This week was a major challenge; creating the Star Destroyer scene for my project. The scene portrays a trooper on guard duty as Darth Vader passes by, with the director calling “cut,” revealing it as part of a filming set. After modeling the environment and adding characters and animations to the scene, I realized that one of the key elements in bringing this scene to life was the lighting.
To ensure authenticity and capture the essence of the Star Destroyer environment, I rewatched “Rogue One” to reference the lighting used in similar settings. Then I began the lighting process in UE5, trying to make each light source mimic the atmospheric and dramatic lighting of the Star Destroyer. Using ACES color space, I rendered the scene elements as EXR files, for the high dynamic range and colour accuracy.
Once the lighting was finalized, I imported the rendered EXR files into Nuke for a simple composition and colour grading. This step allowed me to fine-tune the overall look and feel of the scene, enhancing its cinematic quality. Overall, this process underscored the importance of attention to detail and the significant impact that lighting can have on the mood and atmosphere of a scene.