DESCRIPTION
The Backlot IMAX project was a promotional video created to celebrate the grand opening of Blackpool's premier IMAX cinema. This dynamic visual showcase features a virtual drone show, where hundreds of digital drones seamlessly transform into various cinema-related shapes and forms, creating an engaging spectacle that captures the excitement and innovation of the new venue. The promotional video served as a key marketing piece for The Backlot's launch, demonstrating the cutting-edge entertainment experience visitors could expect.
ROLE
My primary responsibility was developing a Unity project that could realistically simulate drone swarm behaviour and formation flying. I created a sophisticated system where groups of objects could dynamically transition between free-flying states and organized formations based on target mesh shapes. The challenge was ensuring the virtual drones exhibited natural, believable flight patterns during transitions, mimicking the organic movement characteristics of real drone swarms. Additionally, I handled some of the video production pipeline, performing basic video tracking and processing to create some seamless backdrop footage that would integrate perfectly with the Unity-generated drone sequences. This required learning new skills in post-production workflow and ensuring proper export formats for Unity integration.
CHALLENGES
The most daunting task of the project was acquiring simple video tracking skills in a tremendously condensed period. With only general video editing experience and no experience with motion tracking workflows, I needed to provide tracked footage for use in the project. Working on a slim two-person team made the pressure even more intense because there was no room for extended learning curves or failures. The schedule necessitated my learning of video tracking within a single day and having an integrated, completed project within just two days in total. The experience demonstrated to me the virtues of focused learning under a deadline and the importance of efficient workflow management in the face of new technical challenges.
TECHNICAL
The project was developed in Unity3D using C# to create the drone formation system and flight behaviors. The main programming challenge was getting groups of objects to smoothly fly together and transition into different shapes while looking natural and drone-like in their movement patterns. For the video side, I used DaVinci Resolve to do some basic tracking work on the backdrop footage - nothing too complex, just enough to get the real-world background properly aligned with the virtual drone elements in Unity. The overall workflow was fairly straightforward, focusing on making sure the virtual drones looked convincing against the tracked background footage.
VIDEO
