Karmalink- Feature Film VFX

I worked closely with the filmmaking team as VFX Supervisor on the independent sc-ifi drama feature film Karmalink, to create immersive AR FUI builds, Skyline matte paintings and conceptual CG sequences. Taking place in the slums of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the AR UI was designed to expand claustrophobic spaces into fantastical AUGR Cafes and underground opium like AUGR Dens.

Designed, animated & composited by Saffron Ember (blaise & kyle hossain).

Karmalink is written & directed by Jake Wachtel. Cinematography by Rob Leitzell.

Karmalink - Feature Film VFX - Connectome Neuron Build View

Working closely with the filmmaking team of the independent sc-ifi drama feature film Karmalink, we created the Connectome neuron build view. We used X-Particles to drive the look of individual neurons being artificially calculated and registered by robust software oversight.

 

Karmalink - Feature Film VFX - AR (AUGR) Playback UI

This UI design shows the technologies playback function seen by AUGR wearer in their mind's eye. Designed, animated & composited by Saffron Ember (blaise & kyle hossain).

Here is the isolated FUI animation and design from one of the AR FUI "AUGR" activation  and playback sequences.

Karmalink - Feature Film VFX - Connectome FUI Design & Animation

Here are more designs & animations of neuroscience oriented look for the brain link monitor FUI I developed.

Here is the FUI design from one of the hand held tablets used for patient evaluations in the field. I VFX Supervised the sci-fi feature film "Karmalink” for which I created a medical/scientific FUI system for treating characters with degenerative brain disease.

Stream the feature film, Karmalink, on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime.

<— See the theatrical trailer for the feature film here.

In this Buddhist sci-fi thriller set in near-future Phnom Penh, a young Cambodian detective untangles a link between her friend's past-life dreams of a lost gold artifact and a neuroscientist's determination to attain digital enlightenment.

In near-future Phnom Penh, the rich and privileged are augmented with nanotech, and new skyscrapers crowd the skyline. In Tralok Bek, a tight-knit community threatened with forced eviction, 13-year-old Leng Heng is having vivid dreams of his past lives. He and his friends are convinced they are meant to find a buried Buddhist statue to save their homes, and they seek out help from a street-smart girl in the neighborhood, Srey Leak. Together they follow clues across town and into the past, uncovering a link with a genius neuroscientist on a quest for digital nirvana. As Leng Heng’s dreams converge on the present, his very sense of identity begins to unravel. When it becomes clear that the stakes are higher than they imagined, the two friends must decide how far they are willing to go to find their treasure and the truth.

Writer / Director: Jake Wachtel

VFX Supervisor: Blaise & Kyle Hossain

Principal Cast: Srey Leak Chhith, Leng Heng Prak, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Cindy Sirinya Bishop, Sveng Socheata, Rous Mony

See the full cast and crew on IMDB.