ON THE RAIN I HAVE CREATED AN UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNT OF GARBAGE

“I love creating wonderful scenarios and characters out of nothing. I've been lucky and done a lot of cool stuff. It has been, and still is, magical.”

Halfdan Wright says that in addition to 3D on the Netflix series The Rain, he has also worked with compositing in Nuke.

“It's been fun, challenging and exciting, and I've used all my creative skills. We've worked with light, color and contrast, which is always a big part of working with 3D, but in general I feel that I've been able to contribute with my suggestions on the visual level, in the overall picture.”

“I had a few weeks to familiarize myself with the extensive program, Nuke, an advanced compositing program that I didn't know much about before we started, but I had a lot of help from other creative colleagues on the project, and as always it was rewarding and professional to work on the team. I've made an extraordinary amount of trash for the large-scale series; trash that plays a big part in the series' expression of a ravaged Copenhagen. I've worked a lot with inserting elements into selected scenes, I've modeled parts of the Golden Tower in Tivoli, which plays a role in the series, and I've worked hard with retouching and shadows. In total, I've probably worked on The Rain for four months,” says Halfdan Wright.

Visual effects supervisor Thomas Øhlenschlæger, Shortcut, has worked closely with Halfdan on The Rain.

“I've had the pleasure of working with Halfdan on The Rain. Halfdan has great drive and is very enthusiastic about his work. Halfdan works in high spirits. Halfdan's work on The Rain consisted mainly of modeling and texturing elements, and he also helped with 3D geometry for projections. He also managed to solve a number of smaller compositing tasks,” says Thomas Øhlenschlæger.

CREATIVE CRAFTSMAN

Halfdan Wright can't hide his enthusiasm for his work as a freelance 3D graphic designer or creative craftsman, as he likes to call himself.

“I'm happy to work on projects in a creative industry with no set norms. Here we don't have a set way of doing things, you decide how it turns out and I usually have a lot of influence on the productions I'm hired for. I feel great with creative deadlines, it stimulates me,” Halfdan says and hastens to praise the industry he has been a part of since leaving Truemax in 2007:

“We are far ahead in Denmark and I enjoy working in a highly professional environment with motivating colleagues all over the industry. In my experience, everyone is rewarding and helpful in the process leading up to the finished project. And personally, I'm excited about the process from the blank paper to the final characters and universes; it's always exciting to see how it can be done within the given framework.”

Halfdan says that he personally would probably characterize himself as more artistically visual in relation to the technical. A characteristic that was established while he was still at Truemax.

HAPPY FOR THE TIME ON TRUEMAX

“I was incredibly excited to attend Truemax. Here, too, I encountered a professional environment with a wide range of talented teachers. Both the permanent and guest teachers impressed me with their insight and commitment. They were both generalists and specialists, and that combination worked well at Truemax.”

“During my time at Truemax, I learned how important it is to have an understanding of all the common elements that play crucial roles for success in our industry and in our work on the different projects. I learned that all parts are important, all play a role in the overall picture, the overall movie, commercial or whatever it is. The program at Truemax creates a great understanding of this.”

Halfdan came to Truemax with a background in the advertising industry. “Here, I was almost always involved in the entire process, except for what exactly should be in the text, which was handled by the copywriter. For me, it was crucial that I was involved in strategy, media selection and working within the framework of the established design guides. Of course, the message is the most important thing in an advertising campaign, but since I'm more interested in the visuals, I realized that I needed to go another way. That's why I chose Truemax,” says Halfdan.

“During the program at Truemax, everything was 100% exciting and challenging. I also learned how important it is to have the right contracts and the necessary network in the industry, which I have benefited from ever since as an employee or freelancer on various projects and as self-employed with my own company.”

“In our industry, it's important to be inspired by the work of others. I've often discovered new techniques and smart shortcuts in processes by studying how others do things.”

PASSION IS CRUCIAL

Halfdan emphasizes several times that it is the desire that must drive the work.

“Passion is absolutely crucial. The desire to create is central to me, and we must always remember that the computer is just an advanced pencil. Of course, the work requires technical knowledge, and yes, if you don't understand the possibilities that technology and the many programs offer, it's difficult. But I would like to emphasize that without an interest in the artistic and the artistic operation, it will never succeed.”

“For me it has been exciting over the years to get to know new tools and master them in my work. Yes, technique is important and it goes hand in hand with artistry in our industry.

Halfdan is currently involved in a number of development projects, and he is eagerly awaiting which projects will succeed and reach the finish line.

“I'm ready for new challenges and that's the great thing about this job, suddenly you're involved in a really exciting project with a lot of blank paper and a bunch of challenges.”

ABOUT HALFDAN WRIGHT

• Graduated from Truemax in 2007 (2004-2007).
- Worked with concepts and creative assignments for Maersk Data, EMI, City 2 and IKEA.
- 3D assignments on the international feature film Discoormene.
- Freelance assignments as a 3D artist for clients such as Tuborg, Danske Bank, Novozymes, E-conomics, Rockwool, Pandora and Telia.
- Most recent assignment as 3D graphic artist on The Rain, the first Danish produced series for Netflix.