Jupiter Ascending UI Reel by Territory Studio

Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis star in "Jupiter Ascending", an original science fiction action adventure from Lana and Andy Wachowski, the creators of The Matrix trilogy. Territory was approached to work with The Wachowski's to produce animated screen graphics for Warner Bros.'s February 2015 release of the film. Production designer Hugh Bateup was interested in a unique view of the galaxy through graphic displays, and asked us to collaborate with his team. The notion of isometric lines to articulate various cloaked spaceships and wormhole events was inspired by weather maps, where isometric lines and patterns denote weather fronts. The result is a beautiful, organic interpretation of the science of identifying unseen events, and the visuals were used throughout the spaceship environments. Territory also crafted a bespoke typeface to ensure continuity and uniquely own-able assets. WARNER BROS. CREDITS Directors: Lana and Andy Wachowski Production Designer: Hugh Bateup Set Decoration: Peter Walpole TERRITORY CREDITS Production Company - Territory Art and animation - Nik "nikill" Hill, Marti Romances, Yugen Blake, Gabor Ekes, Ryan Hays, Dave Penn Creative Direction - David Sheldon-Hicks Production - Sam Hart PLAYBACK CREDITS Compuhire SHOWREEL CREDITS Edit: Andy Schofield, Cristina Casanova Audio: DJ Metatron - U'll Be The King Of The Stars (C) 2015 Warner Bros. Pictures, Jupiter Ascending

Territory Studio (Prometheus, Guardians of the Galaxy) have released this UI Reel showcasing their recent work on Jupiter Ascending.

There's also an insightful interview with Territory's Founder and Creative Director, David Sheldon Hicks, over at The Creators Project.

Overall the UI feels very elegant. There's a good mix of structure and organic elements. As a result the design looks sophisticated, and only slightly technical, as necessary to navigate through space, but also very natural and pleasing to look at.

This has much to do with the key element in the designs, which are these vibrant, flowing isometric lines that are said to be inspired by weather maps. As with weather maps, I love how the movement and arrangement of these lines are able to communicate how invisible forces are moving. This obviously fits in perfectly with the task of visualising cloaked spaceships and wormholes. As with topography, it's fascinating how people can get so much information from just the formation of a series of lines. It's a really unique (and visually appealing) way of communicating data. Not only is it visually appealing, but it could actually be a more efficient way of consuming spatial information than a set of data readouts.

What was also interesting about this project was that the visuals were projected onto the glass panels within the set, rather than integrated during post-production. This has become more common nowadays, with company's like Compuhire, who worked on this project. This allowed the UI design to be incorporated into the set in real time, and adjusted on the fly. As a result, the director has more control over the whole shot, and have the consideration for the UI within the context of the shot, rather than afterwards. Oooii also made use of interactive playback graphics for Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness.

Check it out!

Check out the Jupiter Ascending UI on Territory Studio's site
Check out the interview with David Sheldon Hicks over at The Creators Project