Water water everywhere

Water is a huge part of my VFX module, so using the best medium to represent it is really important to the look of my film.

I hadn't really considered using a 3D software for the water, but when discussing it with Mat he was able to show me in less than a minute how to create a moving and controllable ocean on Maya. Having seen this sort of thing being created in Unity in the past, I was looking into using that software to potentially create moving water, however it is (to my surprise) just as easy to create in Maya. Mat was even able to change the amount of foam the water creates, the colour to pink and the amount of ripples and the direction of the wind.

I was initially looking at hand drawn water splashes and ripples with a slowly moving back-plate underneath. This however would be extremely time consuming, especially as I am having other elements of 2D animation in my film.

I then looked into actually filming some water, which to me seems to make the most sense. It will look more believable, I will be able to film from the angle I want with no issue and can capture more footage easily if needed. It was then a case of whether I'd need to go to the coast myself to capture the footage I needed or if I could stage some water ripping in the studio and it retain the depth and scale I needed.

After weighing up which option I thought worked best aesthetically and practically for my work, I decided that filming the ocean myself would be the best option. Although I am heavily relying on the weather, I can easily go to Scarborough (which is only an hour either way on the train) and retake footage as I need it.