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Yellowstone Whiskey
This project was proof of concept for a whiskey commercial for a client. The specifications were to recreate the feel and ambiance of the Montana ranch in the series Yellowstone. I began with a mood board, created the large scale landscape in a layout phase. Built the set and added foliage so I could place a camera, determine the lens and block in the shot. The shot was lit and rendered in Unreal's Movie Queue.
Process Breakdown
Mood Boards and Reference
Layout
Cowboy Model
Cowboy Animation and Retargeting
Set Building
Camera Blocking with Animation
Lighting and Camera Settings
Consistency
Shot Building
Reference
Mood Boards and Reference
Gathering inspiring reference is a critical first step so that you and the client are on the same page. The end product should be clear from the start. As the production company, it's my responsibility to collaborate with the client, let the creative process take form and then follow through. From the mood boards, a few priorities became clear: golden fields, western silhouettes, rustic set pieces and a warm sunset.
Lighting and Lens Effects
Landscape and Sets
Foliage
Cowboy Model
The cowboy model was downloaded from the Unreal Marketplace and was the only purchase for the proof of concept phase. He was purchased rigged and ready for the next phase, animation.
Cowboy Animation and Retargeting
Proof of concept animation was downloaded from Adobe's Mixamo.com. To do so, you must select a Mixamo model and download the animation on that character. I chose Brian pictured below then retargeted his animation to my model, the MarketPlace Cowboy.
Landscape, Foliage and Layout
Once the mood was agreed upon, the cg process started. I began with the UE5 Open World template, low poly mountains and quick placement of foliage on the far hillside. The UE5 mannequin was used as a human reference for scale.
Set Building
Once layout was complete, I deleted the Open World landscape and sculpted my own. I used a free landscape shader from the following Unreal Tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-zMkzmduqI
Black Alders and Pine trees were downloaded from the Unreal Marketplace. The colors, sizes, and randomness were tweaked for my Yellowstone aesthetic.
I knew I wanted a backlit character and lens effects in the final shot so I moved the sun onto the horizon.
I used the Unreal Engine Post Processor Node for color timing, bloom, lens flare, lens dust, and chromatic aberration.
Camera Blocking with Animation
CG camera blocking is much like live action camera blocking. In the shot below, the camera was positioned towards the sunset and the actor walked in as the focus and aperture were animated. The camera animation lasted several seconds which meant I needed several seconds of walk cycle for the cowboy to hit his mark.
Lighting and Camera Settings
I animated the aperture from .02 to 2.8 to exaggerate the effect of the sun shining down the barrel of the camera lens. This is timed with a rack focus so the viewer is unsure what's coming. By the end of the shot, the lighting has settled and the subject, our working cowboy, is in focus carrying a toolbox. Presumably still working at the end of a long day. This cuts to the next shot where he's digging in the tool box for a tool.
Consistency
Consistency is critical when creating a story with many shots. Consistent camera, lighting and set take you most of the way. Then the creative process takes over and shot specific plusses are added - some physically based and some not. Throughout the process, ambiance and mood were refined to sell the message and then compared to the project tableau for consistency.
Photo Reference
Unreal Results
Ambiance Comparison
Photo Reference
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