In-show graphics by Pixeldust for CCTV's Gold Mountain, bringing 150-year-old photos of Chinese railroad workers to life in 3D.
This three-part series for CCTV follows the first Chinese to emigrate to the USA. Their participation was vital to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. To tell their story, Pixeldust was tasked with creating compelling in-show graphics using 150-year-old still photography. Using 3D camera mapping with 2D animation, the team delivered an immersive and dynamic experience to viewers by bringing these photos to life.
The work
Each scene starts as a single archival photograph. We rebuild it in 3D, separating the workers, the rails and the canyon walls into their own layers, then project the original image back onto that geometry. The camera can glide through a moment that was frozen 150 years ago, with real parallax as it passes the foreground and the hills behind.
Camera mapping gives an old photograph depth, but depth alone still reads as a photograph. So we push further. We layer in film grain, shallow depth of field, drifting smoke and haze, and animated textures, then insert green-screen characters into the scene so the eye stops looking for the seams. The result plays like footage from a time before film cameras reached the West. We love building this kind of immersive trip back in time, and it has become one of our most effective tools for documentaries and historical films.
Stills
