Babel:
Optical Arts

This film tells the story of the Tower of Babel, taking inspiration from one of the few depictions of the tower formed by Italian artist, Antonio Basoli. Basoli developed a series of prints depicting fictional architectural designs - Alfabeto Pittorico. He chose the tower of Babel as his letter B. This film brings his intricate depiction to life.

The tale of the Tower of Babel evolved as an explanation for the origin of different languages. As the story goes, the tower of Babel was an attempt by Babylonians to build the tallest tower to-date in order to reach heaven. For this endeavour, they were punished by God. Different languages were introduced, making them unable to communicate and a powerful storm destroyed the tower.

In our film, the narrative is divided into three acts, each one exploring a different stage in the story: the building of the tower, its destruction and the landscape left behind. It follows the tower from a single point of view, through a 360 degree camera move. We used a grainy print-like texture and monochromatic shading in the sky to create a darkness and drama within the events that unfold - inspired by Basoli’s print.

I worked on modelling, mocap set up, texturing, lighting and shading.

Software: 

Houdini, Redshift & Substance.

Credits:

Creative Direction & Production: Optical Arts
Concept: Dan Tobin Smith
Director & Supervisor: Fabrice Le Nezet
Producer: Hannah May
3D Artists: Nicolas Damour, Flora Macleod & Izaak Pardey
Sound Design: String and Tins