Girl Troop vs Aliens - Bonsai Tree

Working with the team at Digital Imaging FX, we were asked to re-create a shot of a bonsai tree disintegrating. An originally shot sequence had not progressed as expected when edit commenced, so a CG solution was sought after in a tight schedule.

Utilising Maya & Houdini, we recreated a bonsai tree using the original bonsai prop as reference. The creative direction was for the whole thing to crumble into many pieces as it was sprayed with a form of cryogenic gas.

We simulated everything from the leaves being disturbed from an initial ‘spray’, to the spray itself, through to the destruction of the Bonsai tree, producing wispy dust and vapour as it fell.