Techniques

I will talk a little about the techniques involved in making this film. This is a 3D computer animation film, using the computer to create realistic, or surrealistic, images which pull the viewer into the environment and suspend disbelief at the same time (read: not cheap).
All of the clouds and most of the environments are created using fluid effects within Maya and some other techniques which will be discussed later. This is a very time consuming process because, as everybody knows (or should know), fluid effects are very slow. And moreover, they are difficult to predict. This equals long hours at the computer with not much to show for it. However they are very powerful and when they do work they provide with very realistic results.
In the beginning of the film I am using mostly non-dynamic effects (read: fast), at a later date I will begin using dynamic effects, at which point it is difficult to know what will happen.
Below is a screen shot of what a scene looks like inside Maya, then how it looks rendered and finally composited with all its sister layers.