Universal Pictures teamed up with Territory Studio and Industrial Light & Magic to bring a life-size Giganotosaurus to an immersive experience promoting the release of Jurassic World Dominion. The campaign featured a series of large-scale Trompe-l'œil (forced perspective) installations that blended digital content with physical spaces in London, Paris and Rome.
As Creative Technology Director at Territory Studio, I was responsible for developing the technical setup for the Trompe-l'œil effect and ensuring the physical locations blended convincingly with the on-screen content. I worked across the VFX world-building and animation teams, physical-build teams and on-site AV team, and had final approval on how the scenes were assembled to create the illusion.
2023: Interactive / Experiential · Installation
Approach
My approach was to identify any elements that could break the illusion within the constraints of each physical space. Site reconnaissance showed that Trafalgar Square in London would be the most challenging of the three locations. The setup required a perfectly aligned backplate featuring the National Gallery façade and the upper terrace of Trafalgar Square, while accounting for the shadow cast by Nelson’s Column, which dominates the space. The first step was to conduct a full LiDAR scan and photogrammetric survey of the square. This enabled me to create time-of-day and date-specific lighting tests in Unreal Engine, with centimetre-level spatial accuracy. Working with the set designer, we used this information to identify the ideal location and conceal real-world movement and shadows that could break the illusion.
The other two locations—the Grande Arche de la Défense and the Baths of Caracalla in Rome—could use a simpler backdrop: a spatially aligned location plate tailored to the time of day and weather.
We then used the LiDAR scan to recreate the full National Gallery façade in 3D, providing accurate geometry and surfaces for in-scene lighting and collision geometry in Houdini, where Giga (the Giganotosaurus) was animated. I ensured that shadows and in-scene elements from in-scene elements, particularly Giga, did not extend beyond the screen edges and break the illusion, and that the scene’s perspective aligned perfectly with the real world.
