But here, we are a long way from the colourful, childlike atmosphere of *Samy’s Extraordinary Journey*, a production from nWave Studios which had already explored the deep sea in 2010 through a similar story – a project in which many ESMA alumni were involved, incidentally.
In the short film by Yu Fang Chang, Matthieu Dejoux, Maxime Forestier, Lucas Jonckeere, Noah Mercier, Marie Pradeilles, Apolline Royer and Lorys Stora, the little chelid, having only just hatched from its shell, will have to face far more terrifying dangers…
It is, in fact, this harsher – yet also more realistic – approach that this team of students from ESMA Montpellier chose to adopt in order to bring their character to life. Bordering on the wildlife documentary genre – from which they draw inspiration whilst infusing it with a healthy dose of fiction – *Dawn* stands out as a high-quality work of visually stunning realism. It is an outstanding final-year project, and we spoke to the team about it.
Cute, magnificent and terrifying: living nature and mortal nature
It is indeed the full richness of nature that Dawn pays tribute to, but also its brutality, as the team points out. “Through our short film (in which we follow the journey of Lucky, a baby turtle determined to reach the ocean safe and sound), we decided to show not only the beauty but also the cruelty that nature can display towards the most harmless and fragile creatures. ”
After all, what could be more harmless than a baby tortoise? Right from the very start of the film, it is indeed this tranquillity and serenity of nature that the team highlights: the sight of little ants scuttling about, birdsong, sunny weather and pretty, colourful plants create a gentle, pleasant atmosphere.
This continues right up to the film’s turning point, when Lucky realises that the world into which she has just been born is far from peaceful. Suddenly, the turtles around her are devoured by birds, whilst one bird violently decapitates one of its own kind. “It is at this point that we begin to show – right through to the end of the film – the various horrors that nature is capable of,” adds the team.
A timeless survival story
It is indeed this struggle for survival that lies at the heart of *Dawn*, creating a sense of tension and atmosphere through shadows, off-screen elements and a truly striking soundscape.
“When Lucky has a fin torn off [spoilers], or when a crab is devoured by two Komodo dragons ready to fight to the death so they can devour Lucky in turn, it’s precisely this adventurous and terrifying aspect of the film that we wanted to highlight.”
This approach is reinforced by the absence of any clear sense of time or human traces, which places the action in a disorienting, timeless limbo that is both unsettling and intriguing. “Artistically, this is also what allowed us to experiment with the physical appearance of our creatures, giving us the opportunity to set them in distant eras that are difficult to define.”
And the team played on the physical appearance of these Komodo dragons to evoke dinosaurs – fearsome lizards that have emerged from the past and have been synonymous with terror on the big screen for over a century.
“This approach, combined with the perspective we adopt throughout the film – namely Lucky’s – helped us to further amplify the sheer scale of these predators. This made the whole thing much more impressive and epic, whilst bringing us closer to our turtle protagonist to elicit the viewer’s empathy towards her.”
Artistically, the film draws as much on the ultra-realistic aestheticof *Avatar* as it does on the epic clashes seen in BBC docudramas such as *In the Land of the Dinosaurs*. This artistic vision, combined with skilful storytelling, keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat from start to finish.
Significant technical challenges
But opting for a documentary-style aesthetic also presented a major challenge for the team. “Whether it was the 3D models, the textures, the character animation, or even the camera animation, everything had to fit with a certain idea of reality,” recall the project leads. “The Komodo dragons, with their almost fully realised anatomy, were one of the major challenges we had to overcome. We had to build a complete skeleton, add the muscles, and take these into account for the animation beneath the skin of these complex creatures.”
This was a similar challenge for all the animals that appear in the film, particularly in the most violent scenes in *Dawn*, where turtles and crabs are torn to pieces. “This meant being able to show the flesh beneath their wounds, as well as splashes of blood, and animating them. The animation for the entire project had to be designed with these special effects in mind, as well as the environment in which our protagonist moves.”
In fact, the little turtle spends most of the film moving around on a sandy beach. As sand is a material that reacts to weight, it had to be modelled to match the movements of the various creatures in the film.
A perilous crossing successfully completed with flying colours
Just like their protagonist, Lucky, the team managed to overcome these numerous obstacles to successfully complete this large-scale project, which boasts a polished finish and is of the very highest quality.
This success would not have been possible without effective collaboration between all the members of this team, whose work deserves to be commended once again here.
If there’s one film that really demonstrates the excellence of ESMA’s 3D animation and special effects course in terms of atmosphere and setting, it’s this one.
Discover *Dawn* now, a 2024 graduation film from ESMA, available to watch in full: