The Genius of Soul's Fake Light

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Pixar's Soul is a masterclass in "fake" lighting. In this essay, I talk about the evolving world of lighting in 3D animation, and how Pixar's animators use light to help reveal the philosophy and create key emotional beats in Soul.
More thoughts on Soul on my second channel: • Double Feature: Pixar'...
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#ThomasFlight #Movies

[@ThomasFlight]

I've posted some more thoughts on Soul's story and themes on my second channel, Thomas Flight On Screen: kzbin.info/www/bejne/moLIpJ1prdimiKc

[@WhiteWolf496]

Are animated films eligible for best cinematography oscars? Because at the very least, Soul deserves a nomination.

[@callumdoherty7204]

I’d love to see it get a Best Visual Effects nomination. Historically, only stop-motion films have been nominated for the award, but I think it would be deserved recognition. It’s understandably a rather weak lineup for the category this year with most blockbusters having been delayed, Soul is Pixar’s most visually ambitious feature to date and I would argue it’s the most beautiful as well. I worthy first foray into recognising 3D animation in this category!

[@soearadirimovie2685]

Yeah, and the Avatar Case will be Repeated. Best Cinematography should and must be given to the person who could give the audiences amazing camera work based on real thing NOT SOMETHING VIRTUALLY

[@papasscooperiaworker3649]

@@soearadirimovie2685 avatar case?

[@victorfroes6650]

The cinematography in Death Stranding (PS4, PC) is amazing

[@jovanym2931]

@@callumdoherty7204 I think coco is the most beautiful looking Pixar film specially in the marigold bridge

[@MedlifeCrisis]

One of your best vids. Soul was one of the most gorgeous movies I've seen. It was great to learn more about why it looked so good; things the human eye appreciates without even realising.

[@colorfuk1688]

The shitposter with a medical degree has appeared

[@EagerSleeper]

Pixar has gotten especially good at taking the best parts of "realistic" and bending it to their advantage. Lighting, shot types, texture/material; it's all warped to serve the ultimately greater goal of a cinematic experience, but not so much so that it pulls us out of a grounded reality.

[@jlklai98]

In animation, I sometimes worry that this obsession with "realism" that CGI can get ever closer to will take away the beauty of what make animation so evocative and special in the first place. But this movie really shows the strengths of what making such a beautifully realistic rendering can do for its themes

[@funx24X7]

Often with art, and especially animation, you have to learn the rules of realism so that you can break them effectively.

[@alliejr]

As someone who lives in NYC, they NAILED IT! What most may not realize is that _LIGHT_ and the matrix math that enables its simulation is almost 100% of what makes 3D computer imaging possible.

[@Isai314]

Same, I like the part where he told 22 something like “this is NYC u don’t just stand still”

[@CaptainSinbad]

Dude - I was just listening to epiphany from soul and starting to weep gently, then this pops up.

[@ThomasFlight]

The Score is fire.

[@richardgamrat1944]

Few hours ago I was watching video about how to build batmans functional strength and saw you in comments, another coincidence.

[@to_deviate]

check out other trent reznor works. Nine inch nails, or his other soundtracks!

[@auhsojacosta1672]

@@ThomasFlight I THOUGHT YOU SAID THE SOUNDTRACK WAS FINE

[@episodenull]

Putting the improvements in Soul down to just "raytracing" is a bit misleading; raytracing has been a part of the CGI toolkit since the days of TRON; even commercial applications that could run on a desktop in the '90s could do it. Those simplistic, hard edges shadows you pointed out in Toy Story? Ray traced. The real improvements have been in expanding what raytracing can do, and in simulating other physical properties that raytracing interacts with. For example, soft, ray-traced shadows require area or volume lights, simulated light sourced with mass and size. But probably the two biggest factors enabling this sort of realism are the rise of "physically-based rendering," which involves shading models that account for the interactions between reflection and diffuse illumination as well as simulating energy conservation in bounced light, and the development of new color spaces like ACES which handle how color is mapped from what a render engine "sees" into what we see on an sRGB display -- which is basically all monitors, projectors, screens, etc. Equally important is the rise of high dynamic range imagery, which (unlike the slightly misnamed "HDR" setting on your phone's camera) stores pixel values outside of the 0 to 255 range of sRGB, allowing more physically accurate manipulation of an image in post, more accurate simulation of photographic exposure, and just generally a more physically realistic simulation of bright sunlight. All of this a deep, complex subject that's always evolving. One can spend years learning and always there's more.

[@MrSimonEskildsen]

Thank you! Was about to write something similar, albeit less precise. Raytracing is ooooold tech in animation Thomas Flight.

[@davidarroyo9287]

THIS

[@paulolopes1768]

yeah, this video seems to be a lot of talking out of the ass for what is multiple advances in various areas plus keeping the standard higher and higher. I think I remember at the time of the Lego Movie some animators talking about some leaps in how the 3D camera handled light and distortion to be closer to how a real camera would handle. That plus actual cinematography (a LOT of the movie has shallow depth of field, that stuff looks great when well used) and light composition by people that do want to elevate their art makes most standard shots have the quality of a money shot from previous movies.

[@prpldan901]

The big dramatic improvement between Brave and Monsters U was Global Illumination taking a huge step forward in speed and ease of use. Before, artists would place the bounced lighting by hand or they were done using vague approximations. Pixar rebuilt their engine to add in ray traced GI that could be used across the whole film for Monsters University while keeping their render times to acceptable levels which was impossible before.

[@MiRaje8086]

Since the term “Ray Tracing” has started to be used in popular gaming culture, it really just became a all-in-one phrase to encompass all of what you said

[@HimanXK]

Soul was one of the most visually stunning animated films I've ever seen

[@gregmosher4287]

I have been getting blown away by the strides Pixar has made with lighting and rendering. The way they have "faked" lens effects as well goes so far to making the film feel like its shot on a real camera. One of first scenes that Pixar made that really caught my eye was the scene in toy story 4 with Bo-Peep when she leaves them early in the movie, its raining, its at night, and they use depth of field in the lens to really show the focus of the scene. Its jaw dropping. I grew up and started doing 3D work back in the time when Pixar was just getting started, the hard limitations of lighting systems back in these days was a real challenge anytime you rendered anything you made. So these days seeing these scenes and the appreciation for rendering like this feels awesome.

[@cyano3d]

Finally someone is talking about how beautiful the animation, textures, lighting and the synergy was in this movie. I have never felt this way for a movie in ages man. Soul is a one of a kind memory to me, on the level of UP, Big Hero 6 and the original Jungle Book

[@marteiro]

Sorry my friend, but ray tracing has been part of 3D for ages. And Pixar uses it for is its long and short films for a long long time time. It was just too expensive to use in the whole movie. So the advances were not in ray tracing technology, but in computing power. The bouncing of light effect you describe is not ray tracing, is radiosity. The first Toy Story was entirely rendered using ray tracing but no radiosity

[@durvids474]

Yeah, I had to do a double take when he said that.

[@pixelfox6067]

I myself have been using raytracing in tv commercials since the early 2000s. Raytracing on its own is nothing special. The GI/radiosity, the SSS, that's the stuff that makes the difference.

[@abhaynath5833]

It was available in Maya 2008 I guess

[@nicklyskawa3504]

Saw the thumbnail and just thought “facts”

[@ed9358]

soul was amazing. there could be a 2 hour video essay on every single element of the story and that still wouldnt be enough time

[@00HoODBoy]

the main reason why i think pixar has among the greatest writers is because you can break the stories down in very short and simple sentences, but you can also analyse and interpret them for hours (some of them). finding the line between mature and kidsfriendly, complex and easily accessible is fucking hard. and they do it consistently

[@ericbhatnagar2873]

Hey this just popped up on my feed. Never seen a vid of yours before but this is sweet man! Great job!

[@ThomasFlight]

Awesome! Glad you liked it. Hope you stick around for me!

[@sudha4241]

@@ThomasFlight hi,huge fan of ur work

[@scifilmmaking]

The rest of his videos are awesome too. Check em out. You won't regret it.

[@EggBastion]

Dude, they're all like this. It's one those _good_ channels you hear about that I can never quite seem to convince anyone _actually exists._ Their loss, and in a way mine too... but not yours *_; )_*

[@freegadflyathome]

He doesn't disappoint.

[@monocore]

Raytracing was available at the time of toy stoy 1. Just not raytraced/path traced GI.

[@TheLingo56]

Yeah, I was confused because Raytracing has been the standard for animated movies since the beginning. Just look at the reflections in Toy Story for instance. It’s one of the main reasons why animated movies take so long to render.

[@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051]

I love how the afterlife's presented there: a bleak white void filled with mysteriousness. BTW, have you thought more about my idea from earlier about a video on the colorization controversy of the 80s?

[@gaurishankarh9027]

Three animated films have made me dumbstruck with its visual style and cinematography. Loving Vincent, Into the Spiderverse and Soul.

[@insertaverygenericnamehere]

We had Raytracing in the 1990s already. However, it took aeons to render.

[@taehyun285]

Soul is getting released in cinema in Korea tomorrow. Can't wait for it!

[@michaelgilbert4500]

Seoul

[@benjaminshields9421]

How was it?

[@taehyun285]

@@benjaminshields9421 terrific

[@nickzardiashvili624]

If anyone's interested in this topic (which I assume you are if you're watching video) I recommend watching Danielle Feinberg's Ted Talk about lighting in movies. She mentions, for example how an extra eye light made Wall-E seem more human-like and alive and it's a very interesting talk overall. I teach 3D and VFX and I always tell my students that the one skill they should learn above all is lighting, because it has a disproportionate effect on the rest of their work. Modeling detailed models or painting beautiful textures is important, but any other aspect can be improved or, conversely, completely ruined by lighting. If creating beautiful 3D imagery is equivalent to swimming then lighting is water.

[@user-cd4bx6uq1y]

One thing I would change in this video is not looking at it as simple bad better, but other stuff, YES.

[@mush95ahd]

Thomas flight is one of the best YT channel for movie lovers. Period.

[@Sejf_]

I don't think the raytracing is what made the lightning good, because raytracing was already being used before (raytracing became a meme because of the rtx cards), they just started using pbr materials (realistic textures that tell how the light bounces on the object or even travel through the object) and soft shadows. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGTamJuYj5KJnpY

[@HansMaurer.]

Raytracing existed even before Pixar was founded (I remember all those animations of mirror balls hovering over chess boards). Luxor Junior was quite an impressive demonstration of raytracing back then (and one of the first animations with actual characters and story).

[@IGarrettI]

and just atmospherics and shit ton of post editing

[@lebro4401]

Tl:dr, Composition is the star of the show, *NOT* the rendering engine.

[@Sejf_]

@@lebro4401 That's it

[@WhatsMikeUpTo]

Ray traced global illumination

[@liloa03]

you know a films cinematography is impactful when you show us a shot of an autumn leaf and i start crying bro

[@Hey_Jamie]

I’m so grateful that people like you exist to point out these so often overlooked details and concepts that need to be appreciated. And man do I thank God that person doesn’t have to be me. I can’t imagine that watching anything could be mindless or purely enjoyable because I would be criticizing or analyzing every single detail

[@paperchasindude6578]

The score of this movie is amazing, hope it gets an Oscar nomination and hopefully win

[@grahpayy]

This movie is one of the most visually stunning films I’ve ever seen; it can feel both abstract and realistic at the same time

[@popflicktionedits3256]

That shot that you used for the thumbnail blew me away, so realistic

[@cre8tivbiz]

The movie already had me absolutely bawling, but even this short, wonderful, fascinating video had me choking up. Amazing video as always Thomas!

[@gaia38ant]

Soul is a masterpiece

[@interestedmeow]

The scene where 22 catches the falling seed pod: check out the door frame on the right side of the screen. If you saw that in complete isolation, you’d think it was a physical door frame captured on film that you could actually go and visit. Stunning.

[@AmitChandraVerma]

I wish your channel should never end. Love from India 🇮🇳

[@Deidre0000]

This video made me cry just like I did during the last 10 minutes of Soul

[@toganium4175]

In short: Soul is very pretty.

[@fluffed_coyote1487]

In saying this you devalue the entire point of this video

[@Twerpjuice]

Wesley Sullivan how does that devalue his point

[@fluffed_coyote1487]

@@Twerpjuice Because his point was that lighting is more than just "oooh pretty" and more a way to convey emotional keys

[@BobMori]

This film transported me to another world, figuratively and emotionally. Thanks for highlighting the moments that connected aesthetic choices to story. A great team of people created Soul.

[@KatyaArifinisnotreal]

This is a fantastic video - something I've always appreciated about your work is your ability to put words to how I feel towards films. With Soul, I was having trouble vocalizing why this movie left me feeling precisely melancholic, but you gave me the language to express why.

[@neurojitsu]

Deliciously geeky this one: those ray-traced light reflections on picture frame glass... superb! Another animated movie that I loved at the time for its lighting was 2018's "Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse" from Columbia and Sony Pictures. Its comic book print textures and "wham! bam! kapow!" style 'sound' effects were equally delightful.

[@zmorg6078]

I feel the exact same way!!! Spiderverse and Soul did something new and I love it!

[@WhatsMikeUpTo]

Geeky, yet unfortunately inaccurate in the discussion around the use of ray tracing, which have been used in many of the examples he said didn’t use it. The key thing we’re seeing in soul is ray traced global illumination, volumetrics, and sub-surface scattering. It was a great video though in Thomas' analysis of how the light played a crucial role in the film itself. Thomas regularly puts out great videos in general. This one I just think missed the mark on the accuracy and depth of the discussion around the technical aspects. So Thomas, keep them coming bud!

[@zeinaaaaaa7468]

i loved this video! i noticed how beautiful the lightning was but i didnt realize how much it influenced the movie till now and why it made scenes so much more impactful, as a side note your voice is very calm and deep and soothing

[@houston-coley]

This video would be worth watching purely to see an amazing compilation of gorgeous animated light. It's even better that your insights are great! Man. I enjoyed this so much.

[@MonotremeFilms]

Absolutely some of the best cinematography of any film this year, live action included. These artists are just on another level. I pulled so many frames from this film as reference material for my own live-action cinematography work!

[@soixantequinze6741]

Great vid as always!

[@emmanuelnkwocha1275]

Thank you for shinning light on soul, such a masterpiece

[@jeriekae]

Technicalities like these would never be available to the general public without creators like you. A normal(?) movie consumer like me would note the difference but can never describe the specifics unless I’ve studied about it. I love watching movies and I love analysis or insights into it like editing, lighting, etc. That’s why I love following youtubers/channels such as you. You help open a world to such art. Thank you for this video! Looking forward to more in the future!

[@tomasshannon6537]

great video. love how you explain this in a technical way and show why it's so important to the art and message of the movie.

[@AzeezAbass]

The background music in this video is so perfect. Fantastic video with great attention to detail!

[@maymaebby]

i’m never here before there isn’t a bunch of comments and i never comment so i thought i’d leave one for once

[@liam4184]

Welcome to the comments section!

[@ThomasFlight]

Hi

[@johnnumber5660]

Now leave while you still can

[@anna-ti2bo]

How does this not have a couple hundred k view by now- SUCH A GREAT VIDEO you articulate yourself in such a way that just makes me agree w everything

[@edpz7366]

I really enjoy watching your videos, Thomas! Very informative and well put together.

[@bettyreads222]

So cool to get to learn even more about this awesome movie, the sunlight is so brilliantly used and the point about shadows is like woah what talent?!

[@daviddenis4178]

Watching Soul at home with my Mom was a nice experience, but you just reminded me why I do miss movie theatres sometimes. I can't even imagine how magnificent this film would have been had I been able to see it in Imax.

[@DineshSingh-pr4ij]

Godddd yess. Finally someone that talks about the absolutely stellar lighting in this wonderful movie.

[@ThomasFlight]

What did you think of Soul? I really enjoyed it. Besides the lighting, I thought the use of more abstract animation styles in "The Great Before" was quite cool, it's awesome to see a studio like Pixar mixing animation styles to really great effect. While you're here if you want a monthly update on what I've been watching and working on (including non-KZbin film projects) subscribe to my newsletter: thomasflight.substack.com/

[@sf7862]

I thought it was a truly beautiful film . In my top 10 of all time . Peace n love

[@kenzokenzo]

Soundtrack is absolutely amazing

[@EggBastion]

I dunno yet but I guess I'll find out soon!

[@har5814]

When Terry caught Joe and 22 and the dimension opened up, that animation is so cool. Never see that in any animation especially when Joe into the Great Before.

[@bwpospolyta]

Thanks for the vid; when my friends and I (various art students) watched the movie for the first time we were in “awe” of the light and colors!

[@valeriacampagnasanchez3507]

This video was just as beautiful as the movie was. Thank you for tapping into such complex and heartfelt details with your beautiful voice.

[@bryan.w.t]

I'm always amazed on what they can do with the lighting. Excellent cinematography

[@corbinbishop1991]

Great video as always Thomas! Keep it up. Lighting is everything in films, IMO..

[@felipe7737]

What an amazing video, I already knew the lighting in Soul was awesome, but putting it in this much detail really opened my eyes

[@localfriendlycloud7720]

totally unrelated: but its super amazing and kinda funny is anyone ive ever asked about soul always says its okay. but when i get them to watch it again, its one of the best movies they ever watch.

[@mayukh9536]

Great video as always.

[@sayidshojaei4950]

Thanks for this great video!

[@kingalex105x7]

Such a great video!

[@abuferasabdullah]

Amazing episode. Thanks شكرًا

[@thebrose_co]

Brilliant. Thanks Thomas

[@Dooality]

Thanks for this video. I may have to go rewatch this wonderful film right now.

[@CatRock3r]

Yes! I'm so glad others are gushing about the lighting in this film too.

[@crimsonmask3819]

Ratyracing has been available, and used in most film work, since the 80s. There are many tools _and_ techniques used in the latest films, though. It's not just some flip-a-switch tech.

[@popflicktionedits3256]

Btw the reason that earlier animation films didn’t have realistic light was because at the time ACES hadn’t been invented, it’s essentially the program every animation company use to get more realistic light, but it has never been utilised to such a realistic level

[@barselino9877]

ACES is not exactly a “software”

[@episodenull]

ACES isn't software . It's a colorspace that maps the output of a given render engine onto the gamma 2.2 curve of an sRGB display. It does improve realism, but it's not the only factor at play here.

[@popflicktionedits3256]

So what if I said it was a software? I apologise but we all make mistakes so Jesus

[@popflicktionedits3256]

@@episodenull I know what ACES, that’s why I wrote a comment about it, so I apologise you were triggered by ONE WORD

[@popflicktionedits3256]

@@barselino9877 same with you, why do you feel the need to get triggered by one word; everything else was facts but oh no, the KZbin commenter must point out the one flaw

[@fables4564]

Lighting is something I always forget while watching movies. Thank you for covering this topic

[@DanielVisuals1997]

Soul deserves an oscar... i think that this movie can help with depression and suicidal toughts. Make u appreciate the simple things about life and the beauty our world can offer. U just need to watch closly

[@iammikemaroney]

good stuff Thomas

[@TheSchaef47]

7:14 another interesting aspect of the impact of lighting is the impact of its absence. The size of Central Park on this tiny island is emphasized by the fact that every light and street in Manhattan is blazing, but the park is almost pitch black

[@beateasy]

beautifully said!

[@jimb0b441]

I agree with some of the other comments here that there were improvements that could be made to the story, but soul had so many little creative/clever ideas, interesting characters, and gorgeous visuals that I really enjoyed it and (more importantly) have pieces of it still stuck in my mind. The epiphany scene really got me while I was watching it in a way that I couldn't put into words. I remember thinking afterwards that it was weird they never explicitly SAY what 22's spark was (even after Joe realizes it), but I never put the two together to realize it was by design an intangible idea, something that could only really be felt, heard, and seen. Once you make that connection, I think the point of this video is a lot more powerful-yes Soul is a very pretty movie, yes Pixar has always done impressive work for the time period, but in the same way toy story was a movie about plastic toys because of tech limitations of the era, Soul could only be made once the lighting was so accurate and (crucially) so beautiful you can't help but hold your breath

[@andrescamilonavarroorjuela6312]

Never clicked so fast. This is great, I loved Soul but now I think I'll be in awe when I rewatch it.

[@Skooh2000]

Being from the areas in NYC the film is portrayed in I could feel the time of day. Queens on the 7 train and the village on west third.

[@RyanMichero]

I work at Pixar in Lighting on Soul, and this comment makes me happy. It's a relief that it feels authentic to a New Yorker.

[@JoeyDoesStuff1120]

This movie is Just so gorgeous, nice video btw

[@xxOpheliac]

What a beautiful video 💕

[@fransvanhoek7594]

amazing video

[@DerEchteExi]

Man... First Pixar Film is so long a go and it's so incredible how pixiar lvl up over and over and this is so beautiful. Also great video mann, keep it up 😁👌

[@vildexoksnes]

Another great video on something I enjoyed, that I will now enjoy more :)

[@nobarbie8748]

Hey you made me cry again, this movie is amazing

[@aHarshPundit]

Like the great film itself, I could just listen to this everyday. Great essay!

[@AW-sh1ce]

Absolutely love your videos, I started with your series on The Wire, but it was the masterclass on perspective in Chernobyl that got me hooked. You mentioned Brave a lot, would you consider doing something on Merida's hair and the evolution of physics in animation over the years?

[@LederjackenShow]

Nailed it!

[@diogosimao]

Amazing video. It would be nice to see a video of yours about Wolfwalkers.

[@chunkalunkin2000]

I thought the big jazz club scene was real in moments. Truly great work from Pixar

[@ogbe_san]

This video is beautiful

[@calowenby1654]

Something I’ve just now realized about Soul is that Joe and 22’s journeys have the same locations, but 22 goes from the afterlife to life, whereas Joe of course goes from life to the afterlife. I feel like that’s a really good representation of how similar and different they are at the same time.

[@m.mishra9133]

CGI has come a long way. This kind of lighting began first in the lego movie.

[@thatpaxyton]

WALL-E: Am I a joke to you?

[@lukackas]

Monsters University was the first animated movie that used ray-tracing. Wall-E didn’t have it, and The Lego Movie was made after Monsters U.

[@m.mishra9133]

@@lukackas kzbin.info/www/bejne/emimp2qua8-dj7M This is what I meant.

[@lukackas]

@@m.mishra9133 Oh, this is a nice explanation. Thank you

[@m.mishra9133]

@@lukackas you got it buddy

[@darkridge]

As many others have said in these comments, raytracing was not what changed the lighting in Pixar movies. Just before Monsters University, Renderman (Pixar's proprietary, in house rendering software) was rewritten from the ground up for the first time ever. It had been added to, and altered and improved over the years but never completely rewritten. This rewrite allowed them to add Global Illumination to the software (something that other 3d rendering programs had had for a few years, by that time). Where before, Renderman had always simulated light rather crudely, Global Illumination is a much more realistic simulation of the way light works in the real world. This more realistic simulation brought with it improved raytracing, sub-surface scattering, radiosity, ambient occulsion, etc. Which is why Pixar movies look so must more realistic now.

[@rickynho97]

AMAZING

[@rsolsjo]

Didn't realize until just now that ray tracing began in animation before it became available in video games. It's like.. duh, makes so much sense.

[@nocolive]

great video

[@ITZLFFL]

this movie is just so beautiful

[@realjonathankim]

I'm excited to see your analysis on "Minari." I watched the movie with my family and both my grandma and mom felt unsatisfied especially with the ending. However, I believe the ending was the perfect way to end, and I do not see any other way for the film to end without distorting the main message of the film :) I can't wait to hear what you think about the film later on!

[@adversitycartoons4050]

Isn't it more the rendering that has improved? The actual animation itself is pretty much the same, not that it was bad in toy story

[@durvids474]

Yeah, this video was obviously made by someone who just found out about raytracing because of the new gaming cards are making it a thing to gamers.

[@barselino9877]

@@durvids474 yeah when talking about improvements in CG, you can’t really pinpoint a single thing as THE magic switch, because there isn’t anything like that. It’s the combination of how good the computer and rendering software have become, the research done on CG, the people becoming better and better. After all, CG movies are just like live action movies, it’s a collaborative effort. Saying raytracing is the sole reason is like saying Arri LF is the reason why movies now look good.

[@andrewbourke288]

the animation is so good i forgot i was watching an animated film for a lot of the film

[@TheInevitableHulk]

2:45 I'm surprised they weren't using ray tracing before this. Not having pbr materials makes sense but raytracing as a technology is really old.

[@episodenull]

Of course they were using ray tracing before; Thomas doesn't know what he's talking about.

[@ay8788]

you put things i notice into words

[@yourfriendlyneighbour3485]

The growth of animation 💜