How Corona and Vantage interoperability empowered narrativ to create show-stopping animations

Summary:

• narrativ is a UK-based studio specializing in using CGI to craft visuals, animations, marketing films, and more.
• The studio, a long-time user of Corona, recently tested its interoperability with Vantage.
• Through experimentation, Director Robin Walker and the narrativ team leveraged real-time ray tracing to iterate rapidly, enabling a more creative and artistic workflow.
• narrativ produced three animations, showcasing architecture, product, and VFX.

London-based visualization studio narrativ has specialized in digital communication since 2019. The studio brings to life the visions of architects, designers, brands, and artists through static images, animations, virtual tours, and marketing films. Whether crafting tour visuals for musician Gryffin or showcasing monumental projects like the Olympia Exhibition Centre, narrativ thrives on tackling exciting, boundary-pushing projects. Since its founding, the studio has consistently relied on Corona as its renderer of choice.

After learning about the upcoming release of Corona 12, narrativ was intrigued by the new interoperability with real-time visualizer Vantage. This feature allows Corona users to import scenes into Chaos Vantage and render test images in seconds. It also allows for exploring scenes and creating animations, utilizing Vantage's ultra-fast GPU real-time rendering. Recognizing the potential to elevate their work, Director Robin Walker and the narrativ team were excited to take on an ambitious project commissioned by Chaos that would thoroughly test this new feature's capabilities.

Setting the stage for a triple animation challenge

After their initial excitement about testing the interoperability, the narrativ team took time to plan their test carefully. They didn't hold back, proposing creating three distinct, one-minute animations focused on architecture, product, and VFX.  Robin explained, "Each [theme] was designed to push Vantage in its very own way while also showing its versatility."

The studio got to work using their tried-and-true workflow, creating scenes in 3ds Max before rendering them with Corona — making the most of Interactive Rendering as they went ("we couldn't live without it"). By the time they were ready to experiment, narrativ had crafted three meticulously designed scenes to explore from every angle using Vantage.

Three scenes, three tests, one conclusion

With the scenes ready, the narrativ team began testing the interoperability by exporting them as .vrscene files and importing them into Vantage. The plan was to create animations that would immerse the viewer by showcasing dynamic angles, enhancing lighting, and testing Vantage's ultra-quick rendering time.

First up was the architecture scene where narrativ had created a light, bright chapel with white drapes, reflective spheres, and soft pink and white lighting. The team chose this serene chapel setting to challenge Vantage's ability to render complex lighting interactions and reflections in a highly controlled environment. "And it did not disappoint," reveals Robin.

Next up was the product animation, zeroing in on a rugged muscle car. With its slightly worn details and imperfections, the car was an ideal subject to test how Vantage handled intricate textures and complex materials—elements that are often challenging to render accurately in CGI, a.k.a “all of the stuff we get excited by as 3d artists.”

For the final animation, the narrativ team turned to their original IP, The Old Gods. This in-house production is set in an age of myth and heroes, with reimagined deities presented in a dramatic, spectacular fashion.

The scene was complex and dynamic, featuring thousands of incredibly detailed tree models and an epic battle scene with diverse and intricate materials. Given the high stakes of rendering such a multifaceted scene, this project was the perfect test to push Vantage’s real-time capabilities to their limits.

As the narrativ team worked, they quickly realized that Vantage empowered them to follow their instincts more than traditional tools. This hands-on approach meant the team could work more instinctively; as Robin noted, “With Vantage, you feel like you’re there, in the scene, just shooting with a camera.”

Achieving Visual Perfection in Record Time

As the project progressed, Vantage clearly gave the team an upper hand with these longer animations. "Without Vantage and its ultra-fast GPU rendering, along with its ability to quickly light scenes and find camera angles, this wouldn't have been possible." Ultimately, Vantage rendered narrativ's three animations in minutes to hours on a single machine — something Robin admits was "pretty crazy."

With the three films completed, the narrativ team screened them for the Chaos team to a great response. “They loved them,” Robin says. “Everyone was happy.”

Integrating Vantage: A new era for narrativ

Now that they have their first Corona/Vantage project under their belt, the narrativ team has already found another great use for the interoperability, using it for clay renders during the view selection for clients. Robin added that this works particularly well for the studio due to Vantage's "blisteringly fast" speed. 

But always looking to push the limits and look to the future, the team is already anticipating the upcoming Live Link functionality and what it will enable them to do. "I can't wait," says Robin. "We will be able to test scenes with animated objects like people, etc, when that comes."

In the meantime, the narrativ team has one piece of advice for other studios curious about how interoperability might work for them: "I think everyone should try it out. It has a lot of power, and the speed is unmatched." But Vantage hasn't been all about speed for narrativ; it also allowed the team to get back to their creative roots. "Anything which makes us 3D artists less of technicians and more of artists is a way forward."