ENDA Episode 159→ The time when ENDA faces a Multipass Challenge (Part 2)

Where do you even start when you're handed a long list of AOVs and infinite possibilities?

Simple:

Make the colour and lighting work first.

Among the many passes, one of the most powerful is the Normals pass, which allows us to relight our elements.

How? By generating an alpha map that reacts to virtual lighting directions: you can rotate the light, adjust intensity, and isolate regions using masks. It’s like painting with light.

Then comes the colour work. 

You’d think Cryptomatte solves everything. But the reality? Not quite.

Sometimes, like in this case, Cryptomatte doesn’t isolate the elements the way you need. So… you rotoscope. You refine. You re-mask.

Not once, not twice, but sixteen times and just for this project.

But the real question is: Why?

Why go through all this effort to adjust colour?

🔹 First: To make it cinematic.

Many CG renders start with “perfect” values, pure blacks (0) and pure whites (1). But in reality, the world has imperfections and we rarely achieve perfect mathematical values.

So we adjust contrast, remap values, and give the image depth.

🔹 Second: To match light and shadow.

If sunlight pierces through rocky terrain, the shadows need to respond. Opposing sides darken. Highlights bloom.

We mimic what nature does… but in compositing.

🔹 Third: To guide the eye.

Oversaturated plants? Overexposed rocks?

We tame them with grading, dial down the saturation and luma to make sure the character remains the focus.

If you check the video below, you’ll see how just the colour treatment elevates the shot, even in the early stages.

But there’s still one big question on the horizon:

What happens when you add planets to the sky?

A new challenge… with a surprising answer.

But that’s for another episode.

So stay tuned!

The journey continues…