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SALTON SEA
An animated short film that contrasts the Salton Sea's glamorous promises of the 1950s and 60s with the eerie, decaying landscape that exists today.
project type
Short Film/Animation
contribution
Concept Ideation
3D Scanning
3D Modeling
Lighting
Producing
Directing
Animation
Sound Design
Editing
software
Rhino 3D
Blender
Dall-E
Substance Painter
Unreal Engine
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe After Effects
Overview
The Salton Sea and its surrounding towns were created around a manmade sea - a sea that is now drying up making the area uninhabitable. Despite being one of the biggest manmade ecological disasters, it is not a well-known phenomenon. However, it is aptly named "California's Skeleton in the Closet".
ANALOG PHOTOS - SITE VISIT
The Salton Sea seemed like the perfect resort and a site for developers to realize their ambitions. It was easy to overlook the main problem: that this large, artificial sea was doomed to decay as it lacked a self-sustaining water source. I was curious to find out how it was advertised to so many as the ideal place to live and found being away from the hectic environment of big cities like LA offered the appeal. Despite its decline, neighboring Bombay Beach has started to draw artists and filmmakers because of its eerie, desolate, landscape. This animated short film explores the area's peculiar ambience, diving into its strange past and present.
BOMBAY BEACH - SATELLITE VIEW OVER YEARS
The film is narrated by someone from a promotional film about the Salton Sea from the 1960s, which I thought was a good base to build the whole film on. The intent was to juxtapose what was advertised and what it came to be in an entertaining format.
This project was animated using Unreal Engine 5.1, and AI image-generating applications like Midjourney were utilized to model unique props and one-of-a-kind assets that fit the strange theme of Salton Sea and couldn't be found anywhere else.
SALTON SEA - SHORT FILM
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