NUKE and MODO help the Ocean Cleanup visualize environmental plans

The Foundry's MODO and NUKE help The Ocean Cleanup Visualize Environmental Plans Dazzling pitch video brings ambitious pollution-pickup proposal to life

Erwin Zwart, The Ocean Cleanup.

Plastic pollution is a rapidly growing concern for the worlds oceans, with loads of bags and debris floating along and collecting in massive gyres-the largest of which is found in the North Atlantic Ocean. Millions of tons of plastic endanger the lives of seabirds and marine mammals and threaten various ecosystems. Meanwhile, the traditional methods of cleaning up such water pollutants are expensive and time-consuming.

The Ocean Cleanup hopes to change all of that, and its plan comes from the mind of 20-year-old Boyan Slat, a Dutch student who envisioned a passive and much less expensive way to catch the plastic using floating barriers. His idea gained rapid support, and Slat led a team of about 100 engineers, researchers, and other volunteers to perform a Feasibility Report, which showed how the plan would work. From there, the group raised more than $2 million USD through a crowd-funding initiative to push ahead with construction efforts.

Integral to the success were Erwin Zwart and Fabrique Computer Graphics. The Ocean Cleanup tapped Zwart, who has worked with computer graphics for more than 25 years, to create compelling, visually realistic footage to bring the concept to life for viewers. His impressive animation of the proposed cleanup efforts is part of the reason why The Ocean Cleanup raised its funding, from 38,615 backers, so quickly. Zwart relied on The Foundry's MODO and NUKE to execute that important task.

Zwart founded Fabrique Computer Graphics in 1990, and the studio operates within the Fabrique Group, a Dutch multidisciplinary communication and design agency. The team has tackled a wide array of projects, including everything from bus stations to a smart thermostat, along with many websites since the dawn of the web.

Artists, engineers, and storytellers work here with pleasure and passion on various assignments. We share a passion for developing new products and brands, always from the perspective of the market and the user.

Erwin Zwart, CG Artist, Fabrique Computer Graphics.

Fabriques co-founder and creative director, Jeroen van Erp, helped organize the TEDxDelft 2012 conference, at which Slat first presented The Ocean Cleanup idea. He asked Zwart to develop the renders needed for Slats talk. Those images were then used prominently on The Ocean Cleanups initial website, as well as in media activities. When it came time to present the findings of the Feasibility Report and begin the crowdfunding campaign, Zwart was tapped to create animation and new visuals to help spread the message.

LINK:	http://www.thefoundry.co.uk/about-us/news-awards/nuke-and-modo-help-th...
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