Over the course of the school year, we intend to create a short film centered around the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald. Up until this point, there has been thorough research in the conditions surrounding the sinking of the ship, as well as a single video-based recreation. However, this research remains to be properly visualized in a manner that is historically accurate, emotionally compelling and rendered photo-realistically. Depicting it accurately would do justice to the scientific feat of this storm and memorialize the memory of the ship and its crew. The main tool that we will use is Dr. Jerry Tessendorf’s proprietary rendering software Gilligan, which is able to simulate oceans, waves, splashes, and mist with a high level of scientific accuracy. By pushing Gilligan to its limits, we can create a short film that, in the process of its creation, will be a deep dive into both the history of this ship and the technical process of creating a comprehensive film pipeline from scratch
