In 2023, Lambda Films was asked to pitch for a project beyond the scope of anything we’d made before. It was to be a cinematic, narrative 3D animation in the style of Disney Pixar. The film was for the Mishkat Center for Atomic & Renewable Energy; a pioneering facility in Saudi Arabia championing the move to clean energy from oil & gas.

We primarily specialise in 2D animation, yet our work had been picked up by National Talents; an agency in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The agency had liked the quality of our animation, our eye for design, and wanted to give our animation studio this opportunity.

Entering a competitive pitch against other UK animation studios, when we had little relevant experience, felt daunting, and even pointless. Truth be told, if we had this opportunity in 2022, it’s unlikely we would have followed through. However, in 2023, we could take advantage of some interesting emerging technologies; generative AI.

Stills from The Current (2024)

The Pitch

So, we entered the pitch with no real experience in narrative 3D, or previous work to speak of. However, we had ideas and we had a vision for the animation we wanted to make.

However, communicating this effectively was a whole other issue. Thankfully, In 2023, Lambda Films fully embraced the potential of tools for AI video production and so for this project, we took full advantage of the embryonic AI tool, Midjourney.

Using Midjourney we generated hundreds, if not thousands, of images to create a full pitch deck that visualised the world of The Current. From the literal world itself, to the characters, props and visual aesthetic.

In the pitch, we were able to communicate the whole story visually and give the client an accurate picture of the film we would be making.

Placing their trust in us, Lambda Films won the project and we got to work bringing The Current to life.

AI Concept Art for The Current (2024)

The Brief

The brief itself was simple; to produce a 15 – 20 minute short film in 3D animation, to educate 6 – 10 year olds about the importance of renewable energy. The film was designed for a 3:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 Surround Sound for their bespoke cinema screen.

Creatively, we knew we wanted our relatable child character to go on a fantastic journey, and partner with a series of fun characters that would act as personifications of energy.  We took inspiration from the arc of Wreck-It Ralph, and created a story where our hero, Neera, was transported to the magical world of the KSA National Grid. Inside this world, Neera learns how energy works, and the importance of harnessing the natural world to generate new, clean energy.

Pre-Production

With a strong set of concept visuals to work from, we began with the script.

Neera, a curious young inventor, and her clever sidekick, Mau the Arabian Sand cat, accidentally spark an adventure of a lifetime! When Neera tests her latest electrical invention, they’re whisked away to the vibrant world of the KSA National Grid.

Here, they meet Electric, a spark with a heart, and discover the bustling world of Trons who power the Kingdom. But when the Grid starts to flicker and fade, it’s up to Neera, Mau, Electric, and a fearless baby Tron to save the day.

Their quest takes them through the wild winds, crashing waves, and blazing sun as they search for renewable energy to bring light back to the world. Along the way, Neera learns that the energy of the future isn’t just powerful—it’s sustainable too.

With the script approved, we created meticulous storyboards to direct the animated action. No frame was left to chance.

Storyboards from The Current (2024)

3D Animation Production

While Lambda Films directed the creative for The Current, we knew we needed more firepower in the 3D animation department to bring the world and the story to life. We collaborated with our friends at Lucid Studios who helped pull together a massive team of over 30 designers, modellers and animators. 

To bring The Current to life we used a blend of powerful animation tools and techniques. The process itself was anchored in Unreal Engine, which was essential for real-time rendering of complex environments like the stunning sea sequences. This allowed for rapid iteration without compromising on visual fidelity. Hard-surface models were developed using Blender, while characters were meticulously sculpted in ZBrush. Rigging and animation were crafted in Maya, where custom rigs were designed for smooth, dynamic movements.

The animation workflow comprised of Blocking > Spline > Polish to ensure fluid, realistic action. Substance 3D Painter was used to apply physically-based rendering (PBR) textures, adding depth and realism to the models as they interacted with light. For lighting and rendering, both Unreal Engine and Redshift were leveraged. Unreal for real-time scene adjustments and Redshift for more complex rendering needs like ray tracing. This combined approach ensured that every frame was richly detailed, with the dynamic lighting and reflections elevating the film’s visual quality.

One of the major challenges was maintaining consistency across both rendering engines, but careful adjustments allowed us to harness the strengths of both tools seamlessly. The result was a polished, vibrant 3D animation that brought the world of The Current to life, balancing our artistic vision with Lucid’s technical prowess.

Post Production

For the final stages of The Current, we worked with Composer Madison Willing, and Sound Designer Drew Simmons of Tigerbear Audio to add the soundtrack and SFX.

One of the major achievements from the SFX, was upping the cuteness factor of the Trons, through their unintelligible speech. Drew explains,

“I wanted the Trons to sound synthetic, but still with emotion and personality. This was achieved by manipulating a simple tone created in the plugin synth Absynth. A fast, randomising LFO was placed on the pitch bend to mimic how pitch fluctuates when someone speaks. I then used a formant filter to make the tone sound more vocal-like (again a randomising LFO was used), and then a glitch plugin was added to give the tone a sort of tremolo effect to make it sound like words were being said (albeit in their electric language). I rendered out a 5 minute take of this tone playing and then edited and rearranged it into tiny chunks to follow the emotions they were displaying on screen.”

A clip from The Current (2024)

The Result

We delivered the film in 16:9 and 3:1, in both English and Arabic, with an online trailer. Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to see the film in the state-of-the-art auditorium that is now its home, but we’ve been told its a massive hit with the young visitors, so we’ll take that.

The film is currently embargoed due to its appearance at The Mishkat Center and the animation festival circuit. For now, have a watch of the trailer below to get peek in to the world of The Current.

For more information and the full credits list, visit The Current on our portfolio.

Lambda Films is a video production company in London. For our full production services, get in touch.