Epic 1 - Grand Canyon

Project Overview

This first Epic video explores the raw, untouched beauty of nature surrounding the Colorado River — from Monument Valley, along the Grand Canyon, all the way to Hoover Dam.

Challenge

The goal of this Epic was to demonstrate the power and elegance of the Planet Aspera system by producing a long, cinematic-quality video.

Technology

This is the kind of shot where Planet Aspera truly shines. The crisp details of the deep canyons and desert terrain create a stunning canvas.

Behind the scenes, there’s a lot happening to produce 4,400 frames of seamless, cinematic footage — every frame rendered at the highest possible quality.

But that’s exactly what Planet Aspera was built for, and its purpose is clearly demonstrated by the result in this Epic.

Tools used:

• Python – Thousands of lines of code analyze what the camera sees in each frame and feed the renderer with optimal data.

• Blender – The Cycles rendering engine handles all the heavy lifting, generating incredibly detailed meshes from elevation data and producing tens of render passes.

• Nuke – Compositing is where everything comes together. In this case, the dry desert environment made the process a breeze — just a touch of fun with the Las Vegas night lights at the end, and the final footage was complete.

The Final Result

Even as the creator, I’m often struck by the immense beauty of our planet when I start combining the render passes.

This footage is one of those moments — simple and breathtaking.

Could your project make use of similar footage from your chosen location? Let me know.