A Storybots Christmas - Snow Globe (2017)
The director wanted a perfect replica of the practical set inside of the snow globe.

The director wanted a perfect replica of the practical set inside of the snow globe.

This is a clip from the final show

We started with the practical set that was fabricated by Aron Bothman

We started with the practical set that was fabricated by Aron Bothman

It was rigged up with lights...

It was rigged up with lights...

and shot with a sky backdrop

and shot with a sky backdrop

After taking a lot of photos of the set, we created this photogrammetry scan of the practical set.

After taking a lot of photos of the set, we created this photogrammetry scan of the practical set.

However, the geometry was just too dense to really work with on our humble hardware (we made this whole show on iMacs)

Using Mudbox, I reduced the mesh down, and baked the detail into a displacement map.

Using Mudbox, I reduced the mesh down, and baked the detail into a displacement map.

So now it's light weight, but renders at full fidelity.

So now it's light weight, but renders at full fidelity.

I then sculpted some new snow that complemented the snow globe asset (which was modeled by Kendall Nelson). The scan fits very nicely!

I then sculpted some new snow that complemented the snow globe asset (which was modeled by Kendall Nelson). The scan fits very nicely!

It looks good! At least from the correct angles... movie magic and all.

It looks good! At least from the correct angles... movie magic and all.

and considering the scale of the snow globe (it's like a miniature of a miniature of a miniature!), reducing the geometry was a great idea.

Thanks for looking.

and considering the scale of the snow globe (it's like a miniature of a miniature of a miniature!), reducing the geometry was a great idea.

Thanks for looking.

One of the first tasks I took on at JibJab/Storybots, Inc. was to replicate a practical set from the show inside of a snowglobe. Our humble studio is not used to doing complex CG techniques (afterall, we do everything here, and CG is just a small part of it). Instead of spending lots of time modeling this set in 3D, I decided to take a photogrammetry approach.
(C) Storybots, Inc., Netflix