Practical Visual Effects
Working between the physical and the digital, I develop custom in-camera visual effects through a combination of practical techniques, analogue processes, and digital compositing to create immersive moving images. My approach explores the unpredictability of real world materials, using experimentation and hands-on processes to produce visuals that feel organic, atmospheric, and cinematic.
Techniques include custom optical filters and prisms, liquid and fluid dynamics, cymatics, chemical reactions, ink and pigment diffusion in water, ferrofluids, sand animation, and other practical effects. I often use macro lenses and microscopy to reveal intricate textures, abstract landscapes, and natural phenomena that are invisible to the naked eye.
Techniques & Process
Light Effects
Using a combinatin of prisms, glass and lens based experiments, as well as custom optical filters to produce patterned illumination.
For the film project, As Above So Below I created custom camera filters in collaboration with Orbita Futura to create light effects for scenes in the film, from galaxies, to stars. We created a collection of laser cut filters, cut into black gloss cast acrylic.
Liquid & Fluid Dynamics
Using techniques such as ink on glass, cloud tanks, and cymatics, I experiment with materials including rheoscopic fluids, ferro fluid, ink, soap, and oil to explore the movement and behaviour of liquids. Through light, sound, and motion, I create fluid patterns, organic textures, and abstract imagery that reveal the intricate and unpredictable dynamics of these materials.
Chemical Reactions
Using chemicals such as sodium acetate and tin chloride, I experiment with crystallization and chemical reactions to create intricate, organic forms and textures. These processes reveal the unpredictable beauty of chemical transformations, allowing natural phenomena to become the foundation for abstract imagery, moving images, and experimental visual effects.
Microscopy
Exploring the microscopic world through a range of imaging techniques, including brightfield, darkfield, differential interference contrast (DIC), polarized light, and fluorescence microscopy. I also work with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to capture intricate structures and textures invisible to the naked eye. These techniques reveal the extraordinary forms, patterns, and details of organisms and natural materials, transforming scientific imagery into abstract visual worlds.
Sand Animation