Vuilpanne Castle Integration - The Witcher Season 3 This sequence involved the digital integration of the Vuilpanne Castle, a modified representation of Slovenia's Predjama Castle, into a mountainous environment. My role encompassed all compositing aspects of these shots. Key Challenges: - Creative Redesign: The brief required substantial alterations to both the original Predjama Castle and the surrounding rock face to align with the production's creative vision. - Dynamic Camera Movement: A key challenge was the implementation of a dynamic tilt-down camera motion from a top-down perspective, a feature absent in the original plate. Technical Approach: 1. Asset Utilization: I leveraged high-resolution photoscans with cleaned geometry provided by the CG department. These assets facilitated the re-projection of matte paintings for set extensions, particularly for the mountain's summit, and the original plate. This re-projection allowed for the creation of a more organic camera animation within Nuke. 2. Castle Construction: The final castle composite was a hybrid of CG renders and elements from the original Predjama Castle. Initial multipass CG renders, generated in Maya, were combined with live-action elements to achieve the desired aesthetic. 3. Rock Face Enhancement: Distinctive red, diamond-like veins were procedurally generated in Houdini. This procedural approach ensured a natural, organic appearance for the rock face's unique features. 4. Atmospheric Effects: Smoke elements were simulated and rendered in Houdini to match the existing plate's atmospheric conditions. The simulation accurately replicated the complex, three-point swirling wind pattern present in the original footage. 5. Compositing in Nuke: The Nuke compositing process included the animation of the camera tilt, the blending of the CG and live action castle parts, the integration of the procedural rock veins, and the addition of the smoke simulation.