23rd January 2017
Milk collaborated with VR studio New Reality Company to create “Tree” – a new VR film and installation launched at Sundance Film Festival 2017 as part of its “The New Climate” programme, which aims to draw attention to environmental issues and climate change. Tree is also set to be showcased at TriBeca in April 2017
The “Tree” virtual experience transforms the participant into a rainforest tree. With your arms as the branches and body as the trunk, you experience the tree’s growth from a seedling to its fullest form and witness its fate firsthand. (Those who experience this at the festival are also given a real seedling to take away and plant.)
Milk worked closely with Tree creators/directors Milica Zec and Winslow Porter to create the hero tree asset. Based on an initial concept and demo, we made the main interactive, rigged tree structure that animates through different life stages and the subsidiary attached branch and leaf animations for the tree’s life stages, from seed through to mature tree. This included modelling and rigging of the real time full tree morphing structure, dynamic materials, animated leaves and fruit for the various life stages. In addition, Milk provided R&D to produce animated procedural L-system growth that ran throughout the entire length of the film and also to provide the dynamic attachment of subsidiary animations.
Milica Zec and Winslow Porter are the creators of last year’s groundbreaking VR film “Giant” which showcased at Sundance 2016.