Computer-generated images of microscopic soil organisms for documentary films

The depiction of microscopic soil animals in film is complicated. In principle it is possible to capture real film footage of such organisms using microscopes and special camera equipment, but this entails severe limitations in terms of resolution and depth of field. This makes nano-scale close-up details with color and motion impossible. In addition, microscopic soil animals hardly Show their natural behavior under the conditions required for filming. Here we describe an alternative approach – based on computergenerated imagery – to portraying the microscopic world in documentary film. In the workflow presented here, we first created high-detail models of various microscopic soil animals by using complementary imaging methods at multiple levels of resolution. These models were then animated based on live observations of motion and behavior. This approach enables photo-realistic digital motion pictures of various soil animals. A broad range of potential applications, the aesthetics, as well as creative Advantages justify the efforts to generate such scientific visualizations.