"True Spirit" movie
- animated 3D sequences

Once more, I had the pleasure of collaborating with the talented New Holland Creative team to craft a series of 3D animated interludes to the Netflix true-story movie "True Spirit" directed by Sarah Spillane.
The movie depicts a daring expedition of Jessica Watson, a courageous young Australian who is the youngest person to have sailed solo and unassisted around the world.

“You don't have to be someone special to achieve something amazing. You've just got to have a dream, believe in it and work hard.”

— Jessica Watson

.Video

.Background

Through Jessica's remarkable journey, the film delves into the intricate experience of parents navigating the complexities of allowing their child to live their dream and grow independent. To this day, Watson remains the youngest person ever to accomplish this feat

"True Spirit" is a Netflix original feature movie. It chronicles the captivating true story of Jessica Watson, a 16-year-old Australian who sailed around the world in 210 days, unassisted and without stopping.

.Process

Sarah Spillane, the movie's director, had a clear vision for the 3D animations that I was to create. She put particular emphasis on certain aspects, such as the highlighter effect, which seamlessly integrated with other thematic elements in the film. She loved the three-dimensional quality of the pink origami boat, situated precisely where it should be on our map in relation to the character's location in the story. In terms of the shots, the progression of Jess's journey had to be clear and precise.

.The Boat

Using the original origami creation featured in the movie props as a blueprint, I meticulously created the boat. To accentuate the intricacies of the paper folds and add a touch of authenticity, I incorporated customised textures to imbue the vessel with a sense of wear and tear.

.The Map

Undertaking the daunting task of recreating a bona fide map from the film set was a challenge. I started crafting topographical line work for the maps using After Effects to achieve the goal. Then, I combined the line work with an aged map texture and imbued it with a red highlighter (which I later animated) to give it a distinct tone. To add the icing to the cake, I utilised multiple layers of bump maps and displacement to create a complex elevation. The final touch involved seamlessly integrating it with a fluid camera movement, depth of field and realistic lighting, sampled straight from the movie set. The end result was very satisfying.