Read: Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 4

Part 3:

In the top half of the picture below you can see an early un-rendered 3D concept of the opening shot.  I wanted the green pyramids to evoke trees and the red cube to add a heavy menacing weight.

Color and lighting was the next big thing to think about.  I wanted the light to go from sunrise at the start of the film to sunset at the end.  My plan was to try to place “high noon” around the climax of the story.  Hopefully this will not be distracting.  I guess the reviews will tell.

I researched paintings and photography to gather color ideas.  I then translated all of my shots into corresponding color pallets.  My goal was to “paint the objects” with the correct color temperatures an then lay lighting on top of that.  I hoped this would save on render time as it would reduce lighting complexity and give me additional control.  You can see my initial color pallet for this shot on the bottom.  Next, Test renders!