Recreating the Water Caustics Effect from Blade Runner 2049

This was initially supposed to be an easy test. I wasn't even sure if the video would make it over 5 minutes! Lo and behold, it's not as simple as it seems. I'm so glad I decided to try this out cause those water caustics were bothering me for awhile! Hopefully our recreation of the Blade Runner water caustics helps you too!
Crew:
Paul Koning
Ethan Gough
Aputure/amaran Lighting: aputurecreatorprogram.pxf.io/...
All Music from Artlist: artlist.io/artlist-70446/?art...
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0:00 Intro
1:29 Mylar
3:01 Bouncing Off Water
5:12 Shooting Through Water
8:15 Conclusion

[@Tenshihan-Quinn]

In the film, they used a built in 'pool' above the set and then used four point-light sources - lit from a position higher than the pool surface - all aiming at downwards angles. The waveform pattern reveals the depth of the water.

[@WilliamHBaker]

That was my guess too! Multiple lights on one pool of water.

[@JPdraws_]

That’s exactly what i thought as soon as he showed the shot

[@W1nkTh3F1rst]

⁠I thought the same as well, I noticed the large rectangular area at the top of the set and immediately thought that’s where the ripple effect was coming from.

[@hecker3396]

Blade runner 2049 is really a masterpiece in set design and cinematography

[@RogueNoble]

Meh, watch the original. 2049 is like a minimalist version of it.

[@pihermoso11]

The original was a masterpiece, the legend Syd Mead designed the cars and the architecture, Harrison scrolling through the pictures was an amazing feat of mesh between mechanical and technological worlds, that was an 80s film way before CGI became standard

[@DIYPerks]

I wonder what kind of look you'd get by recording some ripples in a studio (or have them made digitally) and then using an old DLP projector to project the desired effect onto a wall?

[@kevinkapoor4301]

I could see that working, but with something like a laser projector you'd still have addition illumination from where the shadow effect isn't. Sort of like a backlight on an LCD in a dark scene glowing. Might change the look of the effect. Also I'm a huge fan!

[@WilliamHBaker]

Multiple people have mentioned the projector option! Someone sent me a video of it working pretty well, although slightly different approach without really clear ripples. Maybe I’ll approach the effect in the future and see if I can get a projector style effect working! Also, loved your realistic sunlight video! We’re considering making our own realistic sunlight setup!!

[@ForestCinema]

@@WilliamHBakerfocusing the projector is the main challenge especially if you’re not trying to hit a flat surface. Flat surface though? Short Throw for sure would do it

[@charliesymons1409]

I think a traditional overhead projector instead of digital would probably work well

[@charliesymons1409]

@@WilliamHBaker kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJ-akJaqhs-knqcsi=GuCC_62AyvXzSxw7&t=240 Overhead projectors have a dial which I think sort out the blurriness. Mind you I know little to knothing about optics

[@NiranjanNaikVideos]

Man I became a big fan after watching your Oppenheimer recreation. Your hard work and persistence is just crazy! Keep doing this man!

[@gerrys798]

Exactly the same for me 👍👍👍

[@VincentGuastini]

That was incredible.

[@WilliamHBaker]

Thank you! I'm excited to keep making KZbin videos for sure! I've got some cool ideas in the works!

[@HYVAN82]

Yup totally agreed he is too hardworking

[@Trippy_Space_Bunny]

I wish I could have the through water effects in the movie just constantly playing on the surfaces in my art room forever.

[@star_grrlll]

thats unironically so real

[@YellowNotThe]

can't get over how great these videos are, as someone who loves cinematography but also has barely any money i love how you try to keep everything cost effective but also show that you don't even need alot of money too get great shots

[@WilliamHBaker]

I found it so discouraging when I was starting out to see these crazy costly and advanced setups on KZbin and then trying to translate it to my budget. I want to try and keep things cost effective on my channel to encourage young filmmakers to experiment with what they have! Nothing is more frustrating to hear than “we shot this on a $10,000 cinema camera but you could use your phone”. I’m sure one day I’ll want to stretch myself and learn more with the bigger budgets and resources, but for now I’ll experiment!

[@aaroncarter8845]

Shooting a light into a point source into a satellite dish with foil on it will also make the light look even further away, which gives it a similar effect to the sun. Sorta like a parabolic reflector.

[@wingdingdmetrius8025]

watching this was kind of frustrating. he's playing around with light as an artist, when IMO the situation calls for arming yourself with scientific knowledge and vocabulary. but he gets there in the end so respect

[@WilliamHBaker]

I do want to create a similar setup to DIYperks with the parabolic reflector, but I don’t know the first thing about where to find a satellite dish. Additionally, doing it that way creates perfectly parallel light. Perfectly parallel means that the shadow of the water is small, and therefore small effect on the wall. The non-parallel nature of a light source really close to the tank is integral to scaling up the effect onto the wall.

[@adamvictor9124]

Craigslist or similar people are selling their old junk dishes all the time for cheap or sometimes free

[@monkeysfromvenus]

You could use a large mirror to bounce the caustics to where you want. If you positioned the spot light under the tank on the floor with the tank three feet above it, then suspend a reflective surface (like a flat mylar sheet lol) at a 45 degree angle above the tank, you can project those caustics onto a wall without hauling the water super high. Awesome video!

[@WilliamHBaker]

That theoretically could work!! Although nailing all the angles would take some time, that’s a really neat idea! If I ever do water caustics again I’ll probably include some more creative rigging!

[@JtagSheep]

I did wonder why they didnt just put a mirror below or above the tank instead of trying to raise it up high and faff with the lights.

[@dragonmares59110]

This was really great ! Please take your time, don't rush and enjoy this if you ever do another video recreating effects, this was really cool

[@wydua2049]

Your channel is so amazing. Just beyond description, the way you tell the story, no low attention span effects, amazing audio and of course visuals.

[@WilliamHBaker]

Thank you!!🥰

[@thatlightinguy]

Looking great man - always appreciate the effort you put in to these!

[@YuriFazio.]

What a BEAUTIFUL video dude! first time I didn`t skipped any part (not even clicked in 5 seconds annoucements) you had all my attention from the first to the last seconds.

[@officialmultimedia8107]

Great video. Love how you kept trying to find the best results

[@samuelsawthefuture]

Wow man! This is incredible. Love your work. I aspire to do this someday!

[@raghuvanshluthra317]

I love your content William, really high and rich quality+ really informative.

[@WilliamHBaker]

Thank you!!🥰

[@jordi0m]

I've now watched your last 3 videos -found through the Oppenheimer one, of course. I used to be a pseudo film-maker -as quality-compared to the incredible work you're doing here- and I don't even work on this any more. BUT, all of this is so fucking dope and interesting to watch, from the editing and storytelling to the final results, that it's still super worth it to me. Well done. Props x1000.

[@PookDaWook]

Very well structured video. Well done

[@atharvshendage4705]

Subbed! Do more of these recreating cool effects , your detailed commentary of what went wrong , why you did what you did is really helpful.

[@HikingWithCooper]

Agreed! The "Here's what we tried and why it didn't work" is so helpful. But even failed attempts at one thing can lend to a different shot idea.

[@WilliamHBaker]

I will for sure be doing more!! I have an idea for a video we’ll probably do in the spring that’s going to be a really interesting and unique effect that I’m sure will contain many failed attempts😅

[@drjk7565]

I'm absolutely loving your movie scene recreations. Hopefully your channel will grow along with your budget so you can tackle more challenging recreations. My suggestion would be to recreate older movies where practical effects were the norm. Think 90s nostalgic films like Independence Day, Dante's Peak and Stargate, or classics like 1974's Earthquake or the iconic 1956 The Ten Commandments etc.

[@SelenaNorinh]

Woahhh!! You really took this one to the next level!! 😍

[@shaikaftab1199]

I started re-watching Blade Runner 2049, took a break and your video popped up. Brilliant video.

[@BakeBakePi]

That looks so cool! Great video!

[@phoenics2465]

Wonderful high quality content!!

[@kooshanjazayeri]

as an amateur photographer and the problem and solution being so obvious from the start, seeing your epiphany and confusion throughout the process was eye opening as to how when we don't know the problem and solution we could easily get lost in a sea of confusion...

[@AdenMans]

beautiful work as always

[@photojoseph]

How have I only just now found your channel? Awesome work, thanks!

[@fallenrepublic6342]

Nice effect...years ago i built something like this in my house but i just used a large open fish tank set below a southern window the same refractions are produced at the reflected angle...so mine are always on the ceiling like in a cave that has sunlight bouncing off water in the entrance. Good job isolating the approach though without needing a whole pool to do it. Your shots of the same effect in other scenarios (outside) where super as they appear more like an individual power rather than an ambient caustic effect. Thanks for sharing.

[@mattabeln]

This is probably the best how to filmmaking channel I've seen. And I have seen so many. Sorry I'm late!

[@GTICHATTER]

Dropping the spotlight allows for a TON more indirect light bounces and a tonnn more angles for the light to reach the water. These additional angles are what allow it to maintain the rich effect despite less direct light

[@KD6-3.7]

Really interesting to see the whole process of how you pulled it off.

[@meuzz2036]

Hooked and subbed since the Oppenheimer recreation,amazing work. Just hoping for more long format video like these

[@WilliamHBaker]

I’m planning on doing more longer format like this!

[@rominaespinosa]

great video William! this was so interesting to watch. I learned a few things without intending to. this was one of those videos I didn't look for, but was on my home page and I clicked on it because I like sci-fi, haha. curiosity got the best of me, but it paid off!

[@WilliamHBaker]

I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! I love sharing this sort of stuff and I’m so glad there are people interested in hearing about it!

[@siddheshrane]

This video is a life saver! I had been attempting to do this effect myself after having found no solution on-line. I realized that the t would take a larger column of water to get the lensing effect so I started researching how those galaxy projector lamps create aurora borealis effect with a lens

[@hummersd]

Film production has much larger budgets, so they could do practical effects and actually build it out. Your tests were great. I did something similar in college -- took a clear pyrex baking pan similar to your aquarium, shined a light from beneath using a blue filter, and a portable fan to create ripple above the water. Took a felt sheet with a hole cut out as a backdrop, and ta-dah, lit a "submarine" scene.

[@philfreemedia]

This was just fun to watch!

[@romariomejia5396]

Thank you for the forbidden knowledge, this is a project I might do one day. Always loved those water shots from Blade Runner

[@JeffTiberend]

I still haven't watched Blade Runner 2049. Now, I am going to have to watch it. Thanks. This was really cool! I've subscribed.

[@johndherzog]

I am looking forward to your future works

[@VasariFilms]

Big fan of your work never stop making videos bro. You'll explode one day.

[@WilliamHBaker]

Thank you! I just enjoy getting to share the stuff I’m passionate about!

[@Rickenbacker4005XC]

They may be hard to come by now but the old classroom Elmo projectors teachers used pre internet for showing notes can be adapted for this if you use a smaller light source as you have found. They can focus the effect and are what they used for the psychedelic colored oil backgrounds during concerts. Used to find them at resale shops dirt cheap. Brings me back to diy & film School days.

[@jamiemiller8678]

I used to have a lamp that was made to create the effect and it worked great. It's kinda like a lava lamp but instead of wax it had dozens of little mirrors and a tiny pump in the bottom that made a water jet that agitated the water and made the mirrors whirl around and reflect the light from the base. It was awesome and I designed my room around the effect, painting the walls blue and hanging fish decorations from the ceiling

[@section7173]

A swimming pool with lights makes the same affect on the ceiling and walls. In the movie it's basically an upside down pool acting as a window through a solid ceiling. Your experiments did not have a wall to block the excess light and funnel the remaining light through the bottom of the fish tank. A delicate thin glass dish sitting on a black box that has a light inside will give off the desired affect (changes a little with glass thickness and water depth).

[@cerebrumexcrement]

finally. someone answering the important questions.

[@NaviUpgrade]

Super cool! you can also make the source light smaller with the aputure spotlight SE with the included iris attachment!

[@dereklindsay2313]

The goat returns

[@Vlow52]

There is another way that produces really clear pattern by focusing them - it is to use both reflective surface and put water on it. The easiest way is to get a plastic tub and glue a reflective film on it or at least paint it white. The water is also needs to be disturbed constantly with a mixer or some kind of mechanical oscillator.

[@turboprint3d]

This makes me think about light fixtures that could do this effect .

[@blerblybliggots9801]

an overhead projector solves this problem and allows you to controll where the image is pointed at and where it is in focus. All you need is an inch of water in a glass container and an old school overhead projector.

[@adjutant]

Bouncing a strong light off a wet surface reflects the texture of said surface. It’s not the same thing as water caustics but it ‘s a similarly cool look if you’re okay with a still background.

[@darkknightwithanidea1845]

Brilliant filmmaking and what an effort congratulations 100 out of 100 I just love it filmmaking future filmmakers. This is the way and how it gets done experiment experiment trial failure, and then success applause all round. This is fantastic.🎬🎥🇮🇹

[@hanshubert6675]

some ideas: -give some tension to the mylar with a frame, induce the "ripples" sonically with a subwoofer plus frequency generator, or a lego contraption that tucks the sheet at a certain spot with low frequency. -mercury pond :D -record the fricking effect solo from shooting through the watertank then composite

[@justlola417]

It really leaves me a bit emotional every time you figure out how to make the effects work

[@flightographist]

Word is, they shot with 10k Fresnel lamps, 2 per side, 8 in total. The water rig was indeed up high and Billy O'Leary, the Gaff, made special barn doors to flag the light into symmetry. The bottom of the water tank was black! The ripple pattern was induced by sound, not a fan.

[@yuGtahT]

Outstanding video 👍

[@shardperson3777]

I love that this effect is something that'd make me go "just shoot a well lit orange scene add the shadows in CG" but then no it's not an option because caustics are like the nemesis of 3d rendering engines.

[@DanielHarms]

really good video, thank you

[@DougSanford]

Using a point light source gives a more defined effect.❤

[@blackdragonslp]

The thing about LED based point soures is, that they‘re still using a rather large „light emitting Surface“. This is because those lights use a „cob led array“. The best type of lightsource for this is probably a HMI, because they have a verry tiny lightsource. Speaking of expensive gear: a movinglight with a rotating gobo wheel, a water glass gobo and a continus Animation wheel should do the trick very well.

[@justlola417]

THIS IS SO GOOD

[@daknboot]

i love that as soon as you said you didn’t want the tank up high, i said “why don’t you shoot light up under it?”

that was extremely dope!!!!.....thanks for the info... usefull.

[@GSMMW]

That was fun; Great to know.

[@KiMON_52]

ur going places man

[@mahct09]

This was fascinating.

[@DickyBalboa]

Great work. Keep cooking!!

[@metazan]

I love Blade Runner 2049, it is my favorite movie, and always will be, I cried so much at the end of it.

[@raddragonxd3600]

The light source absolutely is an indication of the inverse square which is awesome to keep in mind. With the mylar, what if you put purposeful folds in the mylar? I purchased a 2 pack of those heat blankets for under $3. With the given folds that they had when packaged, I tested further with crumbling one and leaving the other with the given folds. From what I found, the intentional folds gave a much clearer look compared to the hail Mary crumbling I done with the 2nd blanket. This was awesome to watch and to test myself. Can't wait to see more!

[@WilliamHBaker]

We found that too! As the Mylar got crumpled in became more diffused. I hadn’t considered folds. I thought that would do something similar to crumpling it, but if you got good results from it than maybe not!

[@RandoWisLuL]

Acrylic box that's hollow like a fish tank but only 1 inch thick and possibly sealed. A single LED cob. A few thousand lumens will do, like one out of a flashlight. Black plastic hood at whatever the best height is for the LED. Small heatsink and fan for cooling. Put it all together and now you have a leakproof water reflection light that just needs to be level to work properly. could even put a small bumping mechanism in there to keep the reflections going

[@ARBB1]

Man discovers optical physics in garage, results will shock you. Looks great!

[@alephnole7009]

I think the problem with the mylar was the way it was being handled. Perhaps pulling it tighter but vibrating it with some speakers somehow could create more stable patterns of vibration through the sheet.

[@keysn9070]

amazing videography!

[@davisfan]

About the fish tank rigging: when I put heavy(ish) lights on booms, I always add counter weight on the opposite side. I've had 4foot kino flo 4banks above talent's heads, as well as small HMI's and 1ks with soft box (yes, I'm old). I've never had an accident with them. I think having an arm on each side was a great choice, but it could be a little safer still. Great video, BTW, I think I'll give this a try soon.

[@cropcircle5693]

It also looks like they added a sonic element like sub vibration. The strands of light have structure to them like audio.

[@skylaslabyrinth]

A transparent Pool on top of a livingroom is the best Idea 😆

[@superbmediacontentcreator]

You needed a big mirror to project the effect like an overhead projector. I think the effect in the movie was very small scale and used a projection technique as we used to years ago for light shows at rock concerts.

[@travelexplorer]

You missed one way: breaking glass into a box open box and get a group of Gaffers (people) move the box and aim a flood light to it

[@jamjamamam4139]

Put a mirror slanted 45 degree below the water tank to project horizontaly

[@sevideos7356]

You can try it putting the light source above, so it will show the wrinkles in the pavement and then use a mirror to reflect the effect on the wall

[@WilliamHBaker]

That’s an interesting idea! Might be bright that way in fact!

[@Halkenguard]

You might have luck adding a fresnel lens to your spotlight to columate the light. This will effectively give your light a focus of infinity like light from the sun.

[@Xction69]

You need to xombine between water and the reflection Sheet mirror, together. It will work

[@danielmillar7628]

You could use a mirror on the floor under the water tank to bounce onto the back drop

[@chrismorton1725]

Love the trouble you went to so figure this out. Maybe you coild shoot it small scale or in a location that looks natural like an indoor pool record it or buy stock footage and use a projector to put it behind your subject? I would be interested to see the results. I wanted to do something like this and that’s what I settled on. Unsure how it would look….. thoughts?

[@kimchikidbear]

Shoot through water, record it and then overlay it ontop of your video, and make sure you have enough headroom so that the water caustics aren’t being blocked, or project the video over the heads while your shooting

[@Owlbot]

I wonder if swapping the LED panel for a hard light on the Mylar woulda put it more in line with the effect you were looking for

[@lazarart8930]

No wait I did this effect on my last short film! Use an overhead projector with a clear tray of water on top. Took me a little figuring out too lol.

[@misterjustman4034]

Damn Im gonna use this for the static shots in my stop motion proyect. (Never done before)

[@WilliamHBaker]

That's a great idea! You won't need much water then too! Sounds like a very good way to use the effect!

[@jacksonlaframboise6257]

4:40. What if you put a speaker under the box and played random sin waves. You’d be able to vibrate the water much faster than with the hand, making the effect appear bigger.

[@CreativeCreed-jp7bm]

consider using a cheap projector

[@raymond7873]

You completely missed the point of the video, try watching it again.

[@markswishereatsstuff2500]

It's really more a James Bond villain's lair decorating option. Something to compliment the shark tank in which to throw victims.

[@AMTunLimited]

SUPER silly question: did you try using a projector? I feel like this would be a perfect situation for something like projection mapping

[@psygnale]

As a OG Blade Runner fan (saw the original in the theater) I applaud your work. Starting in the mid 1960's and spanning nearly 40 years, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History here in Washington D.C. that used water caustics to great (almost extreme) effect. The West Hall of the museum, on the main floor, was dedicated to sea life. This extremely large hall (50-ish feet wide, 60 feet high and easily 200 feet long IIRC) was intentionally kept extremely dark to mimic the deep sea, with a life size model of a 98 foot long Blue whale suspended from from the ceiling along with many other creatures. In that ceiling, the only main light sources were several (four IIRC) shallow pans of water about 1x2 feet that gently rocked back-and-fourth on armatures. Above them sat the blue lights that projected the caustic effect all over the dark hall dozens of feet below. Even as a child in the 70's the effect mesmerized me. I would quietly sit in this section for sometimes an hour or more while listening to the whale song recording that was continuously piped over the PA. I found it so intriguing that at 9 or 10 years old I actually successfully copied it in the dining room. I held a flashlight above a pyrex baking pan filled with blue water (easter-egg dye) sitting on the glass-topped wicker dining room table. The effect was pretty good if I do say so myself. (lol) As an adult (and a certified diver for over 35 years now) I can say that the sea life hall effect was extremely close to real life deep water given the technology and knowledge at the time it was built. Sadly, in the early 2000's, the whale was taken down and scrapped, and the entire exhibit hall was demolished and "updated" to fit more modern sensibilities (read: zero personality). So the only way to see the exhibit is through old pictures. I'm sure the Smithsonian's website should have something. Just wanted to say thanks for triggering this old guy's good memories.

[@WilliamHBaker]

Thank you for sharing that! It’s always cool to me to peer into someone’s life! I imagine that experience (along with some others) is what led you to become a diver?

[@psygnale]

@@WilliamHBaker That, and WAY too much Jaques Cousteau... If you think that's interesting...you should hear about my love for cyberpunk!

[@Ahpuckful]

culd have put the water on the floor on top of a smart phone led, and also use mirors under the tank to bounce the ripple on the wall

[@Vinlyguyx420x]

Going to an aquarium would greatly benefit this project

[@mvrckgames]

Most of the times we often forget the simplest thing and that's the art of a struggle 😂

[@justimagine2403]

Also Sylvia was in those scenes and she did a fantastic job.

[@ipwnreviewer]

I'm trying to imagine what a permanent installation would look like for a dance floor or even home

[@WilliamHBaker]

It would be spectacular!! After this project, I kept thinking to myself: “could I build something to do this in my first house?”😂

[@AMTunLimited]

Another super silly idea: overhead projector with a tank of water on it

[@ElloKyoko2]

whole video im yelling “PUT THE WATER ABOVE YOU!!”

[@SianaGearz]

Haha carrying water in a flat tub is a little silly. You can carry it to the location dry, and a bottle or a bucket to fill it up, much quicker safer and easier. Ideally also grab either a hose in case siphoning is an option, or a scoop/cup and a funnel.

[@justimagine2403]

Carbon Arc Lamp - single source light.