Sebastian mixed real-life scenes with the pairing of original environments of the extinct animals, “for the environments to be unfamiliar but accessible,” he says. He worked with Hannah Rose Stewart to modify the topography of the models to match the animals using reference materials. They then worked on the textures to match the skin and colours, before developing the rigging and animation with Gabriel Gabriel Garble in Cinema 4D. Sebastian also collaborated with James Rogers on the soundscape to create an “ethereal but uneasy atmosphere” throughout, he says. “I then pulled these elements into Lens Studio where I applied post-effects such as caustics into the environment design, I also included some elements which signify how the animal originally because extinct, i.e. plastic bags and bottles.”
To explore The Zoo of Extinct Animals, click here to open Snapchat on your phone – it will unlock the lens for you to use.
He continues to note that without action, 50% of animals will face extinction by the end of the century. “The biggest threat? Humans,” he declares. “By making the invisible visible, we can bring seemingly distant problems to the forefront of peoples’ minds. Here, we use technological progress to expose ecological decay.”
With an aim to inform the viewers and to raise awareness, Sebastian’s work with The Zoo of Extinct Animals was initially devised as a response to lockdown: “We saw unusual animal sightings and plants reclaiming their habitat, supposedly due to humans being in lockdown, but should this be raising spirits or raising questions?”