've eventually come out with. I feel that this does look more realistic than the 2D matte painting and is much more flexible to light and composite. The big light on the top of the centre spire is the only thing different from Bach's design. I decided that the long lens flare added a nice bit more interest and some interaction with the foreground, since this can flare in front of and be obstructed by the building and characters. Otherwise, I kept as exact as I could to Bach's design.