VFX house Lux Aeterna used wave height data from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration for National Geographics documentary about the 2004 tsunami
By Contributor
Published: December 23, 2024
VFX house Lux Aeterna used wave height data from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration for National Geographic's documentary about the 2004 tsunami
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> VFX house Lux Aeterna used wave height data from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration for National Geographic's documentary about the 2004 tsunami
https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/mapping-the-great-wave-how-lux-aeterna-produced-data-centric-visuals-for-tsunami-race-against-time title=Share via Email class=share-email>
In a project spanning nearly a year, visual effects house Lux Aeterna delivered a broad scope of data-centric visual work as graphics in the form of maps and title sequences, for National Geographic's new docuseries Tsunami: Race Against Time. The four-part series marks 20 years since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, reflecting on the personal stories of those affected by the disaster.
Told through original footage, photography, and interviews with survivors, scientists, journalists, and rescuers - some seen and heard for the first time - the four-part series provides a comprehensive view of the devastating wave as it surged across the ocean, in new detail. The project was led by creative director Steve Burrell, with the support of Lux Aeterna's VFX director Paul Silcox, who provided data simulation in Houdini, alongside Ben Coath, junior pipeline technical director.
A unique challenge faced by the Lux Aeterna team during the project was processing the wave height data provided by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This data was originally sourced by NOAA from deep-water gauges, producing five hours' worth of data in total. The team was supplied with a 232GB NetCDF file of pure data, this was processed into a format readable by Lux Aeterna's VFX pipeline.
Billions of data points were collected from NOAA, scientists, and survivors to create the animated map, resulting in an Excel document the size of three terabytes, comments Silcox. We used Python to process data through Houdini, producing simulations that were incredibly accurate and often revealing unexpected insights.
This vast volume of data resulted in the most accurate graphical recreation of the 2004 tsunami to date. What's new is the level of detail and the processing power applied through Houdini, comments series producer James Parris. A total of 37 billion valid data points were processed in Houdini, via Python, and used to accurately map the wave patterns over time. This waveform visualisation had never before been used in this way or widely reported, and Lux Aeterna was able to envision the data in a way that even scientists had not done before.
The concept of the series first came about with the team at Blast Films reflecting on significant events and upcoming anniversaries, and realising that the full story of the Indian Ocean tsunami had never been told. Simultaneously, National Geographic was looking to produce a series that echoed their Emmy-winning documentary, 9/11: One Day in America, also directed by Daniel Bogado, leading to their interest in Tsunami: Race Against Time. It had an incredible unseen archive and thousands of compelling human stories, comments Tanya Winston, creative director at Blast Films. It felt like we could create a series that would be gripping and terrifying, yet purposeful, and that would also seek the best in human nature.
Production began in October 2022, with shooting taking place in blocks between March 2023 and January 2024. No reenactments were filmed, only interviews with survivors and those affected by the natural disaster. It wasn't just a tourist story, says Winston, the parts that have never been told are the stories of the locals who were worst affected. The team at Blast Films recognised the need for one of the biggest natural disasters in the 21st century to be properly documented, giving those who were impacted their deserved air time.
Lux Aeterna was brought on to help realise the sheer scale of the disaster, through motion graphics in the form of maps. Throughout the series, the wave - illustrated through Lux Aeterna's graphics - acts as the narrative driver. The maps built by the team were critical to the immersive storytelling, identifying the wave at various points of impact as it spread across South East Asia. The maps enabled the audience to visually see the tsunami's movement and impact across the region, and the great speed with which the waves travelled over thousands of kilometres. When telling a story that exists over multiple countries and coastlines, maps and visuals were vital to helping the audience understand where they are in the timeline and the geography, keeping the story clear and sharpening the sense of the devastating magnitude of the event.
The team's work on the data-driven visualisation of the devastating wave yielded more than just compelling visuals, it highlighted often-misunderstood information about the path of the tsunami. What shocked us was the order in which the countries were hit, which wasn't intuitive, says Parris, for example, the east coast of Sri Lanka was hit before parts of Thailand, despite the distance.
The series depicts, in high resolution, how the wave wrapped around the island to hit the other side, showing how the south-west coast of Sri Lanka was badly affected despite being protected by a vast landmass.
The series was a close collaboration between Blast Films and the team at Lux Aeterna, with acute attention to an accurate and sensitive retelling of this disastrous ev
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner CCATech
Industry veterans Carlos Abrah o and Bruno Lopes strengthen local support and expand IPCs prese...
20/08/2026
Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment with MTC Jockey Club
Worlds Oldest Horse Racing Club in the Southern Hemisphere Selects Zixis Softwar...
20/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Di...
20/08/2026
Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen 20 August 2026
Dr Georgie McClean, Dr Rebecca Huntley (L-R)
By Dr Georgie McClean and Dr Rebec...
20/08/2026
How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image displays a student about to mix be...
20/08/2026
Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Reality TV veteran Eric Gardner create...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
VFX house Lux Aeterna used wave height data from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration for National Geographics documentary about the 2004 tsunami
